Quote:
Originally Posted by Wolf539
My mechanic is also recommending a re-map or powerchip; I guess I'm going to have to have him explain the difference between the two as I thought they were basically the same thing?  |
Layman's description. Tuners can feel free to argue the finer points of this definition.
A re-map replaces the map that is within your engine control computer, as Powers says. The map specifies how much fuel to inject or how much boost to allow, depending on variables such as engine speed, air flow, temperature, throttle position, etc. A power chip (often called a 'piggyback') is a chip that intercepts and modifies one or more signals, such as temperature measurements, and sends that modified signal on to the engine computer. The original map stays in place; the modified signal essentially fools the engine which will cause the engine computer to inject more fuel or raise boost levels by thinking it is currently somewhere else on the map.
A power chip can be very inexpensive, but has some inherent limitations. The limitations are that you aren't adding new code within the engine software, so all you can really do is move the computer to another point on the map. With a new map the tuner is adding code, so he can do more (assuming of course that he knows what he is doing).
There are real gains to be made with a turbocharged engine, because boost is the first thing tuners change. With a naturally aspirated engine, it comes down to the air-fuel ratio, so there are minimal gains to be had.