Mark M.

I could say exactly the same about you. I have no problem with differing opinions, that's what forums are for. But at the same time, if I see an opinion that I do disagree with I will comment based on my hands on experience, if the other party's to that conversation don't want to hear it or are unable to accept a different point of view then that's prerogative. I said I have personally built an RB25DET..... I never said it was mapped by me, and I never said it was even FOR me. That particular engine was running a PowerFC and I believe running around 800bhp last I heard. Stock RB25's have been known to run around 500bhp with a suitable turbo but the engine internals are on a bit of a knife edge at that point. Totally stock you would be at around 320-330bhp.

Hi I think you missed the point, or maybe I did not explain myself properly, what I was referring to was the amount of posters on here that have had an off the peg remap done by their brother or some local Herbert with a van and a laptop and not as you pointed out a proper remap, they then have problems related to what they have mapped out, "Off the peg" remaps is exactly what I ran on the Mondeo and the Peugeot, the later with the DW12C 2.2 HDi engine. But no, you just branded "remaps" as the problem when I think in reality it's tuning boxes that are the problem. fact, mapping out EGRs will raise engine cylinder head temperatures, Fact, having an EGR increases the soot content in the oil leading to higher ware of the lower control rings on the piston by about the same amount as the extra heat from removing the EGR will affect the top compression ring. fact, upping boost pressure on a turbine will cause premature wear on the unit, I have a contact at Essex Turbos who would be quite happy to explain about the rash of over mapped Focus RS that were running well over 400bhp that were consistently shredding intake impellers due to overspin, the turbo was big enough but never designed for that type of boost requirement, Fact, this is why compressor maps are used to keep a turbo within a safe operating window. Upping the boost pressure too far outside that window will cause wear and/or failure, but increasing it while staying in that window will not directly cause any issue. Nissan are a completely different as the engines are built and balanced to a very high standard to accommodate the local markets desire for More and more power, made me smile when you mentioned Ford 2.0 engines, having spoken to a Ford engine tester on the track at Dunton he explained that if you wanted 180bhp out of a DW10A forget it it would not take the increase from 140 bhp -180 bhp without destroying something, as power demands increased PSA were required to strengthen elements within the engine to cope with the extra power hence DW12 C and onwards until no reliable power gains were achievable, then they swapped to the DW12 which started with 175 bhp and by the end of production ended up with 200 bhp that was as far as the emissions/ fuel consumption allowed, DW10 is the PSA/Ford duratorq engine that Ford sold in the Mondeo, SMAX and Galaxy with 120bhp, 150bhp and 180bhp with only the map being different, I know as I looked into it when my MIL was getting her new Galaxy back in 2019. Same as every other car manufacturer has at one time or another. Not sure why you bring in the 2.2 DW12 as I was merely highlighting your quote from a Ford tech that a manufacturer wouldn't leave horsepower on the table when Ford clearly did/do. at no point did he mention that Ford were planning to produce any model with no cat or DPF, which brings me to the point of when a lot of these companies delete the lot you have to sign to say the vehicle is only going to be used on private roads because they dont meet the legal emissions standards, No manufacturer is going to do that now are they, but when it comes to the MOT and the car fails spectacularly the MOT tester can either look the other way for a few quid and risk his entire career or just fail it which I've seen more than a few times. I also note the other maps you mention are quite mild by manufacturer standards which in the case of Mountune/Ford are within the prescribed boundaries of the built in reliability factors, the other more extreme tunes are dealt with at Mountunes other establishment over the back of me in Hutton where they tear the engines down and beef up everything, these are classed as racing engines and I would assume therefore are not road legal, in essence what I am driving at is people buy these cars often quite old and have a cheap remap but can't afford to fix them when they go wrong due to age and milage. No, a "racing" engine IS road legal. I've personally built a fully forged (crank, rods pistons, flow matched and ported head etc) RB25DET with an aftermarket HKS turbo and it was fully road legal and within emissions standards. I also have a good friend that works for Devil Developments and they churn out 700-800hp Focus's that are road legal. Mountune maps are also "off the peg" as you put it.

An interesting comment given that Ford use an identical 2.0ltr diesel lump in various cars with 120, 150 and 180bhp depending on what the buyer want's to go for. Same with the 1.5 petrol ecoboost lump, 120, 150 and 180bhp. Add on to that that manufacturers have to tune their cars based on the assumption that the owner is going to forget about changing filters and run on the worst available fuel on the planet while still being able to survive for the length of the warranty period. I've remapped my own cars over the years - Peugeot 406 coupe 2.2hdi that went from 136bhp - 180bhp with a basic flash tune, Mk4 Ford Mondeo 2.5t was Bluefin mapped from 218bhp to 296bhp, Nissan Skyline R33 GTSt 2.5t standalone ecu and dyno tuned went from 250bhp to 444bhp, a different Nissan Skyline R33 GTSt 2.5t with a piggy back ecu (emanage ultimate) that I road mapped myself went from 250bhp to 475bhp. All of these cars were run between 1 and 14years with these maps and never caused an issue. The Celtic Tuning map I've had on the Q5 for over a year has also been faultless. Can a remap cause excess wear compared to unmapped? I'd say yes, but not to the excesses that are being professed here, not if the remap is actually a GOOD one. I've seen a few people on here talking about "tuning boxes" that plug in between the AFM or the FPR and the ECU and they are garbage. But an actual remap of the ECU changing boost pressure, fuelling, ignition timing, supplied by a reputable tuner is no more dangerous to your car than an OEM tune. Just look at Mountune, they were offering remaps on Fords that were approved by Ford and didn't affect the Ford warranty. This Ford dealer still offers warranty backed services https://www.foraymotorgroup.co.uk/ford-mountune/

