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- - Unichip map downloads and tuning (https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25211)

Unichip map downloads and tuning

In response to the Market Place thread, I’ve received quite a few pm’s and contacts outside the forum looking for a more technical/detailed discussion.

Lots of questions about the Unichip in general, the Unichip FR-S kit, end user tuning, etc… and we’re happy to answer whatever anybody would like to know. Doesn't seem to be much Unichip knowledge out there, so here goes!

A quick word about our maps and maps "library"... none of our maps are “one size fits all” and all Unichip maps are built on real cars configured with the specific bolt-on parts listed and the specified octane fuel. The cars get tuned on the dyno and they get tuned on the road. Our maps are as specific and as tested as any maps available.

All Unichip maps are built on top of a fully normalized OE ECU solution and will be a good fit for any vehicle with those same bolt on parts… in the same way you can pull a OE ECU out of one FR-S and plug it into another FR-S and it will run normally… it’s the way adaptive computer control works.

What doesn’t work is taking a map built for one set of parts and expecting it to make good power with another set of parts… doesn’t work with the Unichip just like it won't work with a reflash. Would you expect an ECU reflashed for a supercharger to make good power on a stock FR-S? It won't whether the maps is made in a Unichip or with a reflash.

Last topic for this post is our software interfaces... we offer two different types to talk to the Unichip. Here’s a quick primer about downloading maps and tuning the Unichip… which are related but different capabilities.

Downloading with our MapsQ software is a simple interface that allows you to load existing maps into any of the five map positions in the Unichip computer. Downloading takes less than a minute and can be done an unlimited number of times to any Unichip you want to load. No VIN locks of any kind, you have access to any map we’ve made with free updates anytime new maps are uploaded to the library.

You can see the interfaces and software at http://www.unichip.us/267-faq-can-i-reprogram-my-unichip.

Tuning with our UniQ software gives you full access to everything the Unichip does. With the software, you can talk to any Unichip, on any sort of a vehicle whether it’s a FR-S or anything else. You can upload an existing map from your Unichip, from our maps library, or from your buddy who built a good map and manipulate/modify that map as desired or create a map from scratch. To work on a race fuel map, start with a high octane map from the library and add more ignition timing. To add NO2 to your car, take out the timing, change the fuel table, and build a 3D progressive map for the Unichip to directly control the NO2 solenoid (if desired). Want your Unichip to switch automatically between your NO2 map and your high octane map when the pressure in the NO2 tank falls below a pressure you choose, no problem. Closed Loop EGT control for a supercharger kit? Yep. Closed Loop Boost Control for a Turbo kit? Yep. Cam timing? Shift lights? E85 map? Race fuel map? Control a water spray kit over an intercooler? Yep, Yep, Yep... and lots more.

You can see the interfaces and software at http://www.unichip.us/260-faq-end-user-tuning.

Hopefully that answers a few questions and raises a bunch more.

So is the unichip a piggyback that is "tricking" the stock ECU, or does it actually have direct control over the injectors, timing, etc?

Can Unichip control both sets of injectors?

Well I feel like it's Christmas once again! Thanks Jack for getting this out to me so quickly!

http://imageshack.us/a/img138/5995/imag0087i.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img5/2480/imag0088hq.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img685/2667/imag0089ds.jpg

I'm going to try and create a video as I log the install, but it's going to be a slow one today. This is what I have to combat today:

http://imageshack.us/a/img69/3725/imag0085wh.jpg

i wanna see a before and after dyno with one of this on..wheres ft86speedfactory when u need them lol...Jp..just curious to what the gains are with this on.

As one of the few AT's out there I will still be waiting for them to get a car to test on before I have shiny packages showing up. Sad Day :(

ECU tuning options

Yes, the Unichip is a piggyback, yes it “tricks” the OE ECU, and yes it controls both sets of injectors.

There’s a perception piggybacking is somehow less sophisticated or less technical than other tuning options… that’s hardly the case with the Unichip. Let’s boil engine management way, way down and look at tuning options.

To accomplish any of its tasks, the OE ECU uses programming code to look at input signals (what’s happening in the engine), refer to stored data, and send commands to the engine (what should be happening in the engine). Let’s look at injector control for a practical example.

For simplicity, think of the OE ECU’s fuel map as an Excel spreadsheet. The horizontal axis is engine speed (rpm) which is the input from the crank sensor. The vertical axis is engine load (airflow) which is the input from the MAF. Each spreadsheet data point is an injector command fueling value; each data point is unique from every other data point and they range from small values (~ 0%) at low speed/low load to big numbers (~ 90%) at high speed/high load.

