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October 2007 - Posts
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October 27th, 2007 by Shenron
Engine tuning usually relates to modifying, adjusting or designing components of the engine to increase power and performance. Performance can be realized in both power gains, as well as efficiency. For instance, you might tune an engine to increase it’s horsepower. However, you can also tune an engine to save on fuel efficiency as well.
While some modifications require very little time, money and effort to achieve, others can be extremely time consuming, cost thousands of dollars and require skilled labor. Simple engine tuning usually requires some performance modifications, however, for complex engine tuning, you will either have to overhaul or rebuild an engine.
Simple to Moderate Types of Engine Tuning
Three simple types of engine tuning include the general tune up, chip tuning and performance tuning.
General Tune Up
Practically every car requires a general tune up. Tune ups are required for general maintenance of a vehicle at select intervals. Each interval is different for each make and model car, but most vehicles require a tune at least once every two years. Most tune ups include; inspection of the engine, ignition, distributor cap and rotor, replacement of air filters, gas filters or other types of filters, emission control inspection, changing spark plugs and spark plug wires, changing the oil, checking belts or timing chain, etc. Usually once a general tune up is performed on a vehicle, gains in fuel efficiency will immediately be realized (usually from about 1% to 5% in fuel efficiency gains).
Chip Tuning
Practically every car has an EPROM or computer chip installed in order to help the car’s engine perform efficiently. While some car’s chips are programmed to achieve high performance as in speed, horsepower and torque, other cars are programmed to be fuel efficient. By swapping a car’s chip or reprogramming a chip, a driver can modify the engine controls in order to achieve a specific type of performance. For instance, you can easily swap a chip to add several horsepower to your vehicle. In addition, you can also swap a chip to make it more fuel efficient.
Performance Tuning
Performance tuning is when high performance parts are added or replace other engine parts in a vehicle. For instance, a simple way to indulge in performance tuning is to add high performance spark plugs, however more complicated methods of performance tuning might be to add a new exhaust system to the vehicle for it to perform better (achieve higher horse power and faster acceleration). There are plenty of ways to achieve performance tuning and there are hundreds of products available- usually after market products that are designed and built by commercial enterprises and sold to the public. It should be noted that while many performance tuning items are street legal, others may not be- especially those that modify the sound of the engine to large degree or modify the amount of emissions that a vehicle gives off.
Extensive Engine Tuning
While there are easy ways to tune your engine that are usually affordable, if you are looking for maximum performance, you will usually need to do extensive engine tuning to your vehicle. This may include an overhaul of major engine parts or rebuilding specific engine parts.
For instance if you would like to maximize acceleration and horsepower, you may need to replace the pistons or lifters. These types of modifications can be time consuming, costly and require some skills. Other types of extensive modification include adding a turbo booster, nitro and ram air vents. Just like other types of engine modifications, some are perfectly street legal, while others are not. Check with your locality, as each localities motor vehicle, emission control standards and sound standards differ.
Posted in Car Tuning | |
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October 13th, 2007 by Shenron
Practically every state or locality has specific rules regarding what is legal and what is not when it comes to vehicles on its roads. In America, car tuning legal requirements can differ from location to location.
In order to fully find out what is legal in your location and what is not, you should contact your state motor vehicle agency or your local police department. However, for the most part, legal requirements usually revolve around three specific types of car tuning modifications. They are modifications to emissions, modifications to the sound of your vehicle and modifications to the exterior of your vehicle.
Car Tuning Legal Requirements for Modifications to Your Emissions
Practically all vehicles in the US require an emissions test on a regular basis, any car that fails an emissions test must be repaired or modified in order to be legally operated on public roads. For instance, if you modify your EPROM chip for maximum performance (acceleration and speed), this may affect the amount of emissions your car gives off, if the amount of emissions is too high, your vehicle may be illegal to operate on public roads.
Car Tuning Legal Requirements for Modifications to the Sound of Your Vehicle
Many car enthusiasts achieve more horsepower and a much more robust sounding engine by modifying the exhaust system of their vehicle. However, in doing so, your vehicle may be too loud or disruptive to the community you are driving your car through.
