Benefits of Remapping

Whilst car dealers and manufacturers may well be falling over themselves with deals and offers designed to entice us to drive that brand new, shiny motor off their forecourt, the cost of keeping a vehicle on the road is constantly increasing. Road tax, insurance, breakdown cover, servicing, maintenance and above all, the ever increasing cost of fuel, means the prudent motorist is continually looking for ways to get the best value for his or her motoring money.

Many drivers are aware that a diesel engine will generally offer considerably better consumption, particularly for long distance and motorway driving. Although once unpopular for their tractor-esque sounds and odious emissions, technology has improved the much maligned diesel, making it the choice of millions when trying to extract every last mile from that now exorbitantly priced gallon.

What fewer motorists may know is that a relatively low cost and simple procedure can be carried out on diesel engines, which can considerably enhance fuel performance. ECU (Engine Control Unit) remapping is effectively re-tuning the engine, but electronically as opposed to mechanically. The ECU contains a circuit board of electronic chips which control the way in which the engine behaves. Remapping these chips can therefore alter functions such as ignition, fuelling and turbo boost, chaning their response and behaviour, ensuring that each performs to its optimum.

Remapping can be specifically carried out to improve either performance or fuel consumption, although performance remapping will, by default, improve consumption, provided that the car is still driven under the same conditions as those prior to the remap. Thinking you`ve suddenly turned into Michael Schumacher and putting your foot to the floor is still going to have the same affect on your fuel gauge!

Whilst remapping can be carried out on almost any vehicle, the best results are almost always gained with diesel engines, performance wise giving anything up to 30% BHP and 35% torque and with guaranteed savings on fuel consumption.

Remapping is preferable to the more simplistic diesel tuning box, as it specifically instructs the vehicle to work at optimal values through the electronic mapping processes, as opposed to essentially `misleading` the ECU to perform differently. Although simple in principle, the procedure is complex and needs to be carried out by professionals. It is not invasive, in so much as most of the work is done via the vehicle`s on board diagnostic port and involves the transfer of data to and from the electronic chips stored in the ECU.

So, should there be something specific that takes your fancy when you`re browsing http://www.motormart.co.uk/new-car-search cheap car sales, remember that if the vehicle has an on board diagnostic system - which most vehicles produced in the past 10 years will have - then not only could you pick up a bargain, but you could be getting improved performance and be saving money on your fuel costs too.