C5 Chipping

[kp100]

I have a 2002 citroen c5 2.2 hdi 136hp, im interested in chipping the engine to produce 173hp. i have seen the kits on the net and they look quite easy to fit, has anyone fitted one of these kits and is there any problems or do and donts?

Thanks Keith

[Ronin]

No experience of chipping the C5 but i've had plenty with other cars with chip upgrades. A lot of people are fearful about chipping and remapping thinking that it will cause early wear, problems with fuel and electronic systems.

All I can tell you is not to worry..... Fuel economy often improves because you don't have to work the throttle as hard. Power delivery is smooth and doesn't come in one massive lump. generally the car feels much, much better to drive even when tootling along in town.

Reliability has never been an issue for me after chipping a car. My Astra GTE was chipped from 149bhp to 178bhp at 10,000 miles. I had no issues with it and sold it in confidence at 112,000 to a close friend who had no issues from the ECU or fueling for a further 40,000 miles.

 

My Alfa 156 v6 24v is seriously upgraded to 254bhp from 185 bhp I went down the route of re-mapping to 235bhp , the rest coming from mechanical mods. Another alfa v6 owner m8 took a different aproach and went all out mechanical upgrades and gets similar power output. He regrets it as his car is no where near civil to drive as mine, it's just due to the way the re-map delivers the extra power & torque.

 

The only things that I would do and believe me they are essential, is:

 

Upgrade the brakes! Road/race pads to start but any more than +50 bhp will need bigger discs to.

 

Clutch upgrade! The clutch on the 2.2 hdi is basically on it's limit to start off with.... Just look at the many posts regarding the clutch! Get it upgraded. For peace of mind I would strongly recommend changing the DMF flywheel for a solid version (Valeo kit £200)

 

Change the timing belt: All that extra torque and power will shred a well worn belt like fat chick trying to open a chocolate orange wrapper.

 

It is worth doing m8 but if you are going to invest, do it properly and near the time any of these parts above are due for renewal anyway.

 

I have heard that a 2.2hdi can be tweaked as high as 250bhp and 400ft/lbs + of torque with re-map/ ecu replacement and a tweak to the turbo actuator load spring... God knows what it would be like but I bet it goes like a "girlfriend been told her sister was better at doing it in this position" Either way, you have to hang on for grim life! hehehe :lol:

[kp100]

No experience of chipping the C5 but i've had plenty with other cars with chip upgrades. A lot of people are fearful about chipping and remapping thinking that it will cause early wear, problems with fuel and electronic systems.

All I can tell you is not to worry..... Fuel economy often improves because you don't have to work the throttle as hard. Power delivery is smooth and doesn't come in one massive lump. generally the car feels much, much better to drive even when tootling along in town.

Reliability has never been an issue for me after chipping a car. My Astra GTE was chipped from 149bhp to 178bhp at 10,000 miles. I had no issues with it and sold it in confidence at 112,000 to a close friend who had no issues from the ECU or fueling for a further 40,000 miles.

 

My Alfa 156 v6 24v is seriously upgraded to 254bhp from 185 bhp I went down the route of re-mapping to 235bhp , the rest coming from mechanical mods. Another alfa v6 owner m8 took a different aproach and went all out mechanical upgrades and gets similar power output. He regrets it as his car is no where near civil to drive as mine, it's just due to the way the re-map delivers the extra power & torque.

 

The only things that I would do and believe me they are essential, is:

 

Upgrade the brakes! Road/race pads to start but any more than +50 bhp will need bigger discs to.

 

Clutch upgrade! The clutch on the 2.2 hdi is basically on it's limit to start off with.... Just look at the many posts regarding the clutch! Get it upgraded. For peace of mind I would strongly recommend changing the DMF flywheel for a solid version (Valeo kit £200)

 

Change the timing belt: All that extra torque and power will shred a well worn belt like fat chick trying to open a chocolate orange wrapper.

 

It is worth doing m8 but if you are going to invest, do it properly and near the time any of these parts above are due for renewal anyway.

 

I have heard that a 2.2hdi can be tweaked as high as 250bhp and 400ft/lbs + of torque with re-map/ ecu replacement and a tweak to the turbo actuator load spring... God knows what it would be like but I bet it goes like a "girlfriend been told her sister was better at doing it in this position" Either way, you have to hang on for grim life! hehehe :)

[kp100]

many thanks for your detailed reply i have been in contact with a company near to me who will remap the ecu for 70quid, but like you they recomend a clutch change, cam belt change and brake upgrade. so i think the total cost would prob be near to 700quid which is a little more than i wanted to pay. many thanks again for taking the time to reply

Keith

[Guest Dervman]

many thanks for your detailed reply i have been in contact with a company near to me who will remap the ecu for 70quid, but like you they recomend a clutch change, cam belt change and brake upgrade. so i think the total cost would prob be near to 700quid which is a little more than i wanted to pay. many thanks again for taking the time to reply

Keith

 

Who's quoting £70??

