Our booking policy
We employ a booking system whereby you book a block of time that is sufficient to map your car, and then choose when you want it from the dates available. It’s an easy process that only takes a minute or two but you MUST fully read and follow the advice given in these pages, otherwise it’s possible you will be diasappointed and out of pocket later if you don’t. No refund or apology will be given for a problem that is of your own making.
If you are unsure, and feel that it would be wise to have just an hour or two with us to evaluate your car’s readiness for mapping, then there is the facility to do that in the booking options. An hour spent on evaluation might save you from wasting several more hours later should we find a fault that you were unaware of, such as your fuel pump not delivering enough fuel quantity at adequate pressure; or something else that live data might not show.
There is also the option to book just half an hour for power testing and such like.
We very strongly advise that you do not book dyno time for a car that is not finished and ready to go. Experience has taught us that imposing a deadline upon yourself automatically engages ‘Sod’s Law’ and things will go wrong, meaning that you’ll either not make it to us for the booking you’ve made, or not make it with a car in a suitably fit state for us to tune.
Only bookings cancelled over 48 hours in advance can be credited. When you book, you commit to buying the slot of time, so if in any doubt that your car won’t be fit and ready, DON’T book the time slot.
Our booking terms are intended ABSOLUTELY to save you from wasting your money by wasting time for both of us.
How Much Time Do You Need to Book?
Well, that depends upon several factors, including how complex your particular engine is, how effective its cooling systems are and whether there are any faults or problems to be dealt with along the way. A simple Naturally Aspirated engine with good cooling and a quick to edit ECU can sometimes be fully mapped in as little as three hours. However, a very complex engine and ECU, controlling many systems can take several days. If in any doubt, contact us before making a booking.
When it comes to booking a time slot for mapping, it is VITAL that you book a sufficient amount to complete your job, and that you arrive on time for the start of your booking (Manchester and M62 traffic can be terrible), otherwise your time could run out before your job is completed, causing you the inconvenience of having to re-book more time on a later date. The working day ends at 6pm, whether your car is finished or not. Consider also that the hours following your booking are likely to have been booked by other customers.
It is obviously very wise to make sure your engine at least runs before you bring it, because non-runners are very much an unknown quantity and it can often take some considerable time to find the cause, which ultimately costs you time and money. Having a running engine also allows you to check things such as whether your alternator is charging, that the clutch works properly and that there are no fuel, oil, water and air leaks. Any of these may cause the mapping job to be stopped before completion and inevitable additional cost to you. If you’re unable to get it running without our input, consider booking just an hour or two for a ‘pre-mapping check’ with us to get it running so that you can check everything else is ok once it does run.
For all turbo/supercharger converted cars on OE ECUs add at least two hours for file restructuring.
The table below gives an approximation of typical, fault-free and straightforward mapping jobs.
| Manufacturer | Models | Typical Duration |
|---|---|---|
|
Porsche |
3.2 Carrera, 924, 944, 968, 993 and 964 2wd, 996C2 or 986 Boxster |
3.5 hours |
|
Porsche |
964 and 993 C4 |
4 hours |
|
Porsche |
997 C2, 987 |
4 hours |
|
Porsche |
997 C4 |
5 hours |
|
Porsche |
993/996/997 Turbo |
Full Day |
|
BMW |
E30 M3 (Stock ECU) |
4 Hours |
|
BMW |
E30 M3 (Alpha-N) |
Full Day |
What we require from you
You must bring your car in a suitably fit state to be run under load and at high revs for a period of time. Fluid leaks are a fire risk, so make sure it doesn’t leak. Cooling is important, so make sure that’s all working properly and is correctly bled. If your car does leak fluids we reserve the right to charge for time spent cleaning up.
Often, very basic faults cause time delays, so consider everything that may affect engine performance such as whether your engine is getting full throttle, because something as simple as this can cause considerable delay, and wouldn’t appear as a fault code, so would often go overlooked.
There needs to be no unexpected fault codes; fault codes are your friend. They save you time and money by not having a wasted journey for a tune that can’t be done because of a fault that should have been remedied beforehand. We can’t tune broken cars.
If, for example, you’ve removed your stock MAF to fit throttle bodies then it can be expected that it will have codes for MAF and sometimes the Air Temp sensor in this case too. ‘Expected’ fault codes are, of course, acceptable. However, fault codes with no valid reason for being must have their cause remedied, not just deleted in hope that ‘it’ll do’. Cars with faults may have to be rejected and no refunds can be given for the time wasted.
Your car also needs to actually fit on the rolling road itself, so there must be enough ground clearance around the wheels for it to actually fit on the rollers.
There is a ride height calculator on the FAQ page, which we encourage you to read. It doesn’t take long, and reading it may save you time and money in the long run.
