Polo Performance Parts did me a custom remap in January, and frankly I couldn’t be happier with the result.
The aim was to map my AAV turbo with three main goals in mind –
1. Achieve decent power
2. Make it a smooth drive – it’s a 20k/yr daily
3. Preserve the engine – after all it’s only an AAV and some moron bolted a turbo to it
Andy talked me through the process – first he’d map the idle then move on to part throttle and full throttle mapping. Fast apparent was an issue with the idle. Pete and Andy expertly diagnosed this as incorrect injectors – they were too efficient for the high compression engine and lead to overfueling. They were quickly changed for some standard G60’s and the mapping continued. The idle was sorted and then part throttle taken care of. During the mapping process the narrowband lambda is disconnected to prevent the ECU from fighting the ongoing map adjustments. Particularly impressive, was Andy’s ability to tune the map precisely the correct amount – on part throttle around town driving the wideband showed near stoichiometric and the car is very smooth.
The next bit was fun. On Andy’s advice we decided to first map full throttle at 10psi, later moving on to 15psi. This would reduce the stress on the engine during mapping whilst still allowing the map to be tailored to the full capability of the standard map sensor. As luck would have it we stumbled across a section of 3-lane, dual carriageway ‘private road’ perfect for the task. As more ignition advance was dialled in I was soon simultaneously crapping my pants and giggling like a schoolgirl. After a few runs the map was sorted.
Before leaving we did a few final checks to be sure all was well and I was left with the luxury of a drive home with a freshly mapped, infinitely improved car!
The results speak for themselves. On my commute I still get good mpg, in fact pretty much exactly the same as with the old GT management (at 10psi) – a remarkable 41mpg. At the Club Polo rolling road day it did this at 15psi:
(http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/ww343/cheys03/1e056b7b.jpg)
I think it’s fair to say that the general consensus on the day was that the flywheel figures on a variety of cars were a little optimistic. Even if you said 160-165bhp I’m chuffed to bits. Not bad for an engine that made 55bhp from the factory!
Remember this engine configuration is quite dissimilar to the standard G40 – and as such the map needed to be somewhat different. This isn’t really just tweaking the original map anymore, but rather building up a fresh new one from scratch. I think this speaks volumes for PPP’s ability and skill. Top job!