Hi all,

I've got a small company with a friend making megasquirt based ecu's, im no mapper and generally we don't map things, however a guy has bought an ecu from us and really doesn't have a clue, so as a favor i said i would map it.

I always map my own cars and im confident of the safe job i will do... It will be live mapped with our own det cans and new LM-1...

However, mortally im not sure if/how to go about this... he's 18 and has built a 2.0 zetec turbo, its in a mk4 escort... its still insured as a 1.4 and i know he has no intentions of properly insuring it

Its a well spec'd engine, and capable of an easy 270-280bhp, but i really don't know if i should set it up for this?

Should I just do what he wants (he is the customer) or should I turn down the boost and make some excuse.... I really don't want him to kill him self or some one else.

Also, i guess im liable to some extent?

Has any one been in this situation before who could offer some advise.

Thanks a lot!

 

if you do it, you are liable.

do you need the money that badly? is it worth the risk to you?

there are plenty of mappers in the conutry he can go to

 

No not at all, we aren't charging for it and If we do it I will get some form of disclaimer for him to sign....

I don't like the liability side of it, but i hate the moral implications of making this a pretty quick car....

In what sense would i be liable? Ie, if he crashes and kills someone because his engine cuts out, would i be liable... given our terms and conditions clearly state that the ecu is not for road applications... Im less worried about liability surrounding engine damage, the disclaimer should well cover this, i obviously can't be accountable for the quality of engine build.... or can I? And the map will be a very cautious one because of it.

Im primarily concerned for him, and other road users. Personally no insurance (or void insurance) really really pisses me off.

There must be tuning company's that face this kind of dilemma... Perhaps if i map the car to 15 psi and lock it off at 10? and let another company alter it in the future...?

 

firstly don't lie and under perform the car, if he can't handle it, that's his call.
if he wants as much as you can get out of it, then if you do the mapping then you should do that within safety margins.
it's not your concern how he insures it or drives it.
however if you're driving down the road, do you want to meet this lad coming the other way?
if not, then choose not to do the mapping.
no doubt he'll find someone and they'll do the work, always someone willing to do the work.

you could always have a chat with this lad and if he gives the right answers do some work, but agree how far you're prepared to go with it.

at the end of the day you are liable for damage during mapping and that's about it.

 

oh and where are you going to map it?
i don't know many insurance policies that actual insure you whilst mapping, all to do with performance testing etc.
even my traders policy doesn't cover me for that, although i can own/drive modified vehicles.

 

TBH while I admire your morals, I dont think there is any place for them in terms of letting them decide what power output a customer should get.

He's built himself a powerful engine, it should be mapped properly for him to suit what he wants from it, its not your place to try and slow people down etc.

If he drives it while you map it, any insurance concerns are all his not yours as he is the driver.

 

Sound advice XR2 and Chip, thanks

I'll have a chat with him, and see how he drives, Im not going to lie about bullshite power etc, but explaining to an 18 yr old that 250 bhp can be a handful etc would probably be like smashing my face against my desk... a bit pointless.

I think every one (including me) was fairly irresponsible at 18, I think this is what worries me... but hey hoe I guess if i don't do it for him, someone will.

 

You either need to map it to the best of your ability or simply decline to do the work, which you are entitled to do.

 

TBH if he hadn't of told be about his meaningless insurance I would be happy to see how far it would safely go.

 

Fair comment, it would be mapped to the best of my abilities either way, I was just considering whether a lower boost limit might extend his life... The actual map for a lower boost wouldn't be much different.

 

the car could be his pride and joy that he has spent every spare penny he has on and has no intention of smashing it up

well if he is a proper petrol head which tbh he does sound like to me.
do him a low boost safe map to run it in and if it survives that up the power

 

in addition to my previous posts, how about you agree to map it to 10psi, lot's of work in that are, setting idle/cruise and light boost will be enough work, changing boost setting later will allow him to get used to it and then can map up the load easier as you'll not be messing with cruising fuel again.

 

I'd find out whether it's a complete fresh build, I.E new rods and pistons so needing to be run in.
Then as said above, talk to him about a low boost setting so he can get used to it.
You never know, he might be a real petrolhead that's had experience with very capable cars! You just don't know these days, my friend drives an E46 M3 at 20, and had a VXR engined boggo Corsa C running well over 300bhp at 19!

 

Problem with that is when he decidest to up the boost a bit himself, melts it cause it hasnt been mapped up there yet, then denies he has done so, and then starts slagging off the person who mapped it.

 

true chip, but anyone could do that with a turbo car.

 

Of course, but its mapped at a decent level of boost to begin with there is no need for them to.

 

just whack in overly rich figures for hat area, that's stop him wanting to pour fuel down the exhaust lol!
if it is to be done, it needs to be done right, but if you're fitting this around other work and for free you'll find you'll work on the map in stages, just driving around smoothly can be a big enough job, mines still a bit of a pig below 1500rpm off throttle, just rarely on that bit of the map to sort it out in a hurry.

 

Biggest concern for me is that you're sat in the passenger seat whilst he's making full throttle runs and not only is the car uninsured (technically) but you're trusting your life to an unexperienced driver with huge testosterone levels

 

Haha, i think I'm just going to have a good chat with him before we start, I'll map it to 10-12 psi and as you say leave the rest of the map above those loads rich, i'll let him get used to it and have him back on a day when we hire the dyno to sort out proper accel enrichment and the rest of the map safely etc. I know what you mean about low rpm and low load sites, they are actually quite annoying to sort out on the road, but very important for a smooth driving car.

Not a daft point mate, but theres no two ways about it, if he doesn't do what he's told and i don't feel safe I'll simply get out the car.

 

Honestly I think you would be fine to map it because your offering a service which he is paying for, if he gets caught how would it make you liable.....would aired be liable for selling him a inter cooler if he doesn't insure properly