Jaguar XF remap

[PG63]

Had a remap done a few years ago on a 3 litre diesel by DMS Automotive. Told would raise bhp from 237 to 295 and torque from 500 to 600. Had mechanic do it on my driveway. Big hike in performance. Mid range really impressive. Had quad sports exhaust fitted as well supplied by spires Jaguar.

 

Had some think I drive a 4.2 SVR.

PG36

[Old_Growler]

Just looking though this old topic.. To clarify the original OP question regarding a remap on the >>XF 3.0D<< engine. There's seems to be some confusion on this post between the 6 & 4 cylinder models! The 6 cylinder diesel can ONLY be done via the 16 pin on-board diagnostic port if the ECU is removed and opened to by-pass Jaguar's block to enable a remap! This applies to whoever supplies the re-map, Whether it came with a handset like Bluefin* or not. If Buying a Bluefin* map  your will need to add £60-£70 to the cost of the handset to have the ECU opened and enabled.

[Ian Manning]

Hi, all. Well, it's a while since I posted in this thread ref. the Bluefin remap from Superchips. Well, I finally had it done earlier this year and here are my views on it written 4 days after having it fitted:

'I had the Superchips Bluefin remap carried out on my 2014XF 2.2 200 by a member of staff, Graeme,  at the Superchips HQ back in May 2018. I have since sent the Bluefin module back under their 14 day refund offer as, quite simply, it didn’t produce any of the considerable benefits mentioned not only in their literature but particularly in two testimonials shown on their website.

The diesel lag from standstill (my main area of interest for an improvement) was virtually unchanged as far as I could tell and the low to mid range engine speed pick up seemed very little changed, too. Driving away on the day, although it didn’t feel obviously different, I guess I really wanted it to work and so persuaded myself that I should give it a ‘fair crack of the whip’. And, indeed, I convinced myself that it was a bit more ‘perky’. However, to check this, the following day I removed the Bluefin software and replaced the stock files and far from feeling slower and less responsive, I amazed by how ‘perky’ it still felt! It makes no sense but I can only conclude that any improvement the Bluefin may have made was so small as to need the placebo effect to show itself!

Interestingly, Superchips website shows two testimonials from XF users with the same model as mine (20012 - 2015 XF 2.2 200) and they were both claiming really amazing improvements such as ‘diesel lag gone’ (mine hadn’t), ‘fantastic low speed pick up’ (mine was very little different from standard), ‘so fast now, my wife won’t drive it’ (no obvious increase in power and speed). The company spokesman, Joe, could offer no explanation for this lack of benefit other than ‘it may be an under performing sensor somewhere’ and something about ‘no two cars are the  same’ despite being the same model, coming from the same manufacturer on the same production line and from the same year span.

Logically, I can only conclude that the testimonials were from people either expecting the results and imagining the improvements in performance (the placebo effect) or the Bluefin remap really did do the business. The obvious question, then, is: why did it not work on my car? Simply to say, ‘we don’t know, here’s your money back’ seems to me show a lack of faith in their product as well as a lack of research into its operation. There was no suggestion of bringing my car back for them to investigate the lack of improvements. Legally, they cannot advertise the remap as providing an extra 30 bhp if this has not been proven on a dynamometer, similarly with the extra 73 Nm of torque. Therefore, I simply can’t understand why a 15% increase in power was almost undetectable in normal driving. I was most unhappy with the way I was fobbed off by Joe with his ‘it’s just one of those things’ insouciance.

So, if anyone does want to take a chance on this remap, my advice is: go to the HQ (don’t do it yourself), get them to come out with you as you drive the unmodified car over a short road test, let them drive it as well, then swap the ECU files and re-run the road test with both you and them driving. The claimed improvements should be immediately and clearly apparent. If not, don’t leave until they have given a convincing reason for its failure to live up to its glowing promises.

I was deeply disappointed with the Bluefin remap as, to put it bluntly, it just didn’t work as advertised.

So, all in all, a very unhappy experience with Superchips although I must say the staff I met at their HQ were very friendly and polite but, sadly,  that ‘butters no parsnips’ when their product simply failed to live up to their promises.'

[Old Peter]

Hi Ian,

You are not the first to be dissatisfied with a remap, although there are many who are very pleased with the car after it has been done.

I have not been tempted to have a remap on my S Type 2.7 diesel as I find 208 bhp quite sufficient and I do put my trust in the engineers who designed and built the engine.  I think they do know a bit more than I do and probably a bit more than those who do the remap.

