RICA Engineering

Since 1992, RICA Engineering has been one of Europe’s leading specialist in remapping engine management systems. Using advanced techniques combined with many years of experience, RICA can obtain the best from every car and engine type. The RICA team is always available to give you maximum support, answer all your questions and give you the very best in customer satisfaction.

All RICA software is written in house at the facilities in the Netherlands. All the knowledge is under one roof, so you can always be assured of optimal performance, quality, and reliability. RICA has the capability of measuring the performance of all cars on any of the dyno facilities because every RICA facility has its own rolling road dyno. The RICA main facility in Wateringen and the tuning centre in Enkhuizen both have a 4WD rolling road where cars with up to 850 hp can be measured.

ECU Upgrades, Remapping, Chip Tuning

Remapping or "chip tuning" as it is often known, is the art of modifying the standard software which is stored in the factory engine management system, otherwise known as the ECU. In order to increase the power-output of the engine, it is necessary to change the fueling, ignition timing, and turbo boost on turbocharged engines. By carefully adjusting these parameters in the software, the engine will have the upmost efficient combustion required for power and ecomony. An increase in power output of about 25-50% can be achieved, combined with a smoke-free vehicle and improved fuel economy of about 5-10%.

Why doesn't the manufacturer do this?

Believe it or not, they do! When a car is designed and built for the public, it has to run as reliably as possible in various climates, cope with different grades of fuel around the world, and take a lot of neglect and abuse from the driver. The car is often desgned to fit into a particular emissions tax band, insurance group, and is aimed at a particular buyer and so all these factors are considered when designing and marketing the car. However, the manufacturers can save a lot in development costs by developing a single engine which can then be used in various configurations using different turbochargers, injectors etc. This also allows them to tune the engine at a later stage to offer a "special" upgraded model in the future. All this over-engineering means that there is significant scope to tune the car without affecting the reliability or longevity.

Specialisation in Volvo Tuning

RICA have been specialising in tuning Volvos for well over 20 years, however it was the launch of he Volvo 850 T5 that made RICA Engineering synonymous with the Volvo brand, which together with the subsequent development of quality tuning software for the later diesel range of engines has placed RICA as the number one choice around the world. The huge amount of experience and detailed hardware knowledge that RICA has with the Volvo brand means that RICA are long established world leaders in Volvo tuning and as a result have greater model coverage than any other tuner in the world. In house development of new technologies and focus on quality means that you can be assured the very best for your Volvo by choosing RICA