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Home News Auto News ECU Tuning, And Why Many Are Doing It Wrong – Steve Dinan ECU Tuning, And Why Many Are Doing It Wrong – Steve Dinan Auto News Hans | October 23, 2015 04:44 pm Steve Dinan is one of the godfathers of ECU tuning. He has been hacking into car engines' electronic control units since 1982, on his own BMW 325i, which he says uses only a 4k memory chip back then. To help him crack the hexadecimal codes on the chip, he hired a software engineer from Silicon Valley and that was the beginning of the California-based Dinan Cars, a renowned tuning house that specialises in BMWs.Unlike most aftermarket-tuners, Dinan backs up its products with a warranty package that matches the car’s manufacturer’s warranty.According to Dinan’s website, Dinan products are warranted for the remaining term of the vehicle manufacturer’s new car limited warranty and are transferrable to the next owner, just like a regular manufacturer’s warranty.With over 30 years of experience in ECU tuning, Steve Dinan has seen it all. Today, Steve Dinan is no longer directly involved with Dinan Cars, having left the company to join Chip Ganassi Racing but he still does some consulting work with Dinan Cars.In this interview with /Drive, Steve explains the basics behind ECU tuning, and why he thinks many competing products out claiming to offer 20 to 30 hp gains from by just changing the chip alone is rubbish. He also explains about the benefits of high octane fuel in a naturally aspirated engine versus a turbocharged one, and how ECU tuning needs to be matched with the correct hardware. Steve explained in most present day cars, tuning the ECU alone doesn’t do as much as they used to anymore, as the electronics that are fitted in today’s cars are intelligent enough to know that the car has been tuned, so a ‘piggyback’ ECU no longer works.“Still there are people today, chip tuners selling by the thousands, all over the country, with outrageous claims claiming that they are making 20, 30, 40, 50 horsepower software when they making just this much,” he said while holding up his hands to make a zero.“Don’t waste your money on software, unless you have hardware. Now if you have hardware like intakes and exhausts, and you know….headers, the engine has to be recalibrated for the hardware to work properly, and that’s the other thing people don’t do properly. They don’t put (the right) hardware in and then they run into drivability problems, because the fuel mixture and ignition timing are not matched to the hardware itself. Just the software alone won’t do anything, it hasn’t done anything since the ‘90s," said Steve. ✕ Let's Connect on Whatsapp We protect your personal information in compliance with the PDPA I agree with Carlist.my Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. I agree to receive personalised communication from Carlist.my and its car sellers, business affiliates and partners. Check out the best car deals in town! Prev Next Special offer - call now! days hours Avg. mkt. Why no price is listed? Sometime dealer wants you to contact for the best price. I Why no price is listed? Sometime dealer wants you to contact for the best price. Related Tags BMW Print Related News BMW Introduces Two Motor Plug-in Hybrid Concept In Vienna Auto News Hans | June 30, 2015 Following the overwhelmingly successful introduction of the BMW i8 (waiting period stretching up to 18 months now), and the upcoming BMW X5 eDrive ... BMW Group Malaysia To Pay For Your Car's GST Buying Guides Hans | June 30, 2015 No, they are not, at least not permanently. That was just a cheeky marketing line from BMW. According to an announcement made on BMW Group Malaysia’s ... BMW: Lessons From California For Successful EV Introduction Auto News Hans | October 06, 2015 In the quest to commercialise electric vehicles, incentivising customers at point of sale is far more important than formulating high level strategic ... BMW 100th Anniversary Contest – Trip to Munich to be won Auto News Kon | February 05, 2016 The BMW Group celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2016; one of many events and campaigns in place to mark the occasion is the #myBMW100Years contest ... Comments
ECU Tuning, And Why Many Are Doing It Wrong – Steve Dinan Auto News Hans | October 23, 2015 04:44 pm Steve Dinan is one of the godfathers of ECU tuning. He has been hacking into car engines' electronic control units since 1982, on his own BMW 325i, which he says uses only a 4k memory chip back then. To help him crack the hexadecimal codes on the chip, he hired a software engineer from Silicon Valley and that was the beginning of the California-based Dinan Cars, a renowned tuning house that specialises in BMWs.Unlike most aftermarket-tuners, Dinan backs up its products with a warranty package that matches the car’s manufacturer’s warranty.According to Dinan’s website, Dinan products are warranted for the remaining term of the vehicle manufacturer’s new car limited warranty and are transferrable to the next owner, just like a regular manufacturer’s warranty.With over 30 years of experience in ECU tuning, Steve Dinan has seen it all. Today, Steve Dinan is no longer directly involved with Dinan Cars, having left the company to join Chip Ganassi Racing but he still does some consulting work with Dinan Cars.In this interview with /Drive, Steve explains the basics behind ECU tuning, and why he thinks many competing products out claiming to offer 20 to 30 hp gains from by just changing the chip alone is rubbish. He also explains about the benefits of high octane fuel in a naturally aspirated engine versus a turbocharged one, and how ECU tuning needs to be matched with the correct hardware. Steve explained in most present day cars, tuning the ECU alone doesn’t do as much as they used to anymore, as the electronics that are fitted in today’s cars are intelligent enough to know that the car has been tuned, so a ‘piggyback’ ECU no longer works.“Still there are people today, chip tuners selling by the thousands, all over the country, with outrageous claims claiming that they are making 20, 30, 40, 50 horsepower software when they making just this much,” he said while holding up his hands to make a zero.“Don’t waste your money on software, unless you have hardware. Now if you have hardware like intakes and exhausts, and you know….headers, the engine has to be recalibrated for the hardware to work properly, and that’s the other thing people don’t do properly. They don’t put (the right) hardware in and then they run into drivability problems, because the fuel mixture and ignition timing are not matched to the hardware itself. Just the software alone won’t do anything, it hasn’t done anything since the ‘90s," said Steve. ✕ Let's Connect on Whatsapp We protect your personal information in compliance with the PDPA I agree with Carlist.my Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. I agree to receive personalised communication from Carlist.my and its car sellers, business affiliates and partners. Check out the best car deals in town! Prev Next Special offer - call now! days hours Avg. mkt. Why no price is listed? Sometime dealer wants you to contact for the best price. I Why no price is listed? Sometime dealer wants you to contact for the best price. Related Tags BMW
Special offer - call now! days hours Avg. mkt. Why no price is listed? Sometime dealer wants you to contact for the best price. I Why no price is listed? Sometime dealer wants you to contact for the best price.
BMW Introduces Two Motor Plug-in Hybrid Concept In Vienna Auto News Hans | June 30, 2015 Following the overwhelmingly successful introduction of the BMW i8 (waiting period stretching up to 18 months now), and the upcoming BMW X5 eDrive ...
BMW Group Malaysia To Pay For Your Car's GST Buying Guides Hans | June 30, 2015 No, they are not, at least not permanently. That was just a cheeky marketing line from BMW. According to an announcement made on BMW Group Malaysia’s ...
BMW: Lessons From California For Successful EV Introduction Auto News Hans | October 06, 2015 In the quest to commercialise electric vehicles, incentivising customers at point of sale is far more important than formulating high level strategic ...
BMW 100th Anniversary Contest – Trip to Munich to be won Auto News Kon | February 05, 2016 The BMW Group celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2016; one of many events and campaigns in place to mark the occasion is the #myBMW100Years contest ...