Tractor ECU Remapping is done to reduce fuel consumption, increase power and torque and reduce operating costs. Tractor ECU Tuning is also done to remove systems such as DPF, EGR and AdBlue. ECU tuning can be done for all agricultural machinery.
Tractor ECU Remapping and Agricultural Machinery:
As you may already know, the professional farmer is under a constant stress due to shrinking margins and a more competitive market. Hence they have to boost the efficiency of their operations in order to maximize profits, as well as getting the most out of their farm machinery. There are several ways to help you do that such as: Increasing the power, torque, and fuel economy of your machines so that you can get more done in less time.
On this article, we want to comprehend the total story about:
- Is Tractor ChipTuning safe for your Tractor?
- Does it have any effect on Fuel Consumption?
- Is it possible to trick Emissions Equipment?
- How much power will be added to your Tractor?
- What is the difference between a Tune Box and Remapping and Which one is better?
Is Tractor ECU Remapping Safe for your Tractor?
The most important thing when you are tuning your tractor is not exceeding the OEM standard. It may be question for you what exactly the OEM standard is as a matter of fact, on a certain series of tractors, for instance 8R, you have to try not to go over the 370 horsepower. If you have a tractor lower in this series, for example 240 horsepower, you can jump up anywhere in between and If you have a tractor at the top of this series, you shouldn't go over that 370 horsepower. Because the factory never guaranteed the powertrain can pass that. If you are asking, is there any safe way to go over that?
Yes, but they require EGT Probes. To be honest with you, it depends on a couple of things such as: the series of the Tractor and your usage (it is intermittent use or it is heavy pulling).
Does Agriculture ECU Tuning Have Any Effect on Fuel Consumption?
Actually, the goal is to improve your operational efficiency and the only way you can do that is by either saving your time in the field or running the same acreage with the same fuel. By running the same speed you were running, for instance:
Instead of running 9 miles an hour at 2200 RPM, you can run that same speed with two gears up at 1800 RPM. Like the same way you would do in your truck when you go into overdrive. You shift up to fifth, or to sixth gear and that's the same thing you're doing for your tractor, you're giving it the torque to be able to do that. Now when we do that, you have the option to go faster And if your implement allows (if you're running a piece of tillage equipment) you are going to run faster, you can run at the target ground speed. If you can run at the target ground speed you might be able to save time. On the other hand, when you're paying to operate that tractor, if they can work an eight-hour a day instead of ten, that's money in your pocket. Hence we can save the parasites from that extra RPM so that we can:
- Spend less time in the field.
- Spend less money on diesel.
- Make the most of your time in a day.
DPF Delete/ Removal for Tractor By ECU Remapping:
As you may already know, diesel engines are equipped with what is called a Diesel Particulate Filter or a DPF. This canister’s job is to filter the exhaust stream. The thing to notice is, a DPF has a honeycomb filter on the inside which is going to capture and cleans out the soot coming out of the exhaust. It potentially filters the soot out of the exhaust gas. As long as tractors are working a lot of time on the field, this filter will be plugged up in order to clean the tractor’s exhaust. Hence you have to regenerate the DPF. When DPF indicator lights on, the ECU made engine works in Limp mode.
When it block , a burn cycle will start in order to clean the soot that was produced when the tractor was working. In fact, it burns the fuel to cleans the DPF filter. The biggest problem is, over time you have to replace the DPF ( approximately 3000 hours ). There is an excessive cost on this so that is why you should remap your tractor. By remapping your tractor you can trick the ECU and Delete the DPF without any problem.
❗For more information on how the DPF system works, you can read DPF Off article.
EGR off For Agriculture Machinery By ECU Tuning:
On the other hand, there is another system named EGR. It is an Emission Control device developed by manufacturers which functions to redirect(recirculate) a portion of exhaust gas to the engine intake. As the function of EGR is to reduce engine efficiency for Emission standards, it also lowers the engine life too.
So it's a common practice to delete or block off the EGR valve to improve the quality of the engine. Blocking the EGR will regain the engine efficiency to its peak available. This means less fuel is needed to maintain the same power available from the engine. As the engine efficiency is altered to best by blocking the carbon dioxide gas re-entering the engine, it gets better power on pistons at lower RPM. EGR error cause ECU act in Limp mode.
Also carbon soot and particulates get away from re-entering the engine, this makes the engine manifold, pistons and other components clean. A clean engine runs better and gets more working life compared to the one with more carbon particulates circulating in the engine. By remapping your tractor, you can delete this system without the check-light turning on. So that is why you should remap your tractor.
