Running to a different tune
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Can remapping your vehicle’s Engine Control Unit really produce more power and better fuel efficiency? And if it can, is it doing it any harm?
Words: Steve Banner
“Each file we provide is covered by £2m of insurance,” says Ford. “We haven’t had to make a claim yet.” An alternative to remapping an ECU is to plug in a tuning box: this can sometimes be done if the ECU is resistant to any change. In effect, the tuning box fools the ECU into altering the engine’s behaviour, leading, for example, to an increase in power. Tuning boxes for heavy truck engines cost about the same as an ECU remap.
Ford is aware that truckmakers are, to say the least, unenthusiastic about what businesses like his do, but he rejects any claims that remapping will automatically and completely void any warranty a manufacturer provides. “If a manufacturer adopts such a policy, then it is breaking the law,” he contends.
Ford is right in the sense that the fact an engine has been remapped should not invalidate a warranty claim for, say, a leaky windscreen. It is, however, likely to invalidate a claim for the cost of replacing, for example, some seriously damaged engine components under warranty if it can be proved that remapping was the cause.
Aside from the question of possible damage, DAF product marketing manager Phil Moon is concerned that remapping might affect the truck’s exhaust emissions, causing, for example, a Euro-5 engine to revert to Euro-4 in whole or in part.
The use of CANBus wiring means all the key components on a vehicle are linked to each other, including the gearbox and brakes. Again, if remapping can be shown to affect the functioning of any of these components and a warranty claim is made, it might not be honoured.
“In all fairness though, we are not talking about actually cutting into the CANBus,” says Dave Ririe, product manager at Renault Trucks. Do that and you can potentially cause serious problems throughout a vehicle.” However, Ford insists: “ECU remapping will not affect the functioning of ABS, ESP (electronic stability programme) or other safety-related systems.” Nonetheless, Moon says: “Remapping is not something we would support, because we cannot be sure of what is being done and what the consequences are likely to be. There is a lot of scope for things to go wrong.” The other concern is whether the people trying to remap the ECU know what they are doing. Some do, some do not.
“The quality and reliability of companies providing this type of service can vary widely,” says Ririe. “These companies are typically not experts in any one manufacturer’s technology.” Darren Darling, a director of Northumberland-based Energy Tuning, agrees that you should certainly do your homework before deciding who is going to do your remapping. “There are some tuners out there who try to give engines too much power,” he says.
Says Ririe: “If there was a way of remapping an ECU to get another 0.5mpg out of a truck, don’t you think the manufacturers, who spend millions and millions of pounds on product development, would be doing it already?” ■