Life Remap - earlier cars are faster?

[Julian Thompson]

I read on the life website that the earlier 2018 ish cars can be mapped to have notably more torque than the latest cars due to the regulations.

Is this a fact? What is it, some Euro emissions reg that has tightened up since the car was launched?

[Miserablegit]

I’m guessing it’s as a result of them not having a GPF and not having to comply with wltp regualtions.

[worldwidewebs]

Julian Thompson said:

I read on the life website that the earlier 2018 ish cars can be mapped to have notably more torque than the latest cars due to the regulations.

Is this a fact? What is it, some Euro emissions reg that has tightened up since the car was launched?

The earlier cars can be mapped to have more torque as the tuners have 'cracked' those maps more fully. I'm sure in time they'll be able to do the same with the later ones too - maybe tuners in Europe already have, but not in the UK.

[Julian Thompson]

So the early ones had no gpf? What was the cutoff?

[Miserablegit]

It was only the PE that didn’t have GPF. There was a mad rush by the dealers to get them all road registered before 1 September 2018 and then I think they realised the car only had to have been built before 1 Sept 2018 but I don’t recall the detail.

[Miserablegit]

Are Litchfield still offering a warranty on engine and gearbox when having the remap? That would be a worthwhile benefit.

[Julian Thompson]

Miserablegit said:

It was only the PE that didn’t have GPF. There was a mad rush by the dealers to get them all road registered before 1 September 2018 and then I think they realised the car only had to have been built before 1 Sept 2018 but I don’t recall the detail.

That’s interesting thanks - I’m seriously tempted to look for one so I guess a low mileage pure would be a good choice for me.

[Kerniki]

What sort of power can be had from the engine?

[Miserablegit]

The Pikes Peak car managed 500hp but I think the tuners stick to around 300hp. Lichfield were talking about 320hp at one point but that’s gone quiet.

[Julian Thompson]

I think the limit is the gearbox torque rather than the motor.

[bcr5784]

Julian Thompson said:

I think the limit is the gearbox torque rather than the motor.

As you say the gearbox is the weak issue. It nominally has a 300nm limit, but even the first cars are quoted as 320nm and PE cars seem to dyno more like 340. The latest A110S cars are specified as 340 and recent cars have a 340nm limit which limits ECU tweaks to that figure. Earlier cars can be chipped up to 400nm or even a bit more (whether it's a good idea is a matter for debate). It's the size of the turbo that limits power to little more than the 300ps of the latest A110S.

[Julian Thompson]

I see, so really a good map on the early car would be as close to the rated torque as possible for as long as possible as the revs climb. Which I can see being limited by the turbo.

Has anyone broken a gearbox messing with them yet?