ECU REMAPPING
Page 33
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
More power, but what is it doing to the engine? Have you been wondering how to wring a bit more power and torque out of your truck’s engine? Or if you can make it run more frugally given the high cost of diesel?
Yes, you can, according to John Ford. All you need, is to get somebody who knows what they are doing to remap the engine control unit (ECU).
It's something that JF Automotive, the Kent-based business that Ford runs, specialises in. For a typical £645, including VAT, the exercise could give you up to 20% better fuel economy, up to 30hp more to play with, and a 60Nm to 70Nm torque boost, he says. “It can also make power delivery smoother, which places less strain on the gearbox.” The exercise involves plugging a laptop into the vehicle’s diagnostic port and rewriting the ECU’s software in line with the customer’s requirements.
“Sometimes we have to take the ECU off because we cannot access it through the port, but in most cases this isn’t necessary,” says Ford. “ECUs are typically encrypted, but that is something we can overcome.” JF Automotive tailors what it does to fit the individual vehicles. What it does not do is make use of all-things-to-allmen generic files that might be suitable in theory, but do not work terribly well in practice.
If what Ford does is so effective, why don’t truck manufacturers do it on the production line?
“The reason they don’t is that they map their engines to perform equally well under all conditions – in blazing-hot sunshine as well as in the freezing cold – and on all qualities of fuel,” he says. “In other words, they map them to run successfully in every market in the world.” However, many UK operators simply want a truck that will offer optimum performance in all the conditions likely to be encountered in this country. Losing the ability to keep rolling in a Siberian winter is of no concern to them because they have no intention of going there. And if they do need to, the remapping can always be reversed.
Ford rejects any suggestion that remapping is likely to cause damage. “We are careful not to exceed the capabilities of the engine and, of course, engines are built very strongly these days anyway. An extra 30hp won’t cause one to blow up.” And if it did?