Your Land Rover is a complex beast, but it is often tamed by the mapping of the ECU. This can sometimes mean you aren’t getting the true performance from your Land Rover you expect.
In this edition of our blog, we look at remapping the ECU of your Land Rover so your next on or off-road adventure is one where you can take your experience up a level or two. However, we should add that remapping your Land Rover is purely down to you. As you’ll discover further down the page, there are also disadvantages as well as advantages.
What is an ECU?
The ECU, or Engine Control Unit in your Land Rover is a system that helps control several important features of your Land Rover. These could range from the locks on the doors to the emergency brakes and so much more. The ECU in your Land Rover would have been pre-programmed when it left the factory, often to default settings that restrict some of the capabilities of your vehicle. It is worth noting that not all Land Rover models will contain the technology to be remapped.
We should also add that if you are thinking of remapping the ECU of your Land Rover, you would be best speaking to a Land Rover service specialist. All of the aspects of the ECU are vital to the running of the vehicle and if you were to compromise any of them by attempting to remap the Land Rover yourself, you could put yourself and others at risk.
What is remapping?
Remapping your Land Rover is the altering of the settings of the ECU to change the performance of the vehicle. In many cases, this would involve simply swapping out the current ECU with a new one. Such is the pace technology works, that now, it is no longer needed. Instead, you can (in some cases) access the ECU via the onboard diagnostics and recalibrate the ECU from there. In many vehicles, access to the ECU cannot be gained via the OBD (onboard diagnostics) as a way to further enhance vehicle security, and where this is the case, the ECU may be removed and reprogrammed.
What does remapping the ECU of a Land Rover do?
Remapping the ECU of a Land Rover can alter the way your Land Rover engine performs when you drive. For day-to-day driving, it is unlikely you would need to tweak it at all. However, if you were an off-roader or racer, you may want to extract a little more performance from the vehicle. Driving to town in a Land Rover, for example, is not going to demand the same levels of power as a lap around a racetrack. Remapping the ECU will extrapolate that little more performance.
You may wonder why your Land Rover is being restricted from its true performance, but much comes down to safety and economic aspects. In addition, When the upgraded version of the same model gets released, there is every possibility it’s the same vehicle with a few cosmetic upgrades and just a remapped ECU.
Can all Land Rovers be remapped?
No. Typically, remapping is only available on vehicles that were manufactured after 2000. Even if it is a relatively new vehicle, there is still a chance remapping is not possible.
What are the advantages of remapping the ECU of my Land Rover?
Remapping the ECU of your Land Rover could provide you with a few advantages but as you’ll see from the disadvantage, you’d need to weigh up whether they are truly worth it.
You could see:
- Improved torque
- Improved turbocharging
- Better air/fuel ratio
- Increased engine response
- Enhanced throttle response
- Improved fuel efficiency
What are the disadvantages of remapping your Land Rover ECU?
As much as the advantages may sound appealing, you could find problems with your Land Rover if you have the ECU remapped.
- You could struggle to find suitable insurance
- You could lose your warranty
- You could put additional strain on your engine and require more frequent servicing
- You’ll have to remap the ECU after every service
As you can see, the disadvantage of remapping could lead to frequent costly services and even the loss of your warranty. With those two possibilities in mind, you should give remapping your ECU some thought.
How much will it cost to remap a Land Rover ECU?
Costs vary per model, but you could expect to spend approximately £300 on a Land Rover ECU remapping. This may not seem particularly expensive to get the added performance from your vehicle, but you should also factor in the potential extra servicing costs, the higher insurance premiums and the loss of the warranty. This can soon see several hundred pounds added to that initial £300.
Remapping your Land Rover ECU should be given some thought. In many cases, whilst your vehicle is not set to its highest possible performance levels, this could be with good reason. Your Land Rover is likely to have been set to optimal settings for its typical use. Remapping the ECU could see you struggle when the weather changes, when you have to tow items, or when you have to drive on certain surface types.
If you think your Land Rover has been remapped and would like it reset back to its regular settings, speak to our team at RCV. We are the Land Rover service specialists who utilise our years of experience to deliver high-quality Land Rover repairs and servicing. Using the manufacturer’s diagnostics, and with prices up to 40% less than main dealer prices, we are the premium choice for Land Rover repairs and servicing in Kent and the surrounding areas. Contact us today or book a service now to get your Land Rover to its best.