Why is re-mapping an ECU so expensive?

[jamess115]

I'm sure this has been covered but I have started this thread with no other reason than to improve my understanding. I have done some reading online but am curious as to why I am paying £400 ? This is what I know; there is skill involved in a re-map, the software is expensive & you are paying for a certificate, dyno etc however if I needed my brakes doing for eg, I would expect it to cost roughly the same. From what I understand, there are no parts involved in a re-map and the job takes roughly an hour which should incur a labour charge of about £60+vat. So i'm obviously missing something.. I know these guys do a good job but please feel free to enlighten me.

Edited July 8, 2014 by jamess115

[Ekona]

Skill.

 

Bearing in mind that you're not paying for the time taken or the labour involved, but the knowledge of how far you can push an engine before it goes pop. That knowledge is what costs.

[Lexx]

You're paying for the license which has involved a lot of R&D costs.

On top of that there is Dyno time (expensive machines), labour costs (you're still taking up someone's time), and experience.

 

On top of that the garage and UpRev still want to make a profit. They are businesses after all.

[Ian]

Its not expensive.

 

Compare it to a piggyback or stand alone and its a bargain.

[Neilp]

My Haltech platinum pro ECU cost over 1k 2nd hand!

[Chesterfield]

Will also depend on the market I suspect, if they can sell them by the truck load to people who want them (think VAG 1.8T engines), then they can offer a lower rate and make the research and development pay for itself. If the market is somewhat limited then expect to pay a premium. APR flash for an RS6 is looking likely to be in the region of £3k.

[StevoD]

[StevoD]

This is what I know; there is skill involved in a re-map, the software is expensive & you are paying for a certificate, dyno etc however if I needed my brakes doing for eg, I would expect it to cost roughly the same.

 

its like saying

 

why does a hooker cost me £700 a night yet i walk away with nothing physically new, yet i can spend £700 on a pc to watch porn and actually have something at the end

 

one your paying for several hours/weeks/years expertise in there field maybe with some expense equipment, the other your getting a product which can be used to do something

 

hope that makes sense

 

or the difference of going to MacDonald for burger or going to a famous chefs place for a burger

 

macdonolds is the kwik fit, famous chef is the remap guy with decades of history behind them,

 

you dont get a £1.49 cheeseburger in a famous persons restaurant

Edited July 8, 2014 by StevoD

[Will370z]

Already covered here

 

http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/86345-re-map-cost/page__hl__uprev

[jamess115]

Fair enough on your responses cheers. On a similar subject, my car is speed limited to 112mph. Can I get this removed without going thru a re-map ..?

[Floydbax]

I'm sure Alex or Mark will correct me if I'm wrong but ..... I always thought that the 350Z ECU was effectively 'locked' by Nissan. Making it impossible for your 'normal' tuners to change. A 'piggyback' cuts out the original ECU and has its own maps. The Z ECU has its own maps whose parameters are set by Nissan to both ensure that the engine runs at its maximum efficiency but without any chance of damaging the engine.

 

The licence is paid to the companies who have invested in cracking the lock on the ECU, allowing tuners to overwrite the standard Nissan maps, therefore making the map more specific to that particular vehicle. The original investment you make is both paying for the licence and then the tuners skill/rolling road time etc. Then if you change performance items on the vehicle, having already paid for the licence all you need to pay for is the other stuff.

[StevoD]

Fair enough on your responses cheers. On a similar subject, my car is speed limited to 112mph. Can I get this removed without going thru a re-map ..?

 

yes uprev will remove that limiter

[Tricky-Ricky]

It has always struck me that its rather expensive for the DE remap as in theory its going to be a pretty much generic map, if you think about it

you can only fit certain mods before a remap, and as the std ECU will basically dial out anything improvements, the remap is tailored to take into consideration these upgrades and just loaded to the

ECU, OK there will be various things

people want, like mor than one map on cruse control cars, but in general its only ever going to require a quick tweak on the roller to get the end result.