Car Tuning Legal Requirements for Modifications to the Exterior of Your Vehicle
A ground effects kit may make your car look extremely cool, but also may make your car too low to the ground, remove safety features such as lights, increase your headlamps to an unsafe level or show off neon colors that can be distracting to other drivers on the road. Each locality usually has certain laws on which types of modifications are illegal and which are not.
If your car is not legal to drive on public roads, you still can enjoy modifying your vehicle, except the only place you will be able to drive it is either on private land or on the track. It should be noted that for those that modify their vehicles to drive them on their local track, since your car is not street legal, you will have to transport your vehicle usually via trailer or flat bed.
Remember, each locality is different, so before you modify your vehicle, check to make sure what is and what isn’t street legal.
Posted in Car Tuning | |
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October 12th, 2007 by Shenron
One of the ways that many people modify their cars is with chip tuning. Chip tuning is when a car or vehicle’s EPROM chip is modified usually resulting in higher performance including higher fuel economy, more power and cleaner emissions.
It should be noted that there are two major ways to tune a chip, the first is to fully swap an EPROM chip, and the second way is to modify the instructions on an EPROM chip. When modifying the instructions of an EPROM chip, you are usually gaining access to the ECU engine control unit and simply updating the software. Software can be updated on most vehicles with the use of an interface. One popular type of interface used is called the OBDII. The term ECU tuning and chip tuning are sometimes used interchangeably.
Just like many people reprogram their home computer so that it works faster or more efficiently, so can one reprogram a car’s computer chip or replace the chip completely. Some of the aspects that can be modified are fuel injection ratio, valve timing, boost control in a turbocharger, spark timing, automatic braking system, electronic stability control and even the automatic transmission.
An increase in performance is usually easy to realize by changing the settings in the ECU or swapping a chip. The main reason why performance is easy to achieve is that most cars that come direct from the factory are pre programmed to be fuel efficient. You can easily modify these fuel efficiency settings with the results being that the car will usually perform better, however more fuel will be used in the process.
For those that are interested in chip tuning, you can either purchase a pre modified new EPROM chip for your vehicle which can cost from $20 to several hundred dollars or gain access to a OBDII interface and modify the settings in your ECU which usually costs less than $100. It should be noted that usually the entire process of either installing a new EPROM chip or reprogramming the ECU usually only takes a few minutes.
It should be noted that many car owners constantly debate whether modifying their ECU or installing a new EPROM chip voids their vehicle’s warranties. Before making any changes, you should definitely contact your car dealership. However, if your car is older or no longer on warranty, reprogramming the ECU or installing an EPROM chip is safe and easy and usually not result in any problems.
Posted in Car Tuning | |
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October 2nd, 2007 by Shenron
2 Post car lift kits are generally the most affordable type of car lift on the market and used most often for mechanical work. 2 post car lifts are usually made from high quality steel and includes two main structural posts and an overhead post that connects the two. A vehicle- usually a car can be driven through and lifted easily from the ground up. It should be noted that the car lift is off center with the two posts usually located right after the front wheel and situated before the front door of the vehicle. From each post come two arms in the shape of a “V” that effectively lift and lower the vehicle.
2 Post car lifts are generally made for amateurs to work on their vehicles. They are usually powered by electric/hydraulic means; meaning electricity powers pumps that fill the two columns with hydraulic fluid effectively lifting the vehicle fully in less than one minute’s time.
Most 2 post car lifts are made for normal cars and light trucks that weigh less than 7,000 lbs. If you have a larger vehicle such as an SUV, there are 2 posts car lifts that come in 9,000 lbs and even 15,000 lbs capacities. 2 car post lifts are usually priced from $1,000 to $3,000 new. They fit nicely in almost any garage and most kits can be purchased with slight modifications to fit in a smaller size garage or space.
Most 2 post car lift kits require assembly which is fairly easy, but usually require at least 2 to 3 people to set up. It should be noted that these kits are fairly heavy weighing in at about 1,500 pounds. For the most part, setting up a 2 car lift kit is not complicated, but can take a few hours to ensure safety and reliability. Most 2 post car lifts come with at least a 5 year warranty and many even offer 10 year warranties. If your 2 post car lift will stay indoors, expect minimal rust and decay.
Posted in General, Car Tuning, Car Maintenance | |
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