BIFFO Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 Hi to all. Have just purchased a Corado van conversion on a ducato. It's the 130 bhp engine and while my last camper was an A class 508 Hymer with the same bhp I was happy enough with this. However I've driven a ducato commercial van with the 150 bhp motor and found it a nicer drive. Question. Would it be silly to chip the new van to 150 bhp and all that entails................warranty etc. Or ......... Leave well enough alone ? (?) Thoughts please. *-) Meanwhile............safe driving to all. (>) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Driventemple Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 I have a Ducato 150 engined van and the engine really is a delight to drive. One problem I can see is that there is a difference in the turbocharger on the two vehicles. The 150 has a variable bladed unit and this gives it much more flexibilty at lower speeds - you might find that 'chipping' a 130 to 150 would not make a huge difference. Anybody have experience of doing this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted October 23, 2019 Share Posted October 23, 2019 I bought a second hand tuning box for my 130 ducato, I thought "why not try it?" I was amazed at the difference it made, it was over £300 when new, so not just a fuel pressure booster. Smoother, more powerful and a clear 10% improvement in mpg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 24, 2019 Share Posted October 24, 2019 Driventemple - 2019-10-23 8:04 PM I have a Ducato 150 engined van and the engine really is a delight to drive. One problem I can see is that there is a difference in the turbocharger on the two vehicles. The 150 has a variable bladed unit and this gives it much more flexibilty at lower speeds - you might find that 'chipping' a 130 to 150 would not make a huge difference. Anybody have experience of doing this? This 2010 forum discussion may be worth reading https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Hints-and-Tips/-Chipping-/20010/ My 2015 Rapido has the 150 motor and this combines ’soft’ high-torque performance at low engine speeds with plenty of power at high revs - a characteristic of a diesel engine with a variable-geometry turbocharger (VGT). Obviously remapping will not convert a non-VGT into a VGT, but it should produce an increase in bhp and torque that is immediately apparent to a motorhome’s owner. There should be little difficulty remapping a Ducato 2.3 litre 130 powerplant to provide bhp and torque outputs equivalent to those of a 150 motor. But personally I wouldn’t have the 130 motor of a brand-new Ducato remapped while the vehicle is within the Fiat warranty period unless there were VERY persuasive reasons to do this. For me, that would mean that I recognised that I had bought a Ducato-based motorhome with power/torque outputs that were clearly inadequate for the purpose that I planned to use the vehicle for and the options would be either to have its motor’s outputs increased or sell the motorhome. The likelihood is that remapping a 130 motor to produce 150 outputs would have no ill effects. But if a motor/transmission problem did arise within the Fiat warranty period and it was discovered that remapping had been carried out, it’s probable that Fiat would contest an under-warranty claim even if the problem might not be directly attributable to the remapping exercise. If I were in Brendan’s position I’d wait until his Corado has some kilometres under its belt and has properly loosened up and then I’d decide whether or not to wait until the Fiat warranty period has ended or whether a hike in performance would be worth the warranty-related risk. I notice that there are several firms in Ireland offering remapping services and, if I did choose to take that route, I'd research very carefuly before deciding which firm to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIFFO Posted October 24, 2019 Author Share Posted October 24, 2019 Thanks for the advice guys. As winter is upon us and no long trips planned will probably leave this chipping issue aside for a while. The van is in everyday use and will be putting up some miles. My old 508 a class was nine years old with 40000 miles and in the last year I felt it was running very well and a lot sweeter as the mileage went up. Time will tell. P. S. Just received a recall on the van for a clip attached to bulk head coming free in some circumstances. A 10 minute fix Free of course. 40 mile round trip. I feel lunch coming on :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 24, 2019 Share Posted October 24, 2019 Presumably it’s the recall mentioned here? https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/fiat-recall.205582/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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