[StevoD]

the bottom line of it and any trading is this

 

a supplier can sell item X for what ever they want

 

if the public buy item X at that price then the supplier is winning

 

if your not happy to pay cost Y for item X but everyone else is maybe you need to reevaluate why people will and you wont pay that much

 

2 out comes you will think everyone else is stupid or more money than sense or you will realize it for what everyone else does and call fair game and purchase it

Edited July 8, 2014 by StevoD

[docwra]

I believe the license is over £200, if you consider 1/2 hour on a dyno is generally getting on for £100 and then add your £60 + VAT for a skilled operator ...........

 

M$ Office is £200 but no-one seems to think thats a lot of money ............

[A9H-RX]

Mostly licences that cost a lot and obviously knowledge.. You pay for what you get.. Take it to Barry down the road for £100 who knows nothing about fuel/air mixture, you can't guarantee you'll be driving it back..

[StevoD]

Mostly licences that cost a lot and obviously knowledge.. You pay for what you get.. Take it to Barry down the road for £100 who knows nothing about fuel/air mixture, you can't guarantee you'll be driving it back..

 

 

or as i know it will come up focus rs/vag 1.8t remap guy who plugs in a map for a bit more boost downloads it to the ecu then give you the car back

[-Bradders-]

I believe the license is over £200, if you consider 1/2 hour on a dyno is generally getting on for £100 and then add your £60 + VAT for a skilled operator ...........

 

M$ Office is £200 but no-one seems to think thats a lot of money ............

 

But who actually pays for MS office? lol

[cmck13]

I thought deja vu had finished on this, help my head hurts.

[StevoD]

I thought deja vu had finished on this, help my head hurts.

 

yea it seems same topic different week a lot recently

[AliveBoy]

I thought deja vu had finished on this, help my head hurts.

 

yea it seems same topic different week a lot recently

 

Cheap cars now, people buy them for not much and want other things done for not much too, unfortunately nothing decent is cheap for these cars

[StevoD]

I thought deja vu had finished on this, help my head hurts.

 

yea it seems same topic different week a lot recently

 

Cheap cars now, people buy them for not much and want other things done for not much too, unfortunately nothing decent is cheap for these cars

 

dont think for any car you can get something that is truly decent and truly cheap tho, and as i always say you build two cars one with volks tein brides cucsco etc then build a car with the cheer costs or version ie rota apex omp summit racing etc it will never looks as good drive as good or feel as special as the other car built with end stuff

 

you get what you pay for

Edited July 8, 2014 by StevoD

[A9H-RX]

I thought deja vu had finished on this, help my head hurts.

 

yea it seems same topic different week a lot recently

 

Cheap cars now, people buy them for not much and want other things done for not much too, unfortunately nothing decent is cheap for these cars

 

dont think for any car you can get something that is truly decent and truly cheap tho, and as i always say you build two cars one with volks tein brides cucsco etc then build a car with the cheer costs or version ie rota apex omp summit racing etc it will never looks as good drive as good or feel as special as the other car built with end stuff

 

you get what you pay for

 

I got Rotas, does that make me cheap

 

Edited July 8, 2014 by A9H-RX

[Tricky-Ricky]

Brand snobbery is still alive and well i see!

[Wasso]

It has always struck me that its rather expensive for the DE remap as in theory its going to be a pretty much generic map, if you think about it

you can only fit certain mods before a remap, and as the std ECU will basically dial out anything improvements, the remap is tailored to take into consideration these upgrades and just loaded to the

ECU, OK there will be various things

people want, like mor than one map on cruse control cars, but in general its only ever going to require a quick tweak on the roller to get the end result.

 

Ahhh but you see every hooker is different (see what I did there Steve)

 

Some are pretty and perform in amazing ways £700

 

Some are god damn awful and perform like a retarded dog £50 and a free STI.

 

Each car is different, ok marginally different, but still my map could be slightly different than another revup car. Mileage differences, could play a factor in this.

 

I don't think its THAT expensive, unless you get a tuner that charges way more than another but with a lesser result with the figures.

Edited July 8, 2014 by Wasso