×

Sale ends todayGet 30% off any course (excluding packages)

Ends in --- --- ---

Practical Reflash Tuning: Required Hardware

Watch This Course

$229 USD $114.50 USD

-OR-
Or 8 easy payments of only $14.31 Instant access. Easy checkout. No fees. Learn more
Course Access for Life
60 day money back guarantee

Required Hardware

06.18

00:00 - I've already briefly mentioned what you will need to actually reflash a stock ECU.
00:05 But in this module, we're going to go into this in a little more detail.
00:10 When it comes to reflashing packages, they normally comprise of two parts.
00:15 A software interface for making the tuning changes and logging ECU parameters.
00:20 And a hardware interface that goes between the laptop and the OBD2 port on the car.
00:27 This is normally an OBD2 to USB adapter.
00:31 Of course, for a commercial reflashing package, the developer needs to have a way of making money out of each vehicle you want to tune.
00:39 And this is typically done in one of two ways.
00:43 Either you'll purchase credits for each car you want to tune, or you purchase a special tuning module for each vehicle you want to tune and this module remains with the car.
00:55 As an example HP Tuners, EFILive and EcuTek work on the credit system, while COBB and SCT provide a hardware module for each car you want to tune.
01:07 Normally, the tuning module works out to be the more expensive approach.
01:12 However it does give some advantages to the vehicle owner.
01:15 As often the module can be used to clear fault codes, swap between different maps, or even perform logging functions.
01:25 The other consideration with packages that use a tuning module, is that for commercial tuning workshops, there can be a reasonable investment in stock to ensure you have enough tuning modules on hand, to cover your requirements.
01:39 If you're buying credits on the other hand, this can often be done online, using an automated process, so you can purchase just the credits you need for a job.
01:51 Unfortunately, when it comes to the software used for reflashing the ECU, there is no universal option that can work across every platform.
02:00 And this is a frustration for those of us who will be tuning a wide variety of vehicles.
02:06 It means that, firstly, you'll need to invest in a range of different products, to cover all of your requirements and it also means that you'll need to learn these different software packages.
02:19 If you're running a commercial tuning workshop, then you need to consider carefully, the vehicles that you expect to be popular in your area.
02:27 As providing reflash support for a wide range of vehicles can be incredibly expensive if you're investing in commercial tuning packages.
02:37 Of course, the initial outlay will be recouped over time, but there is little point in investing several thousand dollars to support a vehicle that's not popular in your area.
02:49 It should go without saying that you're also going to need a laptop to perform your tuning with.
02:55 Tuning isn't a particularly intensive process as far as the laptop goes, so you definitely don't need the latest, or most powerful, model on the market.
03:06 Generally, tuning laptops get a pretty hard time and are constantly being subjected to vibration, so they often don't last that long.
03:14 I'm normally pretty happy if I can get more than about two years use out of the laptop.
03:19 So again, it doesn't make much sense to be spending a lot of cash here.
03:24 I'd recommend a PC based laptop and look for one with at least three USB ports, as these can quickly get used up while tuning.
03:34 It's also worth considering a solid state hard drive as these are a little less likely to be damaged by vibration.
03:43 You're also going to need a wideband air/fuel ratio metre to monitor the fuel mixture.
03:50 The options here are quite varied and the correct option will depend on how many cars you're expecting to tune.
03:57 For example, if you're just interested in tuning your own car, then a permanently installed wideband gauge is often the best and cheapest solution.
04:07 For commercial tuning operations, a portable wideband metre is necessary that can quickly be swapped from one car to the next.
04:17 Many late model cars are now equipped with wideband oxygen sensors in the exhaust and in this case we can usually log the air/fuel ratio while the engine is running.
04:28 This begs the question, is a wideband metre really necessary then? Well some of these wideband sensors do read accurately, I've also struck a number of cars where their readings are still hard to trust.
04:42 Particularly as we move further away from the stoichiometric air/fuel ratio.
04:48 I'd at least recommend checking and confirming the reading you're seeing in your logger with a known portable wideband metre to ensure that you can trust the factory sensors reading.
05:00 Lastly, I'd also recommend some audio knock detection equipment, that will let you listen to the engine and let you know if knock is occurring as you're optimising the ignition table.
05:13 Again, this might seem unnecessary as most late model factory ECUs are equipped with onboard knock detection and knock control systems.
05:23 And normally you'll be able log the ECU and see if it is detecting knock.
05:29 While, in theory, this is perfectly acceptable.
05:32 I've tuned a number of factory ECUs where the knock control system was picking up knock that wasn't really happening.
05:40 More dangerous though, I've also seen situations when knock, that I could audibly hear, was being ignored by the factory ECU.
05:50 Since knock can be so damaging to the engine, we want to be 100% sure that we're not encountering knock while tuning.
05:59 I'd suggest at least using audio knock detection equipment initially to validate that the factory knock detection system is effective.
06:09 Once you know that you can trust the knock detection system, you can rely from then on, on the log data.

We usually reply within 12hrs (often sooner)

Need Help?

Need help choosing a course?

Experiencing website difficulties?

Or need to contact us for any other reason?