Frequently Asked Questions
1. What do you do exactly?
Our technicians link to the vehicles ECU or ‘brain’ with a laptop PC through the vehicles diagnostic socket and read the current engine management file which is then sent to our files office and custom optimised for you vehicle. The technician programs the new Quantum optimised file into your vehicle and you then have opportunity for yourself to experience the amazing results. On some vehicles it is not possible to carry-out this function be the diagnostic socket, so in this case the ECU is removed and either a chip change or boot loading function is carried out, direct into the ECU. The final effect is exactly the same, only the process is different. Depending on the vehicle, the remap normally takes less than 1 hour to complete.
2. Is it safe for the vehicle?
Our Quantum re-mapping process enhances and optimises the power of the engine within safe limits, not beyond them. Extra power will also result in fewer gear changes, which might actually reduce overall wear. Manufacturers have to build in a tolerance for the parts in the engine, to manage the effect of wear and tear, production variations, and to ensure their warranty claims during their warranty period normally 3 years, are kept to a minimum.
Most race and rally engines are pushed for every last bhp, and thus they more common to fail, whilst normal car/van/lorry engines are limited back, well away from probability of multiple failures. Each individual engine is different as in how much it can be pushed in a remap, but a good remap from a quality tuner like Quantum will never get close the limits of component failure.
You will see that the top companies within the market place have all develop vehicle improvements to similar outputs. Beware of tuners who claim significantly more, it’s either lies hoping that the average customer wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, or the engine is being pushed too hard and will quickly become unreliable.
3. Why don’t the manufacturers do it?
Manufacturers generally sell one vehicle that covers various markets, with different tax and emissions regulations; different climates with extremes of heat, cold, humidity; different fuel quantities; different operating altitudes, etc. A manufacturer has to take all of these factors into consideration and make substantial compromises in the vehicles operation. We optimise the engine tuning and outputs.
4. What warranty do you give?
Every Quantum remap is guaranteed to ensure your complete peace of mind and continued service.
We offer a lifetime warranty against software faults. If the installation becomes faulty, we will re-install it free of charge. A professionally remap engine will not cause technical faults with a well serviced and maintained the engine.
5. Please explain what remapping is?
If you want to tune your diesel vehicle and still keep the vehicles safety and durability functions for the engine/transmission/ESP intact, the only way to tune a diesel vehicle is to make changes in the existing control system of the engine. That is exactly what we offer with a Quantum remap. Our tuning process has total control over all parameters at any moment, and we don’t disturb the safety functions of the car, by deceiving the system.
Apart from an obvious power, torque and fuel economy benefits you get the following advantages with a Quantum remap:
The Quantum Remap is installed within the hour, normally without lifting the bonnet
Nothing needs to be connected to the vehicle after tuning to get the benefits
No loose boxes and wiring flexes in the engine compartment
Torque comes soft and smooth
Torque is adjusted/limited on lower gears (to avoid damage on the transmission)
Boost pressure and air flow is optimised
The original settings can be reinstalled if required
On board computer shows correct fuel consumption
Anti-skid program (ESP) function is fully retained
Torque reduction when shifting gear (for comfort and durability) is retained
Regeneration (emptying) of diesel particle filter (DPF) is retained optimal
Correct calculation of exhaust temperature
Correct calculation of service interval
The diagnostic system is retained
No enlarged NOx, HC, CO, CO2, Soot emissions compared with original when going for MOT and servicing
6. Do you offer a trial period?
We are very confident that your Quantum Remap will both improve your driving experience and save you substantially on fuel. But, don’t take our word for it, try the upgrade for 30 days and if you are not delighted with the results, return to your dealer and we will take it off with a full refund.
7. What about insurance?
We advise that it is your responsibility to inform your insurance Company of any modification to your vehicle. We are finding that more and more insurance companies are not penalising their customers for saving fuel and recognise our economy upgrades, in particular with Quantum map. We can provide a certificate of conformity if required.
8. Do you keep a copy of the original tuning file?
Yes, in secure archival storage, should you ever require your vehicle to put back to original.
9. Does it affect the manufacturers warranty?
Some manufactures diagnostic equipment may detect a remap. Additionally many forward thinking manufacturers turn a blind eye to a quality remapping service , knowing that a properly enhanced vehicle can only ever benefit them. The official line from most manufacturers is that if a modification causes a problem with the vehicle, then the part of the vehicle affected will not be covered under warranty, this does not mean a unilateral cancelling of the whole warranty.
