Bosch Motronic "Thor" ECU Remap
Is the DATAmax system upgrade correct for my application?
The DATAmax remap is uniquely for the Bosch Thor / Motronic Engine Management -- found only with the Range Rover P38 post (late) 1998 and the Discovery 2 including the NAS spec 4.6 Variant, This upgrade is not suitable for the L322 or Sport Range Rover nor the Discovery 3.
Why upgrade my Bosch ECU?
The Bosch engine is mapped in such a way that it produces maximum power when it hits the Rev Limiter, which is set at 5500 RPM. At this point the mixture is rather rich, but the ignition timing is fine for best power production. When driving a standard vehicle it actually pulls away from a standing start quite well initially, but loses interest once it gets to 3000 RPM. This remap rights all of the wrongs of the standard map, especially in the mid "cruising" engine loads. This means better throttle response, better efficiency and better all round performance. Most of our customers notice the difference as soon as they leave the driveway!
Could Chipping lower engine temperature?
The fuel maps direct from Land Rover are very weak on the mid range fuel/air ratio. This will be beginning to cause problems with engine internal temperature, and can be the cause of valve guide, or worse still, shifted liner/cracked block problems, commonly found in Range Rovers and heavier 4x4 cars. This however, is normally in countries running very low octane fuels, but the advantages are for all.Do you Require My ECU?
Your ECU is required to be sent to us or Mark Adams at Tornado HQ for therapy, which of course means that you would be without use of your vehicle for a few days at least. This is necessary because each individual ECU has a unique identity, which is combined with the vehicle identity to produce the software image.Once we have extracted the software from your ECU, we can clone it in future if you should ever lose or damage your original.
Some basic information from Mark Adams:
The peak power will not improve much with any upgrade, unless the Rev Limiter is moved up to say 6200 RPM. Although we could do this and the power is still increasing when it hits the Rev Limiter, it would be something of a "smoke and mirrors" improvement. Power increases here are largely academic, since the vehicle will change gear long before this limit is reached.However the dominant characteristic is actually a huge hole in the torque curve, centred around 3000 RPM. This is filled in very well with the upgrade, delivering an extra 10-15 lb/ft of torque and much faster throttle response. Economy improvement is 10-15% too.
A note from Mark Adams:
When driving a standard vehicle it actually pulls away from a standing start quite well initially, but loses interest once it gets to 3000 RPM. Personally I find this trait especially annoying, and it doesn't even sound like a V8 either!
The only real pain with the upgrade is that we have to have the ECU here at Tornado HQ for therapy, which of course means that you would be without use of your vehicle for several days at best. This is necessary because each individual ECU has a unique identity, which is combined with the vehicle identity to produce the software image. I would be interested to hear your opinion on this matter of course, and hope it would not be too much of a barrier.
Pictures
- First picture shows inside the Bosch ECU that we will re-programme the fuel ignition and rev limiter to suit your vehicle individual needs.
- An example shown below of a complete Bosch ECU - (what it looks like). Please be aware that it is only the chipping and software upgrades offered here and the actual ECU is not included, as it is required to be reprogrammed your original ECU, that must be sent in to us or direct to Mark Adams.
| Brand | RPi |
| Condition | New |
| Weight | 2.5kg |