About TuningWorx
Engineering Experience • Advanced ECU Technology • Bespoke Performance Solutions
More Than 50 Years of Engineering Behind TuningWorx
TuningWorx brings together more than 50 years of automotive engineering experience, dating back to 1975, with the latest developments in vehicle diagnostics, ECU programming and performance calibration.
During that time we have worked through enormous changes in automotive technology — from carburettors, distributors and early electronic fuel injection to modern direct injection, CAN Bus networks, sophisticated transmission control and today's increasingly protected engine management systems.
The technology has changed dramatically.
The engineering principles haven't.
Our approach remains straightforward:
Understand the vehicle. Measure what it is doing. Identify what needs to change. Then make the change.
That philosophy is at the heart of TuningWorx.
What is TuningWorx?
TuningWorx is our specialist vehicle tuning, ECU programming and performance engineering operation.
It combines decades of practical mechanical and electronic engineering experience with modern calibration technology, professional ECU programming equipment and our own 4WD rolling road.
We work with vehicle owners, performance enthusiasts, garages and professional remappers.
Our capabilities include:
- Bespoke petrol and diesel ECU calibration
- 4WD rolling-road development
- Advanced ECU reading, programming and unlocking
- KorHex and Boot Glitch ECU access
- Bench, Boot and OBD programming
- ECU and electronic fault diagnosis
- ECU recovery
- Transmission and ZF 8HP calibration
- Petrol injector testing and cleaning
- Performance and drivability diagnostics
- Classic carburettor and ignition setup
- Rover V8 and Lucas 14CUX development
- Specialist programming services for the motor trade
TuningWorx is about considerably more than writing a modified file to an ECU.
Engineering Before Tuning
A vehicle should be working correctly before we attempt to improve its performance.
If it isn't, we want to know why.
Modern tuning increasingly involves understanding the interaction between mechanical systems, electronics, software and calibration. A boost-control problem, fuel-delivery issue, ignition fault or failing injector cannot be corrected properly simply by changing numbers in an ECU file.
We use diagnostic information and measured data to establish what the vehicle is actually doing before deciding what should be changed.
Diagnosis comes before modification.
That principle applies equally to a modern turbocharged performance car and a classic vehicle running carburettors and a distributor.
Bespoke ECU Calibration
Our approach to remapping is based upon the individual vehicle rather than simply its registration or advertised engine specification.
Two apparently identical vehicles may differ considerably because of age, mileage, condition, previous repairs or modifications.
Where appropriate, our calibration work can be developed and verified using our 4WD rolling road, allowing us to measure the vehicle before and after changes.
We can examine power and torque delivery, fuelling, boost behaviour and drivability and use those measurements to guide calibration changes.
The objective isn't simply to produce the largest possible headline figure.
The objective is to produce a calibration appropriate to the vehicle.
Advanced ECU Programming & Unlocking
Modern ECU tuning increasingly starts with gaining access to the ECU itself.
Later control units can incorporate sophisticated security which prevents conventional reading and programming. Depending upon the ECU, access may require OBD, Bench, Boot, specialist unlocking or newer Boot Glitch techniques.
TuningWorx has invested extensively in professional ECU programming technology.
Our equipment includes Magicmotorsport Flex with KorHex, alongside systems including bFlash, CMD Flashtec, Alientech KESS3, AutoTuner, VF2 and other specialist programming equipment.
KorHex provides advanced EMFI Boot Glitch capability for supported protected microcontrollers, extending our ability to work with some of the latest locked ECUs.
But no single tool provides every solution.
We select the method and equipment to suit the ECU — not the ECU to suit the tool.
This advanced programming capability is available for our own tuning work and as a specialist service for other professional remappers and garages.
Professional Equipment
Good engineering depends upon good information.
Our facilities and equipment include:
- 4WD rolling road
- Wideband air/fuel ratio measurement
- PicoScope automotive oscilloscopes
- Professional and manufacturer-level diagnostic systems
- Petrol injector flow testing and ultrasonic cleaning equipment
- Multiple professional ECU and TCU programming systems
- KorHex specialist MCU access equipment
- Bench and Boot programming equipment
- Electronic test and development equipment
Equipment alone, however, doesn't diagnose a vehicle.
Knowing how to use the information it provides is what matters.
From Carburettors to KorHex
The breadth of technology we work with is unusual.
