Confused, I really need some help understanding some things about the ECU.

[NickAthn]

Hello, I would like to start by saying I am not a mechanic, I am a newbie regarding cars (I am a software engineer) but I understand the basic principles of a how an engine works. I have scoured the Internet for knowledge and I would really appreciate if anyone can answer some question I have.

Bare with me some questions might seem stupid to the pros.
So my questions are....

• Are the online tuning services worth it? (ex. https://www.tc-performance.com/)

Are they safe ? How can they tune the ECU with out knowing the condition of the engine? Is there any online tuning service that is worth it?

• Why do I need an extra hardware to clone the ECU data ? (ex https://www.alientech-tools.com/en/kessv2/)

Isn't an ENET cable and a laptop enough ? Wont the laptop do all the processing?

[rusefi]

Everything below from limited car experience, I am just a SW guy myself:

Probably safe. OEM has a nice safety margin and OEM has to make environment and fuel economy happy. Tunes would trade environment and economy for extra output. Generic tunes do not go all the way trying to stay reasonably safe.

Kind of hard to explode an engine unless you do something BAD. Also engines have knock sensors (sometimes ion sensing) to kind of self-diagnose.

[328 Power 04]

It's very easy to damage a turbo engine when you're changing the calibration data. Turbos can be overrun, surged and blown up. Fueling can be too lean and you melt or prematurely wear stuff. It takes years to tune correctly, via the correct approach (think factory-like), and have it be safe.