an EXTRACT on chiptuning fact sheet :
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General information concerning chiptuning ...
Ever since the early days of combustion engines it was a necessity to adjust the air-fuel mixture as well as the ignition timing to the current operating conditions.
The drivers of Henry Ford´s ,,Model A", had adjustment devices for ignition timing and fuel supply mounted to the steering column, to manually influence the engines performance.
Nowadays all modern automobiles are equipped with electronic engine management. This applies to the ,,Central Port Injection"(Monojetronic), which functions similar to a carburator, just like to the far more efficient ,,Multi Port Injection", as well as to modern diesel direct injection systems, such as common rail systems in conjunction with boost control.
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1. The electronic control unit (ECU)
The ECU is responsible for the entire engine management. It measures, checks and controls all important functions of the engine under consideration of the current load condition and in dependence of all environmental parameters, such as ambient, engine coolant and oil temperature, intake air density etc.
During the process of chiptuning, this database, programmed on to the EEPOM(Chip) inside the ECU, is optimized. All relevant patterns and identifiers for, i.e. injection and ignition timing, boost control, load limitation and exhaust emissions, are being monitored over the entire rpm range of the engine and then changed within certain limits, in dependence to load and engine-rpm, so that the maximum horsepower and torque output, in consideration of the durability of the engine, as well as the least fuel consumption stand in an optimal relation to each other. Hereby we gain horsepower as well as a significantly higher torque output.
Generally one can say, that for turbocharged engines an increase of horsepower and torque of 20% to 40% and for normally aspirated engines 8% to 12% is realistic. In both cases acceleration, top end speed and elasticity improve significantly.
Moderate tuning will not have any effect on the durability of the engine as well as drivability of the car, as long as correct maintenance is provided and the engine is operated in a responsible manner. This can be applied to both, stock and tuned engines.
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2. Why not originally equipped by the manufacturer ?
During the development of an automobile the manufacturers have to, in many respects, find compromises in terms of fuel efficiency, horsepower output, drivability and these days, the most important issue, exhaust emissions. Factors like fuel quality, maintenance, operational circumstances etc. as well as financial aspects i.e., insurance classifications, have to be taken under consideration. The manufacturers have to assure operational reliability for the final product worldwide, which means, that in most cases the actual engine potential is not reached.
Therefore the ignition, injection, boost, - etc. patterns programmed, are on the "save side".
Furthermore almost all manufacturers offer mechanically identical or almost identical engines with varying horsepower output. The gain in output is mainly achieved by software changes. The stronger and more expensive version of a particular model car, is often brought out on to the market 1-2 years later after the initial presentation. This is done to repeatedly draw the attention of customers, who already bought the previous model and might be willing to trade in and purchase the new release.
If you are willing to regularly perform car maintenance and loose some economic efficiency under full load, then a enormous output potential will be available to you. The aim of chiptuning is, to significantly increase torque and horsepower output over the entire rpm range of the engine, especially on turbo charged engines. Here you will have the impression, after the optimization is done, to own a entirely different car or to have changed into the next higher vehicle class.
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3. Individual tuning in of all automobiles
Any tuningchip, is individually programmed in order to maintain the vehicle characteristics, such as variant codings like i.e. manual 4, 5 or 6-speed, automatic transmission, traction control systems, air-conditioning etc., as well as information referring to the immobilization system, vehicle identification numbers, engine id-numbers, diagnostic identifiers, malfunction detection and memorization, parameters for emergency operation in case of system failures etc.
Consequently your car can be serviced and diagnosed just like a standard model car without chiptuning and the modification of your software is not detectable by the manufactures and their service stations.
A) Vehicle type, transmission version and power train
Vehicle type, transmission version and the power train naturally are decisive factors for the tuning-in and layout of the software to be programmed into the ECU. Rear, front end or permanent 4wheel drive, 5 or 6-speed manual or automatic transmission, 4-door sedan, coupe, convertible, station wagon or off-road vehicle etc.- these aspects initially reflect into the software development even when using an identical engine type.
