Q. What is ECU re-mapping?

A. The most difficult concept to grasp for most people is that re-mapping is merely engine tuning, albeit that it's being done electronically rather than mechanically (as in the old days of carburetters and distributors). A chip is simply an electronic storage device which is located on a circuit board inside the E.C.U.(the Engine Control Unit). The chip contains values in a binary form which the E.C.U's main processor (another device on the same circuit board) can understand and use to control the engine.
Each value inside the chip is held in its own separate position (known as an 'address'), and when a car is re-mapped, what we are basically doing is altering the values at the groups of addresses that control fuelling, ignition timing and on turbo engines, turbo boost. These are known as maps, hence the often-used term 're-mapping'. It is these maps which we massage in order to tune the engine.

Q. How is it done?

A. The first job to do when a new E.C.U. type arrives at remap-ecu.co.uk is for the chip content to be read and stored on a PC. Then, using a combination of in-house software, in-depth experience of engine management software, and processor instruction sets the maps of interest are identified. Our engine analyser, serial data stream reader and a real-time in-circuit emulator are then used to rewrite the map contents to achieve the required results.

Q. Why re-map at all?

A. E.C.U's (Engine Control Units) were first introduced back in the 1980's as a supposedly more efficient method of controlling engine fuelling, ignition timing, and emissions. The problem lies in the fact that all new cars have to undergo 'Type Approval', and part of this is getting the car through the 'Urban Driving Cycle' tests. Remote from European driving conditions as they are (the tests are based on a simulated trip around Los Angeles with the resulting noxious gases collected in a bag for testing), car manufacturers had no option but to comply. In order to meet the stringent requirements, engines are virtually detuned to pass the test. As a result the car never performs as well as its mechanically controlled counterpart, with hesitancy and flat spots thrown in for good measure. This leaves masses of room for a creative engineer to re-tune for vastly improved performance, and without infringing any emissions regulations.