The Car Hacker's Handbook

13PERFORMANCE TUNING

by Dave Blundell

Performance tuning, frequently referred to simply as tuning, involves altering an engine’s operating parameters to improve vehicle performance. In today’s vehicles, this usually means modifying an engine computer, even for mechanical modifications.

Performance tuning is necessary for most automotive racing. This huge industry—worth around $19 billion annually worldwide, according to the Performance Racing Industry—draws almost half a million people yearly to compete in auto races in the United States alone. And these figures don’t even include the many modified vehicles that compete in amateur racing around ...