Car tuning is essential when it comes to the smooth, optimized, and better performance of your car. It is not a must that you rush to your mechanic every time your car has a hitch.
With the best car tuning laptop, you can diagnose your ride right from the comfort of your home. This can go miles to helping you save hundreds if not thousands of dollars.
Are you in the market for the best laptop for tuning cars? In this article, I review 3 of the best laptops for car tuning and also share a comprehensive guide that will make you make an informed choice as to which product to settle for.
While you can tune a car with any laptop, there are special laptop applications that will make the job easier. This article will show you what features you want to look for in your laptop, and how to choose the right laptop for car tuning.
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Best Laptop for Car Tuning Buying Guide
Considering certain features is important when shopping for the best car tuning laptop. They include gauges, live data logging, radios modification, performance upgrade, and compatibility.
Here are some of the factors that we need to consider when searching for the best laptop for tuning cars:
SSD Storage
SSD stands for a solid-state drive. As you work with your car, it is only natural for the laptop to move around too.
In addition to that, when the machine is inside your car, it can be susceptible to heavy vibration. This is not healthy for the health of your hard disc.
Owning an SSD laptop is one of the most effective ways or strategies to get rid of or reduce the risk of data loss or HDD failure. Of great importance to note is that SSDs normally do not bring with them any moving parts.
What this means is that they are not only faster, and lightweight but also more reliable compared to conventional HDDs.
On top of that, they work on low power as well as take up less laptop battery.
Their only downside is the fact that they tend to be costlier compared to their old hard drives counterparts. For a vehicle laptop, a 256GB SSD is handy without having to incur unnecessary expenditures.
Memory
Many of the car diagnostic software available in the market do not need more than 4GB of memory. While this is the case, today, RAM is usually not expensive.
Consequently, settling for one with 8GB RAM can be the prudent thing to do.
Working with numerous programs at the same time demands that you work with one that boasts a large memory. This can be magical when it comes to switching between them.
You do not have to bother working with DDR4 and DDR3. This is because no huge difference exists when it comes to laptops.
The most important thing to consider is the number of GBs.
Resolution and Display Size
Do you always use your laptop when on the move? If yes, then you need to consider buying a portable machine that will not break your arm as you handle it.
In terms of display size, a 14-inch or 13-inch laptop works perfectly. These offer an appropriately sized screen without leaving you feeling dominated.
Another aspect that plays a huge role in determining the quality of the picture or video you see is screen resolution. On top of that resolution and display size, you need to check the brightness of the display.
This is especially true if you tend to work on the outdoors in bright sunlight. Experts recommend 300 – 350 nits brightness when it comes to working outside.
If your laptop’s screen boasts a matte finish, then it would be prudent to increase its visibility when compared to a glossy finish.
Connectivity Ports
Many programs for car tuning are USB based. For this reason, your choice of best laptop for car tuning must have not less than a full-size USB port. This is important as some of the compact and latest portable netbooks offer USB Type-C port.
For this reason, you might need a hub or an adapter for linking the standard USB devices. Some programs might grapple with compatibility issues with the adapter.
Aside from the USB port, you might have to look for DisplayPort or HDMI if you intend to connect the laptop to external displays.
Processor
Just like with music editing or engineering, it is not necessary to have a laptop with a powerful processor when it comes to car tuning. Nonetheless, this does not mean that you settle for one with Intel Celeron, Pentium, or Atom.
These will not do a great job. Settle for no less than Core i3 if you desire to enjoy an interruption-free working. If you can, choose one that features an Intel Core i5 processor.
Battery Life
Since you do not need such a powerful laptop, you can settle for one that boasts 8+ hours in terms of battery life. The longer the battery life yours has, the better.
Graphics Card
For tasks such as car tuning, you just need a laptop whose integrated graphic memory works brilliantly. This goes miles to also save battery life.
Best Laptop for Car Tuning Reviews
For car tuning, Dell laptops are generally considered one of the best options out there. They’re powerful enough to run the applications you need while being portable enough to carry anywhere you need to take them – and, like most laptops out there, they come equipped with all the ports you can think of, including HDMI and USB ports.
Of course, there are a ton of other laptop options out there, and one can’t simply choose a Dell laptop without considering a few other factors.
First, you have to think about screen size: if you’re going to be spending a lot of time looking at a screen, you want to make sure it’s big enough for your needs. Then there’s your budget, and how long you’re planning on having a laptop.
The following are our recommendations of the best laptop for car tuning:
Edge Products 85450 CTS2 Gas Evolution Programmer
Effortlessly program your car’s stock computer using this impressive laptop. It brings with it a single cable connection to the diagnostic port.
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Use it to save your stock files from the car’s computer and upload its calibrations into the car’s computer. The laptop is available in both diesel and gas SUVs and pickups.
It comes with an array of power levels that are custom tuned by a team of engineers who know exactly what they are doing.
Features
- Impressive graphics card
- Good storage
- Adequate RAM
- Fast processor
Pros
- Adequate storage
- Responsive touch screen
- Portable
- Compact and lightweight
Cons
- Average battery life
HP Spectre x360 13t Touch Laptop
Many tech websites and PC magazines have reviewed this laptop. Its performance explains why it is a darling of many.
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If you are looking for a good laptop for tuning cars that will meet your car tuning needs, then you should consider this one. In addition to looking stunning, it comes loaded with incredible features that will make your life a breeze.
The laptop gives you an array of connectivity options such as a microSD card reader, Thunderbolt 3 support, and USB-C.
Features
- Intel Core i7-8550U
- Windows 10 Pro 64
- 4.00 GHz
- 16 GB RAM
Pros
- Unmatched performance
- Superior speed
- Impressive HD panel
- HD active stylus pen
Cons
- Room for improvement on design
HP – Spectre x360 2-in-1 13.3″ Touch-Screen Laptop
Demand more from your laptop by trusting this machine from HP. With it, flexibility meets functionality.
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The elegantly designed laptop delivers regardless of how you bend it. It brings with it 4 modes and lightning-fast performance.
Enjoy such impressive battery life. The best laptop for car tuning boasts of every world and shortcomings of none. When you buy it, you can look forward to being wowed by such a seamless transition/change from the notebook to a tablet or anything in between.
Features
- 256GB SSD storage
- 4.0 Bluetooth combo wireless
- Intel HD Graphics
- Two USB 3.1 Type-C
Pros
- Stylish and classy design
- Lightweight
- Reasonable pricing
- Fast performance
Cons
- Somewhat pricey
Final Words
Car tuning is a form of customization of cars, particularly in terms of the engine and interior. Tuning originated in the United Kingdom as a way for car owners to modify their vehicles to improve the overall performance of their automobiles.
The term is used to describe the act of modifying an automobile to improve the performance of the vehicle, and it includes improving the performance of both the engine and the suspension system.
Car tuning is often performed by hobbyists, and the term is used in a broad sense to include many types of vehicle modification, including cars, motorcycles, and trucks.
All the laptops we have featured in this article will be handy at helping you effortlessly tune your car. Choose from any of the three and enjoy a world-class performance.