There’s no question that towing takes its toll on a vehicle, we show you how to get back any lost power and fuel economy for your tow rig with one simple mod…
Let’s be honest here for a sec: pulling a large, or even medium-sized, caravan along behind your vehicle is not going to do its power delivery or fuel economy any favours. This is why installing a performance module just makes sense.
Vehicle manufacturers tune their engines to suit a worldwide array of fuel qualities and emissions regulations, so they like to run a conservative tune so their engines won’t blow up when some third-world-quality diesel gets thrown in the tank.
Long story short – your engine is capable of delivering more… much more. And safely.
For the last few years we’ve been running Steinbauer Performance Modules, and frankly, we rate them as a must-have for any vehicle that has a tow-hitch fitted. They’re a simple plug-and-play unit that utilise the standard connectors, so installation is simple for anyone with a little mechanical nous, or can be done in no time at all by your local workshop.
The module works by telling the fuel injectors to stay open a little longer (we’re talking micro-seconds here), so that more fuel is allowed into the combustion chamber for each power cycle. It’s important to note that there are no “fudged” signals or any extra stresses placed on the fuel system, so it’s 100% safe and allows precise fuel control right throughout the rev range.
Each Steinbauer Performance module is specifically tailored to each vehicle, so it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach, and there’s even an inbuilt safety feature. If the module senses that your vehicle has been working hard towing your van up a hill it will trim back the fuelling by 1% every second until it’s running at 50% capacity. This significantly reduces the chances of damage from overheating, and once the engine is under less stress it’ll kick back in giving you full power, torque and increased fuel economy.
To our knowledge this is the only chip to offer this feature, and that’s on top of the claimed 20% gains in both power and torque, so you won’t have to have the right boot flat to the boards every time you come across a slight incline.
Steinbauer Performance Module prices vary depending on application, and are available from Diesel Care stores or online at dieselcare.com.au
