Auto Performance Tuning Give More Power

Oct 07, 2013  Tuning for Performance. The problem from the factory’s point of view is that changes to the ECU tuning all have a potentially negative impact on reliability. Leaner fuel maps mean more power but are far more vulnerable to a bad tank of gas or higher air temperatures. If tuned improperly, it can cause immediate and serious engine damage. JET‘s exclusive Tri-Power tuning allows you to program for performance using lower cost regular octane fuel, or for optimal performance gains you can program for midgrade or premium fuels JET Performance Programmer Plus gives you the ability to modify air and fuel ratios, ignition timing, shift points, shift firmness, speed limiter and rev limiter settings.

Today during conversation or on TV, in newspapers, etc. you can often read or hear words “car tuning”. What is tuning a car? Tuning is the modification of vehicle characteristics that improves its performance. Or it can be some design modification that changes the vehicle's look. You can easily determine tuning cars in the street because they usually don't look like ordinary cars. First of all these vehicles are allocated because their appearance has different unusual colors, chrome trim, extra large rims or some additional body modifications, etc. The other kind of car modifications (tuning) is improvement of car parts under the hood. This type of tuning cars is easy to determine too because of the sounds vehicle makes (it is much different from the ordinary car sound) or extra speed gains.

So, how to tune a car? There are a lot of ways to do it. First of all, you should decide what exactly you want to modify. For example, it can be car engine tuning or some additional parts setting car body modification (spoiler, bumper, etc.). You should think carefully before performing any modifications, because tuning your car is a serious process, that may extremely change you car characteristics. Especially if tuning modifies the engine of the vehicle. Engine performance tuning usually lets your car accelerate faster than usually, so you should pay more attention to safety because enhanced performance may put more stress on the breaking and suspension systems.

When looking for ways to make your engine produce more power, installing an engine performance chip is often sold as a quick and easy route to huge power gains. The truth behind these chips can really vary depending on the car it is installed in, any modifications present, and how the chip was tuned in the first place.

The reality is that even the most sophisticated ECU adjustment can’t do much to increase power output without modifications to other systems on the car. That being said, ECU tuning is an effective tool for gaining usable, drivable horsepower if you do it right.

Regardless of these factors, there are few things you should understand beforehand before installing a chip into your car.

Chips Don’t Always Make Safe Power

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While power gains can be found in almost any engine by advancing the timing, this isn’t always the safest way to go about tuning. While advancing timing may give you some horsepower, it can often times radically increase an engine’s risk of detonation and potential failure. Sometimes reliability is more important than single digit power gains.

Auto Performance Tuning Give More Power Youtube

Auto Performance Tuning Give More Power

One of the most important functions that your car’s ECU fulfills is regulation of the emissions functions on the car. Sometimes an “engine chip” will disable these systems, which can result in a failed emissions test as well as the “check engine” light coming on. Any chip which deactivates your vehicle’s stock emissions controls isn’t doing your car any good and is probably illegal.

Advertised Gains Don’t Often Match Reality

Many chip tuning companies advertise great power gains with dynamometer-proven results. What most of these companies won’t tell you is that the specific conditions and modifications present for these gains may require extensive changes to your engine to reproduce. Tuning is merely part of the puzzle.

There are relatively simple tricks that an engine chip can pull to increase power, primarily during “wide open throttle” during high RPM conditions. The sacrifice is normally a LOSS of power under other conditions, usually having adverse effects on drivability. This means that you are sacrificing overall performance for slightly increased power output during a specific fraction of the time, and it definitely will not make your car faster.

There is No Such Thing as a Universal Chip

Proper tuning for safe and substantial power gains is best done on an engine per engine basis on a dynamometer by an experienced professional. While a specific tuning setup may work great on one engine in a particular configuration, even the slightest change to climate, weather or differences in modifications to your engine may cause problems.

Chips Will Almost Always Void Your Warranty

As a general rule, opening the ECU will immediately void the warranty. Chip installation changes a variety of variables vital to engine operation such as fuel values, ignition timing, knock correction and even fuels cut and redline data. These changes can remove many of the safeguards the manufacturer uses to protect the engine and because of this they almost always end up voiding your warranty should engine damage occur.

Installing a Chip Generally Requires Premium Fuel

Regardless of chip used, power gains are found by altering fuel maps and ignition tables. These changes remove much of the safety and flexibility found in a stock car, and because of this, premium grade fuel and sometimes even an octane booster is generally required for safe operation. Keep in mind these additional expenses when purchasing a performance chip.

Also, engine chip modifications can have negative effects on a vehicle’s gas mileage, especially any chip that alters the emissions control systems of the vehicle in any way. This lost efficiency can be costly, and probably isn’t profiting you anything in terms of horsepower.

Auto Performance Tuning Give More Power Equipment

Modern ECU’s are Clever

Depending on the type of chip used, the method of tuning employed, as well as the car it is installed in, it is possible for the ECU to relearn its old tune. Modern ECU’s are becoming more adaptive and as a result, specific tunes may only be temporary as the ECU can sometimes relearn old tunes in a matter of days or weeks, requiring reboots and clearing of the memory on a regular basis.

While chips can provide noticeable power gains, they are rarely without tradeoffs. These gains can increase the cost of operation and require changes in useable fuel as well as aftermarket octane boosters. Understanding these costs going in, as well the gains you can expect to see and your experience will be far smoother and enjoyable.

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