Maximizing Your Engine, Performance Tuning

Stuffing more horses into your engine used to take countless hours, cost a ridiculous wad of cash in parts, and usually resulted in the busting of several knuckles.

Thankfully, with today's computer-controlled vehicles tuning is about as easy as playing Pong.

If you've seen the TV shows geared at getting every droplet of power out of a classic vehicle, you know they spend the entire show with a load of time-lapsed video of them tearing the engine apart to put in extremely technical and wildly expensive parts.

When it's all done, they crank up the dyno and get giddy over the 3 horsepower gain realized after roughly 4 hours of work.

That's not exactly how most would want to spend their weekend, and all for a measly 3hp.

Of course, there's quite a bit to be said for those computer-free classics that you can have full control over. However, when it comes to getting more power in no time and without having to tear up your hands or throwing piles of cash on hard-to-find parts, a computer-controlled vehicle has a distinct advantage.

The good news is, you're probably driving a computer-controlled vehicle, like most sold over the last quarter century. This makes tuning much easier, because a set of programs determines how your engine performs.

Simply replace your engine's stock programming with some that's geared toward performance and you'll discover power gains almost instantly.

Just how can you get these power gains in minutes? The answer is easy, with a power programmer or performance chip, like those made by Hypertech or DiabloSport.

These power programmers are designed to hold performance programs created and tested by the pros. It's so straightforward a caveman could do it.

Just plug it into the OBD-II port beneath your steering column, enter a few simple yes or no commands to adjust how you want the engine to perform, upload the new programming, and you're ready to rock with 25 or more horsepower. For most folks, this will take a maximum of 10 minutes to complete.

There are a few drivers out there who want the extra power, but are apprehensive of using this sort of tuning method.

Their concern is that how can so much power be gain so fast, when the guys on tube spend hours and only add a few horsepower. But the skeptics can rest easy. Modern automakers simply down-tune their cars for the general population.

Engines are setup to work the same for performance enthusiasts as they do for octogenarians who believe going over 40 mph is breakneck speed. You don't fall into the later, nor are you a soccer mom unconcerned about performance, you demand it.

Performance programmers aren't average settings and that makes them a perfect match for you.

And, you don't have to worry about warranties. The companies that make programmers take safety into account with their settings and further they often give you ways to return to stock settings for service visits at the dealership.

What's more, as with all performance mods, you'll be protected by federal law. It basically states that your vehicle's warranty cannot be voided by performance parts unless they can be proven as the source of the breakdown.

So, there's no good reason to wait if you're look to easily tap into the true potential sitting under your hood.