Chiptuning an engine is an extremely delicate operation that should always be done by professionals. That said, for the most curious handy-men, the charm of such a job is often too big. Therefore, here is a list of tools and prerequisites of which you need to arm yourself before jumping into chiptuning engines.
The tools and equipment necessary
All modern vehicles are equipped with engine control units. It is on this electronic part where the chiptuning operations take place. Therefore, you would need the following tools to reach it:
- A hanging box with an open port: this is the part that makes the bridge between your portable computer and the on-board software. Many models exist and their compatibility can vary from one brand to another.
- A connection cable: in the majority of cases, vehicles are available with the necessary cables for a connection. You need to have the compatible cable for the vehicle on which you would like to work on.
- The chiptuning software: it is this software that will allow you to communicate with the engine control unit once the car is connected to the hanging box. You need to have a basic understanding of how the software works in order to get something out of it.
- The new mapping: it’s the software file that will replace the engine parameters by default. It is possible to find it online, but you need to make sure the source is reliable and will not cause damage to your engine.
The know-how and knowledge
Beyond the material and files of which is necessary to have, you would need precise knowledge to dive into chiptuning your engine. Luckily, there are guides and tutorials online that could be of great help, even if they do not lead to an experienced professional’s level.
Therefore, you must have a high enough mastery of engine tuning and internal combustion engine concepts. You also must have basic experience in electronics and embedded systems, and solid knowledge of engine control unit map writing.