[Larry92]

Hi All,

I have today dipped my toe into the Alfa world and joined the cohort of certified petrol...or in my case diesel heads, with my purchase of a 2008 159 SW 2.4jtdm automatic.

I have a query, it seems they are very popular engines for a remap (and I would be one to do just that as I have on my previous fiat and merc) so, is there a way of checking to see if someone has done this previously? It has had 4 previous owners so it's not beyond the realm of possibility to suggest it might have been done.

As an aside, are there any things in particular I need to look out for with my new baby? its done 84k miles

cheers chaps (and chapesses) Lawrence

 

[Lord_of_beard]

Unsure on the remap but it would be worth looking at some of the threads reference egr, swirl flaps and devolution filters. They seem a frequent theme, especially for the diesels that have only been used as town cars and not long haulers as God intended.

 

[adeb38]

Have a 2.4 qtronic sportwagon with a egr and dpf delete. Also a few more horses to and A few more torques. It makes the car a pleasure to drive and the noise from that 5 cylinder diesel is awesome. Had ours done at ahm really great guys to talk to if you get yours done

 

[halftone]

If you poke around the ECU with an OBD2 connection and MES you'll find a few parameters that might point to a remap. On my 147 I get
date of first programming, number of times written, and the last date of writing. I don't think these are necessarily truthful or reliable but date last programmed is accurate on my car and contradicts the number of programmings.

 

[Larry92]

Thanks guys, yeh my first project in a couple weekends time is to take the egr apart and have a good look and clean. the valve was replaced 20k miles ago apparantly but if its anything like my old merc ml then it'll be full of sh*t again.

im sure there are millions of threads about this, but what is the qtronic gearbox / torque converter tolerance to the extra torque from a remap and egr and dpf delete?

 

[Chipmik]

Mine was given an Alfa-update of the SW (to remove the smoking coldstart-issue), so just because another date/ counter for programming has changes in ECU, doesnt 100% mean car has been remapped

(Looking at EGR-values with MES while driving could give a hint if anything modified as many would choose to getting it blocked if getting a remap anyway...At least i would hope for them )

 

[halftone]

Mine was given an Alfa-update of the SW (to remove the smoking coldstart-issue), so just because another date/ counter for programming has changes in ECU, doesnt 100% mean car has been remapped

(Looking at EGR-values with MES while driving could give a hint if anything modified as many would choose to getting it blocked if getting a remap anyway...At least i would hope for them )

No it doesn't, but the last programmed date might give a clue whether it was an official update or not. It's likely to have been fairly early in the life of the car if official. Mine (a 2008 147) says 4 April 2016 ;-)

 

[Larry92]

Right well Ill find out about the EGR when I have a looksie for cleaning purposes...but it was replaced 20k miles ago by the previous owner so unlikely its changed...might give me a clue though.

otherwise though im thoroughly enjoying it and learning the characteristics of the gearbox....bit different from the ZF jobbie in my old ml

 

[kandlbarrett]

Most remap are complete with EGR and DPF delete so the EGR would be relatively clean on the inlet side if it has been remapped. If the DPF has been removed that is a clear sign of a remap but some DPF are bypassed by bashing the innards out so if there is a DPF fitted it doesn't mean that a remap has not been done.

I think most maps when applied to the qtronic bring the torque in a little higher up the revs as it is torque at low revs that destroy boxes, clutches and drive shafts.

Below are before and after AHM maps applied to a 2007 200bhp 2.4. The 2008 is probably a 210bhp which had a different (better) turbo and that will give stronger torque at low rpm, higher peak torque and hold onto the power for longer. The drop in torque at 3,000 is probably wheel slip on the rollers.

Before and after remap is night and day difference.

 

[Larry92]

Most remap are complete with EGR and DPF delete so the EGR would be relatively clean on the inlet side if it has been remapped. If the DPF has been removed that is a clear sign of a remap but some DPF are bypassed by bashing the innards out so if there is a DPF fitted it doesn't mean that a remap has not been done.

I think most maps when applied to the qtronic bring the torque in a little higher up the revs as it is torque at low revs that destroy boxes, clutches and drive shafts.

Below are before and after AHM maps applied to a 2007 200bhp 2.4. The 2008 is probably a 210bhp which had a different (better) turbo and that will give stronger torque at low rpm, higher peak torque and hold onto the power for longer. The drop in torque at 3,000 is probably wheel slip on the rollers.

Before and after remap is night and day difference.

ah ok thanks for that, and the graphs are pretty decisive! mine is the 200 version I believe. certainly seems like a remap is worth investigating. Ill see how I get on for a few weeks/months first though and check no gremlins present themselves over the next few thousand miles

 

[Alfa.Romeo]

All Qtronics are 200's. And I wouldn't worry about the box handling the power, a map alone is well within the safe zone for the box

 

[kandlbarrett]

Why do i always forget that the qtronic is 200?