A remap changes how the engine actually behaves: where the power comes on, how it tows, and how much fuel it drinks doing it. For a diesel that spends its life towing up and down the range, a towing tune is a different thing to one chasing a peak power figure. Done properly it makes a vehicle nicer to drive and cheaper to run. Done badly it costs you an engine.
Why the factory tune is a compromise
The factory tune is written for every market the vehicle sells into, every fuel quality and every climate. It has to suit the owner who never tows anything and the owner who tows every weekend, at sea level and in the cold, on good fuel and on bad. Up here, towing a van up the range in the wet season, that compromise is rarely the best it could be.
A remap adjusts fuelling, boost and timing for how the vehicle is actually used, rather than for every possible owner at once. It is not a bolt-on and it is not magic. It is the engine's own control unit being told to behave differently, which is why who does it, and why, matters more than any number on a sheet.
What a towing tune is actually for
Most of the tuning work out here is towing related. A van, a boat or a loaded trailer behind a diesel ute changes what you want from the engine. You are asking for three things:
- Torque lower down. The pull you feel from low revs when the vehicle is loaded and climbing, which is where a towing vehicle spends its hardest minutes.
- Less hunting between gears on a climb. A vehicle that keeps changing its mind on a long grade is working harder than it needs to and wearing itself doing it.
- Better throttle response when you are already loaded. Pulling out of a turn or onto a highway with a van behind you should not feel like waiting for permission.
That is a different tune to one chasing a peak power figure. A big number at the top of the rev range does very little for you crawling up the range behind a van in the wet. What you actually feel is how the vehicle pulls from low down and how often the gearbox stops to think.
What a remap will not do
Tuning sits close to a lot of expensive parts, so it is worth being clear about the limits before anyone touches the ECU.
- It will not fix a fault. If the vehicle is down on power because a sensor is reading wrong, a wiring fault, or something mechanical, that needs finding and fixing first. Diagnostics and fault code work is part of the same job, and it comes before the tune, not instead of it.
- It will not make a tired engine healthy. Once you ask more of an engine, the cooling system, the servicing and the condition of the engine matter more, not less.
- It is not a fixed fuel saving. A remap can use less fuel, particularly on a diesel that spends its life towing. But it depends on the vehicle and on how it is driven afterwards. Anyone who promises you a fixed percentage before looking at the vehicle is guessing.
Check the basics before the tune
Before a vehicle is tuned to tow harder, it is worth knowing it is ready to. That means the cooling system, the servicing, the belts and hoses, and the battery and charging. We test the battery, the alternator and the starter together rather than guessing at one of them, and a logbook service done to the manufacturer schedule gets the book stamped.
This is where having the auto electrician and the mechanic in the one business helps. The check before the tune, the diagnostics, the servicing and the tune itself all sit with the same people, so nothing falls into the gap between two workshops. Anything that needs the hoist comes into the workshop on Railway Lane in Atherton.
Trucks and farm machinery too
Tuning is not only for utes and 4WDs. We work on trucks and farm machinery across the Tablelands, including the 24 volt systems a lot of heavier gear runs on. If you have a truck or a machine you think could work better, tell us the make and model and what it is doing, and we will tell you what is possible.
Done properly, or not at all
We would rather talk through what you actually want out of the vehicle and be straight about whether a tune is the right answer, than sell you one because you asked. If the honest answer is that a tune will not fix what is annoying you, we will say so. Sometimes the better answer is a service or a repair.
Common questions
- Will a remap use less fuel? It can, particularly on a diesel that spends its life towing. But it depends on the vehicle and on how it is driven afterwards, so we will not promise a fixed percentage before looking at it. Anyone who does is guessing, and it is better to hear that up front.
- What is the difference between a towing tune and a performance tune? A towing tune puts the torque lower down, cuts the hunting between gears on a climb and sharpens throttle response when the vehicle is already loaded. A performance tune chases a peak power figure, which does very little for you crawling up the range behind a van.
- Can you tune trucks and farm machinery? Talk to us about it. We already work on trucks and farm machinery across the Tablelands, including 24 volt systems, so tell us the make and model and what it is doing. We will tell you honestly what is possible and whether a tune is the right answer for it.
- Should the vehicle be checked before a tune? Yes. A tune asks more of the engine, so a fault, a tired cooling system or an overdue service should be sorted first. Because we do the diagnostics, the mechanical servicing and the tuning in the one business, the check and the tune happen with the same people.
If the vehicle tows and it is not doing it the way you want, give us a ring. Tell us what it is, what you tow and what you want out of it, and we will tell you honestly what a tune will and will not do for it.
Workshop in Atherton and mobile across the Atherton Tablelands. If you want it looked at properly rather than guessed at, give us a ring.