B) Engine characteristics
Naturally a differently tuned software will change the engine characteristics, thus enabling the particular car manufacturer, to install the same engine, using differently tuned software, into various model cars of his production line. Each model car and vehicle type will then have it's particular characteristics, without having to develop an entirely new engine.
C) Dispersal within the series and subcontractors
A particular manufacturer in example, produces 1000 engines with a nominal output of 150 hp. After the final assembly, these engines usually undergo an approximately 20 minutes lasting test run, to recheck the mechanical functionality and to determine the output as well as the maximum torque. These engines however are subject to a certain dispersal by means of tolerances among various engine components such as, pistons, cylinder heads, engine blocks, gasketing materials etc., that lead to varying output- and torque measurements, so that about a third really has an output of 150 hp, the other third tends to develop a higher output, while the remaining third produces less than the desired horsepower rating. In order to bring these engines on to the same level, the software for the engine management is explicitly adapted to the particular engine series. In the same way stability characteristics as well as differences and tolerances of certain components, installed into a particular production series, that have been supplied by subcontractors, are taken under consideration. By means of cost, quality and logistical reasons, very often different subcontractors supply an identical vehicle component.
D) Fuel quality and emission standards
On principal nowadays there are two different vehicle layouts, as far as emissions and fuel qualities are concerned. Relevant for us within Europe, is the so called "EC-Norm", that applies to all automobiles registered throughout Europe.
Generally vehicles that conform to US-specifications are operated outside of Europe. These vehicles are tuned according to Asian and American standards.
Just by changing to 98 octane fuel, or even higher octane qualities, depending on availability, an improvement in agility and "revability" is achieved. Some manufacturers recommend using 98 octane fuel for even better performance of their "Top models", although these engines are tuned for burning 95 octane fuel.
Actually most standard engines cannot really take advantage of the 98 octane fuel. Best indication here for is, if i.e., the Italian version of a particular automobile is rated with exactly the same output as the corresponding German or Austrian edition, even though unleaded 98 octane fuel is not available in Italy. Consequently the Italian version should have less horsepower, but this is not the case. On all diesel and turbo diesel engines we encounter a similar situation in respect of the cetan value, which is an indicator for the ignitability of diesel fuel at low ambient temperatures. The concentration of sulfur is another important factor, concerning diesel fuel.
E) Software updates
Naturally the rapid hard and software development has massively influenced the automobile production nowadays. While home based desktop-PC's and laptop computers are regularly updated or upgraded, the software onboard a modern automobile remains in an untouched stage. In most cases the latest level of knowledge in programming and control engineering has now further influence on existing automobile control and regulation systems. Our tuning files are programmed in cognition of the latest development in automobile production, and can therefore be considered as a tremendous improvement and upgrade.
After reading the previous explanations about chiptuning it becomes clear, why each ECU has to be individually programmed, in order to gain a maximum in quality, reliability, durability, functionality and accuracy. One as well should, under all circumstances, refrain from installing components or units, that manipulate measurement data and sensor values. These unqualified interferences into the data transfer to and from the ECU may result in disturbances within the entire system, that in the worst case can even lead to severe engine damage.
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4. Procedure of chiptuning
When undergoing a tuningchip, one will receive a well balanced increase in horsepower and torque not only on the high end under full load, but also in the low and mid ranges, without having negative effect on the exhaust emissions. Due to the optimization the specific fuel consumption under partial engine load, is reduced by approximately 0,5 ltr./100km.
By modifying certain parameters the characteristically torque output of a particular engine can be optimized for hauling trailers, which means high torque output at lower rpm.
The optimization of the ECU requires about 1,5-2 hrs. First of all the component, containing the original file, is removed from the ECU. The contents of the EPROM is read and archived. All relevant patterns are 3D graphically portrayed and then individually changed, in order to achieve the optimal performance. The optimized database is then implemented into the original software, the checksum is recalculated, so that the modifications of your software are undetectable for manufactures and service stations. Now the modified software is programmed on to the EPROM and the ECU is then reinstalled into your automobile and road tested. Since we tune all cars individually, high mileage and other circumstances of operation can be taken under consideration.
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