Frequently Asked Questions

HD TUNING is proud to provide services for the following European Car Manufacturers: Alfa Romeo Alpina Aston Martin Audi Bentley BMW Ferrari Jaguar Lamborghini Land Rover Maserati Maybach McLaren Mercedes Mini Pagani Porsche Range Rover Rolls Royce Volvo Volkswagen

Piggy backs are resistors that deceive the ECU into seeing low boost. This is a short-sighted workaround in an attempt to trick the ECU to add boost. It is not recommended to use piggy backs as they do not modify ignition timing or fuel, which can be dangerous.

HD TUNING provides a custom tune that maximizes performance for your vehicle. In order to sufficiently apply the correct edits to your ECU, we collect the following information about your car: Octane Rating Maintenance History/Intervals Current Hardware Modifications if any (i.e. Catback Exhaust, Air Intake, .etc.) Non-Drivetrain Upgrades Electrical Setup (i.e. Sound System, custom lighting, .etc.) Alcohol Injection and/or Nitrous Oxide A proper tune extends the life of an engine. With HD TUNING, our goal is to create lasting power for the life of the vehicle- free of dangerous side effects like engine knocking, misfires, and check engine light[s].

A custom tune from HD TUNING can be completed on your vehicle the same day while you wait at our facility in sunny Irvine, California. We are also one of the very few agencies that offer mobile tuning- an extremely convenient service where we come to you*. *Not all locations available. Please contact HD TUNING for information.

HD TUNING provides an OEM quality tune- in some cases, safer than OEM because HD TUNING calibrates for your specific vehicle modifications.

Having power and fuel efficiency are not mutually exclusive. In most cases, HD TUNING can provide a boost in fuel efficiencies that are not detrimental to the health of the motor. With fuel savings, a custom tune from HD TUNING can pay for itself.

Generic tunes are designed to do the bare minimum- just like OEM calibration. At HD TUNING, we cater to the car enthusiasts who are passionate about performance. We develop custom tunes, calibrated to your goals.

HD TUNING has a full repository of OEM calibrations. For many franchise dealerships, HD TUNING is contracted to flash cars back to stock so that they can be smogged and sold.

American regulations are typically stricter than their European counterparts. We are well versed in the nuances of tuning local cars using local fuels. Because we create custom tunes for cars domestically, we have knowledge of what a car can or cannot handle. European tuners may not have the expertise or be aware of the many subtle differences between North American and European cars.

Knowing octane rating is important because it allows us to determine what is a safe limit to push the car to. Many European cars have race gas maps built in, they are perpetually trying to hit a higher timing target. Because of various torque limits, environmental conditions, elevation, etc. it will run the highest timing it can until the ECU senses knock from the knock control. If you have race gas [100+ octane] in the car, it will run the optimal timing map and make max power, if you put bad fuel in the car it will default to a minimum timing map. If you put 100 octane in a modern car it will recognize the better fuel and make more power on it's own. Timing and boost are maximized while pinging and knocking is minimized. A lot of cars will knock on the factory mapping, other tuners may add timing to a car that already knocks. This is not healthy for the engine. What HD TUNING provides is a tune that helps your car safely hit its targets, not set targets out of reach.

Stage 1 refers to a stock car or a lightly modified car (bolt-ons) Stage 2 refers to a car that has downpipes or is catless (offroad vehicles only) Stage 3 refers to a car with upgraded turbos or aftermarket forced induction The different stages don't refer to the potency of the tune, only that the tune is suited for the specific modifications done to the car. Safety is the priority, power second. HD TUNING safely provides maximum power regardless of stage.

On older cars that have basic computers- any change in airflow will necessitate checking the tune or retune for safety. Modern cars don't need retuning for small modifications because the fuel maps are target based.