I tried....
 

I tried to avoid asking this question because I would look like a complete idiot. But I've only had my car for a week and signed up here on tue. but. What's Flash?

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...threadid=30272

Just 1 page or one search away. Though the only helpful post is the last one, skip the rest :)

it has to do with the software coding on the control unit (ECU)...its like a level system M is the current highest and there are K and L as well. Flashing is simply a term for updating, so if i say im flashing to the m level or getting the M flash, it just means i've gone to the dealer and gotten my computer's software upgraded

No different than updating the BIOS on your PC.

It's called "flash" because the upgradeable part of the car's computer program is stored in a type of memory known as "Flash" memory -- also known as Non-Volatile memory. It's computer memory that doesn't need power to retain the information, unlike a typical computer whose main memory contents are lost when you turn off the power.

I'm guessing the use of the word "flash" may come from the days of EPROMs when changing the contents of the chip required uncovering the "window" on top of the chip and exposing it to ultraviolet light (the "flash"). Sounds primitive now but in its time just having some type of eraseable but permanent memory chip was pretty slick, even if it was just a tiny bit of memory. Nowadays of course, it's all done electronically. A 256MB flash memory card that you can pick up at Costco for your digital camera would have been a Wonder of the World back in the 80's.

Thanks Nubo. That was interesting to me.