If you’ve just finished the DigiTune tuning process, congratulations! We hope you’ve enjoyed the process and continue to enjoy your car.
We do everything we can while tuning to make sure that your car runs well not only today but for years to come. However, there are some things that simply can’t be protected against through tuning alone and more power certainly can make it easier to damage an engine. This page is dedicated to helping you care for your tuned car and protect it against engine failure throughout its lifespan.
Be Cautions When Making Changes
Any changes that could affect engine performance or the fuel system are likely to have an impact on the tuning. Even if you are fixing or improving something (eg replacing a worn out fuel pump or changing part of the exhaust), this is likely to need some tuning adjustment in order to ensure the engine remains safe and reliable. If in doubt, please ask us about whether a change will affect your tune/engine. Don’t worry though, we do offer adjustments to existing tunes at an affordable hourly rate!
Engine Monitoring / Protection
Engine failures are often avoidable with the right information available. Whether it’s overheating, loss of oil pressure, or a blocked fuel filter, the right sensors can detect and warn of issues before it’s too late. We are sometimes asked about implementing active engine protection (such as a reduced RPM limit in the event that an issue is detected), but this is not something that we recommend. Your life is worth far more than your engine and we do not want you to lose power half way through an overtake with oncoming traffic. Instead, we recommend the use of an engine monitoring and warning system such as our Sentinel Shift and Warning Light. The clear warning LEDs provide instant feedback without the need to constantly glance at gauges or risking a hazardous situation on the road or track. For more information on this and our various available sensors, see below:
- DigiTune MX-5 Engine Protection Package
- DigiTune Sentinel Shift and Warning Light
- Bosch Combined Oil Pressure and Temperature Sensor
- DigiTune In-Line Fuel Pressure Sensor
- Bosch MX-5 Knock Sensor Kit
Engine Oil
The exact engine oil to use will vary by engine, power level, cooling and use (road/track). Trying to cover all that would be a page in itself or possibly even a book! One thing that is often overlooked is how quickly engine oil can become contaminated if an engine is running rich. In a lot of cases, the base map used before tuning has begun will have the car running rich enough to cause contamination. If you’re aware that the engine has been running rich prior to or during the tuning process, we recommend changing the engine oil to minimise wear and maximise protection. We also recommend that you continute to change the oil more frequently than the standard service intervals. Increased power output and richer full throttle mixtures (by necessity) will speed up oil degradation.