Does car remapping or ECU tuning work?
Car remap service in London: a guide
How does Car Remapping Service and Car Tuning work? If you’re reading this article, then you must be here to do the research and find out if it’s for you; we’re here to help meet your needs and to let you know whether or not your car is suited. Rather than a how-to guide on how to DIY it (which we don’t recommend) we’re instead here to teach you about what it is and whether you should do a Car Remapping service in London.
By changing the variables on your car, you can create the perfect mix for peak engine performance.
Let’s tackle the commonly asked questions based around car remapping service:
Table of contents:
- So What is a Car Remap?
- How Does Car Remapping Work?
- What Does ECU Remapping Do To My Car?
- Is My Car Right For A Car Remapping?
- What Will Happen To My Vehicle Before The Remap?
So what is a car remap?
Car Remapping really comes from our need for speed: our love and joy of getting that tingly feeling when we put our pedal to the metal; of feeling the oomph as our car performs how we always dreamed it would; the adrenaline of high performance and ultimately feeling that high of freedom and speed on the road. We’re here to guide you through whether this feeling is attainable for you and if your car remapping service in London is in sight.
You might see the terms ‘car remapping’ and ‘ECU tuning’ used fairly interchangeably; that’s because they’re the same thing. ECU tuning is to do with when the Engine Control Unit (ECU) is tinkered with to optimise the capacities and settings across several areas of the car’s performance and expression.
At Car Remapping Service in London, we plug-in to write over the settings that the car has with a new software and original files that control a number of different areas of the car, including:
• Fuel injection;
• Airflow;
• Sensors; and more!
All of this is done within the legal parameters to ensure that your car remapping makes your cars fly, but in a way that is safe, insurable and durable.
How does car remapping work?
When you buy a car from a manufacturer, it would have generally been mapped with longevity in mind; this is because the manufacturer wants to do all that they can to ensure that your car is going to fly through the warranty period completely issue-free. A good way to do this, is for it to be mapped to an average level of speed performance, to take pressure off all of the key components such as your gearbox.
A remapping means that the software is tweaked to the owner’s specifications, and the possibilities of what the car can achieve is, quite literally, remapped. Car remapping service in London can be a bit of a minefield, so we’re here to make it easy for you.
The ECU software that the car comes with is remapped via the car’s serial port (AKA an OBD port) by plugging in a new software. Previously, this would have been done via a literal re-tuning of the car’s carburettor by a mechanic, kind of like a musician tuning up a guitar for the best sound.
Nowadays, the process is quite different and based around software and electronic data, as opposed to a hands-on engine tune of valves. This is as cars are now designed to have all of these things changed via the car’s computing system, hence the change in name from car tuning to car remapping as it takes on a new form.
What does ECU remapping do to my car?
The combination of how you plan to drive your recently remapped car, combined with how the car remapping has been carried out, will determine the ultimate performance of your recently tuned whip. If you’re really aiming to get the most out of your newly optimised car, you may drive it slightly differently to get the most out of the engine to really have fun with your new beast.
There are a couple of things to bare in mind as side-effects of this, however. One of the biggest ones, for many people, is fuel economy. A lot of the time the car remapping is based around getting the ultimate performance out of your car and one area of this is demanded the most: speed. In order to get faster 0-60mph performance and, ultimately, speed, fuel injection into the engine and airflow into the engine is changed and optimised. This optimisation more means more fuel into the engine, so your engine become very thirsty. A thirsty engine means higher fuel costs.
For many people, these higher fuel costs are a necessary evil of the car remapping process, because it ultimately leads to that supercar feeling that is truly special, leaving your mate’s car in the dust. This ‘enthusiastic’ form of driving means that you also either consciously, or subconsciously, give your car more welly when driving around after the car remapping.
Now, if you play ball with your car and drive it more economically, this will of course be a different story. You can do this by making the most of the torque, power and increased rev range between gear changes, which will improve things significantly.
If you car remapping is done by a reputable place (like us!) power and torque gains vary substantially by engine, ECU version, fuel, condition and calibration. Use our vehicle lookup or request a quote for vehicle-specific estimated gains.
Another big, fat, plus-side to this, is that your car’s engine will respond more to you, meaning that during long drives on the motorway, you can overtake with ease and confidence, meaning less gear changes and an ease of handling situations requiring more torque without the need to drop to low gearing. If you use your car remapping in a strategic way, your fuel economy will actually get boosted. We love this part of car remapping service!
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Is my car right for a car remapping?
A big question to consider: is car remapping is right for your particular situation and car? It can be expected that any car modification, maintenance or change to your vehicle will have it’s perks and drawbacks, so it’s important to consider both sides before going ahead with your car remapping in London.
The 5 main considerations to make are:
1. IS my car the right age for a car remap?
One consideration to make is around the age of your vehicle: if your car was on the forecourt before the year 2000, it’s likely to be too old to be able to run the remapping software and to achieve optimisation.
