Chip Tuning is a safe way to increase the performance of your vehicle. Modern cars are equipped with engine control unit ECU (engine control unit), which affects the quantity of injected fuel and control ignition, depending on engine operating state. Car manufacturers are forced to compile these programs according to certain criteria and with significant reserves. Simply put - a car that meets the production line, it must also function well in extremely warm in extremely cold climates. It is a serial program data sufficiently broad and take into account a wide range of other aspects (such as low fuel, etc.).. Consequently, the engine of your vehicle used for approx. 60-70% of its possibilities. This fact, however, can be easily and safely changed by adjusting the data stored in the memory control unit, called Chip.
This was done with early engine computers in the 1980s and 1990s. Today, the term chip tuning can be misleading, as people will often use it to describe ECU tuning that does not involve swapping the chip. Modern engine control units can be tuned by simply updating their software through a standard interface, such as On Board Diagnostics. This procedure is commonly referred to as engine or engine control unit tuning. engine control units are a relatively recent addition to the automobile, having first appeared in the late 1970s.
As technology advanced, so did the electronics that go into cars. The engine control unit in a modern automobile, together with advanced engine technology, makes it possible to control many aspects of the engine's operation, such as spark timing and fuel injection. The engine control unit may also control electronic throttle control (drive-by-wire), poppet valve timing, boost control (in turbocharged engines), Anti-lock braking system, the automatic transmission, speed governor (if equipped), and the Electronic Stability Control system.
Performance gains are realized by adjusting the ignition timing advance. Different timing may result in better performance. However, to cope with advanced timing, one must run high-octane gasoline to avoid pre-ignition detonation or pinging. Manufacturers design for a specific timing and this may limit performance accordingly.
The reason to change the engine control unit map is if there are engine, intake, or exhaust modifications to the car. These "bolt-on" modifications alter the way that the engine flows, often causing the air to fuel ratio to change. Without re-mapping the fuel tables, some of the performance gains from the modifications may not be realized.
A poorly tuned engine control unit can result in decreased performance, driveability, and may even cause engine damage.
The most common way to "upgrade" the engine control unit is using either plug in modules as mentioned above or using a specialist tuner who will use an On Board Diagnostics Flash tool. These devices generally plug into the diagnostic port although in some cases the reprogramming is done directly on the circuit board. Maps are supplied by tuners.