| | What is a power programmer? Why buy a power programmer? | |
| | Power programmers are a very easy way to add more power to your vehicle. A power programmer modifies your vehicle's computer (ECU). It changes the fuel curves and timing map to increase fuel and air flow, which makes more power. The programmers are extremely user friendly, and when you first install it, most programmers prompt you with mundane questions like, how many cylinders does your car have, do you plan on heavy loads, etc. With all the info it programs the ECU to give your vehicle more power. What's so great about these programmers is you don't need to be an automotive expert to get horesepower from these things. You just take the programmer out of the package, plug it in, answer the questions the prompted on the screen of the programmer, and then your car will go faster. It's that simple. If you're looking for easy horsepower and torque gains for your truck or looking to take the next step in performance tuning, then buy a power programmer. | |
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| | Are power programmers truly "plug-and-play"? | |
| | Vehicle-specific Power Programmers are truly plug-and-play. Simply attach the programmer to your vehicles ECU or DLC (Data Link Connector). No tools are required, and the programmer will come with instructions. If the programmer is universal, it has to be spliced into your factory ECU. | |
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| | How do you install a power programmer? | |
| | Most power programmers have one cable running from the back of the programmer to the vehicles ECU (Electronic Control Unit), which is often found underneath the passenger side dash. The other place programmers run, depending on your vehicle, is to the DLC (Data Link Connector) which is often under the driver's side dash panel. Once you locate your unit, it's simply a plug-and-play application. Both the ECU and the DLC have ports that the programmers plug into. If it's a universal programmer, you'll have to splice it into the wiring for your factory ECU. It's best to have the installation of a universal programmer left to the pros unless you are very handy under the hood. | |
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| | Are power programmers universal, or made specifically for my vehicle? | |
| | Both types exist. Some companies, such as Unichip, specifically pre-tune the programmers for your vehicle after having done countless tests to tune it in the way that makes the most horsepower possible. Other companies make a universal programmer that gives you the tools to tune it to your vehicle yourself. The universal ones will definitely dramaticaly increase your horsepower, but they haven't been fine tuned in detail to by a professional to give you the absolute maximum gains you can get out of a programmer. But again, even if the programmer is universal, using it still allows you to 'communicate' to your car to increase the fuel and air flow, and so you will get very noticeable power gains. To know if a programmer listed on our website is universal or specifically engineered for your car, look at the 'fits on' section next to the product listing. | |
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| | What is the difference between a piggy-back programmer and a stand-alone programmer? | |
| | A piggy-back programmer is meant to interface with your factory ECU. A stand-alone programmer is meant to replace your factory ECU. | |
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| | Is a power programmer the same as a computer chip? | |
| | It accomplishes the same thing as an aftermarket computer chip. The difference is that power programmers are made to interface with your existing factory computer chip, and are generally only available for more modern vehicle. For older generation vehicles, aftermarket computer chips are available that directly replace your factory ECU. Even though technically a programmer is not a computer chip per se, they both accomplish the same thing, and many people sometimes loosely use the word computer chip to refer to a programmer. | |
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