ECU remapping & tuning · Mansfield Woodhouse
ECU Remapping in Mansfield
Stage 1, Stage 2 and economy remapping, done on the bench and on the car at 2 Warsop Road — under our tuning brand, Lonestar Performance Tuning.
Same workshop, same owner, same phone number. Star Garage is the servicing and repair side; Lonestar is the same team wearing its tuning hat. If you want your car mapped, you’re in the right place either way.
Read this first
Two names, one workshop
People find us under both names and reasonably wonder whether they’ve landed in the right place. You have.
Star Garage Mansfield is the garage: servicing, repairs, diagnostics, timing chains, DPF and AdBlue work, JLR Ingenium engines. Lonestar Performance Tuning is the same business trading under a separate name for the tuning side, run by the same owner, working out of the same bay at 2 Warsop Road on the same phone number.
It exists because tuning customers and servicing customers want completely different things from a website, not because there are two companies. Book through either and the same person does the work.
Lonestar Performance Tuning — stages, calculator and booking
Why it matters when you’re comparing quotes. A tuning-only outfit writes the map and hands the car back. If something the map exposes needs fixing — a tired clutch, a leaking intercooler pipe, a boost sensor that was already marginal — you’re then looking for a garage.
Here the ramp, the diagnostic kit and the parts account are in the same building as the laptop. That’s the whole reason the two names sit under one roof.
Tuning
What gets mapped, and why people ask for it
Most cars that come through are not chasing a headline power figure. They want the car to drive the way they expected it to.
Stage 1 remap
A standard car on standard hardware. More torque low down and a cleaner throttle response — the change most people actually notice day to day.
Stage 2 and beyond
For cars with supporting hardware already fitted — exhaust, intercooler, induction. The map is written around what’s on the car, not pulled off a shelf.
Economy maps
Popular on vans and diesel estates doing long motorway miles. Torque delivered lower in the rev range so the engine works less hard at cruising speed.
Gearbox & TCU tuning
Automatics that hold gears too long or shift lazily can often be improved alongside the engine map rather than instead of it.
Fixing somebody else’s map
A regular job. Cars arrive running a file from a mobile tuner who’s since gone quiet, with fault codes nobody will take responsibility for.
Fault-code and drivability work
Sometimes the answer isn’t a map at all. If the car has a fault, that gets diagnosed first — a remap on top of a problem just hides it.
Car diagnostics
Worth being clear about
A remap and an emissions delete are not the same job
The two get talked about together so often that people assume one includes the other. It doesn’t, and it’s worth separating them before you book anything.
A remap changes how the engine is fuelled and boosted. It doesn’t require removing the DPF, the EGR valve or the AdBlue system, and a car with a healthy emissions system can be mapped with all of it left exactly where it is.
If the reason you’re asking is that one of those systems keeps throwing faults, the fix we’d point you at is repair rather than removal — a DPF that’s genuinely blocked can be cleaned off the vehicle, and AdBlue faults are almost always a component that can be replaced. Removing emissions equipment from a vehicle used on the road is an offence, and it’s the sort of thing that surfaces at the worst possible moment.
Ring and describe what the car is doing. It’s a five-minute conversation and it’s usually cheaper than the thing people phone up asking for.
The honest answers
Will it damage the engine? And the other three questions
These come up on nearly every booking call, so here they are written down.
Damage
A sensible map on a healthy engine is not the thing that breaks it. A map on an engine that was already tired can be. That’s why the car gets looked at first.
You must declare it
A remap is a modification and insurers expect to be told. Not declaring it risks the policy, which is a far bigger problem than the premium difference.
Depends on the car
On a manufacturer warranty it’s a real consideration. Ask us before you book and we’ll give you a straight answer rather than talk you into it.
Original file kept
The standard file is read and saved before anything is written. If you want the car back to stock — for a sale, a warranty claim, anything — it goes back.
We wrote this up at length, including what the risks actually are: is ECU remapping safe for my vehicle?
How a booking runs
What the day looks like
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Tell us the car and what you want from it
Make, model, engine, year, mileage, anything already fitted, and whether you’re after economy, response or outright power.
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Health check before anything is written
Codes read, live data checked, a look for the things that would make mapping a bad idea. If we find one, you’ll hear about it before we go further.
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Original file read and saved
Through the OBD port on most cars, on the bench where the ECU requires it. Your standard file is kept either way.
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Map written for your car
Built around that vehicle and what’s on it, then checked on the road before it’s handed back.
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Drive it, then come back if it isn’t right
People do return for a tweak once they’ve lived with it for a week. That’s expected and it’s part of the job.
Before you arrive. Bring the car with a reasonable amount of fuel in it and mention any warning light that’s currently on, even one you’ve learned to ignore. Both save time on the day.
Where we are
2 Warsop Road, Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire NG19 9LF
Monday to Friday, 08:30–18:00. Closed weekends.
Customers travel in from Mansfield, Worksop, Chesterfield and Nottingham. If you’re coming any distance, ring first and we’ll make sure the day works.
For the trade
Remapping hardware, if you do this yourself
We also supply the tools we use — Alientech KESS V3 Master, AutoTuner Master and Magic Motorsport Flex Master. Useful if you’re a garage or tuner rather than a customer.
Reviews
What people say after the map
Mini Cooper S · Stage 1
I took my 2004 Mini Cooper S in to get a Stage 1 remap and first of all I was extremely happy with how welcoming and knowledgeable this company is… Overall, it was a great customer experience from start to finish and so I would highly recommend Lonestar Performance Tuning.
Jonathan Watson · Google review
Golf R Mk8 · Stage 1
Been looking to have my golf R mk8 for stage 1 remap to be told that it can’t be done. Last chance attempt and phoned Blaise at Lonestar. After a inspection he said he could do it and it is absolutely awesome, can’t believe the change it has made.
Michael Gregory · Google review
DPF, EGR & AdBlue faults, plus remaps
I have used Blaise a number of times now to fix DPF, EGR & Adblue faults as well as remaps which I can’t fault! This company will do as much as they can to help you out and get the problem sorted, which a lot of the time in this trade you get fobbed off. Very honest guys!
Ryan Poole · Google review
Questions
Remapping questions we get asked
Is Lonestar Performance Tuning a different company?
No. Same owner, same workshop at 2 Warsop Road, same phone number. It’s the trading name used for the tuning side of what we do.
How long does a remap take?
Most cars are a few hours including the checks either side. Bench work on ECUs that can’t be read through the OBD port takes longer — we’ll tell you which yours is when you book.
Do I have to tell my insurer?
Yes. A remap is a modification. Declaring it is straightforward; not declaring it can leave you without cover when you need it.
Can it be put back to standard?
Yes, because we read and keep the original file before writing anything.
Will a remap fix my DPF or AdBlue warning light?
No, and anyone telling you otherwise is describing a delete rather than a remap. A faulty emissions system needs diagnosing and repairing.
My car was mapped elsewhere and now runs badly. Can you look at it?
Yes, that’s a routine job here. Bring it in and we’ll read what’s on it before deciding what to do.
Do you map vans and commercials?
Yes. Economy maps on vans doing high mileage are one of the more common jobs we do.
Talk to the person who’ll be writing the map
Mon–Fri 08:30–18:00. 2 Warsop Road, Mansfield Woodhouse.