I read the firmware. Then I change what the car can do.

What makes this different from a remap

Most tuning changes the numbers the manufacturer left adjustable: fuel tables, timing tables, limiters. That is calibration, and it is useful work. It also has a ceiling. You can only adjust what the software was written to do.

I work one level down. I read the controller's program, work out what each part does, and write new functions into it. That is how a naturally aspirated Civic's computer came to manage a turbocharger and an electronic wastegate, and how a CVT without paddles came to have seven selectable steps.

How I got here

The work began with my own car: a turbocharged 9th-generation Honda Civic 1.8 automatic that deserved better control than a spring wastegate could give it. Firmware builds started in September 2026. By mid-November the project had produced more than a hundred builds and 81 logged drives on the car.

That groundwork carried over to the Civic X CVT in days. For the Mitsubishi Pajero, which uses a different processor altogether, I started again from the read.

One engineer, not a workshop

Hex and Boost is one person. I do the reverse engineering, write the firmware and test it myself, so the person you message is the person who works on your car. There is no walk-in workshop and no front desk: I work by appointment. The turbo Civic in the case studies is my own car and the test bed for everything I build.

What I publish

I explain how engine computers work on Instagram at @hexandboost, and I write up my projects here as case studies with their real status and their limits. Manufacturer firmware and customer files stay private.

Where I am

I am based in Lahore, Pakistan, and work by appointment. See contact for how to reach me.