Everything you need to know about Stage 1 tuning

When it comes to ECU tuning or car tuning, there are three stages, stage 1 tuning, stage 2 and stage 3 tuning. Here’s an article that will share everything about stage 1 remapping or tuning.

One of the confusing things that you might hear about when you take interest in taking your car for ECU tuning is the concept of the different stages of tuning. And here’s an article that will give you a clear and detailed idea about the first stage or the stage 1 tuning.

But first, let’s take a look at what stage tuning is in general.

The different stages in ECU remapping represent different sets of upgrades that need to be done to enhance the performance and potential of your car and its engine. Now, the stage of tuning your car needs will depend on your car conditions and the issues you are facing with your car. Hence, the stage of tuning will vary from car to car and also from tuner to tuner.

Now, let’s talk about stage 1 car tuning.

Stage 1 car tuning is the series of modifications made to the ECU of any standard car but of course, depending on the condition of the car and the problems with it. The first stage of remapping includes remaps that do not need any additional hardware and include air intake and exhaust upgrades, which leave the actual catalytic converters of the vehicle engine in place. All these modifications in stage 1 are made for good power gains.

However, making all the modifications together can make the remap software offer you bigger benefits. One thing you must note down is that making these modifications after understanding the car condition, the parameters, and the issues with the car, is not as easy as you might think. The engines are one of the most complicated parts of the vehicles and that makes it a little challenging to make the modifications or do the tuning correctly.

Engine remapping in stage 1 remapping:

Upgrading a modern vehicle often starts with remapping. This is defined as the process of uploading a little different software to the ECU or Electronic Control Unit of the car engine. This remapping process controls the spark, fuel, turbo-boost, and timing of the engine. By making the required adjustments to the settings, more torque and power can be unlocked from the car engine.

Remaps are available in different forms. Remapping is also termed as chipping sometimes and that because new chips are soldered onto the ECU of the engine in this process. Now, msot car models can be remapped or tuned because of the presence of the Electronic Control Unit or ECU. Remapping can be done via the OBD port or the diagnostic port and using a laptop. But you need professionals for carrying out the remapping process flawlessly and with expertise making the right use of the technologies. There is a smart bit of technology that packs most parts of the hardware that you need for remapping the vehicle into a handset not much bigger in size than a TV remote.

For some car models, remapping is not possible and in those case, a tuning box is offered and the same kind of results can be obtained with the tuning box as well by modifying the sensor readings that are seen from the car engine.

Now, depending on the car engine, significant power increase can be observed from only the software. However, not all car models will gain the same power and torque increase and it will heavily depend on the car’s engine and how much spare the car manufacturer has left in.

But no matter what, with every stage of the engine remapping, your car performance will get better and better, removing all the engine issues and ensuring a smoother and safer driving experience.

Air intakes:

Once you start remapping a turbo petrol engine for greater boost, considerations like the effect on the engine power and the temperature of the ait that’s going into the car engine, become more significant. Keeping the car engine fed with adequate volume of cold air help to increase the power of the engine and maintain that power, trimming back the boost and the timing of the air that’s going into the engine. A well-planned and well-designed air intake or induction kit can help to keep the engine fed with enough cold air.

Increasingly on almost all modern cars or vehicles, the stock air intake is found to work quite well. So for the stage 1 remapping, you can just fit a high performing air filter. This will drop straight into the airbox and will use a much less restrictive filter material as compared to paper. While the gains are not likely to be as huge with a full air intake, it will certainly not hamper the performance of the engine.

Exhausts:

A cat-back car engine exhaust is usually where you get to see the increase in power, even with a stock or standard software. The rear section of the engine’s exhaust is opened up so that more gas can easily flow through it and the amount of air can be increased that the turbo can easily pump through the engine. At the same time, de-restricting the engine’s exhaust can let you see the benefit of both working simultaneously together, giving you engine more power.

What else should you get upgraded apart from these included stage 1 remapping? Well, in addition to what are already listed, there are a few more essential components that need to be considered and upgraded like the brakes, clutches, tyres, suspension limited slip differential or LSD, oil and maintenance. And if you are still confused, it’s better to reach out to the experts in ECU remapping for the service as per your car condition and engine issues.

Jonathan Hughes is a highly experienced ECU tuner associated with a renowned ECU tuning company, ATF-Remapping. The author has written this article to let you know about some of the best ways to improve your car’s fuel efficiency.