This is true to an extent, but if I turned up to a gig and said 'put the Yamaha PM5D away I only use Digico mixing desks' I'd be the one laughed off.

Like mixings desks they all achieve the same end result, have broadly the same inputs and broadly the same outputs. They manipulate signals in broadly the same way and allow adjustment of broadly the same parameters.

As a professional sound engineer one is expected to understand the principals by which all sound desks operate and thus be able to achieve the desired result regardless of the user interface, differences in terminology or minor quirks.

I would hope that if some is intelligent enough to fully understand the physics of engines, sensors, etc then they should be capable of getting their head around minor differences in ECU. If they can't, how can they get their head around the differences between cars? A Fiesta ZS is a totally different beast to a Merc, for example.

Someone like Stu @ MSD is a good example of someone who IS adaptable, along with Harvey Gibbs, Chris Todd, and I would hope many many more!

Where I think the argument you raise has some weight is where the 'tools' are genuinely inappropriate for the task and would limit the performance of the tuner or harm the engine. Nobody wants to damage their reputation.

Chris