With deep roots in the automotive aftermarket, Hypertech is a technology-driven company, dedicated to enhancing the performance of cars, trucks and off-road vehicles. Founded in 1985 by Mark Heffington, the company got its start by engineering and manufacturing onboard computer reprograming devices. During this time, auto manufacturers were in the early stages of fuel injection and computerized engine management. It was truly a turning point in the automotive industry and sent a shockwave through the aftermarket, as there were no immediate high-performance products available for these seemingly high-tech machines of the 1980’s.
Instead of old routine of bolting on aftermarket induction and exhaust systems, Heffington believed he could increase horsepower by altering the car’s computer-controlled fuel delivery and spark advance. The tuning advancements could complement other aftermarket bolt-on modifications, creating even more horsepower. The idea blossomed quickly, and Hypertech hit the ground running. Heffington said, “The reason I started Hypertech was for people just like me…people who like to drive a high-performance street car every day of their life”. That statement summed up the modern culture of the automotive world, welcoming a new era of modified vehicles that could still be driven on a daily basis.
Hypertech was the first to offer a device that could modify a vehicle’s factory-programmed Electronic Control Module (ECM). This product was known as a Power Chip and it recalibrated the original ECM in order to provide more horsepower and torque, and even increase fuel economy. The engineers in Detroit were leaving plenty of room on the table for performance gains, and Hypertech led the charge to squeeze every ounce of power out of each application, while keeping it safe and legal for use on the street. It was a revolutionary product line that put Hypertech on the map, and the Tennessee-based company hasn’t slowed down since.
Although its initial focus was American high-performance cars such as the Buick Grand National, Chevrolet Corvette and many others, the company would expand its reach to the import market, as well as the truck market. Now, with more than 35 years under its belt, Hypertech is expanding its reach once again with a brand-new line of products for the Powersports market, including tuning devices and other accessories for Side by Side and UTV applications.
Hypertechs current offerings include a wide variety of tuning devices, all of which feature plug-and-play simplicity, backed up by thousands of dyno pulls and months of research and development. Each device, no matter its model name or function, is specially developed by a team of engineers. One of those engineers by the name of John Lambert began working at Hypertech in 2002 and is now the General Manager of the company. Lambert’s intense focus on product engineering allows him to contribute heavily to new product development. His enthusiasm for the marketplace and for the product offering is unmatched in the industry.
Another long-time Hypertech employee that climbed the ladder to the executive team is Amy Faulk, a lifelong car enthusiast and drag racer. She earned the NHRA title of “The Winningest Woman in Racing”, as she has racked up numerous event wins, national championships and other accolades in the highly competitive world of NHRA drag racing. Faulk is now the CEO at Hypertech, overseeing operations. She has served on many boards and held many positions in the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), and was inducted into the SEMA Hall of Fame in 2002, along with winning SEMA’s Person of the Year award in 1996.
The executive team of Lambert and Faulk have a long history at Hypertech and helped usher the company into a new era with a recent ownership change. With the passing of Mark Heffington, the company changed hands and is now owned by Jay and Lori Ramsey, an enthusiastic couple that is ready to take Hypertech to the next level. The Ramsey’s are seeking new avenues for growth by upgrading existing product lines and debuting fresh lines to reach new customers.
While the Ramseys had been involved with a technology-driven company for many years, this would be their first step into the automotive aftermarket world. They are passionate and they’ve already begun breathing fresh life into this iconic brand. Their focus is to enhance the staple product lines, such as the Max Energy series, which is a full-spectrum tuning programmer, available for numerous applications. It has multiple settings for 87-, 89- and 93-octane fuel, various transmission improvements and many other functions to improve drivability. The newest product in the Max Energy series is the Spectrum Power Programmer, an updated tuning device with a 4.3-inch daylight readable color display.
The Max Energy Spectrum Power Programmer offers multiple horsepower settings in a 50-state-street-legal package. With this system, you can dial in your tune with the touch of a button. Huge gains can be achieved, especially in today’s factory-turbocharged applications such as the Ford EcoBoost platform. Along with performance enhancements, you can also change when your vehicle’s cooling fans turn on, alter the rpm limit, the speed limiter, fuel management systems (cylinder deactivation), adjust shift points, shift firmness and much more. The device truly covers the full spectrum of tuning capabilities.
Along with adding horsepower, torque, better drivability, and fuel economy, many of Hypertechs products can solve common problems that occur when modifying a vehicle. Hypertechs Speedometer Calibrator can easily correct your factory speedometer and odometer after you install larger tires or change to a different gear ratio. In a matter of minutes, you can plug in your tire size and gear ratio, and the Speedometer Calibrator will calculate the correct speed and send that message to your speedometer and odometer. The device can accommodate tires up to 54 inches in diameter and most readily available gear ratios. It is internet updatable, and it can also read and clear diagnostic trouble codes, which always comes in handy, whether your vehicle is stock or modified.