From the manual

They should all be 2 holes except for the front where one should have 3 holes to accommodate the extra pin that adjusts the ESC to allow for a change in centre of gravity as it's expecting you to have an extra 75kg on your roof. Not easy to make out as I have wrapped rails, but my passenger side rail has 3 holes at the front and 2 at the rear, the drivers side has 2 holes front and 2 holes rear.

When you say roof rails have drill holes in them, do you mean the rails running front to back have 2-3 holes on the inside edge by all 4 doors? If so, then that's how they're supposed to be as the crossbars clamp into those holes.

VCDS requires the software and an actual VCDS cable, a generic OBD won't work.

I went with this one - https://www.lllparts.co.uk/product/8k2959674pv10/vw-audi-multiple-switch-nero-black-8k2959674pv10 as I was already had some cable and the connectors lying around. Yes carista and obdeleven seem to be a bit rubbish when it comes to the more in depth coding. I followed this guide - https://www.audienthusiasts.com/VagCom_FL_ADS.html to finish off the coding with vcds

I fitted the switch myself (combo switch including stop/start button) and even with it you will still need the extra bit of coding done.

It should change to S in dynamic, and E in economy mode. Mine didn't do this either as the OBDEleven app wasn't thorough enough on coding so I needed to do an extra bit with VCDS to complete it.

Very odd, t'internet suggests it should be in there somewhere unless it's been removed for some reason. Hopefully a dealer can either find it, or at least supply you with the information from your vin number.

I know on my 2015 I had to take out the spare wheel and lift up the carpet to get to it.

Have you looked in the boot by the battery? The sticker is a list of PR codes that relate to factory and option parts fitted to that particular car. You enter the 3 character code into sites such as - https://www.oemvwshop.com/pr-code-decoder/ and it will translate them into the actual item. For example, in the picture above there is a code of 7A2 which means it has a 6-disc cd autochanger fitted.

Could still be the 7 speed s-tronic, but you can verify that with the build sticker that should be around the battery cover under the boot floor.

I used this one - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006DHRA8O?ref_=pe_112168041_1111392281_t_fed_asin_title&th=1

On my 2015 the sticker is in the boot under the lower carpet by the battery tray.

Have you checked the fuse boards at either end of the dashboard?

I had the same issue when I got my Q5, which I was able to solve with this -https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006391047654.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.5.14b61802PFLsnL Not 100% factory as it uses the existing mirror control switch, but for a couple of hours work I'm happy with them.

Yeah that's an airbag sensor, no idea how sensitive they are but if you were to change the grille over you would need to have the battery disconnected for certain before doing any unplugging. Then you would need to find away of securing the sensor to the new grille in as close to the same spot as possible and very securely.

Do you have a pic of the sensor?

I had Triangle tyres on my Mondeo, they were "interesting" in the dry and horrendous in the wet. They don't need to be runflat's as far as I'm aware, if you have a spare tyre then I wouldn't bother with them.

As the sticker states, as long as you have 4x 19" wheels then all 4 tyres should be 245/35 19" 93Y rating.

That's the thing though, the rubber coating on the sidewall has no strength in it, all the strength is from the carcass ply and steel belt plies. The rubber on the sidewall is to protect those from the elements, so if there not exposed then there is no degradation of the strength of the tyre.

When assessing cuts in a tyre, it is permissible to check whether a cut is deep enough to reach the ply or cord by using a blunt instrument to open the cut taking care not to cause further damage. The following criteria should be used when assessing a cut in a tyre: any ply or cord that can be seen without touching the tyre - fail if by folding back rubber or opening a cut with a blunt instrument, so as not to cause further damage, exposed ply or cord can be seen irrespective of the size of the cut - fail if a cut which is more than 25mm or 10% of the section width whichever is the greater, is opened with a blunt instrument and cords can be felt but not seen - fail Before failing a cut, you must make sure it’s the cords that you can feel not a foreign object. If you’re not sure, then you should pass and advise. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles/5-axles-wheels-tyres-and-suspension#section-5-2-3 If cords or ply are not exposed then it shouldn't be a fail. The pic I posted above went through at least 1 MOT and wasn't even an advisory.

IMO, if someone whose job is to sell me tyres say's that they don't need to sell me tyres.... I'd probably trust them too. I drove on the tyre I pictured above for a few months before selling the car and it was fine even at motorway speeds+