# To Chip, or not to chip



## steco1958 (Mar 5, 2009)

I have an "Auto-Trail Delaware 2009" motor home, I am in a bit of a quandry, and hope someone can assist.

My MH is achieving 23 - 24 MPG according to the on board computer (manual calculation its more like 26). I travel on long and short journies on and off motorways, usually at about 56 - 60 MPH

Do I have the MH chipped ? If so what MPG can I expect, and does this work invalidate any waranties.


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## GerryD (Sep 20, 2007)

Personally I would not contemplate chipping. It is another electronic device to go wrong and my experience of the 2.3l Multijet is that it is perfectly powerful enough without any extra help.
It has often been said that the small improvement in fuel consumption after chipping is likely to be due to a lighter right foot because the driver is concious of the device being fitted. A similar result could be possible without chipping.
Gerry


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## 96706 (Nov 13, 2005)

Is it re-chip or re-map?

Certainly for our underpowered 2.0HDI engine with 85 BHP a re-map has made the world of difference to driving. The MPG has improved by about 4 or 5 mpg if driving at around 60 - 65 mph.
If you do a search for remapping on here, plenty of others have found improvements with their vans as well.


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## AutoMax (Sep 23, 2008)

Quite the opposite, I have had my Cheyenne remapped and no more sitting in lane one worrying about fuel consumption at 50-60 mph. Now its 70 mph, an easier drive, smoother take up, easier gear changes, faster up to cruising and 2 extra mpg. You can pull a higher gear in all circumstances making less gear changes and the engine is noticablly smoother. If I wanted to go slower I would expect to see better mpg. I know 2mpg does not seem like much but it all adds up. Had it done for the more relaxing driving style when I get to my area of touring and to get rid of those pesky miles to the chunnel as quick as possible.

Bob


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## RichardnGill (Aug 31, 2006)

Hi Bob, is yours a 2.3 or 3.0?


I have been thinking of getting our 3.0 Re mapped, and it is good to here that you are happy with your re map.


Richard...


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## AutoMax (Sep 23, 2008)

Hi Richard, its a 2.3. I had ordered a 3.0 originally but the dealers completely messed up the order and the van was totally wrong when it came. They only had 7 months to get it right bless them. I liked the relaxing drive of the 3.0 but the only Cheyenne I could find was 2.3. The remap has taken it up to 160bhp and 400nm so puts it to a 3.0 spec. Talking to the guy that did the remap, he says that the 3.0 shows some impressive gains on power but most people have it done for the mileage gain.
I know lots of people say that the 2.3 is fast enough, but thats not the reason I had it done. Its the ability to stay in that higher gear and then pull cleaner back up to cruising speed. In France recently I was just dropping down to 4th through towns, then straight into 6th and cruise on, pulling sweetly back up to 60mph and enjoying the scenery.
Third and 4th gear overtakes of the neumerous combine harvesters were done without any drama.
Bob


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## PhilK (Jul 1, 2005)

Morning all, i have had a 2.8 which I remapped and re geared, a 2.3 and now a 3.0. Automax, the 2.3 was remapped to match closely the figures of a 3.0, but that doesn't tell the whole story.  

The entire map of the two shows a much flatter torque profile for a normal 3.0 than a remapped 2.3 or even a remapped 2.8. The upside though is the question of choice with a remapped 2.3. If you want to amble along one day the 2.3 is a frugal beast with maximum torque and power only later in the rev range. The 3.0 gives you a very relaxed drive but will use more fuel. 

There is no replacement for cubic inches, but cubic inches like a drink.


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## framptoncottrell (Jan 6, 2006)

Although my insurers take a relaxed attitude to rechipping, the company who provide my extended mechanical warranty specifically state that any rechipping will invalidate the warranty. So no rechipping for me   

Dr (musical, not medical) Roy


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## sideways (Jun 2, 2008)

Although i own a Merc i often drive my mates Fiat2.3 as we go car racing together, he had it remapped by Chelston and it improved it no end, it will pull a higher gear at significantly lower revs and as a result MPG is improved,But we have a mate with a Ducato160 who has been refused a re-map as they say it causes excessive smoke, enough that the MOT smoke test will fail.


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## Vennwood (Feb 4, 2007)

steco1958 said:


> I have an "Auto-Trail Delaware 2009" If so what MPG can I expect, and does this work invalidate any waranties.


Most certainly re-mapping or chipping will invalidate your warranty. Regarding the do or don't remap/chip - there are lots of folk on here that can better answer that. 
You would need to check with your insurance company before going ahead.

My advice would be to wait until at least your warranty expires and then you will also have a few miles under your belt with a fully run in engine so would be able to make a more informed decision based on your experience


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## steco1958 (Mar 5, 2009)

Vennwood,

Thanks for this info it is the way I am feeling at present, The unit is the 3 litre 160 bhp engine, I am very happy with the performance and also the mpg return, and looking at a lot of other posts, I am not sure if I would get a great deal of benefit.

Thanks one and all for your inputs


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