Possible i-DTEC remap - any experiences / advice?

[ship69]

Hi

I am thinking of getting my 2008 i-DTEC remapped and I would love to hear from anyone who has had a remap done on an i-DTEC.

BACKGROUND
OK so I've now handed back my Mazda 6 2.2 163bhp and have just bought a Honda Accord Tourer EX 2.2L Diesel i-DTEC 2008 (58) manual. Quite low mileage (21K). Fwiw, it had been used for towing a small trailer (I'm not sure if that's good or bad for the car!) IMO, it's ride is very much more comfortable than the Mazda, and the gear box is anabsolute dream - almost feels like an auto!

BUT compared to the Mazda this car feels so, so, so SLOW !!

According to Parkers (from memory) the Honda is 147bhp and 0-60 time is 9.8 secs, whereas the Mazda is 160 bhp and 0-6 is 8.8secs. i.e. On paper the Honda is 1.1 seconds slower, but it FEELS much slower that this.

About a year ago I got my 2007 iCTDI Accord remapped up to "180bhp" by Fahad and I was broadly very pleased with it. The only problem was that the old clutch wasnt up to the job and I serious hated the clunky, shuddering new clutch.

So I am seriously considerting getting a remap either from Fahad (or someone similar).

Key issues/questions:
- I have a 3 year warranty from Honda. Will remapping void this?
- And what if I get the DPF removed - what then?
- Have any of you managed to get your 8th Generations Honda i-DTECs into very high mileage... after a remap? (e.g. 200,000+ miles)
- How many BHP did you take your remapping to?
- Did you need a new clutch?
- With mostly sensible driving was your MPG negatively affected?
- Does your car leave smoke when accelerating hard ? (e.g. visible at night)
- Do you use premium quality diesel (e.g. from BP / Shell)
- Do you put 2 stroke oil into your fuel tank when you refill?

Any other advice?

Many thanks

J

 

[F6HAD]

Hi JS,

Key issues/questions:
- I have a 3 year warranty from Honda. Will remapping void this?
Yes. They can't see it, but if they find it because someone has left evidence then it will be void no question.

- And what if I get the DPF removed - what then?
Definitely voids the warranty, although it's not always obvious depending on how a tuner does it. We remove the internals without leaving any external evidence to show it's been tampered with, and all the sensors remain intact and can be communicated with for diagnostics purposes.

- Have any of you managed to get your 8th Generations Honda i-DTECs into very high mileage... after a remap? (e.g. 200,000+ miles)
We've done a few 150k mile+ taxis now, and the only issues have been DPF's.

- How many BHP did you take your remapping to?
On your 148bhp version, with the DPF ON - 38bhp and DPF OFF - 48bhp (very aggressive mapping). Other tuners claim different figures, but that is what we are comfortable with.

- Did you need a new clutch?
I've not seen any IDTEC clutch failures yet due to tuning. But give it time...

- With mostly sensible driving was your MPG negatively affected?
Not seen any reports of adverse economy, quite the opposite.

- Does your car leave smoke when accelerating hard ? (e.g. visible at night)
This will only happen with the DPF removed. Remember that's the purpose of the DPF.

- Do you use premium quality diesel (e.g. from BP / Shell)
Not necessary, but recommended.

- Do you put 2 stroke oil into your fuel tank when you refill?
Not recommended if you have a DPF.

 

[ship69]

> - I have a 3 year warranty from Honda. Will remapping void this?
> Yes. They can't see it, but if they find it because someone has left evidence then it will be void no question.

And you are confident of being able to do so without leaving any (physical) evidence, right?
And if so surely they can see it on the car's internal computer, no?
Or would their only way of getting suspicious be if they drove it and/or put it on a dyno/rolling road machine?

In the worst case maybe I could claim that the person before me had remapped it. (Conceivable, but if so they didnt do a very good job!)


> - Have any of you managed to get your 8th Generations Honda i-DTECs into very high mileage... after a remap? (e.g. 200,000+ miles)
> We've done a few 150k mile+ taxis now, and the only issues have been DPF's.
What I meant was are there any cars that have survived doing high mileages POST doing a re-map(?)


So.. An addtional 38bhp would make quite a difference.
Let me see, 148 +38 = 185HP... Although I know this is an over-simplification, but the Accord Type-S is 177bhp and does 0-60mph in 8.5 instead of the EX's 9.8secs - i.e. 1.3secs faster.
And post remap, this would be 8bhp more power than the Type-S. So that could be what, 0-60 in 8.2 secs?

The threw in 1 year of warranty for free and then I also paid a bit extra to get the extra 2 year of warranty from Honda, which seemed a reasonable deal given the high mileage that I do. If they call the warranty void e.g. during the 1st year, do you think that they would also give me any money back??

 

[F6HAD]

John, I am confident in what I do, but I couldn't offer you any guarantees on whether Honda will discover a remap or not.

Really, my gut says that if you want to preserve your warranty and are really concerned about it, don't tune the car.