Frequently Asked Questions

Are these ‘official’ Volkswagen Group Parts?

No.  These are developed as performance-enhancing parts for the Volkswagen Racing programme, and so are not official VWG parts, and they don’t have VWG part numbers.  This is why they are only available through RacingLine.

Is the manufacturer’s warranty affected?

Yes, for those aspects of the engine and drivetrain that the manufacturer can prove were affected by any upgrade, any warranty claim will be rejected.  All other aspects of the vehicle’s warranty are unaffected.   Any parts from the RacingLine range that are faulty or incorrectly installed will be replaced by RacingLine.

What is ‘Remapping’?

How is more power, higher torque, lower fuel consumption – all this and a lot more – achievable by ’remapping’ tuning only?  Surely there must be a catch?

Electronics in vehicle technology

Since the 80s, electronics in automotive applications have become increasingly significant. Initially simple functions were controlled by the Engine Control Units (ECUs) and the electronics rarely intervened actively in controlling other operations around the car.  Fast forward to a new car, and nearly all functions in a vehicle are controlled or electronically supervised through software. Therefore the engine management of a vehicle is one of its most significant fields.

Remapping your Car

With the power of a modern ECU, there are millions of elements of data all making up the engine’s instructions (or map) on how to perform in any given set of circumstances. This map defines, amongst many other parameters, the ignition timing, fuelling and boost pressure for all given engine speeds, loads and even temperatures and quality of fuel.

With the scale of global mass production of modern cars, the standard mapping has to be a compromise.  It has to make certain ‘safe’ assumptions - for example, that the car will be operating in the most severe global climatic conditions, that it will be running on the worst fuel available in the world, that it may not have been serviced properly, that it may be running at 2000m or more above sea level.  And most of all, that the tolerances in every component in the engine and every sensor will be at their worst.
Of course, this is an over-cautious approach for the majority of drivers. RacingLine’s remapping process considers all of these elements and ‘rebalances’ these assumptions.  So, with our contacts at the factory, we can safely assume that your car will be running on European-quality fuel, that the majority of your driving will be at the sort of altitudes and climates that we experience in Europe, and that as an enthusiastic driver, your car will be properly and regularly serviced.  And so we can remove some of these compromises whilst keeping the safety precautions that will always protect your car’s mechanical components. Thus, when modification of the ECU’s software is carried out in a responsible way, the components’ durability and the vehicle’s suitability for daily use can be maintained despite the increased efficiency and higher torque.

Development of a RacingLine Remap

When we select an engine type to be modified, the vehicle’s individual standard mapping is assessed in the first instance. As every vehicle type shows small but detailed differences, the standard data is collected individually prior to development. Subsequently the various engine characteristics and data are reprogrammed on the dynamometer. In this environment the standard safety mechanisms of the engine management (e.g. maximum admissible boost pressure, overheating protection, knock control system...) can be tested to extreme levels. In a practical test drive the all-important driving characteristics are checked by our test drivers and if necessary a re-adjustment of the data version will be carried out to suit road conditions. A prolonged road test is then carried out under demanding conditions to prove the map’s suitability. If all required specifications are fulfilled, the power upgrade will be granted technical release.

Is there any change in fuel consumption?

Fuel consumption is predominantly influenced by the driver’s driving style and usage. This applies for remapped vehicles as well as for standard cars. Anybody demanding full engine power will notice increased fuel consumption. However in practice our customers often report lower fuel consumption after a remap. The explanation is that many drivers do not alter their driving behaviour after their car is remapped and thus the improved efficiency of the new mapping allows the driver to achieve the desired performance with less throttle.  So, for example, a remapped car takes less throttle to maintain a steady 70mph cruising speed.

Is the vehicle’s reliability affected?

The durability of mechanical parts is dependent on the design and conditions to which a part is subjected. As we know from our work with the factory, many parts used in VAG vehicles are designed in accordance with the platform-sharing principle. For example this can mean that the same gearbox is fitted in different vehicles and engine-power outputs. Hence all components have a significant over-engineering tolerance in order to ensure that the factory can use these components safely in other models, with different power outputs and weights. Our race programme has proven the inherent over-engineering of the VAG range in extreme conditions.  What this means is that every one of our standard range of remaps have been proven to still operate within the usage range determined by the engineers.