Propickup Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/150744
ENGINE PROGRAMMERS & TUNERS TURN UP THE JUICE F ew things are as rewarding to drivers as rolling into the throttle and feeling an immediate surge in power. It really doesn't matter if there's anyone around to notice, the gratification is still there. One of the most common methods of turning up the juice to achieving a little bit of that horsepower nirvana is through electronic manipulation of the engine's computer system. We like to call such engine "tune-ups" white-glove hot-rodding. White-glove hot-rodding doesn't require getting your hands dirty or any real level of mechanical skill other than the ability to plug in a couple connections under the hood or inserting a cable to the truck's onboard diagnostic (OBD) port located under the dash. A few button pushes or commands entered on a hand-held device changes the engine's power output from stock to a new level of performance, depending on the type of engine and device being used. Diesels are the biggest beneficiary of white-glove hot-rodding, responding well to changes in the OE engine tune because the pickup manufacturer leaves a lot of power on the table compared to the gas engines. Today's gas engines don't have much to gain with programmers unless you are drag racing where Electronic hot-rodding brings a new level of drivercontrolled performance to working-class pickups – gas or diesel; when the "0"s and "1"s are in the right order, great things happen By Bruce W. Smith 40 PROPICKUP Big Book 2013 ProPickup_2013BB_Engine Programmers.indd 40 8/6/13 10:02 AM