Club Alfa RomeoNederland

Hi all ,

Sorry for posting here in English . I follow this forum since the beginning so maybe someone here can help me.

I have a Giulietta QV and done nearly 20000 kms so far . So  last  week I went to my dealer service and they made some routine controls  and they said Alfa Romeo released a motor - ABS update for Giulietta QV  and they have to update the software. Due to security reasons I accepted  the software update.

After they updated the  software I noticed that the Dynamic mode is not dynamic the way before I  bring my car to the service. There is a big lack of throttle response  and acceleration loss .Most noticeable thing is when you drive the car  on Normal mode and switch it to Dynamic , normally you can feel the kick  feeling. This kick feeling is lost and this is very annoying . But I  noticed the thing that I'm not the only one who suffers from performance  loss . In UK there are some GQV owners have some issues.

You can check ; http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa-giulietta/332960-giulietta-qv-d-mode-not-so-dynamic-any-more.html .

Some said after the ECU or software update , ECU will recalculate some  parameters after 1000-2000 kms and will begin to act like same before  the update and problems will gone.

Is there anybody here suffering from same problems ? Any suggestions for solution ?

If I  can't solve this  problem I have business trip to Holland in June . I'll  be in Amsterdam.  I am thinking taking the ECU with me and remapping it   in Savali or  Squadra.

Thanks .

Hi,
The only thing i know is that the software update is supossed to make the D-mode less aggresive, and the switching from N to D less 'feel-able'
 
However i did'nt notice any lack of response or acceleration.
Is it so easy to de-mount the ecu and take it with you?

Thanks your ansfer Robin , yes a technician can demount it easily I think. Ronald from SAVALI said he can remap ECU without the car and he needs the ecu and the a code in the card.

I saw your signature and you have savali remap . Are you happy with your setup ? What is the main difference beetween stock and SAVALI , do you feel any changes between N and D ?

I also have a QV and have the updated software. I noticed that the 'N'mode is a little less boring, but the 'D' mode is a bit less aggressive. It's easier but less fun to drive now. I understand that you would like a remap. I drove with the Savali tuning and there is a remap coming up for me from Savali aswell. I drives a lot better, because you will get a more natural throttleresponse, wider powerband and the rev.limiter will be placed at a higher rev.count. All makes it a much more responsive car with a better drive.

However, did you consider that after the remapping done by savali/squadra/whoever you cannot have a software update in the UK anymore. You will lose the remapping and have to go back to Holland to get the remap back. Also, if you have any problems with the new remap, it might be a problem to get it solved overseas. A remap can be different for every car, so it might be better to bring the whole car for the tuning so that you can test drive right after the remap.

Citaat van: Scudetto;21330I also have a QV and have the updated software. I noticed that the 'N'mode is a little less boring, but the 'D' mode is a bit less aggressive. It's easier but less fun to drive now. I understand that you would like a remap. I drove with the Savali tuning and there is a remap coming up for me from Savali aswell. I drives a lot better, because you will get a more natural throttleresponse, wider powerband and the rev.limiter will be placed at a higher rev.count. All makes it a much more responsive car with a better drive.

However, did you consider that after the remapping done by savali/squadra/whoever you cannot have a software update in the UK anymore. You will lose the remapping and have to go back to Holland to get the remap back. Also, if you have any problems with the new remap, it might be a problem to get it solved overseas. A remap can be different for every car, so it might be better to bring the whole car for the tuning so that you can test drive right after the remap.

Thanks Scudetto ,

After software update first noticeable thing is N and D mode are nearly the same. This is annoying for me . I liked and prefer the old D mode .

I know that after remapping in Savali I will lose settins in next official update but I will refuse any incoming QV updates if I like Savali's setup.You are right that a remap can be different for every car , but it is impossible for me to trip from Istanbul to Utrecht with my QV. I mean it will be a good road trip but I really don't have much time and experienced about roadtrip to Holland :) . I'm thinking about possible solutions.

My Giulietta QV was delivered some weeks ago. After reading this topic I suppose that it's equipped with the pre-updated ecu version. I like the power of the D-mode, but really hate the driveability in that mode. Throttle response is totally concentrated in the first 50%. You can put a brick beneath it and you won't miss anything...

Almost all tuners address this substandard behavior in their remaps. And it seems that Alfa is doing the same in this update, although, of course, without the extra performance that you get from the tuners.

I read related topics on Alfaowner and on the forum of Alfisti.net. It it really interesting to see the remarkable difference in perception of the update. On Alfaowner the tendency is that the update is a no-go, because it brings in a loss of performance. However, on Alfisti.net the update is recommended in general. Because of the improved driveability without any loss (or gain) of performance.

@Scudetto , can you feel the kick feeling when changing between N and D mode ? I mean in old software , in N mode  when you press the gas pedal and hold it steady and change the mod to D the car launchs forward a bit  , in new software I can't feel this launch.

@Fab5 yes , some likes it in German forum , but in UK forum people who recognised this update did not like it a lot .

@XFJ_QV
My QV is remapped by squadra. One of the changes was to remove the kick while changing from N to D. In daily operation this behaviour was very annoying. Now the change is smooth. The throttle response in N is the same as in D for the first 30%.

When totally kicking down the pedal you feel the difference. I prefer this behaviour over the default behaviour.

Citaat van: XFJ_QV;21338@Scudetto , can you feel the kick feeling when changing between N and D mode ? I mean in old software , in N mode  when you press the gas pedal and hold it steady and change the mod to D the car launchs forward a bit  , in new software I can't feel this launch.

I drove around with the updated software for the last weeks and I noticed also that the kickfeeling was gone when changing from N to D. The N and D mode are also programmed more toward eachother, so the N mode is a little bit better and the D is a little bit less agressive. It's not an approvement.

Now I have the Savali remap which make the Giulietta the car I was expecting it to be. Much more fun!

Hi,

I have also a Giulietta QV and I went to my dealer service in november and they made some routine controls  and they did the software update for Giulietta QV.

After they updated the  software I noticed also that the Dynamic mode is not dynamic the way before I  bring my car to the service. There is a big lack of throttle response  and acceleration loss .Most noticeable thing is when you drive the car  on Normal mode and switch it to Dynamic , normally you can feel the kick  feeling. This kick feeling is lost and this is very annoying. Also the steering wheel response is not the same as before (no change between the N and D mode).

The dealer did not inform me before the software update and did some modification to correct it but did not return the same as before. The steering wheel response is not back to the old situation and the kick feeling is also not back. They improved the power and throttle but only in higher rpm of the motor. On the highway it became better but the city I miss the response as before.
           
Ciao,