I know I posted a review on Transporter HQ and the Revo map they did on my van, but I wanted to post a separate review on Revo mapping because it deserves it's own spotlight and it's potentially a popular modification on here, or at least general remaps will be.
Starting life as the amazing 204 DSG from the factory, these things are pretty impressive from the factory, but once you get used to the 204, they do lack a certain 'je ne sais quoi' You know in your mind that this lump has potential, but it's hard to put that in a description, and most will either not notice, or put it down to the normal factory or country limited parameters.
Fitting my flappy paddle wheel combated the general DSG changing issues, where they don't take full advantage of the factory grunt, rather they just rev until they cannot rev anymore and then change gear when the taps are fully opened. You can also achieve the same with the shifter knocked sideways and popped into manual mode, but your left hand was only designed to press the Stop/Start button every time you get in a DSG Transporter, not do complicated things like change gears. That's why we pay the extra premium for this box, to keep that little gremlin inside doing his job for you.
If like me, you actually drive your van like it's a van and not a vintage Ferrari that you daren't go over 50mph incase a suicidal fly chips your paintwork, the 204 is pretty thirsty for a commercial when compared to many of it's rivals, my own averaging high 20's as a general rule.
All pretty standard foibles with this engine and box that many owners will just live with.
I'm fully aware that one size doesn't fit all, regardless on how much manufactures assume a Transporter will only be used by trades people like myself, hence the awful plastic interior panels that are designed to help 3x2's and cement mixers scrape along the interior walls without the driver being that bothered.
However.. there is a modification that doesn't cost thousands, but gives you more pleasure than finding a tenner in your old jeans. A modification that will appease the more fuel conscious, the more Green, the more gentle commercial owners among us.
For those with a little more of a, how do I say this...slightly devilish side, or the rest of us if i'm being honest. The owners that enjoy the look on the face of the sales rep in his company Business edition 320d when he pulls up next to you at the start of a long dual carriageway, knowing he's thinking 'i'm not letting that crappy old van get the better of my M Sport badge on the steering wheel and my factory 18" kerb munchers' we have the Revo remap.
The quoted HP gain figures on their website are irrelevant in my humble experience. It's that torque factor you need to pin your eyes to. That's the magic number, the grin factor, the fuel saver, and the reason for my enthusiasm.
My now 200 and something hp T6 is alive, woken up, shaken, kicked in the ass and all the other descriptive words we use to exaggerate things.
First and second gear are gone in a split second, but once the tyres have stopped scrambling for grip and this thing gets a rolling, the power delivery seems endless. Mid range is now far longer, power is instant, the digital big speedo looks like the digits on Kitt when Michael presses that Red button (80's kid) The DSG now takes full advantage of the power on the simple basis that power is there until the end of the revs, not 'almost' until like the 204 was. Yeah, the paddles enhance that experience, but they are certainly not a necessity anymore.
If there is a negative to all this, it's that i'm now thinking hmmmm.. how much more power can I get and where from and how much will it cost, because this is addictive
and not because it now wipes the floor of most normal and even some pretty quick cars on the UK's roads. The main reason I love this power and excitement is simple, it's because it's in a commercial vehicle, or to a layperson, a van. A huge brick that is renown for being in White, driven by 'workmen' who don't wear seatbelts, write offensive comments in the dirt on the back doors, and belch out Black smoke every time the throttle is pressed.
On a slightly less aggressive note, the van will now average mid to high 30s when driven normally, and i've never in 3 years, seen those figures on my T6.
Oh, and anyone that's reading this, that isn't aware of what my van is used for, it's work. She's always fully loaded and heavy, often 2 adults up, so no featherweight.
Although this review is directly for Revo maps, there are others available and from research they all can have drawbacks, only I haven't found any with my Revo software yet, and very much doubt I will.
Starting life as the amazing 204 DSG from the factory, these things are pretty impressive from the factory, but once you get used to the 204, they do lack a certain 'je ne sais quoi' You know in your mind that this lump has potential, but it's hard to put that in a description, and most will either not notice, or put it down to the normal factory or country limited parameters.
Fitting my flappy paddle wheel combated the general DSG changing issues, where they don't take full advantage of the factory grunt, rather they just rev until they cannot rev anymore and then change gear when the taps are fully opened. You can also achieve the same with the shifter knocked sideways and popped into manual mode, but your left hand was only designed to press the Stop/Start button every time you get in a DSG Transporter, not do complicated things like change gears. That's why we pay the extra premium for this box, to keep that little gremlin inside doing his job for you.
If like me, you actually drive your van like it's a van and not a vintage Ferrari that you daren't go over 50mph incase a suicidal fly chips your paintwork, the 204 is pretty thirsty for a commercial when compared to many of it's rivals, my own averaging high 20's as a general rule.
All pretty standard foibles with this engine and box that many owners will just live with.
I'm fully aware that one size doesn't fit all, regardless on how much manufactures assume a Transporter will only be used by trades people like myself, hence the awful plastic interior panels that are designed to help 3x2's and cement mixers scrape along the interior walls without the driver being that bothered.
However.. there is a modification that doesn't cost thousands, but gives you more pleasure than finding a tenner in your old jeans. A modification that will appease the more fuel conscious, the more Green, the more gentle commercial owners among us.
For those with a little more of a, how do I say this...slightly devilish side, or the rest of us if i'm being honest. The owners that enjoy the look on the face of the sales rep in his company Business edition 320d when he pulls up next to you at the start of a long dual carriageway, knowing he's thinking 'i'm not letting that crappy old van get the better of my M Sport badge on the steering wheel and my factory 18" kerb munchers' we have the Revo remap.
The quoted HP gain figures on their website are irrelevant in my humble experience. It's that torque factor you need to pin your eyes to. That's the magic number, the grin factor, the fuel saver, and the reason for my enthusiasm.
My now 200 and something hp T6 is alive, woken up, shaken, kicked in the ass and all the other descriptive words we use to exaggerate things.
First and second gear are gone in a split second, but once the tyres have stopped scrambling for grip and this thing gets a rolling, the power delivery seems endless. Mid range is now far longer, power is instant, the digital big speedo looks like the digits on Kitt when Michael presses that Red button (80's kid) The DSG now takes full advantage of the power on the simple basis that power is there until the end of the revs, not 'almost' until like the 204 was. Yeah, the paddles enhance that experience, but they are certainly not a necessity anymore.
If there is a negative to all this, it's that i'm now thinking hmmmm.. how much more power can I get and where from and how much will it cost, because this is addictive
and not because it now wipes the floor of most normal and even some pretty quick cars on the UK's roads. The main reason I love this power and excitement is simple, it's because it's in a commercial vehicle, or to a layperson, a van. A huge brick that is renown for being in White, driven by 'workmen' who don't wear seatbelts, write offensive comments in the dirt on the back doors, and belch out Black smoke every time the throttle is pressed.On a slightly less aggressive note, the van will now average mid to high 30s when driven normally, and i've never in 3 years, seen those figures on my T6.
Oh, and anyone that's reading this, that isn't aware of what my van is used for, it's work. She's always fully loaded and heavy, often 2 adults up, so no featherweight.
Although this review is directly for Revo maps, there are others available and from research they all can have drawbacks, only I haven't found any with my Revo software yet, and very much doubt I will.
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