❗For more information on how the EGR system works, you can read EGR Off article.
AdBlue Delete By ECU Remap For Tractor and Agriculture:
The same story for the AdBlue system. This system is designed to reduce the levels of NOx emissions in the exhaust gasses. NOx is produced when nitrogen and oxygen are bonded or formed together which is a by-product with a combustion process. Coming from the engine, the hot exhaust gasses are first led to an oxidation catalytic converter.
Here, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide are converted to carbon dioxide and water. At the next stage the gasses reach the DPF. Here, the particles are removed from the gas stream and collected in the filter structure. To reduce the NOx to a minimum, at the last stage AdBlue is sprayed to the gas stream.
With the aid of AdBlue the D NOx catalyzer reduces the NOx to nitrogen and water. The thing to notice is, in the long term run, the AdBlue system is costly for the customer. By remapping you can easily get rid of it without any problem. When AdBlue indicator lights on, ECU make engine weak to reduce emission but owners not satisfy.
❗For more information on how the AdBlue system works, you can read AdBlue Off article.
How Much Power Will Be Added To your Tractor By ECU Remapping?
Literally, you can add hundreds of horsepower. The real question is, how much horsepower do you need?
We program remaps by purpose to accommodate for the specific needs of each vehicle, The exact results will be assessed depending on the make, model and year of your tractor. Depending on how much horsepower you need for your operation, you can get the best balance between the power to get the job done and improve operational efficiency without taking the risk that high horsepower and high torque adds to the machine.
What is The Difference Between a Tractor Tuning Box and Remapping and Which one is Better?
First of all, a Tuning Box is a plug-in device which effectively tricks the ECU into injecting more fuel without knowing it, Hence the engine gets more power. But a proper remap is where you read the contents of the engine’s ECU and modify the parameters in order to get more power. Basically, both these ways have their own advantages and disadvantages. So we want to walk you through the way they affect your tractor.
As you may already know, Tune boxes are popular because you can plug them in and unplug them, so that you can put them on your new tractor. It wouldn't be possible, if the ECU or different connectors of your tractor were the same. The cost of them is higher than a proper remap. Depending on the model of your tractor and its series, it has variable price.
On the other hand, when you remap your tractor on the dyno, you basically increase the torque and the horsepower of your engine by the right way. In fact, it has been done individually and as we mentioned above, we program remaps by purpose to accommodate for the specific needs of each vehicle, The exact results will be assessed depending on the make, model and year of your tractor. So, that's the right way of tuning. To be honest with you, the way tune boxes increase power is questionable. They increase the fuel pressure beyond any natural manufacturer's limit. So, they are not very good for injectors. Also it could be quite dangerous if you increase the fuel pressure to that extent.
We have gotten a tractor on the dyno in order to compare the results. We had run the tractor with a Tuning Box tuned to the maximum on it, and then we had run it with our programmed software.
As you can see on the graph, first it made 113 horsepower at the PTO which was obviously nothing. Then we did manage to turn the tuning box slightly, and it made 135 horsepower at the PTO. One thing to note is, there was a bit of diesel knock. When we put the tune file on, it made 151 horsepower. With a nice, smooth, consistent power and we have not had to change anything really drastically to get that power.
In conclusion, it depends on you. If you want to have a tune box with a higher price which might serve you a couple of tractors. On the other hand you can pay lower to a tuner, in order to tune your tractor individually every time, considering the results and the efficiency.
Tractor ECU Remapping Cost?
Tractor ECU remapping price differs from models and in CaracalTech we can do it for you with the lowest price and we do our best with guarantee and support.
Here, you can learn once, fully and for good, the adjustments or ChipTuning in diesel engines. Below is a link of Agricultural Machinery ECU tuning training video in various software and ECUs.
1- If you want to learn how to Tractor ECU Remapping and Agricultural Machinery for diesel engines in WinOLS and ECM Titanium software, you can enter to our ECU Training Course.
2- If you need only Tractor ECU Remapping and Agricultural Machinery tuning file, upload original ECU file in Tuning File Service, after short time our experts send you remapped file.
3- If you know remapping software like WinOLS or Swiftec, for ease and accuracy of work you can use CaracalTech's Mappacks in the following link.
📍For more information and probable problems feel free to contact us: support@caracaltech.com