In less than a generation–so, in little more than a couple of decades–the image of an engine tuning expert has shifted completely. It used to be a guy in greasy overalls armed with a set of vacuum gauges and a great ear. Now it’s someone–maybe not even in the same room or state as the machine they’re tuning–hovering over a laptop that’s linked to a car’s onboard engine control computer.
With the proliferation of computer-controlled powerplants, tuning is no longer done with a wrench and screwdriver, but with the adjustment of parameters controlled by the ECU.
But as the technology progressed, our desire to modify our engines with upgraded hard parts didn’t wane. Early computer engine controls–essentially glorified hardwired logic circuits with limited processing power–had some flexibility to adjust engine parameters to compensate for upgraded hard parts. However, many needed additional “piggyback” controllers wired into the…
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