Performance
Stage 1 Remapping
From £300
Performance
Stage 1 Plus remap
A Stage 1 Plus remap is Stage 1 ECU software plus a gearbox (TCU) tune and a performance air filter, on a car that is otherwise standard. The gearbox side is there so the transmission is working with the engine map rather than against it.
What Stage 1 Plus adds
The engine software is the same job as a Stage 1: no parts removed, nothing cut, a calibration written for your engine and ECU. What is added sits either side of it.
The gearbox tune is written to the transmission control unit. On a DSG, ZF or S-Tronic box that means faster shifts, higher torque limiters so the clutch is not slipping against the engine map, and sharper response when you ask for the throttle. On some cars launch control can be enabled or tidied up, and that varies car by car, so we will tell you whether yours is one of them before you book.
The filter is the only physical part in it. A performance air filter lets the engine breathe more freely, and the intake note usually changes with it, which some people like more than others.
When Stage 1 Plus makes sense
Cars with a DSG, ZF or S-Tronic gearbox, where the shift is a big part of how the car feels. On those, tuning the engine and leaving the box alone leaves the most noticeable half of the job undone.
The car should still be standard. If a downpipe, intake or intercooler is already on it, that is Stage 2 territory and the map has to be written around the hardware instead.
If your car is a manual there is no transmission control unit to tune, so Stage 1 Plus is not really a thing for you. What is left is a Stage 1 map and a filter, and we would rather say that than sell you a name.
How we do it
We confirm the gearbox first, because that decides whether there is a TCU tune to do at all. Then we talk about how the car is used, which changes how aggressive the shift map should be.
We run a diagnostics check before anything is written. If the car has a fault, tuning on top of it hides the fault rather than fixing it, so we deal with that first or we don't proceed.
Every job runs on a 100-amp battery support unit. Voltage dropping mid-write is how ECUs get bricked, and it is the single most common way a cheap remap goes wrong.
The engine map goes on first, then the gearbox map is written to match it. Doing them together is the whole reason Stage 1 Plus exists. A shift map written for someone else's engine map is guesswork.
We can source the correct performance filter for your car, in which case we take a deposit for the part before the appointment so it is here when you are. You can also supply your own and we will fit it during the session.
You can have a USB backup of your original file, so the car can be put back to how it left the factory whenever you want.
What's included
- Stage 1 ECU software written for your engine
- Gearbox (TCU) tune for faster shifts and higher torque limiters
- Performance air filter, supplied by us or fitted from your own
- Full diagnostics check before anything is written
- Every write done on a 100-amp battery support unit
- Optional USB backup of your original files
- Before-and-after figures, measured on your car
Why us for this
Transmission tuning is a separate discipline from engine tuning and plenty of remappers do not touch it. We do both in the same session.
The work is done by an IMI-approved technician trained by The OBD Company, on dealer-level tools rather than a generic cable.
Everything happens at our unit at 85 Bogmoor Road in Glasgow, opposite the Shieldhall test centre. Two control units are being written and a part is being fitted, so it is workshop work by definition.
You get before-and-after figures taken on your own car rather than a number off a brochure, and a backup of both original files if you want one. Nothing about this has to be permanent.
Common questions
What does it cost?
It depends on your car, on whether the ECU can be written through the diagnostic port or has to come out, and on which filter it takes. We would rather quote it properly than list a figure that turns out not to be yours. Send us the registration and what gearbox it has.
Will the gearbox tune wear my clutch out?
Raising the torque limiter is what stops a clutch slipping against a stronger engine map, so the tune is there to keep the two matched. If your box or clutch is already tired, tuning it will find that out for you, so we check the car first and will say if it is not a candidate.
Can I have the gearbox tune on its own?
Not on somebody else's engine map. We cannot vouch for a file we did not write, and matching a shift map to it would be guesswork. If you already have a map on the car, we will read it first and tell you where that leaves us.
Can I supply my own air filter?
Yes, bring it and we will fit it during the session. If you would rather we sourced the right one for your car, we take a deposit for the part beforehand so it is here on the day.
Does all of this need declaring to my insurer?
Yes, all of it: the engine software, the gearbox tune and the filter. Insurers treat any of it as a modification, and an undeclared one can cost you the cover when it matters. There is more on this in the article below.
Can it be put back to standard?
Yes. Take the USB backup and both original files can go back on, engine and gearbox. The filter is a part, so it comes off as easily as it went on.
Other services on this side
Next step
Let's get you a price
Tell us what you drive and what you want done to it. We will come back with a price for your car, not a range off a chart.