HOW DOES TUNING WORK?

Tuning your car is no longer about turning a screw or hitting it with a hammer, times have changed as computers have taken over. So, how does tuning work now? Let's find out.

Nowadays, tuning a car requires an ECU reader and, sometimes, a degree in coding. It wasn't always like that though and, in the video below, Bart from Donut Media gives us the lowdown of the evolution of tuning a vehicle.

In this episode of Science Garage, we delve into the history of tuning engines, and what is required to really make an engine pump out more horses. It requires more than just changing a variable on a computer screen, modifying the hardware, like adding a blower, is still the best way to get more power but, without tuning the ECU, it'll end in disaster.

As Bart says, "This Science Garage looks at the history of 'tuning', from what started as delicate mechanical adjustments, to how it exists today – a marriage between the computer tech of the future and the forced induction and air/fuel mixes that are as old as cars themselves."