Who's running a Bluefinned mk6?

[Exonian]

I know a few of you are running Bluefin mk6s, so how do you rate it?

It is supposedly tamer than REVO so maybe won't suffer hesitation problems and DV failures quite so readily, but does it deliver the goods in the mid-range?

I really don't want to start a tuner war here, I have a LOT of experience with different tuners from 24 years of modifying VW/SEATs but have yet to try Bluefin out.

The fact that Bluefin can put a mk6 back to fully standard is a huge appeal to me but what swayed me away from it in the past towards REVO (aside from an absolutely cracking deal they gave me) was a member on another forum (wigit for those that know him) had Bluefin on his EA888 Scirocco followed by REVO and he rated the latter as much better performing.
But with the REVO I actually preferred it on their lowest setting (95 RON map) as it didn't suffer any wheelspin or torque steer like the 98 RON map but still offered a nice mid range punch.
As my car is used more and more as a dual carriageway cruiser peak BHP is of little concern to me, clutch friendly but punchy mid range torque is what I want to see as I live in a very hilly area.

[The Doc]

I know a few of you are running Bluefin mk6s, so how do you rate it?

It is supposedly tamer than REVO so maybe won't suffer hesitation problems and DV failures quite so readily, but does it deliver the goods in the mid-range?

I really don't want to start a tuner war here, I have a LOT of experience with different tuners from 24 years of modifying VW/SEATs but have yet to try Bluefin out.

The fact that Bluefin can put a mk6 back to fully standard is a huge appeal to me but what swayed me away from it in the past towards REVO (aside from an absolutely cracking deal they gave me) was a member on another forum (wigit for those that know him) had Bluefin on his EA888 Scirocco followed by REVO and he rated the latter as much better performing.
But with the REVO I actually preferred it on their lowest setting (95 RON map) as it didn't suffer any wheelspin or torque steer like the 98 RON map but still offered a nice mid range punch.
As my car is used more and more as a dual carriageway cruiser peak BHP is of little concern to me, clutch friendly but punchy mid range torque is what I want to see as I live in a very hilly area.

IMHO you may be waiting a while for people to confess that their cars are mapped due to them not wanting to broadcast all over the net (you know who you are  ) that that they have a remapped car (think posible issues with insurance, warranty, wives etc).

If I were you I'd order the bluefin and see if it floats your boat, if not you can send it back and get the REVO 

[R32UK]

Cannot really report on Bluefin as I had Revo, but then I also had quite a few issues. Cannot 100% put them down to the map but personally I do feel it was a contributing factor (however small).

If I was to get another map then I would get a custom one every time set up specifically to the car I have. After having to take my car to a tuning house near to me quite a few times I felt they are more than capable of putting a well configured map on that suits my needs rather than a generic map for the masses.

If you dont have anywhere local that you trust, then Carbon Chip Tuning sounds like a good a place as any for this, esp now doc has plenty of VW experience and figures can always be validated through use of their rolling road. 

[Spin 150pd]

Cannot really report on Bluefin as I had Revo, but then I also had quite a few issues. Cannot 100% put them down to the map but personally I do feel it was a contributing factor (however small).

If I was to get another map then I would get a custom one every time set up specifically to the car I have. After having to take my car to a tuning house near to me quite a few times I felt they are more than capable of putting a well configured map on that suits my needs rather than a generic map for the masses.

If you dont have anywhere local that you trust, then Carbon Chip Tuning sounds like a good a place as any for this, esp now doc has plenty of VW experience and figures can always be validated through use of their rolling road. 

Not a very easy task identifying a custom remap fo your car as many tuners claim this despite actually only tweaking the generic map to suit your mods/car.  I too have useed numerous tuners over the years and used Bluefin on 6 different applications.  I would always make the trip to their HQ in Bucks and negotiate a free dyno before and after,  there maps are the safest option and tend to deliver slightly lower than claimed as they have a fairly optimistic dyno but as they offer their unique 12 month or 30,000 miles supplementary warranty it makes sense for them to be conservative and not push the limits of your car.  The differnece between their stage 2+ and revo's equivalent was actually 35 bhp down on my previous S3 but the car drove very well and felt extremely lively despite this.

Revo on the other hand make larger claims for power and in my experience tend to deliver,  i have had no issues with hesitation or clutch slip but i too prefer the settings a little more conservative in the FWD car as little point in wasting fuel and energy spinning the power away.