 

All the others I've been in contact with want typically 4-500 beer tokens.

 

I've also been looking at these boxes on EBay for 100 - similar in physical shape to the tunit device. Are these any good? Has anyone else fitted them?

 

Dunno if it's coz I went from a 250+ hp Volvo T5 to the 110 HDI C5 VTR (I needed economy), but I find it wanting. I drove a 105hp 1.9 A4, which felt a lot more 'urgent' when driving it, seemed to pull a lot harder. I've replaced the air filter, and checked the EGR, but it never feels like its really pulling. Always feels like it's holding back! Sometimes you can feel it pulling you, mostly not.

 

I don't want to change it, as I find it a really nice car (love the comfy suspension, tho the seats have no lumbar support). But I've found myself looking through Autotrader's site again at what else is on offer with £120 tax and 40+mpg. Saab 9-3 (just for the comfort of the seats) is a contender, or a Laguna DCi 120 (tho had one, and it fell to bits at 70k).

[Randombloke]

Dunno if it's coz I went from a 250+ hp Volvo T5 to the 110 HDI C5 VTR (I needed economy), but I find it wanting. I drove a 105hp 1.9 A4, which felt a lot more 'urgent' when driving it, seemed to pull a lot harder. I've replaced the air filter, and checked the EGR, but it never feels like its really pulling. Always feels like it's holding back! Sometimes you can feel it pulling you, mostly not.

 

Please check that there is not excessive slack in the accelerator cable, and that you are getting full travel on it.

 

This has been the cause of poor performance on 2 C5s that I know of.

[Guest Dervman]

Please check that there is not excessive slack in the accelerator cable, and that you are getting full travel on it.

 

This has been the cause of poor performance on 2 C5s that I know of.

 

Blimey - they still use cables? They're not drive by wire? I'll take a look now.

[Guest Dervman]

Please check that there is not excessive slack in the accelerator cable, and that you are getting full travel on it.

 

This has been the cause of poor performance on 2 C5s that I know of.

 

Sorry Random, not that! Just spent 30 mins trying to find the cable and couldn't - lots of wires though. In the end I stuck my head under the dash - throttle pedal goes into a alloy box, with wires coming out of it. It is drive by wire!

 

Did lead me to look at one other thing tho - the car mat had dragged up, so drive home tonight, and see if this was stopping throttle movement, tho, tho I rarely use full throttle, so don't think that could be the issue.

 

Its an 04 model, last of the Mk 1's, 2.0 110 hdi.

 

Any other ideas?

[davidad]

Any other ideas?

Does it have cruise control? If so try accelerating using that rather than the accelerator pedal and see if the performance is any better.

[Randombloke]

Blimey - they still use cables? They're not drive by wire? I'll take a look now.

 

Hi guys,

 

The C5 is indeed drive by wire, but as you will see on other threads, and in the case of some models like mine (2002 Exclusive 2.2 HDi) there is still an accelerator cable that goes from the accelerator itself to a position sensor potentiometer that lives under the main ECU on the passenger side of the car under the bonnet.

 

Seeing as some people posting in this thread have the same model, and I know of two instances of this being the case with this model, I posted that solution.

 

I have checked my car before and I am sure of this.

 

I've checked the RTA manual for the location of this pot on DW10ATED (which is the Mk1 2.0 HDi) and it's in the same place. PM me with an e-mail address if you need a copy of this page.

[Guest Dervman]

Does it have cruise control? If so try accelerating using that rather than the accelerator pedal and see if the performance is any better.

 

No hasn't got one - though I've read on a forum here, that a user got one fitted at his dealer for < £100 - so looking into it - I probably spend 15000+ miles pa on the m/ways, so it's a useful feature to have. Especially for that money!

[davidad]

No hasn't got one - though I've read on a forum here, that a user got one fitted at his dealer for < £100 - so looking into it - I probably spend 15000+ miles pa on the m/ways, so it's a useful feature to have. Especially for that money!

Cruise control is useful on the motorway but I also use it a lot in quiet 30 and 40 zones where it is all too easy to exceed the speed limit enough to get caught by speed cameras.

[Guest qman3428]

Try Diesel Bob I have found his tuning boxes to be excellent and as they are adjustable you can get the power you want without over stressing the engine, My C5 should be 138bhp and is 178bhp