The real brains behind your engine control module is its software. What makes engine computers especially advanced is the fact that, not only are they tailored to your specific vehicle, they are also able to learn about you, your driving habits, and the conditions you typically drive in.Įssentially, the ECM adapts cars to their drivers, in order to ensure those drivers are getting the most out of them in the most efficient way. It controls, monitors, and regulates all of your engine function to ensure your vehicle is running at its optimal performance level. Reflashing an ECM is an immensely powerful technique that allows the engine to be tuned in the same way that the factory calibration engineers perform the task.Īs we’ve explained before in past articles, your car’s ECM is its central computer. Reflashing or remapping an engine computer is essentially just the process of replacing the existing software in a vehicle controller with new software. Like any computer, your car’s ECM has software with different settings or parameters, and these can be changed to alter the performance and driving limits of a vehicle. Upgrading your ECU in these scenarios can drastically improve the overall usability of your motorcycle.Reflashing an ECM is a tuning technique that is also often called flashing, remapping, or flash tuning. This results in jerky acceleration, a numb throttle response, and sometimes even intermittent stalling at low speeds. Given the fact that manufacturers tune their engines to meet emissions requirements out of the factory, most performance oriented engines tend to run pretty lean, especially at low RPMs. Some motorcycle enthusiasts opt to go for an ECU tune to improve their bike’s throttle response. Tuning your engine after major upgrades is essential in ensuring that, one, your performance modifications are put to good use and are able to efficiently optimize your engine’s performance, and two, to prevent unnecessary premature wear on your engine’s internals. Some examples of times wherein an ECU tune would be deemed necessary would be when installing an aftermarket full-system exhaust, intake, or making major tweaks to the internals of your engine. There are a few instances where an ECU upgrade is essential, while other times, it simply boils down to user preference. Related: How to replace your motorcycle's spark plug When is it necessary? Meaning you can always return to your stock ECU settings, should you so desire. A key benefit of going with a piggy-back ECU is the fact that it’s a plug-and-play upgrade. Instead, it sits on top of it, so to speak, and acts as an intermediary between your bike’s stock ECU and the engine. Now, as the name suggests, this setup doesn’t overwrite the manufacturer's stock tuning. This means that the new engine settings, or map, overwrites the stock settings installed by the manufacturer.Īnother equally popular, albeit a more expensive option is the piggy-back ECU. When the ECU is reflashed, it’s effectively reprogrammed with new parameters for most, if not all parameters pertaining to engine performance. Now, many performance-oriented tuning shops offer this service for nearly all modern-day performance motorcycles in the market. The most affordable and most commonly used approach is what’s known as an ECU reflash. However, today, let’s talk about the two most popular options. There are several types of ECU upgrades available in the market. Related: 180-degree versus 270-degree parallel-twin - What's the difference? What are the types of ECU upgrades? However, you can expect to see some decline in fuel efficiency. A result of this could be a significant increase in engine power and torque output, which ultimately results in a faster bike. ![]() Upgrading your ECU via any one of the methods we will discuss later on, effectively tunes the engine to prioritize performance, instead of fuel economy and clean emissions. As a result, a motorcycle’s engine may be tuned to favor efficiency and cleaner emissions, as opposed to outright performance. Now, in compliance with various emissions regulations in place all across the world, manufacturers set the bike’s ECU parameters to conform to these regulations. For modern-day fuel-injected motorcycles, the ECU governs a slew of vital engine functions such as timing, air and fuel mixture, as well as throttle response (for bikes equipped with a throttle-by-wire system). ![]() Think of the Engine Control Unit, or ECU as the brain of your motorcycle. Related: Is it safe to clutchless shift your motorcycle? What does it do?
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