Other specialty items include the React Throttle Optimizer, a specific device to enhance throttle response on drive-by-wire applications. The React Throttle Optimizer has three versions: Performance, Towing and Off-Road. All three versions have five settings, ranging from economy to all out performance. The Off-Road version even features a “crawl” mode for crucial situations when a slight bounce of the throttle could get you in major trouble on the trail. It slows down the actuation of the throttle to help improve your driving abilities with precise control. While this device doesnt increase horsepower, it does provide a seat-of-the-pants difference in throttle response, which certainly enhances the fun factor of many modern cars and trucks.
In addition to full size off-road trucks and SUV’s, Hypertech offers Powersports products for Side-by-Side vehicles. This marketplace is explosive, and the competition is fierce. Hypertech jumped in full force with a Max Energy Spectrum Power Programmer for 2015 to current Polaris RZR 1000 and Turbo models, gaining 42.1 horsepower over stock on the turbo model. In addition to big power gains, the device provides adjustable WOT fuel tunes, throttle response, rev limit, idle speed, top speed limiter, cooling fan operation, speedometer correction and much more. Another key element of the Max Energy Spectrum Power Programmer is the diagnostic function, which allows you to view and clear codes.
Along with the Max Energy Spectrum Power Programmer for Polaris RZR, Hypertech has introduced additional products for Side-by-Side applications. With items such as Tire Repair Kits, Recovery Kits, 4-Point Safety Harnesses, Shifters and suspension parts, the new line of Hypertech Powersports products gives enthusiasts a one-stop shop for upgrades. This is a new venture for this technology-driven company, but you can trust that each item is designed and manufactured with the highest quality and tested thoroughly before the products are brought to market. When it comes to product development, the staff at Hypertech turns over every stone to uncover horsepower and then tests the products in real-world conditions.
With such a passionate team behind them, the new owners of Hypertech are excited to reach new customers and broaden the scope of this iconic company. A big step in the process involved moving to a new facility, while still remaining in the Memphis area. New products and new markets are part of the long-term business plan that Jay and Lori Ramsey are implementing, and they are taking Hypertech to new heights, while building upon the foundation that Mark Heffington built so many years ago.
Mark Heffington was born October 2, 1941, in his grandmothers home in Memphis, Tennessee. As a fifth grader, he enjoyed helping out in the school library, where he became inspired by three car books, The Modern Racing Engine, a technical book published in late l940s, and two fictitious novels Hot Rod and Street Rod, both written by Henry Gregory Felsen. By the time he was 15, he had his mother taking him and friends to local drag races. Hooked on cars, Heffington pursued a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Tennessee, and then began his career in the aftermarket industry as the chief cam designer for Crane Cams. In 1972, he founded Cam Dynamics, a leading manufacturer of high-performance and racing camshafts. In the early 1980s, he sold the company and began consulting on camshaft design and engineering for United Technologies and General Motors.
When the concept of computer-controlled engines began to emerge, Heffington realized how such a revolution could significantly impact, and even hinder, the performance industry by leaving tuning to factory engineers with proprietary information. Suddenly, an idea struck him.
"I felt like John Belushi at the Triple Rock Church when he had seen the light," Heffington would later recall. "In a matter of seconds I knew exactly what I wanted to do and saw the opportunity. And then you just go and do it."
Heffington poured himself into research and exploration. He founded Hypertech Inc. in 1985 in Bartlett, Tennessee, and engaged engineering consultants to help with computer programs and reverse engineering of codes to develop aftermarket onboard computer reprogramming devices. In 1986 he introduced the first Power Chip to recalibrate the early automotive computers that used replaceable PROMs or "chips" in their Electronic Control Modules (ECMs). In 1994, with later generations of Electronic Control Units (ECUs) eliminating such chips, Hypertech kept pace, releasing another first, the Power Programmer, to access and alter the "flash" programmable memory associated with the newer OBII technology. In fact, during Hypertechs early products, chiefly because few manufacturers understood the technology as Heffington did.
Heffingtons pioneering contributions to the aftermarket and racing communities brought him induction into the Hot Rod Hall of Fame in 1997. His company also became a five-time winner of SEMA Best New Performance Street Product and Best Engineered Product awards, and a two-time Popular Mechanics Editors Choice award winner for product innovation, among other industry accolades.