The main reason I do not like remaps is that in 1963/4 I was driving a Honda motorcycle which was capable of 100mph plus.  A friend had a motorcycle of a different brand with a top speed of circa 95 mph, and to compete he had it retuned to a high level, and on our first day out on a local dual carriage way [no motorways and no speed limits then]  while I was doing a steady 90 mph he passed me at about 110 mph -  and I couldn't catch him until his engine blew up!

As Virgil put it "Hunc et olim meminisse juvabit," which is loosely translated as "he who laughs last laughs best"

Regards,

Peter.

[Ian Manning]

Hi, Peter,

Yes, a very fair point. Maybe I had expected a bit too much but I still found the disparity between the experiences of the reviewers quoted on their website and mine puzzling (on the assumption the views quoted were accurate and unsolicited, of course!). I still find the turbo lag/slow response (not sure how to describe it accurately) an occasional cause of irritation but have learnt to get round it by a/using 'S' rather 'D' or b/ manually choosing 1st at rest and c/ always filling with Shell V-Power diesel. The latter definitely makes the engine more responsive (not greatly but enough to be worth the extra cost). It has a higher cetane number, so I guess that's not surprising! 

BTW, what was the Honda motorbike you were riding? Must have been an early import, surely, as I thought the Japanese didn't make serious inroads until the second half of the 60s? I remember when, in 1970, a friend and I swapped his new Honda 250 for my fairly new Triumph 500 Daytona and my astonishment at the performance of his machine! Redlined at nearly twice the Trumpet's 5,500rpm, no vibration worth talking about as opposed to the vibro-massager I was used to, 5 gears and - a revelation - an Oil tight crankcase! 

[Old Peter]

Hi Ian,

I had one of the first 6 Honda Dreams in the UK.  I was in Liverpool when they came in and my BSA was on its way out, and my Triumph T100 needed repair, so on an impulse I bought it with a loan from the bank of Mum and Dad.  It could have been kept in the hall and would not have dropped any Oil.

Regards,

Peter. 

[Boblancaster]

My 2.7 xf from new always hesitated when moving off from road junctions. I had it remapped, I am not a speed merchant, instantly it was more responsive. I also get more mpg, I tow a caravan the torque has definitely improved. When I asked at the Jaguar specialist who did the remap why didn’t Jaguar do it . The suggestion was why should they when the 3 litre was replacing the 2.7.

[pezzzer]

not bad I'm guessing?!!

[Rich Askew]

Hi all,

I have to admit I'm no expert but I've had previously Bluefined vehicles and found the difference to be quite marked - although they were Euro 4 diesels and mine is now a Euro 5 (can't just chuck more fuel into them).

To be honest, I bought the new Bluefin module while waiting to pick up the new Jaguar because I'd been impressed in the last car. It's been running on it since I got home and I don't really have a comparison with a 'virgin' Jaguar (something I might try) but I have to say it picks up at junctions just fine and I haven't noticed any lag.

In the sticks of Somerset we have too many tractors and horse boxes on our 'A' roads to drive it too 'enthusiastically' so I tend to more restrained than the 'Stig.' However, I regularly get mid-50s to the gallon on the commute into Taunton, mid-40s around what little town driving I do and regularly 60+ on motorway drives to Away games.

I have the standard Bluefin remap for a 2.2d, with a K&N filter and a ZX1 treated engine. I also have an OBD plug-in and smartphone app to monitor what's going on where I can - PPIs as they used to be called on Fleet Air Arm aircraft in service.

'SuperDiesel' is in short supply down here so I'm trying Millers EcoMax (having run Redex through it previously on occasion) on the next few fill ups. Too early to offer a comment but nothing too detrimental so far.

With 90k miles in the five years it's been on the road I'm looking at a service for the ZF Gearbox so if anyone's had experience of that please do let me know. The refurb to the alloys is due at October half-term and I'm expecting to have the 96k Service around Christmas time. Since the car was new to me in July I might also plunge for a change of Coolant and Brake fluid to be on the safe side - although my bank account won't thank me!

Overall I'm absolutely loving having a car like this Jaguar (I never thought I'd be able to own one) so I'm looking to keep it for as long as possible and will be happy to pay out to keep it running as well as I possibly can over the next 'x' years.

Best regards,

Rich.