It's not about top speed.
That's close to home!
I think Dave’s post demonstrates it well. But just to give an example with my E63 which has the M157 engine. It’s a great engine no doubt but isn’t perfect. Before mapping the ‘grunt’ wasn’t there in certain gears and rev ranges, or combination of both. The map has almost completely smoothed that out, it will pick up smoothly and effortlessly from almost anywhere now. So it’s a more comfortable smoother drive.
When I first drove my C350 I thought it was the fastest thing on the road. Now I want more power
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That makes sense, and with what John has said re his E63, you get the more usable power throughout the rev range making the whole experience more enjoyable.Starting again at the beginning.
The OP alludes to a "race chip" which, in reality, have not been used for many years and have been replaced by tuning boxes. This is what I'm assuming that he means.
Tuning boxes are basically a generic piece of kit which alter a few variables by tricking the car into thinking that it needs more fuel/air at a different period in the rev range. I'm not knocking them as such, in fact I had one on my old E63 a few years ago and it was fine, but they're no substitute for a custom designed map.
Custom mapping, ideally on a rolling road, is the correct way of adjusting a car's performance. This should give the extra power you require and also enable it to be put down correctly, smoothly and efficiently. I mentioned Big Fish Tuning earlier, as the owner is something of an expert on this sort of mapping and has helped me and others out many times, including @Cyclone1 who's currently running his CLS63 at nearly 1000bhp.
When a car leaves the factory it has to meet various conditions in several climates and countries all with different fuels. We are lucky here to have access to high octane fuel so we can adjust the car's computer to take advantage of this. Sure, the car will do a bit itself, usually by just altering the ignition timing slightly but by mapping it, which is basically changing a few parameters, you're telling it what it should be doing for the specific fuel you'll be putting in it. It's also good for altering the torque curve. By that, I mean instead of having all the power kicking in at a certain rev range, which the M157 engine is notorious for, you can smooth it out across the range so it puts the power down a lot smoother as opposed from just throwing the rear end out.
Sorry to have waffled.
Yes, toll roads are a good reason to have an re-map. I do this over the Severn crossing. Just thought, they are removing tolls next year!!!
When I was in my late tens my mates and I would arrange it so we were coming out the toll gates side by side... good excuse for a drag race
Great times. You drive through France, they have a few tolls you could try?When I was in my late tens my mates and I would arrange it so we were coming out the toll gates side by side... good excuse for a drag race
Would I do that...?
Starting again at the beginning.
The OP alludes to a "race chip" which, in reality, have not been used for many years and have been replaced by tuning boxes. This is what I'm assuming that he means.
Tuning boxes are basically a generic piece of kit which alter a few variables by tricking the car into thinking that it needs more fuel/air at a different period in the rev range. I'm not knocking them as such, in fact I had one on my old E63 a few years ago and it was fine, but they're no substitute for a custom designed map.
Custom mapping, ideally on a rolling road, is the correct way of adjusting a car's performance. This should give the extra power you require and also enable it to be put down correctly, smoothly and efficiently. I mentioned Big Fish Tuning earlier, as the owner is something of an expert on this sort of mapping and has helped me and others out many times, including @Cyclone1 who's currently running his CLS63 at nearly 1000bhp.
When a car leaves the factory it has to meet various conditions in several climates and countries all with different fuels. We are lucky here to have access to high octane fuel so we can adjust the car's computer to take advantage of this. Sure, the car will do a bit itself, usually by just altering the ignition timing slightly but by mapping it, which is basically changing a few parameters, you're telling it what it should be doing for the specific fuel you'll be putting in it. It's also good for altering the torque curve. By that, I mean instead of having all the power kicking in at a certain rev range, which the M157 engine is notorious for, you can smooth it out across the range so it puts the power down a lot smoother as opposed from just throwing the rear end out.
Sorry to have waffled.