2. WHo is conducting the car remapping?
Unless you can hand-on-heart say that you’re an expect in the field of cars and remaps, we really don’t recommend that you attempt the car remapping via DIY methods. Although it may be tempting to save on the cash expenditure, you’re likely to cost yourself a lot more £££s in damaged parts and a faulty system in the long run. By going with Car Tuning London, you’re massively minimising your risk and creating a safety net for any issues that may crop up in the future.
3. WHat does my insurer need to know about my car remap?
You may see a change in your car insurance costs by opting to go for car remapping; you’ll need to give your insurer a buzz after you’ve had the car remapping completed to let them know that you’ve had it done (as well as if there have been any other car mods, of course).
4. DOes my car have the right build for a car remapping?
A reputable car remapping company, like Car Tuning London, will be more than happy to explain whether your car is right for car remapping before you decide to go ahead. For example, you may be advised to change or upgrade certain parts of your car so that your car is then able to get the most of a car remapping service in London.
Remaps create a significant increase in power, so it is possible that your car will need have these improvements in order to really be able to handle the power of the car remapping. If your car is built to be able to take more power, a car remap could work excellently for you, without the need for upgrades, but if it isn’t built for it, it’s good to get advice on the best way to go before taking plunge.
Many turbo-diesel vehicles can respond well to calibration, but performance and fuel-economy results depend on the exact engine, condition and driving style and are not guaranteed.
5. ANy pitfalls to my car getting ‘chipped’?
It’s certainly true that engine remapping could cause issues with your car, mainly with it putting additional stress and strain on your gearbox and turbo, but it shouldn’t affect the reliability as long as you go for a reliable car remapping service expert like Car Tuning London. When developing our software, we were careful to ensure the temperatures and pressures were all where they were supposed to be, which means your engine should be flying with no problems at all.
What will happen to my vehicle before the remap?
A visual inspection of your car will be carried out to ensure that there are no problems in the engine bay that would prevent a car remapping service from being carried out. Provided this all looks great, we will then connect our diagnostic equipment to see if there are any error codes that may have been flagged – this is to ensure that there haven’t been any flags by the ECU that may cause the issues later down the line. If this is all perfect, we are then good to start the car remapping process, usually be beginning through connecting a computer to the car, downloading the data files and optimising the best settings to proceed tuning the car with.
After this, we start the engine once again to carry out a further diagnostic check that there are no system errors flagged at this stage either.
Next up, it’s time to take the car for a spin! We take it for a test to carry out further checks by our team. If the car passes all the usual road checks, then it’s great news: we are ready to begin. Once the car remapping is done, it’s time to take your baby for a spin and to have fun!
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Stage 1 suitability is confirmed from the exact vehicle, ECU/TCU, condition and diagnostic data. Many standard vehicles need no hardware changes, but we confirm compatibility before work.
Stage 2 requirements vary by vehicle and calibration. Supporting hardware, cooling, intake or exhaust changes may be required, but manufacturer-fitted emissions equipment on public-road vehicles must remain compliant.
Higher-output builds require a vehicle-specific assessment of turbocharger, cooling, fuelling, transmission and supporting hardware. We quote only after confirming the actual specification.
Overrun sound calibrations are vehicle-specific and may not be appropriate for every vehicle or road use. Compatibility, hardware condition, noise requirements and emissions compliance are checked before advice is given.
TCU or gearbox calibration can change shift strategy, torque limits and response where supported. Results depend on the gearbox type, software version and vehicle setup, so compatibility is confirmed first.
Sound-related tuning depends on the engine, exhaust hardware and intended use. We do not recommend removing or defeating road-vehicle emissions controls simply to create exhaust sound.
For road vehicles, DPF-related work starts with diagnostics, fault-code checks and an assessment of the filter and regeneration system. We do not recommend removing or defeating manufacturer-fitted emissions controls for public-road use.
EGR faults are assessed using vehicle-specific diagnostics. The correct approach depends on the vehicle, the underlying fault and its intended use. Public-road vehicles remain subject to UK emissions and MOT requirements.
AdBlue and NOx faults are investigated by checking the SCR system, sensors, dosing hardware and stored fault data. We provide vehicle-specific advice and avoid presenting emissions-control defeat as a road-use service.
Swirl flap and intake-manifold faults should be diagnosed before any software change. We check the underlying mechanical condition and stored fault data, then advise on the appropriate repair or calibration approach.
A diagnostic trouble code is evidence of a fault or condition, not something to clear blindly. We identify the cause and only apply software changes where they are technically appropriate and safe.
Audi/VW have this in the boot it tells you engine and gearbox code
Other information:
Current pricing: tuning prices depend on the vehicle, ECU/TCU and requested service. Use the Shop, Get a Quote or Booking pages for current pricing and compatibility.
Bench Remap cost extra -£50
Stage 2, gearbox tuning and optional add-ons are quoted according to vehicle compatibility and required hardware/software method. Current prices are shown in the Shop where available.