Firstly, this is a WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY overdue review! (circa 12 months), Secondly its turned into a bit of an essay but 100% worth it!
So little back story, after a load of research i bought my van, T32 205BiTDI 4Motion, 1 owner and unfortunately the previos owner had a bit of a mare with it. This which ultimately ended up with him buying a new van and selling this one once it was repaired. The short highlight list.... its had a new DMF, 2 new clutches, Mechatronics unit, DSG oil pump, and 2 new turbos amongst a selection of fairly standard wear and tear items.
Then I bought it!
Unfortunately the first long drive (the first 100+ mile trip away (the following day) i got the dreaded EML on the dash. Had the el cheapo OBD reader with me so checked it was nothing major reset it and on my way again (yes.... it came back). Anyway a load of research and a Genuine VCDS later, i came to the conclusion it was the EGR.
A bit more research and I came across Chris (DAV-TEC) on the forum and could tell he knew his stuff (his forum posts are the tip of the iceberg). We had a chat, I shared my findings as well as a few VCDS logs and we both agreed it was the EGR and my plan to resolve the issue and mitigate any future risks was a suitable approach.
So all booked in to get the EGR sorted and to sort out the DSG shift points. AND.....well..... it would be a bit rude not to improve the fuel economy and drivability while were at it right??
I have had some fairly heavily modified cars in the past and some very well tuned Diesel BMW's (seriously can not beat a well tuned BMW Derv #i-digress) so would never contemplate the other "canned" remaps that seem to be available elsewhere. Speaking to Chris re his mapping process, this was very similar approach to the guys that mapped my BMWs so I was very confident that I had picked the right man for the job!
And boy o' boy was I right! Chris's knowledge re the VW platform is second to none! Even if he doesn't know the answer, the approach is that of a true engineer, to diagnose the underlying issue and go from there, not just fire the parts cannon at the issue until it goes away!
So onto the visit, I drove up from South Kent (a mere 215miles away). He had not long been at the new premises so things were very much all still in development but the workshop is a customer free zone (as it should be) while work is taking place and the customer waiting area is clean, comfortable sofas, with all the usual tea and coffee, not to mention a TV to chill out if you wish.
All the EGR work was completed and off we went for a bit of a drive to do some data logging before some tweaking!
Well.... lets just say the drive home had some significant smiles!
This was all prior to starting any actual investment into the conversion. So being a big child at heart, I will say.....F*** Me these vans are quick, even more so when stripped out. the look on some peoples faces that were been tailgating or were clearly going to attempt to pull out in front at the traffic light was priceless. Far more sensible now having invested time, money, blood, sweat and im sure a few tears into my conversion and can confirm i have seen some good improvments on fuel economy since (if driven sensibly obvs) - best I have had has been 38mpg while towing about 650kg
Not going to quote the power figures here but Chris was very very pleased with the results (me even more so)!
And more importantly..... it hasn't missed a beat since!
If your thinking about using DAV-TEC, Stop thinking and "just do it" (trademarked
) knowing you are in the hands or one of the best out there!
For me... anything I cant do, DAV-TEC (Chris)
will be doing!
