A map written on your car
Not a file bought by engine code and flashed on in twenty minutes. Fuelling, ignition, boost and the torque limits are worked through on the rollers against what this engine, on this fuel, on this day, will actually take.
Six things move. One does not.
A calibration is a set of decisions the manufacturer made for every car it would ever sell, in every market, on every fuel. Most of them are conservative for good reasons. Some of them are conservative for reasons that have nothing to do with your car.
- Requested boost, and the torque limiters that quietly cap it
- Ignition timing, per cylinder, with the knock margin left where it should be
- Fuelling across the range, set against a wideband rather than the factory sensor
- Throttle and pedal response, which is where most of the "feels quicker" lives
- Speed limiter, and the rev limit where the engine will take it
- Nothing to do with emissions equipment. That stays exactly as it left the factory.
Every engine has a line it will not cross safely. The work is finding out exactly where yours is, not guessing at where it probably is.
What each one is, and what it asks for
A stage is not a size of map. It is a statement about what the hardware on the car can carry, which is why the requirements column matters more than the figures beside it.
The map, and nothing else. Everything the engine already has, used properly — which on most modern turbo cars is a great deal more than it left with.
2.0 TSI EA888 Gen 3, standard hardware- A healthy engine, on its service schedule
- Plugs within their interval, and the right heat range
- Standard fuel system and turbo
- Health check and fault codes read before anything is written
- Baseline and verification runs, three of each
- Fuelling, ignition, boost and torque limits recalibrated
- Both graphs and the datalog, emailed the same day
The map written around hardware. Once the exhaust breathes and the charge air is cooler, the limits move — and the map is where that gets claimed.
2.0 TSI EA888 Gen 3, downpipe and intercooler- Sports catalyst or decat downpipe, track use only where it is a decat
- Uprated intercooler, and an induction kit that is actually cooler
- A clutch that will hold the torque, on a manual car
- Everything in Stage 1
- Development pulls against charge and exhaust temperature, not just power
- Part-throttle and cold-start behaviour driven and adjusted on the road
- A written note of what the car is now limited by
A different engine, effectively. New turbo, the fuelling and the cooling to feed it, and a calibration written from a blank sheet over several sessions.
2.0 TSI EA888 Gen 3, hybrid turbo and port injection- Fuel system, cooling and clutch specified as one package with the turbo
- A gearbox and a set of brakes that were designed for more than the car left with
- A conversation about what the car is for, before any of it is bought
- The build planned, quoted and ordered as one job
- Fitting here, so whoever mapped it also bolted it together
- Several dyno sessions, plus running-in and a recheck
- A spec sheet for the car, for insurance and for whoever owns it next
Prices start where they say and are quoted properly once the car has been looked at. A tired engine, a seized bolt or a clutch that will not hold the torque all change the job, and finding that out on the day is worse for both of us.
Cars we have actually run
Platforms rather than badges, because that is what a map is written for. Find the engine code on your car and the row below is roughly where it starts from.
Figures are from cars we have run, and they are typical rather than promised. Yours is measured before anything is changed and again afterwards, and the two graphs are what you leave with.
Four hours, six runs, two graphs
A session is not a dyno print-out at the end. It is the measurement that makes everything before it checkable, and it runs the same way for a Stage 1 hatchback as for a build.
Codes read, boost and fuel pressure checked, plugs and breathers looked at. A tired engine is found here, not halfway up a pull.
Three runs, strapped down, with the car warm. Whatever it makes today is the number everything after this is measured against.
Fuelling and ignition worked through a pull at a time, watching air/fuel, exhaust temperature and knock. The map is written on your car.
Three more runs, then a road drive to check it behaves cold, in traffic and at part throttle. You get both graphs and the log.
- Booked as
- Half or full day
- Strapped down
- 4-point, on the rollers
- Cooling
- Road-speed fan
- Measured by
- Wideband + inlet correction
- Runs
- 3 baseline, 3 verification
- You get
- Both graphs + full datalog
- Power
- Flywheel & at the wheels
- Torque
- Peak and where it arrives
- Air / fuel
- Wideband, every pull
- Knock
- Per cylinder, logged
- Exhaust temp
- Pre-turbo
- Charge temp
- Post-intercooler
- Boost
- Requested vs actual
Send us the engine code and what you want from it
We will tell you which stage fits, what it would need fitting first, and roughly what the car should make — and if the honest answer is that it is not worth doing, you will get that instead.