Manufacturers design for a specific timing and this may limit performance accordingly.
However, to cope with advanced timing, one must run high-octane gasoline to avoid pre-ignition detonation or pinging. Higher timing may result in higher performance. Performance gains are realized by adjusting the ignition timing advance. The ECU may also control electronic throttle control (drive-by-wire), valve timing, boost control (in turbocharged engines), ABS, the automatic transmission, and the electronic stability control system. The ECU 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. ECUs are a relatively recent addition to the automobile, having first appeared in the late 1970s.Īs technology advanced, so did the electronics that go into cars. This procedure is commonly referred to as engine or ECU tuning.
#Ecu flash software
Modern ECUs can be tuned by simply updating their software through a standard interface, such as OBDII. 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. This was done with early engine computers in the 1980s and 1990s. Chip tuning refers to changing or modifying an EPROM chip in a car's or other vehicle's electronic control unit (ECU) to achieve better performance, whether it be more power, cleaner emissions, or better fuel economy.