What is chiptuning?
What is chiptuning?
A car powered by the injection system has a device called a control unit or controller. It is a specialized computer called "Engine Control Unit", ECU in short. The unit is responsible for parameters of engine performance under all conditions of speed and load. Operation parameters are stored in the form of a table and are placed in the ECU memory. Chiptuning optimizes the parameters in the table so as to increase flexibility and efficiency within the range of rotations above 2500 rpm. As a result, after chiptuning we receive an increase in the power of 8% for fuel cars without turbo and 35% for turbo-powered and TurboDiesel cars.
Why Chiptuning is not carried out directly at the factory?
The parameters entered to the ECU, as well as the program are developed by the manufacturer with the aim of incomplete optimizing resulting from the three main reasons:
- Sometimes the engine works in spite of damages to control units and is powered often with the use of poor quality fuel. Moreover, used consumables are of average quality and are not replaced on time. On the one hand, this factory safety margin protects against user failures who do not care about their cars and do not provide cars with basic service and, on the other hand, it consumes fuel and decreases power. This margin is not less than 15% for cars without turbo and about 50% (half of the power!) for turbo-powered cars (data: GM/Opel). Chip tuning improves these parameters.
- The car must have low fuel consumption - but because standards determine the relationship between the speed and fuel consumption (90 and 120 km / h), manufacturers take their time reducing performance and fuel consumption at these speeds at 4th and 5th gears producing artificial "holes in the gas". Major limits for engine rotations below 3000 are aimed at improving performance in the urban cycle. However, the car losses flexibility (chip tuning improves these parameters)
- Fees for cars in Western Europe depend on the engine power, so most of cars offered on the German market has less power than their counterparts on the Japanese or the USA markets - but with the same torque. Honda 1.4 Vtec engines offered in Germany have power of about 75 HP, whereas in Poland - 90 HP. In Japan, the same engine produces 100 HP.
In general, Chiptuning is a change in the software of engine control computer so as to obtain higher efficiency, power and torque, as well reduce fuel consumption at constant driving style.
It is worth noting two important details - the first one is the durability of engine, which with respect to times of exchange consumables remain unchanged - and the second one is fuel consumption, which may indeed increase slightly during extreme driving (up to 10% - this is because the engine will be faster - there is nothing for free), but will be lower in longer trips and when driving at a constant speed.
Chip tuning is absolutely necessary when installing a turbine or supercharger. Shortage of fuel would destroy pistons and valves very quickly and the engine combustion would be very high.
Chip tuning and maximum power ...
It is worth explaining here one important thing - most people are interested in maximum power. But you do not normally drive a car at maximum power unless you are a rally driver. In fact, maximum power is not a determinant of the effectiveness of any kind of tuning. What is important is that a car reaching 100 HP at 6000 rpm, at 3500 rpm has 68 HP and at 2500 rpm - 47 HP only (e.g. BMW 316i). Obtaining excellent car acceleration can be guaranteed by strengthening of the entire length of the rotation axis by means of chiptuning. Even if the maximum power remains unchanged the car is more flexible and wins even with the seemingly stronger cars without any problems. So what will you have if you create a car with 300 HP from 2 liters when at 2000 rpm. it is difficult to accelerate the car at 3rd gear ? (for example - Ford Cosworth WRC 96 - 312 HPp - 7200 rpm., 192 HP - 5500 rpm. 86 hp - 3000 rpm., 30 HP - 1900 rpm., factory engine data). A reasonable indicator of the engine dynamics is torque. In turn, the indicator of efficiency and effectiveness is average power consumption calculated as an average effective weighted power of the engine at all range of rotations. This sounds complicated but it can really be simple. Suppose you check rotations achieved by your car engine throughout the day every 1/10 second. Then, you check what power it achieves for these rotations. Determine the weighted average by adding amounts of power multiplied by the coefficient of demand for these particular rotations for the whole day. The range of low rotations should have its proportion doubled if we are interested in acceleration or should be left according to the measurements if we are interested in power. Optimize the abovementioned parameter. What about the increase in maximum power? Well, it is not added just for a kind of an effect. Raise it by, for example, 8% introducing additional changes to specific rotations. It is also important when someone actually decides to check how faster one can drive... but fines are so expensive .... We see it in this way. Look at this the same way - you can have 90 HP and win start with the car of 120 HP, which is a better average power. Maximum speed is a different thing. You will not win here - there counts maximum power.
Manufacturer's warranty and chip tuning
A very important problem here is the issue of manufacturer's warranty. If the chip was replaced in your computer it theoretically leads to loss of warranty. However, most of the modifications is made in such a way so as to be undetectable by the service equipment of a particular car make in standard static tests, which are carried out during car warranty inspections. Furthermore, more advanced inspection with the use of an examiner (e.g. any dynamics tests performed when reporting faults) may show differences in relation to its factory settings. It follows that, during normal contacts with the service station you can lose the warranty if you boast about making modifications in the computer.
Modules for TDI and attached modules with a chip or ignition computers and programs recorded into computers through the diagnostic port are different issues. You can always dismantle the connected device for the time of maintenance and inspection. For programs recorded in the computer though the OBD2 port the service station has no chances of detecting modifications, except for the previously described dynamics tests, assuming that an advanced type of examiner is used.
Summary ...
It is worth noting that:
· Chiptuning does not affect durability of the engine while keeping deadlines of replacing consumables
· Chiptuning does not increase fuel consumption and after proper modifications (SL ECO) reduces consumption by up to 10-15% during the "eco riding" style
· Chiptuning increases car power but mainly improves the torque and optimizes engine supply providing that you use good quality fuel
· Chiptuning allows to give an individual nature of the car performance in mass-produced cars