10. How does the remap improve the vehicle?
A full Quantum engine remap alters the fuel, boost and torque characteristics of the engine. By controlling the fuel pressure, injected fuel quantity, maximum permissible visible smoke limit, boost pressure from the turbocharger and the torque characteristic.
A Quantum remap offers a fully controllable change to the engine characteristics, whilst still operating with full engine feedback control and within all the pre-set engine sensor limits.
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11. What do diesel add-on tuning boxes do?
We do not fit add-on tuning boxes, which normally just interfere with engine management signals to trick the injectors into adding more fuel. Our service is a custom re-map of your ECU, specifically for your vehicle.
These differ from how a remap works. A tuning box relies on the principal of more diesel fuel = more diesel power. That theory is correct and boxes do increase power, but they can’t control the amount of black smoke (maximum permissible visible smoke limit) coming out the exhaust.
Too much smoke is undesirable, both environmentally and visually. More importantly, the black smoke is un-burnt diesel fuel attached to combustion chamber, with deposits exiting straight out the exhaust pipe, thus wasting fuel which hasn’t had any effect on power gain. The results are raised emissions, a higher thermal load on the engine (i.e. exhaust temperature) and frequently defects such as "bucking" are often the result. It should be clear what this means for your engine.
In a modern engine there are complex engine control systems that cooperate with each other to make everything work perfectly. A diesel box manipulates some signals in order to either increase the injection time or fuel pressure. Unfortunately this manipulation is done entirely without the engine control system’s knowledge. This means that a diesel box tricks the engine control system of the vehicle and the consequence is that a large amount of values and control data will be incorrect, resulting in:
The on board trip computer shows improved fuel consumption, but the real amount left in the tank is less, as fuel is being injected without any of the sensors detecting the additional amount entering the cylinder.
The anti skid program (ESP) is disturbed because of incorrect torque value
No loose boxes and wiring flexes in the engine compartment
The automatic gearboxes get incorrect torque value
Torque reduction when shifting gear (for comfort and durability) is not retained
The regeneration (emptying) of particle filter will not be optimal
The calculation of exhaust temperature is disturbed
The calculation of service interval is disturbed
The diagnostic system is disturbed
12. What is Torque?
Torque is the twisting force created in an engine by rotating parts; horsepower is the measurement of how fast torque is being used. Horsepower and torque work hand-in-hand, as horsepower is calculated from torque.
For the average buyer, torque shouldn’t be a deciding factor unless you know you’ll be towing or hauling heavy loads. And that’s where high-torque vehicles will do well, driving while towing a trailer or maxing out cargo capacity. It will be easier to accelerate and sustain speed with a high-torque car in any situation, but especially with heavy loads.
High performance cars can also produce gobs of torque that greatly aid in acceleration. That feeling of your eyeballs being sucked into the back of your head in a fast car during heavy right-foot pounding is an example of excessive torque.
13. What is BHP (Break horsepower)?
Brake horsepower (BHP) is the measure of an engine's horsepower before the loss in power caused by the gearbox, alternator, differential, water pump, and other auxiliary components such as power steering pump, muffled exhaust system, etc. Brake refers to a device which was used to load an engine and hold it at a desired rotational speed. During testing, the output torque and rotational speed were measured to determine the brake horsepower. Horsepower was originally measured and calculated by use of the "indicator" (a James Watt invention of the late 18th century), and later by means of a De Prony brake connected to the engine's output shaft.
More recently, an engine dynamometer is used instead of a De Prony brake. Although the output delivered to the driving wheels is less than that obtainable at the engine's crankshaft, a chassis dynamometer gives an indication of an engine's "real world" horsepower after losses in the drive train and gearbox. This gives a reasonably accurate indication of how a wheeled vehicle engine will perform once on the road.
14. What is NM (Newton metre)?
A newton metre is a unit of torque (also called "moment") in the SI system. The symbolic form is Nm or N•m. One newton metre, sometimes hyphenated newton-metre, is equal to the torque resulting from a force of one newton applied perpendicularly to a moment arm which is one metre long.
It is also used less commonly as a unit of work, or energy, in which case it is equivalent to the more common and standard SI unit of energy, the joule. In this very different usage the metre term represents the distance travelled or displacement in the direction of the force, and not the perpendicular distance from a fulcrum as it does when used to express torque. This usage is discouraged by the SI authority, since it can lead to confusion as to whether a given quantity expressed in newton-meters is a torque or a quantity of energy.