Chip Tuning – better engine management.

[obi_waynne]

The days of fiddling around in the engine bay with a spanner to make the car go faster are numbered. Modern engine computers (ECU's) take over many of the controls of all aspects of engine management from timing to fuelling and more. This actually means you get better power, a cleaner burn and more reliable engine but it does not mean the end of tuning.

Continue reading... or post your comments below on this article.

 

[jdmeaux1952]

The automotive industry is now trying to get the US Congress to add to a bill that would make manufacturer ecu programs a PROPRIETARY program, thereby preventing anyone from modifying or remapping their own program into the ecu. The manufacturers are claiming that their programs are strictly theirs and no one may modify it.

This would do more to hurt the automotive industry than they realize. It has been modders who have made the Mustang what it is today. And it was the modders, not the engineers that were the force behind the Chevrolet LS engines.

 

[HDi fun]

The auto industry has nothing to gain by protecting its intellectual rights to ECU programming.

 

[Guybo]

I hope the law does not pass. I see why the manufacturers are doing this, but this is the wrong way of doing it. I visit another site just for my car and I read almost daily about people who tune thier car then the engine blows, they bend a rod or something else goes wrong then they always reflash the ecu or drop in the orig ecu and don't tell the Hyundai dealer about the tuned ecu and go looking for a warranty. It's immoral to blow your own car's engine with a bad tune then look for a warranty and we all are paying for these people to do this because that cost is going to be put back on us.

The manufacturers need to engineer a way to detect when an ecu map has been tampered with or the ecu has been removed. I am all for people tuning thier own cars, I am also all for people PAYING for thier own cars when they do it wrong.

 

[HDi fun]

The law is already on the industry's side as any tampering immediately invalidates the warranty anyway. Many ECUs have a flash counter so it's generally detectable anyway.

 

[obi_waynne]

Many newer cars will also log the power output and fuelling levels so even if a piggy back device is used they will know about it. Perhaps if the industry was more heavily regulated the manufacturers would be less touchy about people improving their conservative setups.

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

There are some tuners that lock the aftermarket computer so it can't be changed supposedly to protect their IP and if they die,disappear the new tuner has to start from scratch. I can see the reason for doing that as some who think they know better will tinker with the maps and blame the tuner when it all goes pear shaped.

 

[HDi fun]

There are some tuners that lock the aftermarket computer so it can't be changed supposedly to protect their IP and if they die,disappear the new tuner has to start from scratch. I can see the reason for doing that as some who think they know better will tinker with the maps and blame the tuner when it all goes pear shaped.

That's totally counter productive. If someone tinkers (with an 'open' ECU) then they would have to prove that the tuner caused any problems which occur later. The tuner has no responsibility. If the tuner locks it down and problems occur then it's very easy to accuse the tuner since no one else has been able to alter the code.