speed lap ecu chips

[Carl M]

Do these speed chips actually work? ive heard they damage the engine over time, id like to hear some feedback of experiences..just curious at this stage

[lunchie]

most chips remap the ignition timing, fueling and boost levels, this will increase power, HOWEVER the chips are created based on a set of factory parameters.

Now why is this a problem> well most cars are never going to always be at the exact state of tune that they were when they left the factory, maybe the fueling is slightly off because the pump or injector is slightly blocked, maybe the ignition is not quite right. That means that the CHIP is making changes to the way your engine runs based on a set of assumptions that very well may have changed and therefore the chip might indeed be doing your engine some real harm.

Reflashing on the other hand is MUCH safer as it makes the same sort of changes BUT it makes these changes AFTER the actual state of the engine has been established so that any changes to the tune are safe.

[Carl M]

what is this reflashing??

[filthyrich]

You can\'t reflash the V1\'s and V2\'s

You can chip them, or run a standalone.

[Pappu1]

 Carl M said:

what is this reflashing??

re writing the maps in the stock ecu

very popular on v7+ wrx

[Carl M]

Thanks spoon, What sort of performance can yo get out of reflashing? and is it expensive?

[boon]

Typically $200-1000 depending if its a road or dyno tune, who is doing it etc.

Power gains are similar to going to a Link but only if the modifications to the motor aren\'t too wild. Typically a V7+ STI will see 210-220wkw

[Marky]

Starto from scratcho

Generally speaking a chip will be a set of parameters for fuel / ignition / boost written by whoever that would encompass the average modified car. Most of the time its simply a bit leaner, a bit more ignition timing and maybe some more boost, to suit a car with normal mild mods such as big exhaust, high flow intake and so on. it physically replaces or intercepts the factory computer hence being called a "chip" - sometimes called a "daughterboard" tune as well.

sometimes they are more directed - if you look on trademe you will see some for say, and rb20 running a different air flow meter, different injectors, maybe with launch control built in - all kinds of stuff

the problem is that they are a bit of a best guess - on their own, if safe, go for it, best advice is if you get one, get the car dyno tested before and after to make sure that its safe, And that it does actually make a difference. some just dont

there used to be some cowboys out who did some ridiculous chips, basically just telling the ecu it was -10c so the car would advance timing, or retarding igniton to a certain rpm so the car "felt" like it woke up and went harder bro. those days are generally gone but... buyer beware

where the danger can come in is that if they are too agressive in the tune, they can harm the motor. too much timing, being tuned for 100 octane gas when you only have 95, maybe being meant for a car with a different turbo or what have you - thats the unknown. if you chuck it in and cross fingers is where there is some risk, generally speaking they stay conservative but you wont see the same gains as if the chip was for *your* car as every motor is different, and the guy burning the chip wouldnt want it to kill the car in a hurry either.

a reflash is adjusting all the above but just by reprogramming the existing ecu rather than any physical changes to the ecu itself. there are pleeeeenty of folks who will do it from home and still use the crossed fingers approach, not much different to throwing a chip in. only difference is the chip isnt adjustable. some people will tune themselves watching air fuel ratios and using knock sensing equipment, others will download a map from online and just whip it in there.

some places will write you a "chip" while tuning the car on dyno (or like the method above on the road), you then end up with a "chipped" ecu but one designed exactly for your car. reflashing by pros is a custom dyno tune, done in real time, same story.

either way its something which has the potential to a) bring the best out of your car, and b) a sure fire way to kill it if done wrong

the other cheap option is a piggyback such as an s-afc, but same story again - they need to be tuned with monitoring or youre just guessing and hoping what you have done is right

[Pappu1]

 Carl M said:

Thanks spoon, What sort of performance can yo get out of reflashing? and is it expensive?

Above is a good read and pretty much exactly what is out there

Reflashing is only safer as the person doing it can adjust things to suit ur car specifically

But yea as pointed out if u get the wrong guy to do ur flash then can cause issues

But at moment there is no cheap flash option for ur v5/6 as ecutek (google it) is the only option and it\'s not exactly cheap but still cones a bit Cheaper than replacing ur Ecu with say a link or similar

Power gains and economy gains can be had in reflashing and again all depends on who is doing it

Personally I picked up +30hp and 100km extra per tank after I flashed my Ecu

But results differs on how aggressive u go etc

[filthyrich]

Don\'t forget - there are plenty of guys doing off the shelf reflashes too - they are not the be all end all you make them out to be.

[Marky]

 filthyrich said:

Don\'t forget - there are plenty of guys doing off the shelf reflashes too - they are not the be all end all you make them out to be.

Exactly - chucking a generic/downloaded tune in blindly is no different to just running a second hand chipped ecu

[Pappu1]

 Marky']

[quote name='filthyrich said:

Don\'t forget - there are plenty of guys doing off the shelf reflashes too - they are not the be all end all you make them out to be.

/quote]

Exactly - chucking a generic/downloaded tune in blindly is no different to just running a second hand chipped ecu

o yea exactly

off the shelf flash is in same boat as a crude chip

i meant flashing - with acctually using data logging and then making meaningful changes to suit the car and fuel etc...shoulda made that clearer i suppose

[lunchie]

You live in Auckland right? okay well go visit torque performance or SThitech or WRC developments, all 3 have reflashed many many cars and have no heard a bad thing about those 3.

