Sport van 140 6 speed: Tyres, and Remap!

[sportvanman]

First post, so let me say hello to all, I have been reading the site for a long time now, fantastic site and very informative, thank you all.

I purchased a Sportvan in March this year and now have 8000 miles up.
The tyres by 3000 miles were looking like they would only make 4500 at best but were wearing slightley uneven so i dropped the pressures in the front by 3psi from the recomended 40psi. This seemed to settle the wear rate a bit, and they are now due for replacement at 8000 miles.

Remap. I contacted Martin of Vantuner.com after reading reviews of his work on this site.
Just let me say it is all true and a more helpfull chap you could not wish to meet, so rare in this day to find some one of the old school who is willing to put time and effort into completing work to the customers satisfaction.
I opted for Martins eco tune. Before the remap I was averageing 32 to 34 mpg around town, and 38 to 40 on dual carraige ways and motorways, combined this was roughly 450 to 500 per tank.
After the remap I now average 34 to 38 around town, and 44 to 48 on dual carraige ways and motorways, combined this is roughly 550 to 620 miles per tank.
Although on a motorway run of 350 miles last week the fuel computer was reading 720 miles to empty, this figure is worked out by adding the trip mileage to distance to empty figures. Shame the rest of the driving was town work, as i believe this figure to be true as I have found the fuel computer to be reliable in its figures.
The van also is also more relaxed to drive now, with more instant power and no lag.

Just waiting for Martin's new box of tricks now, got me name down one already.

I aslo had dealocks fitted to the rear compartment, and the company I used (vanlocked.co.uk) made a very neat job so well pleased with that also.

[Altransit]

Welcome

Nice first post

[turpin]

interested to hear you dropped the pressure in your fronts......i increased mine to 42psi cos it felt like i was driving on the rims some times especially going over bumps (like pedestrians who were too slow), so whats the ride like on 37psi????

[sportvanman]

Yep it feels like a pogo stick, lucky that i do not carry much weight in the back but with three people up front to say you get out feeling bouncy would be about right.

I have got some Kumho tyres of the right size and weight loading from Blackcircles.com as replacments for the fronts.
Hopefully I can run these at higher pressures with out the wear problems on the contis. Going to get them fittem next week and I will report back on them once I have run for a couple of thousand miles.

[sportacus]

mine had 44 in the front but the wear in the middle of the tyre was horrific dropped down to 40 and it drove alot better, less skittish in the bends

[sportvanman]

Yes thats excatley where mine were wearing in the middle, when I decided to drop to 37psi on the fronts.

The van feels better to drive with 40 psi in the front, may drive better with 42 psi but I don not know as I have not tried it.

But they wear at a slower rate at 37 psi, looks like the tyre was meant to spend its working life at 36psi, not much good for a van.

[sportvanman]

O.K. just an update on the above.

I still have the same front tyres on from new, and now have 10'000 miles up, they are on the wear markers now across the entire tyre width so time to put new ones on, and I will update on wear on the new tyres I fit to the front.

I paid a visit to Martinx of Vantuner a couple of weeks ago to collect my Imap box that he is now selling.
What an easy to use peice of kit, top marks to Martin again I have installed it on my computer and had it working on my van, with my tunes loaded onto it. Thanks Martin.

Whilst I was at Martin's he blanked off my EGR valve with a 6mm hole drilled in the center, van seems to run a lot quieter at lower engine RPM.
Not sure about any change in performance or MPG yet, hard to tell so will report back after more miles.

[Mike]

What's the imap box, how does it work, cost etc?

[sportvanman]

It is the box of tricks that Martin of Vantuner is selling to enable you read and clear DTC codes from your van.
And to also allow you to update your ECU with tunes that are pre programmed into the unit or that Martin has updated and emailed to you.

It also allows you to put back your factory tune into the ECU.

[Mike]

It is the box of tricks that Martin of Vantuner is selling to enable you read and clear DTC codes from your van.
And to also allow you to update your ECU with tunes that are pre programmed into the unit or that Martin has updated and emailed to you.

It also allows you to put back your factory tune into the ECU.

So like Bluefin then? Can't see it on his website yet, but it sounds like the perfect solution for those of us who are concerned about warranty issues.

[sportvanman]

Yes just like Bluefin.
But with better tech support, and the ability to download edited tune files emailed to you by Martin to your van.

[sportacus]

martin was telling me about this box when he mapped my vw, they sound like a great idea, mr spence you going to get one ? i think you should as you will be suprised at the differance

[Mike]

martin was telling me about this box when he mapped my vw, they sound like a great idea, mr spence you going to get one ? i think you should as you will be suprised at the differance

I'm certainly tempted. The thing that put me off Martyns remapping was the warranty issue. But this seems to remove most if not all of my issues. I'll see if I can get some inout from Martyn.

[martynx]

What's the imap box, how does it work, cost etc?

Its like bluefin in that it facilitates a remap without a tuner being present but instead of coming with a pre-programmed set of settings, you use it to read your ECU then email me the file.. i email back the modified file then you use the i-map to upload that into your ECU.. the i-map box is an end user device & its simple to use by just following instructions on its big screen.. ..

Theres no need to have a laptop in the vehicle as its a standalone device.. once you have read your ECU with it you connect it to your PC..

It costs £399 & includes 2 maps , you can have eco & power , high power, low power , towing , or any combination & also your original ford map is always stored so you can put it back to standard at any time..

Its "CAN" compatible & works great on Mk7 transits as well as hundreds of other current vehicles and older stuff going back to 1998...

You can use it on as many vehicles as you want subject to returning your current vehicle to standard prior to selling it & buying new maps..

It has a real 2nd hand value as you can reset it yourself & sell it on once it has returned your current vehicle to standard.. its locked to the vehicle whilst you have any of the tuned files installed ..

On all vehicles it covers, it doubles up as a fault code reader & re-setter on all vehicles it can remap,...

[Mike]

Sounds great Martyn. Would it be worth visiting you initially to optimise the map or can you do that from your end once you've seen what's in the van as standard?