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I understand your concerns, they are more than reasonable. However, any time you alter the hardware on your engine you are changing an engineer's design, and any hardware changes that allow an engine to make more power come with an inherent risk with the protection of the rest of the parts. In a sense, the ecu upgrade is matching the software to the hardware and providing necessary protection to the parts.
A common misconception is that software engineers know exactly what they're doing when they program an engine contol system, and their programs are what is best for the engine. In fact, while they do know exactly what they're doing, their programs are not necessarily what is best for the engine. Engine control systems are usually programmed for a mean set of circumstances, and altering that program to accommodate your particular set of circumstances is a safe endeavor. The fact is the general public doesn't necessarily care about how much power their cars make, so a little excess is good enough for most people in most driving situations. Also, the tunes available from some of the reputable retailers, like the Saabnet sponsors, are done by people with actual degrees. Granted, not all of them are software engineers, but I don't think a software engineer is necessarily the best mind for an internal combustion engine. Nordic, BSR, and Maptune all have large R&D facilities, and their tunes are made and tested by qualified, educated individuals. Jak Stoll is a Certified Master Technician, to acquire that certification you need to be well educated in electronic control systems. Now if you buy a tune off some famous auction website, then you don't know what you're getting and can almost be certain you're not getting something made by a qualified individual.
BMW is also guilty of under-tuning vehicles, there are many BMW's running the same engine with different power outputs; it's rarely the hard parts within the engine that lowers the output, it's usually the software. Honda is another prime example. When Honda invented V-TECH, they were making too much power (TOO MUCH FOR WHO DAMN IT) and therefore de-tuned their V-TECH engines to lower the output.
With all that said, I do understand your apprehension. On the other hand, that twin turbo BMW isn't much faster than a proper stage 3, and might have trouble keeping up with a stage 4 SAAB.
posted by 98.144.60...
, Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:31:43
, Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:26:47
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