Our engineering experience dates back to 1975, so we have worked with many vehicles now regarded as classics since their technology was current.
That experience encompasses SU and Weber carburettors, distributors, conventional and electronic ignition, Lucas fuel injection and 14CUX, through to modern direct injection, turbocharged engines, electronically controlled transmissions, CAN networks and protected Bosch MD1/MG1 ECUs.
We have particular experience with Rover V8 engines and Lucas 14CUX, including modified engines where the original calibration is no longer appropriate for the engine specification.
At the other end of the technological spectrum, we are working with some of the latest ECU access techniques, including Bench, Boot and KorHex Boot Glitch.
From carburettors to KorHex, the objective remains exactly the same: understand what is happening and make the vehicle work properly.
Injector Testing
Fuel injectors are another area where measurement is more useful than assumption.
Our in-house injector facilities allow us to test and compare injector performance, carry out appropriate cleaning procedures and document the results.
An injector that operates electrically isn't necessarily flowing correctly.
Testing can identify poor spray patterns, restricted flow and imbalance between injectors before those problems are incorrectly attributed to ECU calibration or another component.
For performance applications, knowing that the injectors are operating correctly is particularly important before calibration work begins.
ECU & Programming Recovery
Our ECU programming capability isn't limited to tuning.
An interrupted programming operation, incorrect file or unsuitable programming procedure can leave an ECU which no longer communicates normally.
Depending upon the ECU and what has happened, Bench, Boot, direct-memory access or specialist programming equipment can sometimes provide a recovery route where conventional OBD programming cannot.
We can also provide reading, full backup, EEPROM access, programming and readback verification where supported by the ECU and protocol.
Supporting Professional Remappers & Garages
TuningWorx isn't only for vehicle owners.
Our equipment and experience are available to other automotive professionals.
A remapper may encounter a protected ECU which their existing tool cannot access. A garage may have a programming or diagnostic problem outside its normal capabilities. An ECU may require specialist Bench, Boot, Boot Glitch or recovery work.
It doesn't always make commercial sense for another business to purchase every specialist programming system for an occasional job.
Use TuningWorx as an extension of your own workshop.
You retain your customer and carry out the work you normally perform.
We provide the specialist capability when you need it.
Classic & Modern Performance
We don't believe that performance engineering starts or finishes with modern ECU remapping.
A carburetted classic, modified Rover V8 and modern electronically controlled performance vehicle all require the same fundamental approach:
Establish the specification.
Check the condition.
Measure the result.
Make appropriate changes.
Verify the improvement.
The equipment and methods may be completely different, but the engineering process remains remarkably similar.
That breadth of experience is an important part of TuningWorx.
Continuous Development
Vehicle technology never stops developing, and neither can we.
New ECU protocols and programming methods appear constantly. Previously inaccessible ECUs gain Bench or OBD support. New security systems require new access techniques. Diagnostic systems and vehicle electronics continue to become more complex.
We continually invest in equipment, software and technical knowledge to keep our capabilities current.
We also develop and maintain our own vehicle and ECU information resources so that new programming capabilities can be incorporated as they become available.
What wasn't possible yesterday may be a supported workshop procedure today.
Why TuningWorx?
TuningWorx combines something that is increasingly difficult to find in one place:
More than 50 years of practical engineering experience with some of the latest vehicle electronics and ECU programming technology.
We don't believe in replacing parts based upon assumptions.
We don't believe that owning a tuning tool automatically makes every vehicle tunable.
And we don't believe that a larger number on a dyno graph is the only measure of a successful calibration.
We believe in:
Accurate diagnosis
Professional equipment
Appropriate engineering solutions
Bespoke calibration
Measured results
Verification of the work performed
Our Philosophy
Every vehicle has its own history.
Age, mileage, maintenance, previous repairs, modifications, hardware and existing software can all influence how it performs.
Our job is to understand those factors and establish what the vehicle is actually doing before deciding what should be changed.
That principle has survived more than 50 years of changing automotive technology.
Diagnose first. Measure the result. Never assume.
Need Expert Advice?
Whether you need bespoke performance tuning, advanced ECU programming, ECU unlocking, rolling-road development, injector testing, classic engine setup or specialist support with a difficult vehicle, talk to TuningWorx.
Tell us what you have and what you're trying to achieve.