Personally I would speak to the various tuners,  take the trouble to visit the HQ once the decision has been made and the level of service is then outstanding.

I don't think you will have any issues with either of the leading tuners stage 1 offerings.

If you need some contact details for either so you can discuss drop me a PM.

One thing is for sure stage 1 really enhances the driving experience and well worth the money

[Exonian]

Doc Thanks for the reply. There are a few on here that publicly declare they have maps and one or two are displayed in their sigs.
A thread was needed for my info request to be visible but PM'd replies aren't publicly visible for those that wish to stay under the radar. 

Gilly I've had a few REVO maps in the past with no issues and they've delivered the goods promised. But I don't always want to do the same thing twice. Nothing is perfect.
Custom maps aren't always all that custom, they're tweaked generics (been there and done that in the past) as it would be far too much hassle for a tuner to completely de-code an ECU and write a full on map for a specific car for a few hundred quid.
REVO and Superchips/VW Racing have run mk6 GTIs over significant mileages so you do have a fully tested product.
There's not a hope in hell I could get up to Doc's before next summer unfortunately, just too many commitments and it'd be a 10 hour round trip. 

Spin Thanks for the info  I've spoken to a good few tuners over the years and picked up much information on how they work and who writes their maps or where they buy in the generics from.
Living in the bowels of South West England it is often hard for me to visit tuners as they tend to be a very long way away. My local REVO agent has a very good relationship with me (he's done 3 of my cars and looks after my daily driver) but I just seem to be drawn elsewhere this time.
Bluefin is cheaper than REVO and offers the warranty but could still end up being a no go for me as I may have a locked ECU yet!!

[Spin 150pd]

Doc Thanks for the reply. There are a few on here that publicly declare they have maps and one or two are displayed in their sigs.
A thread was needed for my info request to be visible but PM'd replies aren't publicly visible for those that wish to stay under the radar. 

Gilly I've had a few REVO maps in the past with no issues and they've delivered the goods promised. But I don't always want to do the same thing twice. Nothing is perfect.
Custom maps aren't always all that custom, they're tweaked generics (been there and done that in the past) as it would be far too much hassle for a tuner to completely de-code an ECU and write a full on map for a specific car for a few hundred quid.
REVO and Superchips/VW Racing have run mk6 GTIs over significant mileages so you do have a fully tested product.
There's not a hope in hell I could get up to Doc's before next summer unfortunately, just too many commitments and it'd be a 10 hour round trip. 

Spin Thanks for the info  I've spoken to a good few tuners over the years and picked up much information on how they work and who writes their maps or where they buy in the generics from.
Living in the bowels of South West England it is often hard for me to visit tuners as they tend to be a very long way away. My local REVO agent has a very good relationship with me (he's done 3 of my cars and looks after my daily driver) but I just seem to be drawn elsewhere this time.
Bluefin is cheaper than REVO and offers the warranty but could still end up being a no go for me as I may have a locked ECU yet!!

One day a manufacturer will make an affordable hot hatch thats perfect straight from the box and save us all a lot of time and energy but then again its a positive trait to wonder...." what if..." and keeps things interesting.  Good luck with finding your own solution.

[Exonian]

One day a manufacturer will make an affordable hot hatch thats perfect straight from the box and save us all a lot of time and energy but then again its a positive trait to wonder...." what if..." and keeps things interesting.  Good luck with finding your own solution.

Someone will still want to modify it!!
 

[mkviken]

how much is the VWR remap? my local dealership do the R conversion 265bhp for the golf for £1400 inc remap, filter and exhaust


anyone know how much just for remap?

[Exonian]

From VWR the remap alone is £599. From JKM (or possibly using the forum discount) Bluefin is £405.
You can sometimes pick up just the handsets that have been re-set at Superchips via forums or ebay for sensible money and then just need to purchase the software from Superchips. You will need a bit of patience and to do your homework on costs if you go for the latter.

[mike.]

I had it on the MK5

Nice smooth delivery, just like stock only more

I looked at Revo when I had the MK5 but it seemed to have a large torque spike at the start and then tail off.
This will probably give you more of a kick in the back initially but to me it looks like it would put more strain on the engine.
I still had the original DV on my MK5 after 5 years with bluefin while others were failing, some more than once.

You do get used to the extra power but if you put it back to the original map you definitely notice the lack of grunt, especially mid range torque.

You can download the Stage 2 off their website for an extra £50 although they recommend an Air Intake and Exhaust upgrade.