In Australia there are various brands of diesel performance chip for your 4×4 which are simple plug-and-play. If you want more serious tuning then that’s an option as well, and recommended if your car is heavily modified from stock.

How does a diesel performance chip work?

Most diesel motors in cars and trucks are programmed by the factory at a set limit. This is just a basic run down of what these motors are capable of, and factory tuned chips are tuned conservatively to say the least.

If you want better performance, and likely better efficiency out of your diesel, then installing a diesel performance chip is a good idea.

Basically what a diesel performance chip does is reprogram your factory settings, to add fuel efficiency, and enhance performance. They are easy to use and operate, following simple instructions that are included with the unit.

They basically come in two different varieties, one is an electronic control module – this plugs directly into the wiring harness, replacing the factory module, and the other is a programmer, or tuner, which plugs into the OBD II port under your dashboard (basically a fancy plug socket).

An OBD II port is a code scanner port used by mechanics to read diagnostics in a vehicle, such as determining why the engine light comes on at times when you think there is nothing wrong with your car. When you take your car to the mechanic with a problem, the first thing they’ll do is use the port scanner and charge you for what comes across as incredible engine knowledge.

Programmable tuner chips

If you buy a tuner diesel chip, it will have instructions on the screen which guide you through the process of reprogramming your on-board computer (or ECU), changing the factory settings to performance enhancing ones. While this may sound complicated, it really isn’t – all the hard work is done for you. It’s fully automated and only takes a few minutes to do.

These tuners are the same kind of code reader that a mechanic has, so the next time your engine light comes on for no good reason, you can simply check and erase it. This saves you money instead of having to take your vehicle to your mechanic.

When you are done uploading the information, or checking the computer codes, you just unplug the unit and put it away. It’s a very useful tool to have in that sense.

You can also use the code reader device to return the vehicle back to its original programming, if you ever decide you want a boring car again.

Plug and play diesel performance chips

The other kind of diesel performance chip, the plug-in or piggy back module, plugs right into the wiring harness under your hood.

The instructions that come this these tell you exactly where and which plug it is, so it’s a fairly easy DIY job as long as you’re careful and read the instructions. Then it’s simply a matter of unplugging the factory module, and replacing it with the diesel performance chip module instead.

If you want to return your car to factory settings, you simply put the other module back in place and sell the diesel performance chip on eBay to get your money back.

What these diesel chips do is adjust the fuel flow rate, the transmission shifting points, and the timing curve. This makes sure your vehicle will run at top performance. Increasing the fuel flow reduces the time the turbo charger needs to build pressure.

In addition, this reduces the time needed to burn fuel, which can actually increase performance.

Changing the transmission shift points, and the timing curve so it coincides with the fuel flow, will make everything work together better to give your vehicle added performance.

Are diesel performance chips reliable?

Diesel performance chips have greatly evolved over the last few decades and are becoming both increasingly reliable and increasingly popular.

The factory tuning of most 4x4s in Australia is so conservative it’s very easy to make your car much more performant with a standard diesel performance chip, and more so with a programmable chip and dyno. Most of the time without any real risk.

It must be noted a diesel engine can only be pushed so far, and if your car has other modifications then err on the side of caution with your tuning.

Companies in Australia like SW Diesel, Chip My Diesel, and Diesel Chip Tuning sell many of these chips for just about any kind of vehicles, and are not just limited to diesel motors. Just make sure you read reviews of each company first.

What diesel tuning chip do you use?

What benefits us the most as car enthusiasts is the experiences of others, like yourself. What diesel performance chips have you used, how do you rate them, and how were the company who fitted them?