[Pappu1]

 lunchie said:

You live in Auckland right? okay well go visit torque performance or SThitech or WRC developments, all 3 have reflashed many many cars and have no heard a bad thing about those 3.

+1 for torque

Unsure if sthitek do ecutek tho

[Guest]

 SP00N']

[quote name='lunchie said:

You live in Auckland right? okay well go visit torque performance or SThitech or WRC developments, all 3 have reflashed many many cars and have no heard a bad thing about those 3.

/quote]

+1 for torque

Unsure if sthitek do ecutek tho

Whangarei dude. Torque dont reflash pre v7- only wrc developments. I worked out it was way better to get a g4 and have it tuneable ecu rather than $995 and gas to head down there every time you play with anything plus it gives you awesome logging ability/cool shit.

Im in whangas working days if you ever need simple advice.

[lunchie]

depends how much he wants to mod the car in future, unless he intends to do a lot more modding then $995 for a reflash is still pretty good vs 1500-2000 for a link +another 1000-1500 for install/tune.

Anyway, just my opinion but the main point is , DONT BUY A CHIP because if you do you will get pretty much 0 sympathy from anyone on here ay, they are (mostly) bad news.

[Guest]

Remember as per my post. $995 plus gas and accomadation. He lives in whangarei so trip to wrc developments gets expensive as he likes to have the car overnight. I went through all of this before I went G4 and live same distance. If no more mods planned in the future - we all know how this ends anyway - then go possumlink cost maybe $1500 and still give a bit of headroom.

Secondhand g4 worth $800-1200.

[Marky]

Whats this no sympathy for running a chip?

If a chipped ecu is known to be good, if it makes more power and is still safe to run, then where is the problem?

1/10th the cost makes a strong argument, and it will normally still keep the same safeguards as factory (rev cut / overboost protection etc) - just like a reflashed ecu does.

they arent *perfect* but for the majority they genunely are a good cheap upgrade, as with any auto part its a case of buying known good gear and buying the right thing for what you have

ive seen countless cars running generic chips, and 9/10 of them are just fine - they make a bit more power than someone just using the factory tune for a comparitavely small $ outlay, the car has been checked that its still running no knock and safe AFR\'s, everyone is happy. its that 1/10 which gets the bad name cause its been written by an idiot or is totally wrong for the car

just like a poorly done dyno tune really...

[lunchie]

 Marky said:

Whats this no sympathy for running a chip?

If a chipped ecu is known to be good, if it makes more power and is still safe to run, then where is the problem?

1/10th the cost makes a strong argument, and it will normally still keep the same safeguards as factory (rev cut / overboost protection etc) - just like a reflashed ecu does.

they arent *perfect* but for the majority they genunely are a good cheap upgrade, as with any auto part its a case of buying known good gear and buying the right thing for what you have

ive seen countless cars running generic chips, and 9/10 of them are just fine - they make a bit more power than someone just using the factory tune for a comparitavely small $ outlay, the car has been checked that its still running no knock and safe AFR\'s, everyone is happy. its that 1/10 which gets the bad name cause its been written by an idiot or is totally wrong for the car

just like a poorly done dyno tune really...

you may well be right mate, my experience comes from the mid-late 2000\'s where every man and his dog had an RS legacy or VR4 or something running a chip and many went pop, does that mean it was the chips fault? no, not nessecarily but it did seem to be a common theme, however you are quite right, things MAY be different now its just I don\'t know of any chips being made by places I would trust these days?

Feel free to correct me!

[acidbath]

 Marky said:

Whats this no sympathy for running a chip?

If a chipped ecu is known to be good, if it makes more power and is still safe to run, then where is the problem?

1/10th the cost makes a strong argument, and it will normally still keep the same safeguards as factory (rev cut / overboost protection etc) - just like a reflashed ecu does.

they arent *perfect* but for the majority they genunely are a good cheap upgrade, as with any auto part its a case of buying known good gear and buying the right thing for what you have

ive seen countless cars running generic chips, and 9/10 of them are just fine - they make a bit more power than someone just using the factory tune for a comparitavely small $ outlay, the car has been checked that its still running no knock and safe AFR\'s, everyone is happy. its that 1/10 which gets the bad name cause its been written by an idiot or is totally wrong for the car

just like a poorly done dyno tune really...

+1

had them no probs generally overfuelled not perfect but good power gains, never had anything explode but have on factory tunes.

not saying they dont cause probs but generally not.

[Koom]

I used a generic "group N" chip in my legacy back when it was closer to standard and it is still the best $150 that I\'ve ever spent on that car. But as soon as I went to a bigger turbo, it was time to get a tunable ecu.

[Guest]

Spotted you in my travels yesterday afternoon by the stihl shop dude. Wouldve waited around to see if you popped up but was on a mission and you were gone when I came back. Car going all good?

[madmike]

 Koom said:

I used a generic "group N" chip in my legacy back when it was closer to standard and it is still the best $150 that I\'ve ever spent on that car. But as soon as I went to a bigger turbo, it was time to get a tunable ecu.

I ran a speed labs chip in my RS for three years.

Ran 15psi on greys with a TD05.

Ran like that sweet all day every. Day.