ECU Tuning

Not to be confused with the electronic control unit (ECU), the engine control unit (ECU) controls a series of actuators on an internal combustion engine that helps provide optimal engine performance. Before the invention of ECUs, idle speed, ignition timing, and air/fuel mixture were mechanically set and controlled by pneumatic and mechanical means. To avoid confusion with the electronic control unit, the engine control unit is now usually referred to as the powertrain control module (PCM).

Brands

The ECU is a computer that acts as the brain of your vehicle. Before upgrading or replacing your ECU, however, it is important to make sure it is compatible with your vehicle. ACDelco is one of the most popular brands. Owned by General Motors, ACDelco offers factory parts for GM vehicles and aftermarket parts for non-GM vehicles. There are numerous other brands available, however, so it is important to shop around to ensure you are getting exactly what you want while also ensuring it is an appropriate fit for your vehicle.

Safety

Upgrading your ECU improves your car’s overall performance, which certainly helps improve the overall safety of your vehicle. It helps improve your gas mileage, but also gives you a more responsive throttle, which can help you speed up or slow down quicker in case a sudden obstacle or hazard appears on the road. Upgraded ECUs tend to make your car much faster, however, which can be a safety risk for those who abuse this by increasing their speed to an unsafe level. For people who can control their speed, however, upgrading the ECU does make your car safer.

Benefits

Just like any computer, you can always upgrade and update your ECU. When you upgrade your ECU, it will have better control over the air to fuel ratio which helps improve your gas mileage. It also significantly improves your car’s overall performance. Just like upgrading your laptop makes it faster, upgrading your ECU allows your car to become faster thanks to extra torque and horsepower, and also gives it a more responsive throttle. The ECU is essentially the brain of the car, and upgrading the brain helps improve the performance of your vehicle significantly.

Drawbacks

The biggest drawback of upgrading your ECU is the cost. For some people, spending $800 to upgrade your car’s engine system is a waste of money, particularly for people on a budget. This number increases significantly for people who have high-performance vehicles. Other than that, however, there is no real drawback to upgrading your car’s ECU, as it helps keep your car’s engine up to date and running smoothly.

Cost

The cost of upgrading the ECU depends on the type of car you have. For relatively inexpensive cars, an upgrade generally costs between $300 and $800 and only takes an hour to do. The best way to get this upgrade is to take it into a shop that specializes in your model of car. For high-performance and extremely expensive cars, however, an ECU upgrade can cost in the upper thousands. For people driving these kinds of vehicles, however, this tends not to be much of an issue.