Well here i am back from my weekend away and trip to star performance[<
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We arrived up at star performance in kirkaldy just after lunch to find jim waiting for me and ready to get on with it, so after discussing what i was going to go for and pricing he got on with remaping my s3.
The first job involves checking which software my car was running to start off with and updating if required to the latest spec, mine was however up to date (version 7), he also told me that the car had not previously been accessed by anyone else, which i suppose is a good thing. My cars map is then sent off to giac in the us and within about 10 mins the modified map is returned and ready to install. We did however have some problems with my car taking the map which turned out to be my phone still being conected via bluetooth even tho i was in the waiting room at the time (apparantly bluetooth can interfere with it). so once that was sorted jim gave me a shout for the test run.
To start off with jim explained how the flashloader works and that it can be used whenever the ignition is turned on, even while driving. pressing read on the loader shows up what you have installed (in my case stock, pump, and valet) and you can then s elect whatever you want whenever you want.
I decided to first try the stock map to make sure the car drove as before and indeed it did, then while on the move i switched to the valet map to try that. This mode felt like the turbo had been pretty much turned off, so it felt pretty normal below 2000rpm but above that when the boost should be really kicking in there was nothing there just the same pull as below, i cant see me using this mode much but my run to and from work is usually 40 mph tops in stop start traffic so if it saves me fuel in that situation then i might, plus at least i can switch to 300 plus bhp whenever i want.
Anyhow on to the main event the pump map, again i switched on the move and could imediately feel a kick as the button was pressed as the car took on a more lively character. In traffic it didnt feel that much quicker but then a gap opened up off a roundabout and i floored it in 2nd and 3rd, bloody hell this shifts. So a large smile was now plastered on my face and the test run was complete so back we went to pay for the job seeing as i was happy with it.
After leaving star performance we were on a trip up to the scottish highlands via fort william and loch ness etc to give the car a good test, the roads up there are brilliant even tho theres more traffic than you expect, and luckily it was even dry all the 800 mile journey. Anyhow with all those miles covered with the car in remaped mode i can tell you that it makes the car pull really solid right through the rev range and there isnt much that can keep up now, the noise from the turbo has also increased a touch as you would expect and sounds a bit more purposefull when you have the radio turned off, i now fancy a forge induction kit to try and increase the sound a touch more tho. another bonus was that over the 800 mile trip the car managed to average 35mpg which certainly aint bad for a 300 plus bhp motor.
So all in all im more than happy with it and would defo recomend star performance and a giac remap to all s3 owners.
once back home i decided to mount the flashloader onto the mat with a picece of velcro and leave it connected at all times for easy switching like so....
