Go Drive & Camp May 2019

108 |May2019go! Drive&Camp

4X4 PROFESSOR

onlysothatthatvehiclecan run
reliablyoverits lifespan butalso,
dependingonthe manufacturer,
sothatupdatedversionsand
facelifted modelsdownthe
line can offerabit morepower
andtorquetotheconsumer –
makingitmoreattractivethan
itspredecessor.
Inmarkets wheretheydon’t
towheavycaravansand trailers,
andwherethefuel is ofabetter
quality,theymightbeableto
extractmorefromthetuningfor
thatspecificregion.

Is thislegal,and are
thererisks?
Manypeopleareof the mindthat
anyalterationstoyourvehicle are
toberegarded as modifications,
which still hasanegativestigma
attachedtoitinthiscountry.
Then therearethose whoonly
regardhardwarechangesas
modifications–suchasahigh-lift
suspension system andbigger
turbochargers.
Fortheseguys,software
updatescan be changed justin
timeforyour annualserviceor
recallprogrammeandwould
be virtuallyundetectablebythe
manufacturer andtherefore your
warrantyleftintact. Remember
thatifyou havechanged
something onyourvehicle, and
youexperiencecatastrophic
failure,thenit’sthe manufacturer’s
prerogativetoinvestigatethe
failure(ifyourvehicle is stillunder
warranty), andtheymightdecide
nottohonouryour claim.
Both tuning firmswetalkedto
saythis isacalculatedriskonyour
partastheconsumer,but also
mentionedthatfailures areoften
theresultof othercomponentry
failing,while the chip orremap
gets thebadrap.
Somethingtotake intoaccount
beforeyou decidetohave your
vehicle tunedisthe qualityoflife
it’s had duringyourownership,
or beforeifyou boughtit
second-hand.
“Overtime andplentyof
mileage,thereiswearandtear
oncomponentrythatwillaffect

Most modernvehiclesroll off

the line inaconservativestate

of tune,eventhough engines

aredevelopedto producealot

morepower andtorque.

tuning,suchas the injectors that

could bewornby15 %, the fuel

pumpthatcoulddown5%,the

dieselfiltercloggedby30 %, so

the chances arehighthatputting

abase maponavehiclelike

thatwouldresultinproblems

verysoon.That’s whywebelieve

in havingeveryvehicleonthe

dyno whereweuse thetoolswe

havetocheckthateverything is

functioningat 100 %beforewe

start changing the performance

parameters,” saysCornel.

Also,remember that no

manufacturer will outrightvoid

yourwarrantyclaim.It’s only

whenthereareissuesorwhen

something startsbreakingor

whenyou’vebeen involved in an

accidentthateyebrowsareraised

andquestionsasked.

Forexample

Sayyou’vejustchippedyourFord

Ranger, but nowit’ssupposedto

goforits 60 000kmserviceand

it’s stillunderwarranty.According

toCornel,theFordRangeris not

thebestexamplebecauseitcan

take between10 and 15 minutes

toremovethechipanditsharness

from theECU.

“Butwithmanyoftheother

vehicles, such asToyotaHilux,

wecan popopen theglovebox

afterturningoffthe ignition,

unplug the six pointsfromthe

ECU,unplugour unit, andplug

those points back intotheECU.

Somevehicles take fiveminutes

whileothers,suchas theRanger

take longer.”

It’s alotmoresimple when

you’vehadyourvehicle

remappedbyWulfchiptegnik,as

explainedbymarketingdirector

Charl duPlessis.“It’s literally like

draggingafile fromcomputer

toaharddrive.Ifyoubringyour

vehicle in,Nevillemakesacopy

ofyour original settingsbefore

addingour file andsavesitto

ourcloudserversothatwhen

you’rereadytohave yourvehicle

serviced,youbring it inandit’s

asimpledrag-and-drop process.”

But Neville stresses thatit’snot

alwaysso quick and easy. “There

areafewvehiclesthatrequire

ECUremoval, whereit needsto

be openedupsothatwecan

connecttothe pads with probes

andthen closeit upand putit

backin, butmostvehiclesthese

dayswedoviaOBD.Ford’sRanger

usedtobe tunedonabench like