Installed Racechip ECU on my Skoda Slavia 1.5 TSI: Initial observations

There is at least a 10% increase in fuel efficiency and is evident on the display, as well as the DTE indicator not reducing even after some driving.

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Successfully RaceChipped my Slavia:

I have already mentioned the intention of getting this for the car. More than a performance increase, I was looking for reduced performance where it was not needed. The 1.5TSI is too powerful for traffic, and you need to really be easy on the throttle in city to avoid sudden braking. Hence, I went for the RaceChip ECU to be able to have switchable performance as I need it.

The Racechip ECU connects to three sensors in the car. A – Manifold Absolute pressure sensor, B – Boost pressure sensor, C – Crankshaft position sensor. It does not alter fuel injector pressure as in many diesel tuning boxes and the fuel pump will not be meddled with. They provide a wiring harness with A, B and C pairs of connectors and each of it is a T junction where one connector picks up signals from the sensor and sends it to the ECU, and the other connector plugs into the vehicle harness to send data to the car engine ECU.

Installation was done at night so I do not have detailed instructions but the connection A to the MAP was the toughest since its located deep inside the gap between the intake and the cylinder block. I needed to use a long screw driver to unlock the connector and then remove it with two of my fingers which reached till there. And to fit the Racechip harness to the sensor I could again use only those two fingers to slide it into locking position. The gap you see in this image is where the palm must go in above the alternator, and you only get to peep into the area from above.

And to do this, I had to remove the vacuum pump off its mounting bolts to make space for the hand to be slid into the gap:

Connector B was relatively easier since it was easily accessible and connector C was cakewalk since the CKP sensor is right on top of the engine head cover below the plastic trim. Had to place the ECU near the battery and fusebox for now for easy removal. Will share some more pictures in the coming days when I get time to open up the engine bay in daylight.

The ECU receives its power from the power to these sensors and hence does not require any further wiring to the battery or any other component.

Like I explained earlier, after installation the ECU modes were supposed to be switched by mobile app only, since I opted for it. In the non-app version of the same product, there is an adjustment knob available which needs to be adjusted between six steps to change the performance modes from Economy till full fledged Race mode.

I was very angry about the app not working since there is a firewall that prevents Indian IPs from accessing their back end to fetch vehicle tuning data and update the ECU. When I contacted support, they gave a horrible response that the only way out was to use a VPN and they could not do anything about their backend and alter the firewall. Even after I tried using a paid VPN with Airtel internet, it didnt work and I requested a return(which was another challenge since I had to get it back to Germany first). I parked my car in my grandparents place with ACT fibernet and tried casually and the app was able to connect without issue.

Thats when it downloaded the maps specific to my car and flashed it into the ECU. After that I could set the performance modes. After this initial setup is done, there is no need to use VPN or internet unless an update to the maps is needed. So finally things got working the way it should.

Initial observations after around 100 kms of use:

• ECU offers six maps and the mobile App offers three modes, to which you can assign any of the six maps.

• There is a warm up timer which can be configured to set the maps to trigger after vehicle start. Useful if you want to keep it in higher performance modes and trigger it only after engine warm up.
• Economy mode or map 1 is what I always plan to use. It sobers down the turbo boost, eases throttle response and yet provides linear acceleration when needed.
• Speeds climb linearly and throttle is very easy to modulate however it does not become lazy or lethargic.
• There is at least a 10% increase in FE and is evident on the display, as well as the DTE indicator not reducing even after some driving. Last week I drove 20kms to office and DTE came down by 5kms. But thats just an additional observation, not an absolute change.
• The Eco mode in my Crysta for comparison only alters throttle response and the car just gets lethargic until the throttle is shoved hard. Whereas in the Racechip, it is more like driving a NA petrol with the turbo not present.
• Race mode is where you notice what has been missing in Economy mode. Throttle response gets sharp, and the car launches ahead the very moment you put the slightest pressure on the accelerator pedal. And as you push down the pedal, you will feel all the boost kicking in and thats when it gets scary, since speeds are building up in no time.
• Made use of empty weekend roads to test the race mode and its just putting a larger grin on my face, to the point that I am worried I will break the car. With ASR off and in manual mode, the wheels start spinning in first and second gear with the turbo hissing loud. Thats just surreal.
• I don’t have the expertise to conduct acceleration runs and post the numbers, but between 1-6 there is a perceivable difference, that turns the linear and calm response to a violent rush once the turbo starts kicking in. The stock car also does this but the rush is even higher in race. Tried this back to back by switching off the ECU completely and then switching to Race mode and that’s definitely different.
• I have however not used the other maps from 2-5 so far and hence cant comment whats the middle ground like. But the extremes are very good.
• Overall, if not for the horrible support from Racechip regarding the app, the product is pretty good and completely made and programmed in Germany. The harness is made using good parts and the connectors are VW parts. So I trust the Germans in their engineering talent and hence happy with the purchase.

I believe this would be the first chiptuned Slavia in the country. But had I not got this option of buying it directly in Germany, I would not have definitely spent twice the money on buying the same here.

By the way, here are some stats from the AC after the VCDS mod – You can notice how the evaporator temperature is at 2.0 deg C and the vent temperature at 10 degs even when the engine is idle with Climate control set at 21.5, which is how I have chilled air being thrown from the AC.

Keyword: Installed Racechip ECU on my Skoda Slavia 1.5 TSI: Initial observations