Performance improvement

Get your individual performance boost

Chip tuning is a widespread practice aimed at improving the performance of a vehicle.

In Germany, chip tuning is particularly popular and successful – tuners in Germany manage time and again to outperform even higher-horsepower models of the same type…

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Methods for increasing performance: map optimisation and tuning box

Methods for increasing performance: map optimisation and tuning box There are two main methods for increasing the performance of your vehicle:

Map optimisation and tuning box. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages, which we will explain in more detail below.

Map optimisation: Map optimisation is a permanent solution that adjusts your vehicle’s ECU settings to get more power out of the engine.

However, this also means that you need to contact a professional chip tuner who can make the appropriate changes.

The advantages of map optimisation are that it can usually be reversed without any problems and no additional components are required.

However, disadvantages of map optimisation are that it is usually more expensive than a tuning box and that it is not always possible, depending on which ECU your vehicle has.

Tuning box: A tuning box is a temporary solution where an external device is connected between the control unit and the engine of your vehicle.

This device modifies the signals sent from the control unit to the engine to get more power out of the engine.

The advantages of a tuning box are that it is usually cheaper than a map optimisation and that it can be reversed more easily. However, disadvantages of the tuning box are that it is usually not as effective as a map optimisation and that it requires additional components (the external device itself as well as cables and connections).

Up to 30 % more performance through software optimisation

Chip tuning optimises the vehicle’s engine control to get more power out of the engine. The additional power can be up to 30 %. How much power can actually be gained depends on many factors, e.g. the respective vehicle model and engine.

The engine control of the vehicle is controlled by a so-called control unit software. This software is usually programmed by the vehicle manufacturer to make the engine as fuel-efficient as possible.

Chip tuning changes the control unit software so that the engine achieves more power – and thus also consumes more fuel. No mechanical reworking of the vehicle is required for the installation of a chip tuning module.

The module is simply connected to the OBD-II port of the vehicle and the new ECU software is loaded. The installation is usually done within a few minutes. Chiptuning is not only possible for new vehicles, but also for older models. However, you should bear in mind that older vehicles are generally less powerful and can therefore also achieve less performance increase through chip tuning.

Give older cars a performance upgrade

If you want to tune your car, it is important to know the condition and the kilometres covered by the vehicle. Even if the vehicle is handled with care, a performance increase is rarely crowned with success on vehicles with more than 300,000 kilometres on the speedometer. As a result, standard cars today are tuned with too high a charge and injection pressure for performance upgrades to make sense at such high mileages.

Increased performance has hardly any effect on the life of the car

Many people think that performance enhancement and chip tuning negatively affect the life of the car.

But that is not true! The truth is: there is hardly any difference between a ‘normal’ car and a car with a chip tuning file in terms of durability. Why is that?

Quite simply: Because with a good tuning file, the limits of the engine are not exhausted. The engine is therefore not overloaded and remains powerful for longer. Of course, there are always exceptions – but basically, a power increase has no negative effects on the engines.

Which engine oil should I use after a performance upgrade?

Most people think that after a performance upgrade it is important to use a higher quality engine oil.

However, this is not necessarily the case. In fact, it can even be harmful to use a more expensive engine oil as it can increase friction and overheat the engine.

Instead, you should use the recommended engine oil for your vehicle and your performance upgrade.The tuner of your choice will give you a recommendation in this regard.

Do I have to enter a map optimisation?

A map optimisation is an optimisation of the software. This changes the settings of the engine and thus allows the vehicle to be pushed to its maximum.

This means you can drive your car faster and get more out of the engine. However, you must have this map optimisation registered with the registration office, otherwise it is not legal. So if you want to have a chip tuning done, make sure that you register this procedure with the registration office.

Is it possible to increase the performance of any car?

Yes, a performance increase is possible with every car. However, the increase depends on the type of vehicle and its engine.

Sometimes a slight increase in performance can already be achieved by optimising engine tuning. With other vehicles, however, greater effort is required to achieve the desired increase in performance.

In addition, it usually takes some time before new control units can be read out, which is why some vehicles may only be tuned at a later date.