A.In theory, this would be possible. However the manufactures produce cars for the international market and export worldwide. Amongst other things, they have to consider different fuel qualities worldwide, climate conditions, insurance policies and local laws and regulations. The engineers are therefore forced to build engines with a lot of compromises and common set ups. In addition the manufactures use the ECU tuning abilities themselves often as marketing tools. For example a Mercedes C 200 CDI and a C 220 CDI model only differs in the enhanced ECU set up, all other parts are same. Even more obvious is the example of the Mercedes C 63 AMG set up, where the performance engine is detuned already from factory. At around 5,000 rpm the stock set up of the C 63 AMG engine is closing the throttle bodies by 20% detuning the car to approx 457 HP only. This allows Mercedes Benz to market the E 63 AMG and others at higher prices and higher performance figures, although the main change comes only from the ECU software set up.

With our C 63 AMG performance upgrade, (apart from other enhancements), we disable this function and leave the throttle bodies fully open, allowing the engine to develop its full power and potential.

A.The actual programming of the performance software takes about 3-5 hours depending on the car. This is done by our development partner in Germany and usually takes place overnight.

The tuning procedure is as follows: We arrange for a date for the tuning. You arrive with your car and we assess your current modifications or if your car is stock standards. Notes are made of brand and upgrades you may currently have on your car (which are important for the exact, tailor-made tuning). The duration of the tuning depends on your car and ECU model.
If we can download the software via the OBD (on-board-diagnostic) connector, it takes approx 30mins – to 1 hour for the download. If that is the case, you can have your car back for the day. We then back up a copy of your original software and send it to Germany for modification along with the overview of your current modifications. The programming takes place (usually) overnight and we have the performance software for your car the next day available. You come with your car the next day (or any day of your choice) for the upload of the software. The upload again takes around 30 min to approx 1 hour.
If you cannot tune your car via the OBD connector, we will tune it with the ECU off the car.
If that is the case the procedure takes usually bit longer – approx 2-3 hours, as we will have to take out the ECU off the car, and download the software that way. Usually the car would need to stay with us overnight, yet if not possible, you can have the car back and come the next day or any day of your choice for the upload of the performance software.

With our equipment and hardware we can tune over 90% of European cars, sports cars, Porsches, AMG cars, Subarus, Mitsubishis and others. In case we don’t have the right hardware (e.g. Lamborghini tuning) we would need to send out your ECU to Germany for the tuning. If that is the case, the turnaround for such is approx 8 days.

Contact us in advance with our car details and we will be able to tell you what procedure applies to your car.

A. We are giving a 5 years functionality warranty on the software.
The tunings are made in Germany and pass very strict and stringent TUV regulations, (unlike many US sourced tunes that would not pass the German tests). With over 10 years experience and thousands of tunings, there was not one single warranty claim from customers. The tunings are optimised to operate within all ECU safety limits which are never exceeded, hence the probability of a damage is close to zero.

In Australia, we see that each dealership has various views on the warranty if an ECU upgrade was made.
(mostly due to inferior local products offerings). With our upgrade, the dealer can not see if the ECU has been upgraded, it behaves neutral and can be overwritten while being serviced.
In that case, you just come back to us and we will reload the performance software free of charge. A small labour fee applies.
Some of our customers have had their cars serviced at the dealerships and the tunings were not recognised at all. Majority of our customer value our work and our know-how and bring their cars for servicing to us now.

So referring back to the warranty question, it often depends on the attitude of the dealers and the service people. Some dealerships (e.g. Porsche) will tell you that tinting the windows too much voids the warranty; others on the other hand, recommend our services and products to their customers or even sell them themselves. It comes down also to your close relationship with the dealer.
Lastly, if the dealer wants to be nasty and they know you had a tune it can void your warranty, however in that case the dealer needs to prove that the ECU upgrade contributed to the failure of a related part.

A.No. The engines and its control and safety functions remain fully untouched. The electronic supervision of the engine functionality remains fully in place. The tuning with the increased torque and performance is well within all tolerances and below critical levels, prescribed by the manufacturer. No additional wear of parts takes place.

A.Yes. We always keep the original file as a multiple back up and can re-record it back to the ECU any time free of charge.
A small labour fee applies.

A.No, the emission values always remain within the required limits. All out tunings are also ECO optimised, so safe fuel AND increase the performance. Please read the ECO section for more details.

A.Almost all petrol and diesel engines with an electronic computer unit (ECU) can be tuned without software. We tune passenger cars, vans, trucks, agricultural vehicles and boat engines.

A.Yes. we can tune any car which has an ECU. For cars with over 100,000 km we would not recommend however significant power upgrades (30% and more) like forced induction kits etc, as the other, older engine parts would probably not sustain the increased power for long and would need to be replaced or upgraded as well.

A.We would recommend driving with the car min 1800-2000 km before an ECU upgrade.

A.No, you need special hardware and equipment to do so and with today’s technology and protective software you have to understand what you are doing in order not to damage anything. If you are mechanically inclined, we have the KRAFTWERK Plug & Drive Power Modules (additional module to the existing ECU) which can be installed by you within approx 30 mins.

A.You can continue to use the recommended petrol by the manufacture. In order to achieve the highest possible performance output, we recommend using min 98 ROZ petrol. Customers with diesel cars, should opt for the high quality diesel at the petrol station, if available.

A.Once the performance software is uploaded, the car has noticeably more power. At some cars and ECU types the car develops its full performance potential after a short ‘drive-in’ period of approx 150-200 km. The ECU, esp the new generation ECU’s work with a flash prom and a processor. The new performance software is recorded on the flash prom. The processor adopts step by step the new data of the flash prom and regulates the engine and its performance with it. The electronics have to learn to operate with the new data and this learning process can take up to 200 km, depending on the car.