Written by: Prashraya Shrestha - 26014, Grade IX
Posted on: 21 October, 2022
Car tuning is a modification made to the car to get the right amounts of variable needed for peak engine performance. An engine runs on the basis of 3 variables which are air, fuel and compression. Tuning a car means tuning the carburettor which is the part of the engine that mixes air and fuel before they are compressed by the piston. When too much air or fuel is present in the carburettor the engine will not run properly. A tuner is the mechanic who tunes cars and adjusts the timing of the ignition and the right amount of air and fuel needed to run the engine. Before, the tuners added new hardwares to make the car run faster and mixing the right variables was done manually but now they are done by computers and programming.
Back in the 70s and 80s due to the fuel crisis car manufacturers started making their engine more fuel saving which made the engines perform worse for more mileage. They also prevented owners from modifying their engine by mounting hardware that prevented them from tuning their cars and to make sure the air and fuel mix is efficient they used a technology called ECU (Electronic Control Unit). This is where the modern tuning comes in, due to the addition of ECU car tuners adjusting the air and fuel mix by hacking or reprogramming the ECU. Tuners calculate the air and fuel mix with the help of OBD (On-board Diagnostics). Every car since 1996 comes with an OBD. An OBD scanner helps a tuner scan every variable to run an engine in detail.
There are different stages of tuning. These stages were mostly influenced by the video game Gran Turismo. After the initial debut of the game, tuning companies started labeling their parts in stages. Although these parts are labeled in stages, these stages are not standardized. Which means different stages of different companies have different levels of engine performance although there is a common principle in these stages.
In stage one tuning, modifications which do not contribute much to an engine’s performance like exhausts or cold air intakes. These modifications can add more sound or features to the car but do not do much to the power of the car. In stage two, modifications which increase fuel or air intake can be done by slightly upgrading the car's hardware. Like different fuel injectors and turbos. In stage 3 of tuning, tuners add parts to the car to make the car perform better but when these parts are added to the car they should work with other parts of the car. For example when an additional hardware provides more air intake, the other should provide more fuel intake. To make these parts work together and smoothly we reprogram the ECU. There are different stages of tuning a car by software too. In stage one of tuning, the tuner selects the perfect variable of air, fuel and combustion of the engine. In the other stages of tuning tuners use a standalone ECU which helps them calculate the perfect variables for all the additional hardware they have added.
In conclusion, car tuning should be done by professionals or under supervision of a professional. If done incorrectly it may cause serious injuries to the mechanics or damage the car.
