ECU and VIN

[WickedBMW]

Can someone please explain to me why some tuners lock car’s VIN number to a cable/tablet when they tune a car, and some don’t? In short, what’s the difference between OFT tablet which can be reused, and a cable that tuners provide, but cannot be used again because VIN is locked to that cable. Here’s an example. Let say I sold my 2013 M5 and bought a 2015 M5, I can reuse OFT on my 2015 again, but with cable tuning I cannot, and I need to buy new cable. How come?

Thank you

[Rennyk.]

Originally Posted by WickedBMW

Can someone please explain to me why some tuners ask for a VIN number when they trying to tune a car, and some don’t?

Thank you

Pretty sure it has to do with the specific ecu on your car, as well as locking the tune to your car.

[WickedBMW]

Originally Posted by Rennyk.

Pretty sure it has to do with the specific ecu on your car, as well as locking the tune to your car.

If it had to do something with specifics of the ecu, why lock it. Wouldn’t my software be compatible with other ECUs? Same thing with a tune. If a tune is done for my ecu than wouldn’t it cause a damage to another ecu if I were trying to pass it to someone else?

[Rennyk.]

Originally Posted by WickedBMW

If it had to do something with specifics of the ecu, why lock it. Wouldn’t my software be compatible with other ECUs? Same thing with a tune. If a tune is done for my ecu than wouldn’t it cause a damage to another ecu if I were trying to pass it to someone else?

Probably to prevent all of what you just said? Do you don't try to use it on more then one car. I know for a fact there are different Ecus based on build date and they are not compatible with each other. You're buying one license for a tune, not unlimited access. You can buy jb4 or something if that's what you're after.

[OneExtra]

Originally Posted by WickedBMW

Can someone please explain to me why some tuners ask for a VIN number when they trying to tune a car, and some don’t?

Thank you

There are loads of different calibration codes for the ECUs and each map has to be linked to the specific calibration code.

Plus as has been said with OFT for example you buy the tablet and get software for one car only.

[WickedBMW]

Originally Posted by OneExtra

There are loads of different calibration codes for the ECUs and each map has to be linked to the specific calibration code.

Plus as has been said with OFT for example you buy the tablet and get software for one car only.

I just looked at my original question, and I had clarify it. My fault