Engine Performance Increase

Increase of performance or power of an engine can be achieved either through alternating the construction of the engine itself, or through optimizing of maps within the engine control unit.

Let’s ask ourselves three questions:

1. 1. Why do I need to increase the performance of my car’s engine?
2. 2. Can I cause damage or decrease durability of the engine, when I get it ECU remapped?
3. 3. When I have decided to opt for performance increase of the engine, how do I choose the right firm to do it?

Why do I need to increase the performance of my car’s engine?

There are many reasons for it.

Hypothetical situation; you have bought a new or a used car, for example Škoda Fabia 1.2 TSI, 66 kW and took it to a family trip. The boot of the car was stacked full and maybe you also pulled a trolley behind to get yourself equipped with everything a family can need on a trip.

• You found the car’s performance is not good enough, overtaking another car is always a race with time and a collision is just a matter of seconds. Safe and quick start from the crossroads has become a work of fiction. The car is lazy and doesn’t listen.
• You just want a change, you prefer a swift ride and getting a new car is not the option.
• You also want to save up on fuel, because a fully loaded car eats like a horse.

The highest power variant of the Fabia is 1.2 TSI, 81 KW, which in fact is the identical engine as the 66 KW version.
Incresing the performance – through ECU remap – not only boosts the power, but especially the engine’s torque. How to achieve that is be described below.

A safe increase in performance regarding the power limit of the engine and its parts is by 28 KW, which is from 66 KW to 94 KW. The torque goes up by 55 NM to very comfortable 215 NM, without putting too much stress on the engine and decreasing its durability.

The power limit is always taken into consideration during a remap process (option OPTIMAL chip).
As for the option INDIVIDUAL, the maximum power available is achieved through altering the construction of a drive unit (based on a customer’s requirement).

The option OPTIMAL chip makes a car more practical, faster, safer and 8 to 15 % more efficient.

Can I cause damage or decrease durability of the engine, when I get my car ECU remapped (modified)?

It can be said that there are two types of people when it comes to chip tuning.
There are a lot of laymen and experts at authorized, specialized and unauthorized service stations across the internet, who ECU chip tuning either recommend with a positive experience or reject with disagreement.

1. 1. Those who stand for modification of ECU maps in an engine. They have had the luck to have a car with a well carried out chip tuning from professionals and swear by it. After the modification, engine flexibility and throttle response. Efficiency of required engine performance was also increased through more power and torque.
2. 2. Then of course there are people who either have fallen victims to frauds and haven’t noticed any change or the engine doesn’t work as it should, it feels tough, car smokes, and the best bonus is an emergency mode at a brisk acceleration. There is no wonder that after such experience people reject chip tuning firmly.

A category on its own are the smartest who have never had a modified car, but have read a lot of opinions across the internet and can teach about chip tuning.

So what is the reality?

There are many rules that apply when it comes to chip tuning, which must be adhered to, and many factors that need to be considered. Among the most important factors in play are:

• Engine manufacturer,
• Engine build,
• Software version in the ECU,
• Experience with a particular engine and its parts,
• Mileage,
• Engine power limits,
• Engine being equipped with a diesel particulate filter (DPF/FAP) and catalysator,
• Car being equipped with an ADBLUE system,
• Transmission type and ability (in automatic transmission, performance data need to be modified),
• Respect performance limiters.

There is a decent amount of aspects that need to be taken into account when it comes to professional ECU remap.

If the modification (ECU remap) is carried out professionally, tailored to each car, damage or durability reduction doesn’t occur.
A vehicle will serve to a happy customer in a way it used to work before the modification, only with a higher performance, torque, better efficiency and driving experience.

When I have decided to opt for performance enhancement, how to choose the right firm?

On the fast-growing market of chip tuning, there are more and more service providers who can cause damage to your car through their low-quality work.

It is really important to pick carefully without any rush decision. Don’t be afraid to give a particular firm a call or visit their station. Professionals are always happy to answer any of your questions, give detailed explanation as to the possibilities, how will the modification of a particular car be carried out (the types of modification differ especially according to ECU type).

A good indicator is also a list of references from customers or partnership of the ECU remapper with authorized or unauthorized service stations.

When choosing a firm, ask also, whether they cooperate with international ECU remappers (German, English and Portugal developers are best in the industry).