When it comes to automotive repair, you’re going to find that most people are completely lost. You’re not going to find a lot of people that know how to repair much of anything. Mechanics know this, which is why they can charge whatever they’d like for fixes that may seem rudimentary or simple. For instance, you’re going to find that changing the oil in your vehicle can be done within a matter of minutes, on your own. But if you were to take it to a garage, expect to pay quite the sum, especially for newer cars that need 100% synthetic oil. This is a difficult thing to manage on the finances, which is why many people are driving on borrowed time with their engines.
Technology has been kind to drivers, however. Not only have major manufacturers started to create more efficient options, but they have put in a lot of elements that can be upgraded, fine-tuned and more. For instance, you’ll find that the average car today gets better gas mileage than those vehicles that were released 30 years ago. How is that possible? Well, the simple answer is because there are computer chips in place that regulate gas mileage, torque, engine movements, and much more. If you were to tap into this with ECU software tuning, you could very well change the complexion of your automobile, simple as that.
How could a simple software upgrade change the complexion of your car? Well, that’s the thing that you’ll figure out in conjunction with something known as an OBD. This stands for on board diagnostics, and you can purchase an adapter that gives you full view of everything that is going on with your ride. Not only will you know what is going on, but you’ll be able to see how your engine’s true performance is working.
Mechanics Don’t Want You To Use These
The simple truth about these elements is that mechanics don’t want you to have them. If you do, then you are going to be able to cut them out of a lot of different processes. Think about that for a moment. When you see the check engine light come on, what do you do? You would go to a garage and get things fixed, right? Well, that could cost you several hundred or even thousands of dollars. That’s not a good thing. To save money, you may be able to fix things yourself, especially if you knew what was awry with your vehicle. That’s what an OBD does, and that’s where a simple tuning upgrade can help you.
Mechanics make money by figuring out what is wrong with your vehicle, and here’s the kicker, they use the same ECU software tuning that you can buy for personal use. That’s right, when you put your car in the hands of a professional, they are going to attach it to a computer and they are going to get all the stats, and information that you can get yourself. The codes that are in place, tell professionals what is going on, and where to fix it. Once that fix is in place, it become easy to manage changes for them. But for you, the price goes up in terms of labor. The better the technology inside a repair shop, the higher the price to the consumer, and that’s a simple business fact.
The Difficulty Level of ECU Software and OBD Scanners
If you’re not sure whether or not you want to invest in these, don’t worry. They are not difficult to use. Many options have been made to be absolutely simple. If you want to test something simple, you could use a smartphone and an application. The app that you use could give you a clear defining line as to how tuning and OBD works overall. This will give you insight into what your car is doing, and what is going on with the computer system that is under the hood. It’s that simple. The difficulty level does rise if you go into commercial or professional grade solutions, but more likely than not, you’re not going to need to utilize that.
In the case that you purchase a high end solution, and aren’t sure how to use it, make sure that you get software that has a support system in place. Many of the best OBD II scanners have software updates frequently, and numbers that you can call to get help with how to diagnose, change and fix several different elements overall.
Money Spent Versus Money Saved
The big thing here is simple, you’re going to have to purchase scanners and software to get ECU tuning and OBD working properly. Some people think that this may be too much money, but that’s not true. Consider the cost of repairs at a local garage. In some instances, you’ll have to pay for two major things. You’ll have to pay for parts and labor. The labor involved includes diagnostics. That may only take a mechanic 5 minutes to get done and figure out. The fix that they find may also only take a few minutes, and that’s it. However, you will get billed full price, and it could be “hours”. At the hourly rates that many garages have, you could end up spending several hundreds of dollars to go through with this overall. The cost associated with this is far more than you will spend on getting the right scanning and tuning equipment.
The right equipment will help you diagnose issues before they become bigger. That means that you can fix them fast, ensure that your car is in tip top shape, and that’s a positive thing. You’ll save more money, and you’ll be able to communicate with the mechanics that you go to with relative ease. They won’t overcharge you any longer, and you’ll be able to ensure that you get the right fix, and that’s the big thing. There’s a lot of benefits that come with this, and you can definitely take advantage of them, if you just focus on picking up this simple tool set. It’s so grand that mechanics don’t want you to have them, because you’ll end up saving money that would normally go to their pockets.
