No idea how to title this one

[iam]

I recently replaced the engine in my car like for like.
Without a doubt the original engine was tuned or chipped (I know because there's a BIG difference in the way the power is delivered throughout the rev range between the 2 engines and i've had it done myself once before).

If the car was mapped on a rolling road for it's performance tuning would it be possible to get that info from the old engine onto the new? How?

[KVF]

Im not a motor swap expert, but you don't typically swap out the ecu with the motor, correct? I'd assume any tune or chip would still be present... If your old motor had a cam or some other sort of mechanical upgrade, that'd be your difference.

[jlevie]

Correct, during an ordinary engine swap, the DME won't be changed. That means that any tuning chip will still be present after the swap. If there's a noticeable difference in performance after the swap the odds are that it is due to engine. Compression & leak down tests and verification of cam timing would be the first things I'd do.

[Earendil]

Correct, during an ordinary engine swap, the DME won't be changed. That means that any tuning chip will still be present after the swap. If there's a noticeable difference in performance after the swap the odds are that it is due to engine. Compression & leak down tests and verification of cam timing would be the first things I'd do.

Might that be it then? The DME does slight adjustments for engine performance. If the DME memory was not result one might expect a new and differently worn engine to run poorly until the DME had adjusted to the characteristics of the new engine.

Even if the DME had been reset to factory defaults, it would take a while to map the new engine. Just that in this case the power difference may not be that great. I can certainly tell on my car when the DME has been reset though :)

[Cabriolet]

a performance cam in the first engine and not is second could be the issue? or there is something wrong with the new engine. follow jlevie's tests.

[iam]

I've no idea guys, except i'd rule out the cam . I've an appointment tomorrow to get the car M.O.T'd so I can drive it legally.
My idea then is to get the compression/leak down test done and tune it after. It's an m60b40 :)

[iam]

Good news. After getting the car mot'd and taxed for the road on Saturday I went to my mechanic and asked him about my really squeaky power steering unit (bear with me I know it's off the original topic).
Popped the bonnet and had a look around. Got under the car and came up saying that there was no oil around any of the pipes but yes there was definitely intermittent squealing when I was turning the wheel left and right for him. Mentioned something about a tensioner he gave me from my old engine just in case. (Now to the point) Another mechanic walked up and said 'sounds like it's misfiring, could be a number of things but new spark plugs are a good place to start' (I honestly didn't hear a misfire but this dude was sure). Ahaaa, i'm not going mad I thought. It was definitely not the same as the old engine so why not give it a go.
So then, forgetting about the power steering pump for a bit I set off home to swap the spark plugs out. I got as far as popping off one coil when I realised I had the wrong size ratchet/socket. A quick trip to the auto store was needed. That's Halfords over here, or Halfrauds as we like to call it. I put the thing back together and immediately the car was going like sh*t off a shovel. I can't begin to understand how lucky I must have been to have pulled and re seated the correct coil that was causing the problem. More incredulous was that at the same time the power steering has completely stopped squealing!!!
So problem solved. The original wasn't chipped or tuned. I think a trip to the tuners is still on for me then.

.......The flip side to such a fun conversion.

I was stupidly having a go with a bmw 118d of all cars yesterday and went over a speed hump at about 50 (tut tut).
I'm sure I actually heard the sump connect with the road. Fortunately no signs of oil loss but i'll keep an eye on this for a while. However, I now have to get the lower front bumper resprayed :(
An expensive lesson well learned.
With such awesome power in what looks to be a standard mtec II e30 I was easily goaded by anything that moved all weekend, especially after finding my lost horses. Something that won't be happening again any time soon though.
BTW up until then I did leave everything else I raced for dead. I was impressed with the list too. Honda civic type R. This was the funniest because he was sooo left for dead that he didn't even try after the second set of lights but I left him again anyway for good measure.
Mercedes slk 350.
Fiat coupe 16v. Another favourite as I really wanted one of them for years. A true 5 second 0-60 car.
Several variations of 3&5 series BMW's predominantly in e46 guise tho only up to 3.0L. Didn't come across any M's going my way all weekend.
Audi a5 convertible showing off with his girl but not for too long :)
Oh and another BTW, you can tell by the length of this particular reply that i'm still buzzing off this monster.

Thanks for your help guys. I'm sure i'll be back to ask for more of it.

Cheers
Iam