2010 McLaren SLR

We programmed this 2010 McLaren SLR the otherday. The customer didn't want to change the crankshaft pulley so we just programmed the ECU and TCU.

Exhaust Recommendations

We get asked all the time about exhausts/headers, etc. so I'm going to give you my thoughts and recommendations.

Audi/VW = Milltek

BMW = Supersprint

Exotics = Capristo or Quicksilver


Here is a picture of the Supersprint headers for the BMW M5. You can see the excellent build quality and these give you real power gains, that's why they're used and recommended by the best BMW tuners in the world.

With Supersprint headers, you'll never get a check engine light. Even though the 02 sensors can be disabled, it's not recommended. Every sensor in a car has a purpose.

Elite Speed Performance aka ESP Tuning

Customer's in Northern California can contact ESP Tuning with regards to their tuning needs. ESP have the capability of tuning all the cars on our price list.

43238 Christy St
Fremont CA 94538
Phone: 510.926.3475
email: info@elitespeedperformance.com
website coming soon: www.elitespeedperformance.com

You can contact Goshan at ESP Tuning.

VW CC 2010 Tuning

We tuned this VW CC 2010 a while ago, from what we know it was the first VW CC 2010 to be tuned in North America.



Wheels were supplied by DP Engineering. The car will be featured in the April 2010 issue of Euro Tuner.

Live Tuning?

I’ve always found this a hilarious subject. You’ll find a lot of tuners who offer ‘Live Tuning’ (they’ll offer to tune your car on a dyno).

I just want to explain something without getting too technical. If you’ve had or are considering getting your car tuned on a dyno, make sure the person tuning the car also has your vehicles factory diagnostic computer.

I’ve come across too many ‘Muppets’ in my time who will ‘rant and rave’ about their knowledge, or how they know how tune a car a dyno. Ok, first of all I just want to clarify that every car has to be tested on a dyno before a tuned file can created.

So many dyno's out here are incorrect so, if your dyno isn’t measuring correctly and your tuner has tuned your car on that dyno knowing very well that the dyno is incorrect then guess what?? Your car isn’t tuned properly. What starts off on the wrong foot, you know where I’m going with this. The correct way to create a file is to use a dyno which measures correctly. If your not happy with the results, delete the adaptation values using the factory diagnostic computer (BMW = GT1, Mercedes = Mercedes Star Diagnosis, Ferrari SD2/3, etc) and start again. For example we were like with many cars in North America the first company to programme the BMW M5 E60. After programming the car we then connected the GT1 to see how long it would take for the car to go through its adaptation period, the result was 105.4 miles. What this means is once your M5 has been programmed it will take that many miles for the file to fully adapt, even though you’ll feel the gain right away (the car will get faster and faster as it goes through this stage).

Some tuners will swear that the car adapts right away, we all know that’s nonsense. When we create a file for a car, yes we do use a dyno but we also road test it too. Different climate and weather conditions are important factors to consider, you don’t want a car that shows high numbers on the dyno but yet drives very poorly on the road.

Common sense would tell us that we should feel and see the power gains as oppose to framing your dyno sheet and having you’re a*& handed to you at the races or traffic lights.

A flashback... to 1993

While packing for the move to Los Angeles I found some old car magazines. We use to do a lot of engine work back then and we once installed a BMW M5 engine into a 7 series back in 1993. We used the original wiring loom, ECU, instrument cluster, etc., from the M5. We called it the M7 and had coverage from all the major magazines, I got that car up to 172mph and it still kept going. Some of you guys might find it funny but 18" wheels were the 'in thing' back then.




I'll also try to find some pictures or articles of us working with Cosworth engines in 1990. Even though the company was only registered 6 years ago in North America, the owners of Singh Autosport have been around since the days of Turbo Systems, Turbo Technics, Dewitts Race & Rally, BBR and not forgetting Connaught Design.

Piggyback Systems/Handheld Programmers/Flux Capacitors

Singh Autosport receives a lot of inquiries regarding piggyback systems/handheld devices; so I will gladly address that topic.

First of all, I would like to state that any self-respecting European car owner would never use a piggyback/handheld programming device.

To use such a contraption is the equivalent to taking a “stab in the dark”. More often than not, they can be found and purchased on eBay, an online car forum or your local flea market. These piggyback units only trick the sensors in the car. Companies that manufacture such devices have very limited or next to no knowledge of what tuning really entails. Owners of such units will scream and shout that they can take their car to a dealership, and by removing the device; no one will know it was ever installed; wrong! Normal telltale signs are blown engines, injectors and turbo’s. Companies like BMW are now fully aware, and are able to check the vehicles shadow memory.

The suppliers of such boxes blame the manufacture’s components. A typical response is: “BMW parts are poorly made, blah blah blah”. No, perhaps it’s the contraption that you installed. Why do the manufactures of these units include OBD2 readers so you can delete engine codes? Owners of such contraptions will argue that if BMW updated the vehicle, the tuned file would be overwritten. Having updated software in your BMW isn’t a bad thing, and if the tuner can make the car run better after the update --then why not?

When tuning a car the “proper” way, you can raise the RPM, remove the speed limiter/hesitation/flat spots, adjust shifting, switch off the 02 sensors and much more. Someone who can tune the car correctly can offer these options to a customer.

Do you ever stop and wonder why the best tuners in world don’t offer these units? In fact, why don’t dealerships sell such units? If gaining power from a car was as easy as plugging in a little device, then life would be much easier… or maybe… just maybe some of the best engineers in the world know more than the boys at the car meets or forums.

Some boxes have something like 100 different files inside (relax I’m exaggerating); in this industry we refer to that as guess work, and as I mentioned earlier, “a stab in the dark”.

Tuning the car via OBD2 or bench flashing the ECU is the safest way. How safe is it? We do it for most dealerships. Singh Autosport works very closely with a lot of dealerships, ranging from Aston Martin, Bugatti, and Lamborghini. Having been in this industry for nearly twenty years, I think we can say we know what we're talking about.