What is Car Engine Remapping?

By Admin Reading time: 8 min read Published on: 11 / 10 / 2022
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ECU (Electronic control unit) is a computer that controls modern vehicle engines, including boost pressure, air or fuel ratio, and ignition timing. By tuning, adding all aerodynamics aids like a spoiler, tweaking handling, all this, or we can say by adjusting these settings properly, you can improve the performance or increase the economy and sometimes both! This process is known as car engine remapping and in other words, it is called- "chipping". In simple words, it is a modern way of increasing the performance of the car by adjusting its onboard computer where the manufacturer's default software is replaced to install the third party to get the most out of the engine.

In modern vehicles, the installation is done quickly by connecting the laptop to the vehicle's OBD serial report whereas, in older vehicles, you have to remove the chip completely and install the new one which already has the new software installed on it. That's why car engine remapping is known as "chipping".

In car engine remapping, stage one is just all about simply changing the ECU software. Stage 2 will include some more changes like adjusting additional hardware such as a fuel pump with high pressure and a new exhaust system. The 3 and 4 stages will comprise upgrading the vehicle's supercharger or turbocharger. Sometimes, Car engine remapping (the increase in fuel efficiency of the vehicle, and increase in performance that includes torque, horsepower, and speed) can become harmful for your vehicle if done wrong. We highly recommend that do not make a decision of installing software from any unverified company. There are many certified and specialist tunning companies that check the vehicle for a year or more after the modification before making it available in public, just to check the safety.

Various types of car engine remapping

  • For instance, to improve fuel efficiency there might be an economy version designed.
  • Increase in torque results in improved driveability and MPG and also, then you have to change fewer gears and accelerator pedal movement.
  • To alter the downshift and up-shift points, by remapping the automatic gearbox which also increases the shift response time.
  • Expensive car engine remapping includes the replacement of engine parts and hardware upgrades like a new turbocharger that enhances the performance of the car.

Car engine remapping results in increased torque, better throttle response, improved fuel economy, boosted horsepower, safer overtaking and smoother power delivery but the results are not always good.

  • Sometimes drivers need to stick to a particular fuel, as some cars are mapped to the specific fuel which is much more expensive.
  • After car engine remapping speeding is much easier.
  • Car engine remapping affect non-turbo engine badly as it only benefits turbo engine.

Does car engine remapping affect the warranty or insurance of your car?

Car engine remapping can definitely affect your insurance as car engine remapping is a huge modification that leads to a serious change in the car's overall performance and the insurance providers are not fond of these modifications and all. Not informing your insurance provider about this huge modification like car engine remapping, can void the warranty of your car. In the end it was not the decision of a manufacturer to push the engine beyond the limits and if something went wrong, you are only responsible for that and you could end up paying for it. So, it's important to check or verify, whether the company has experience or good reviews or not.

What's the need for car engine remapping?

The main reason for car engine remapping is the increase in torque and horsepower because there's no doubt, that after leaving the showroom the performance of the torque will deliberately reduce. Nowadays the power and the torque of a car are limited and car engine remapping positively affects the turbocharging boost pressure, and ignition timing fuel/air ratio.

READ MORE:

A Comprehensive Guide to Engine Maintenance

10 Ways to Save On Your Car Insurance

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