Indeed, since his successes in the 1990s, Heffington has continued to demonstrate zeal and innovation for the industry. In 2009, Hypertech introduced the SPORT Power Programmer, the first street-legal line of tuners for imports. (Heffington took an early stand with his company, creating only street-legal products meeting emission standards.) "The reason I started Hypertech was for people just like me... People who like to drive a high-performance street car every day of their life," Heffington explained.
Over the years, onboard computer controllers have become more and more sophisticated, regulating fuel, spark, transmission and even radiator cooling fans. However, Heffington views this less as a challenge than an opportunity for even more performance gains. Now in its 27th year, Hypertech remains a leader of engine tuning products, and Heffington continues to look to the future, seeing better ways to control highly modified engines equipped with nitrous, cam changes or superchargers, as well as the ever-changing production models.
In 2012, Mark Heffington was inducted into the prestigious SEMA Hall of Fame. This honor is only given to automotive industry legends, luminaries and icons for their technical achievements, unquestionable integrity and innovative contributions made to the automotive aftermarket.
How Do Hypertech Tune?
Power Tuning is a procedure that Hypertech invented and developed to improve the performance and efficiency of computer-controlled vehicles. An internal combustion engine needs air, fuel, and spark, the familiar "Combustion Triangle". Hypertech Power Tuning optimizes these three elements to produce maximum performance. An engines power output is directly proportional to the amount of air and fuel that it can burn. Hypertech Power Tuning maximizes engine performance by burning the air/fuel mixture as efficiently as possible, thereby extracting maximum power. Power Tuning replaces the stock calibrations in the onboard computers used in late-model cars and trucks. These complex programs control important engine functions such as spark timing and fuel delivery. The only way to modify fuel delivery and spark timing to increase power is to optimize the tuning information supplied to the computer. This is exactly what Hypertech Power Tuning does.
It is a slow, demanding, expensive process, but it is the only way to optimize engine tuning. Only Hypertech has the personnel, the custom equipment, and the dedication to do it...for all tuning products.
The team of engineers and technicians at their R&D center in Memphis uses two computerized chassis dynamometers to develop the most powerful tuning programs possible. First they experimentally adjust the spark timing to obtain the highest torque and power readings at a given engine rpm. Then they adjust the air/fuel ratio to obtain the highest possible power and torque readings that an optimized air/fuel mixture can produce. After the spark timing and air/fuel ratio for that particular engine speed have been optimized, the rpm is increased to the next point and the entire procedure is repeated again. The process continues, point by point, up to the engines maximum speed. This technique is called experimental, point-by-point curve fitting. There is no more effective way to power tune an engine.
Hypertech Power Tuning calibrations are extensively road tested under "real world" driving conditions to verify their performance. The result: Power gains you can feel and dependability you can trust! The results can be very impressive. For example, their Max Energy Power Programmer for Dodge Cummins 5.9L HO Diesels produced a gain of 285 ft./lbs. torque and 174 horsepower without opening the hood!
How Power Tuning Works
The factories tune for average drivers who might buy low-octane gasoline and lug the engine. Their calibrations are engineered for drivers who care about performance and use premium-grade fuel. Gains of 10 to 20 horsepower with 3 to 7 tenths of a second improvement in acceleration times from 0 to 70 mph are typical - some improvements are even greater. However, some applications can enjoy tuning specifically for regular fuel. You can check on these applications by clicking on Dodge, Ford, or GM to view their feature comparison charts.
Hypertech Power Tuning makes trucks and sport utility vehicles come alive, too. These drivers will have more power for climbing hills, hauling heavy loads, and accelerating onto freeways. Power Tuning is an exact science. Much of the equipment they use was designed and built by Hypertech's engineers specifically for software engineering and high-performance engine tuning.
They don't do "generic" tuning at Hypertech - company power tune to optimize performance for specific applications. Their advanced technology allows us to store a huge amount of information in a package that fits in the palm of your hand. Hypertech's Power Programmer contains numerous Power Tuning programs. When you connect the Power Programmer to a vehicle, its "smart" program instantly recognizes the vehicles powertrain by reading its Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). The VIN contains specific information on the engine, transmission, and drivetrain, which the Power Programmer decodes before it downloads the Power Tuning program that is precisely tailored to that particular powertrain. Increasing horsepower and torque is as simple as pushing a button with Hypertech's Power Programmer. You simply plug the Power Programmer into the underdash diagnostic connector, answer a series of "Yes/No" questions, and the Power Programmer does the rest. Hypertech's Power Programmers also allow you to return to the original factory-installed engine calibrations in just a few minutes. Hypertech Power Tuning is emission-legal in all 50 states and does not void the vehicles factory warranty. Hypertech Power Tuning puts fun and excitement into driving. It gives performance enthusiasts the extra power they want for high-performance driving, pulling, or towing.