Car enthusiasts always desire to get the most out of their precious vehicles and therefore, keep looking for new ways to improve their efficiency. One of the most efficient methods is to ‘remap’ the car. What is remapping and what is the process involved in this sensitive job, we’ll cover the basics in this article. But our main job is to clear the confusion about whether a remap will harm the rest of your engine or not. We’ll discuss this question in detail so tune in.
What is Remapping?
Remapping is basically about modifying the settings of a car’s Engine Control Unit or ECU in short. It is also called as chip or ECU tuning. What happens is that every car’s ECU comes with its own preset configuration. However, this can be replaced or rewritten.
- Traditional Remapping: Conventional remapping involved taking out the old ECU out of a car and getting it replaced with a pre-programmed new one, also named as ‘chipping’.
- Contemporary Remapping: Contemporary remapping involves replacing the ECU’s factory settings with new software, tailored to the owner’s specifications. In this reprogramming, some of the pre-programmed parameters are set to boost the overall performance of the ECU. This allows to increase the car’s horsepower and torque, improve fuel efficiency, airflow, and sensors, and enhance power delivery and acceleration, and more.
An ECU controls several systems of the engine in real-time through info received by sensors such as the LAMBDA, AFR, MAP, and throttle sensors, including:
- Air-fuel ratio
- Ignition timing
- Idle speed
- Variable valve timing and valve control
Can a Remap Harm the Rest of Your Engine?
Often some remappers remap a vehicle that they know is not running properly or has a few issues already, which can be extremely dangerous. You need to know that remapping is an intricate and sensitive job and if not done properly, can cause different sorts of issues to your engine. Let’s take a look at a few:
- Strain on Engine: An aggressive remap can put extra pressure on your car’s engine components, which leads to premature wear and tear.
- Affect the Car’s Reliability: The more power you acquire from a remap, the more it’ll affect your car’s reliability and components could fail earlier than anticipated.
- Fuel Economy Affected: Improper remapping can severely affect your fuel economy, as your engine will need to work harder than required. It can cause serious engine damage in extreme cases if a remap is done by an inexperienced individual.
- Impact on Other Components: Driving faster after remapping the engine for more power can put more strain on other modules, including the brakes. Thus, you might need to replace some vehicle parts more often.
- Invalidates Car’s Warranty: Although remapping is an easy and obscure way of tuning your car, the majority of car warranties will be annulled by a remap. The reason is that although remapping improves your car’s efficiency, it still is an alteration that can affect the engine’s reliability that becomes beyond the control of manufacturer.
- Insurance Premium Likely to Rise: Any type of performance variation to your car will usually upturn your insurance cost. It is applicable to remaps as well. If you do not mention it, your insurer may invalidate your policy in case of an accident and could refuse to disburse.
Things to Consider Before Remapping
There are several other things you need to consider before going for a remap:
- Cost: Remapping is a relatively economical way to improve a car’s performance. However, going for major engine upgrades can cost thousands of pounds.
- Legality: Remapping is legal in the UK, but it must abide by vehicle emission rules and road safety standards. It’s also vital to disclose any remapping to your insurance provider, as it may increase your insurance prices.
- Safety: It’s essential to have an experienced remapper for the job as damaging the engine is a risk. It’s best to professionally remap your car if you plan on selling it. Disclose the work to the buyer to prevent any obscurity.
- Reliable Company: If you’re considering remapping your vehicle then choose a reputable company that thoroughly undertakes all the tests and procedures before and after to ensure safety and performance boost.
Tips for Picking A Professional Remapping Company
If you’re confused about how to find a reliable remapping company then worry not and follow our lead:
- Look For Experience: An experienced vehicle remapping company will have a broad experience in diverse types of vehicle remapping and tuning services for different models and variants. Such companies know how to expertly handle your car’s ECU for remapping due to prior experience and can ensure that its performance is not affected negatively.
- Search For Relevant Service: Engine remapping is a diverse service. Therefore, it is crucial to look for an auto-tuning company that gives the services that you need.
- Check Reviews: The easiest way for picking a professional remapping company is to look for reviews. Just visit their website and look for evaluations as every good auto-tuning company often boasts its satisfied customers’ reviews on their website. So, before finalising your decision, make sure to know whether people are satisfied with their work or not.
Taking Off a Remap
If you aren’t satisfied with the remap and want to return to the original settings, you can also remove it. However, this task should be done again by professional remappers who have the required tools and expertise to safely remap your car without ravaging it. If you want to move to the original mapping configuration, they can also restore the original map, allowing you to enjoy your vehicle in its originality.
Get in Touch
Learning about the dire outcomes of unprofessional remapping can often pessimist the readers. However, if you choose a reliable company providing skilled remappers, then this is a good option as remapping can make your car more agile, responsive, and quicker, and increase fuel economy by improving overall engine efficiency without making physical upgrades.
While remapping done by unskilled remappers can cause long-term harm to your engine, professional remapping can boost its performance. Therefore, choose a reputable and reliable company like GMP Autos to remap your car and enjoy improved engine performance. Call now at 07956 088808 to get an estimate or to make an appointment today.
