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Frequently Asked Questions...
- What exactly is ECU remapping?
- What sort of improvements should I get from a remap?
- Will ECU remapping affect my vehicles emissions?
- Why should I have my vehicle ECU remapped instead of chipped (Superships etc...)?
- Why is a remap better than a tuning box?
- Why don't manufacturers remap their vehicles prior to sale?
- What will happen with fuel consumption after the remap has been installed?
- Do I have to use a higher grade of fuel, or can I run regular fuel?
- Do your figures relate to standard cars or cars with modifications?
- Do I need to modify my car in any way to suit the chip?
- Will the life of my engine be affected after the software upgrade has been fitted?
- Can my chip be returned to standard by the dealer?
- Can all vehicles be chipped/remapped?
- Chip Tuning or Remapping?
- How is this done?
- How will the Go Greener UK remap effect my insurance?
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What exactly is ECU remapping?
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What sort of improvements should I get from a remap?The expected gains vary depending on your type of engine and specification. Generally speaking turbo diesels see the greatest improvements, although significant improvements can be achieved on both normally aspirated and turbo petrol engined vehicles.
Not only will you engine gain more power (bhp) and more torque (Nm), flatspots will be eliminated and in many cases you may see a significant improvement in fuel economy depending on your engine type and your driving style. -
Will ECU remapping affect my vehicles emissions?
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Why should I have my vehicle ECU remapped instead of chipped (Superships etc...)?When you have a vehicle chipped, the ECU itself has to be removed from the vehicle, the EPROM chip desoldered and then replaced with a modified chip. The ECU is then reinstalled back into the vehicle. This can cause a whole host of problems.
When a vehicle ECU EPROM chip is remapped via the OBDII serial port, it does not have to be removed from the vehicle. No components are replaced and no soldering takes place. The modified map is uploaded directly to the EPROM chip while in situ thus safe guarding the ECU against damage. -
Why is a remap better than a tuning box?The sole purpose of most tuning boxes is to fool the main ECU into delivering more fuel to the injectors. Typically this means that any extra power gained usually comes at the expense of low down driveability and could put increased wear on many engine components. An ECU remap will maximise your engines potential right throughout the rev range. Not only will low down grunt be improved but also top end power, and the driveability of your vehicle will be greatly enhanced. Put simply a full custom remap is a more complete solution than a tuning box such as those commonly avaible on eBay or other internet sites.
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Why don't manufacturers remap their vehicles prior to sale?There are two answers to this question. Firstly manufacturers sell vehicles all over the world and have to allow for differing conditions within each export market. Conditions such as climate, emissions regulations, fuel quality etc... all come into place. Secondly, believe it or not, not every driver wants their car to produce the optimum amount of power and torque. As a result of the above two situations, manufacturers try the best to come up with a cost effective compromise.
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What will happen with fuel consumption after the remap has been installed?This totally depends on your driving style. In most cases at full throttle you will use more fuel - that is a trade off for getting the maximum power. However, at part throttle, many models can achieve better fuel economy. This results because some models run rich at part throttle. When we tune the car, the optimum air/fuel ratio and spark at part throttle results in not only better response but better fuel economy as well. This means that you can enjoy the benefits of the software and feel safe in the knowledge that your fuel bill is not going to sky-rocket.
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Do I have to use a higher grade of fuel, or can I run regular fuel?For most car remaps, so long as your car is equipped with a knock sensor you can run regular fuel. However, to reach the maximum potential of the remap, premium grades of fuel must be used. For some vehicles we do not have a remap available for lower grades of fuel.
Older models may have performance left in them running regular fuel, however the improvements aren’t as great as running a remap suited to Premium grade fuels.
The advantage of having a knock sensor is that it stops the car from pinging/ detonating. This means that if you have a remap set up for Premium fuel but for some reason can’t access it, you can safely run standard unleaded without damaging your vehicle. -
Do your figures relate to standard cars or cars with modifications?
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Do I need to modify my car in any way to suit the chip?
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Will the life of my engine be affected after the software upgrade has been fitted?No. The sofware upgrade has been designed to run the optimum ignition timing and perfect air fuel ratio for maximum power. Damage occurs when the vehicles air/fuel ratio is too lean. This means that the cars piston is detonating because there is not enough fuel in comparison to the air in the cylinder. This results in valve wear and the possible breaking of pistons.
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Can my chip be returned to standard by the dealer?
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Can all vehicles be chipped/remapped?
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Chip Tuning or Remapping?There is a lot of confusion on what a "chip" or "remap" is... in the public domain anyway. As the word 'chipped' seems to be refered to a lot in this field. In the late 1980's and early 90's automotive ECU's still used standard UV or even bi-polar EPROMs/ROMs. To tune these early generation ECU's the chip (EPROM) would have to be removed and the data within read then modified / transferred to a virgin chip hence the word chip change... that lead to the word 'chipped' or "chip tuning".
The term 'Remap' evolved into the public domain later as more informed people in the car tuning industry began to understand some of the technical terms used in electronic/data modification. Later ECU's and semi conductor technology with the advent of OBDII and EOBD platforms (you can read more about on board diagnostics by following the link) saw remote jack flashing 'serial programming', becoming common place allowing quick and easy firmware updates to occur. Remapping data within the chip or EPROM is one of the same thing as ecu remapping, it's just how and the name of the process that is performed which differs. -
How is this done?
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How will the Go Greener UK remap effect my insurance?Different insurance companies have different views on performance upgrades so it is best to ask your insurance company directly. Most modern vehicles use a computer (ECU) to manage, run and protect your engine. The data within this computer is usually stored in a microchip usually referred to as an 'EPROM' this data or 'Firmware' is a written set of instructions for the computer to monitor and control the operation of the engine and its components. These instructions also enable the computer (ECU) to adapt (learn) based on the vehicles sensor inputs. This data is made up of many fields or (maps) controlling injection duty (fuel input) RPM limits, turbo pressure, ignition timing and so on. By altering these settings 'Re-mapping' based on the mechanical allowance provided by the manufacturer we can increase performance without the reliability being affected.