It sounds great in theory. I read that Shiv was able to extract 25whp out of a stock WRX with just the reflash. Anybody else planning to go this route?

 

It doesn't seem like it's going to do anything for ultimate power, but for drivability and factory like auto-adjusting it's going to be great!

I still hate the fact that it costs per reflash, and you have to send a donor ECU or be without a car for a couple of days (that problem is compounded for us out here in the islands)...

That 25hp figure it taking into account that the Ecutek is going to have revised boost mappings right? That's how TurboXS can claim "+35hp" for just a Unichip or UTEC.

They bump the boost up a couple of pounds through the FBCS and most of the power is probably had right there...
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I'm assuming boost levels have to be raised to make those power improvements in a stock car. 20+ whp improvements seem to be common though for cars with and w/o mods.

For a $300 deposit, Rally Performance is offering a reflashed ecu. The deposit will be refunded when the receive your ecu in 'good condition'.

The only thing that scares me is all this mailing back and forth. Afterall, things can get lost in the mail.

 

Shiv is also keeping a few spare ECU's in stock to prevent downtime with owners and their cars.

I think the idea is great and the power benefits are going to be just as good as a unichip with out all the limitations and flaws of a piggyback system. It's too bad that ECUTEK is raping people in cost for a reflash.

 

I'll be installing mine as soon as they deliver it.
My setup is basically Vishnu Stage 1 with Samco Hoses. I'm still running with the Unichip mapped for stage 0 and the EMI Adapter which I almost have sold.

The way I look at it.

EMI Adapter $200
Wiring Harnless $189
Unichip $595

That's almost a grand and the ECU reflash is only $750.

While I've been happy with the Unichip and newly install EMI Adapter, I like the idea of having a stock like setup.

If you are patient you can probably work a deal where they send out of one their spare ECUs and you send yours back when it arrives (no downtime).

 

Thats $750 for the first flash and isn't it $175 for subsequent re-flashes? That could get a little expensive...

 

COOL!

mehlt,
What are your times with your current set-up? I'd love to see what the improvements are (if any) over the unichip.

The reflashes can get expensive, but I would imagine you only need to do it for significant mods. I hope to get mine with ebc, uppipe, downpipe, and exhaust, with the next reflash coming after vf30, injectors, and fuel pump a few months down the line.

My only other concern is the ability to tune without a dyno. Ideally, I think each reflash is accompanied by some time on the dyno for tuning.

 

The maps that are given like Unichip maps are very safe and conservative. Dyno runs/tuning would surely eek out a few more ponies, but nothing to shake a stick at.

Main thing is that Shiv or whomever you get your ECUTEK reflash is familiar with the gas we get and the temp and humidity here in Hawaii. I'm sure Shiv is well aware of this, but other places may not have the same first hand knowledge of this.

Your in a safe hands palaban with a "generic" map for your mods.

 

I don't have any 1/4 mile times (only AutoX at this point), but will let you know what the butt dyno says. I'm very happy with the EMI Adapter. It really cleans up the low end hesitation and provides a better transition into boost, though I have felt the occasional hesitation which Shiv mentions on his site. It's rare, and it sounds like he may be able to reflash the EMI in the future to fix that.

Going back to the ECUTEK... If you do mod a lot it's probably not the best financial choice currently, though maybe his add-on (release date TBD in Vishnu time) module may allow you some flexibility in tunning to minor mods. I would imagine a major mod (like larger turbo, etc..) would probably still require a reflash.

At this point a larger turbo is not in my future, and based on my reading, my current set of mods pull the max HP out of the stock turbo, though perhaps a few more ponies could be seen from a more efficient IC....

As Mitch mentioned, letting them know your exact mods is important and in some cases they may recommend changes. In my case they said to lose the K&N drop-in because it actually produces a decrease in HP. The airbox silencer removal mod is another one they have had problems with. It sounds like they should have maps for the Big Turbo guys soon as well.

 

Thanks for the input.

mehlt,
Butt dyno is fine, just make sure you post the chart too

I know the CAI's aren't recommended but I didn't know the panel filters weren't either. Interesting.

 

Butt dyno results:

0 unichip + 0 EMI Adapter + Stock ECU = Driver

Graphs to follow...

You don't realize how much difference they make until you pull them out.

Hopefully my remapped ECU will arrive soon.

 

It shipped yesterday and arrived today! Shiv also said he would try setting the cat efficiency threshold so I should get less (or no) cat efficiency CELS.

The install was easy... Just unplug the exisiting from the harness and 2 bolts to remove the existing ECU.

I took it out for a quick test ride and noticed a huge improvement, but of course I was running with no engine management for the last few weeks. I've heard it will get better as the ECU adapts...

I was pulled over by the police while out doing my test driving. Thought they were going to give me a ticket for some spirited driving, but as it turns out there had been a burglary in Aiea and the car in question was a gray hatchback. Turns out I didn't meet the description of a local with baseball cap so they let me go... Whew!

Anyways, the ECU was mapped for Vishnu Stage 1 + SAMCO hoses. Basically uppipe with 3" turboback.

 

Thanks for the update. That's the exact set-up I hope to have in car in the near future.

How long did the whole process take i.e. making arrangements, sending the ecu back and forth, etc? Did you have to make an appointment or schedule some time before you send it?

 

If you are willing to deal with downtime you can ship yours out to them (1 or 2 day) and they will turn it around within a day and send it 1 day shipping.

They do have a small amount of cores which allow them to ship one out and you return yours when you receive it (I have to ship mine back tomorrow). There is a wait list for this and it did take a few weeks (waiting for others to send theirs back in).

From a driving perspective, it feels very much like the unichip/EMI Adapter combo I had though a lot smoother. Keep in mind I never had my unichip remapped (from Stage 0 to Stage 1) so I probably wasn't seeing an optimized unichip setup for my mods.

I'm not running any boost control and in fact Shiv does not recommend, because the boost map is modified and optimized for my mods. I still need to put some more miles on it and push it a bit to see where my boost ends ups.

The only negative at this point is that I already got a CAT efficiency CEL. I'm not sure if Shiv actually did any mods to the threshold parameters for this, but I'll let them know. I had that before the ECU swap. Not the cause, but was hoping for it to be a solution.

 

When I received the ECU I noticed a small aluminum fitting in a zip lock bag. I thought it was a mistake, but it's actually part of the install. It replaces the small plastic coupler on the line going into the boost control solenoid. The replacement fitting has a small hole drilled in the side. Here is the description of what this does:

If you look carefully at the aluminum fitting, you will notice a small hole
drilled into the side of it. The purpose of this hole is to add an air
bleed in addition to the factory boost control solenoid. This extra bleed
allows us to reduce maximum boost control solenoid duty-cycles from nearly
100% to approximately 70%. Not installing the restrictor will reduce boost
levels considerably.

So, will install tomorrow and see how it goes. According to Shiv I will like the ECU much better after...