When it’s time to fire an injector, the ECU looks at the engine speed input to go to the correct column and the load input for the correct cell containing the appropriate injector command data point. To “tune” the engine, you want it to "find" a different value. To do that, you can…
… change the data in the cells – with a reflash.
… change the inputs to find different data – with a piggyback.
… replace the spreadsheet with new one you build from scratch – with a standalone.

As long as the device is capable of doing its job, from a functional perspective at least, there’s absolutely no difference between the three… as long as the tuner creates a good map, the engine will function exactly the same way. That’s not to say there aren’t major differences between the options, but each can produce the same results from the same engine. In practice, there’s a lot more to the fueling solution than that but each of the individual calculations happening in the ECU can be similarly broken down and changed.

Can the Unichip computer correctly process all of the inputs… absolutely yes. Does it “actually” control both sets of injectors, absolutely yes... with more than 90,000 individual fuel data points and 90,000 ignition timing points… in 5 maps you can change at the flip of a switch… in a computer you can reprogram at home in less than a minute… that you can custom program on your own... without leaving any footprint for the OE dealership to see you’ve been messing around with the car…

Part of me wants to buy NOW but I have a AT and just waiting for the videos on everything. Make a LONG video no joke.

Thank you for helping us out!

Can you edit the unichip tables live? If so that's a big selling point over the other options, like ecutek.

curious to see the install on this...
i am not a big fan of adding wiring mess to the car.

After reading up on the site this seems exactly what I need on my ZC6. I'll more than likely order one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shit Luck (Post 633473)

curious to see the install on this...
i am not a big fan of adding wiring mess to the car.

Me too!

has anyone dyno'd thier car with just the tune? Or even with any aftermarket bolt-ons? Whats this flash capable of for increase?

I finished the install earlier today, I just have to iron out a few things. I did make a video (not a good one, but it shows how simple everything is to install). I will also be making another one this summer, that I plan on spending 3-4 hours to make/edit, so that it would be a professional shot.

I will be editng the footage this week to see how it turned out. I only had my gopro, so it's a shot in the dark haha.

If anyone has any questions about the install, please feel free to message me. It was extremely easy ( I did it in the snow while it was snowing out)

AT guys… as I said in the Vendor forum, I’m confident our MT maps will perfectly fit but we’re getting an AT car in the next two weeks to confirm that with testing. One of the strengths of the Unichip, and the way it works, is the changes we need to make tend to be identical regardless of the transmission bolted up behind the flywheel.

I’ve received several questions/comments about the installation’s (1) complexity and (2) “wiring mess…” and I certainly understand both concerns.

Installation complexity… it’s just not… truly. The basic kit installs with 3 plugs, one bolt, and the Unichip… everything is right on top of the engine and it won’t take ten minutes. You can easily see for yourself… print out the instructions (http://www.unichip.us/system/uploads/assets/Scion%20FR-S%20Installation%20Instructions.pdf or just take your notebook/tablet out to your car, open the hood, and find the connectors the kit plugs into… there’s one on the intake tube, one on the throttle body, and one at the back side of the engine. You can even disconnect and reconnect the plugs… that’s all you’ll do to install the kit.

Installation video… as soon as everybody’s back from the holiday next week, we’ll get the installation video out of editing and posted… but it’s really a simple task. bakerr6 says he’ll also do a “member’s version…” as soon as he can mush through the snow to his car! :D

Messy looking installation fears… the kit is one three-ish foot harness that’s completely finished and enclosed in the same convoluted tubing you find in most engine compartments. You’re not cutting, splicing, soldering, or anything else… plug in the plugs, remove/reinstall one bolt, close the hood, and enjoy.

Editing the Unichip tables “live…” if I understand the question, yes you can absolutely edit live. Remember we have options to (1) change maps loaded in the Unichip, (2) download new maps to the Unichip, and (3) edit the values in maps.

The Unichip has up to 5 maps loaded into it and you switch between them with the flip of a switch… there is no “download” or editing… it’s like changing a TV channel.

I outlined downloading in the first post in this thread and there’s a overview of it here http://www.unichip.us/267-faq-can-i-reprogram-my-unichip

I think ft sjo is asking is can you “tune” live and the answer is yes. I didn’t get into it previously but there are actually two different tuning interface options for the Unichip.

In the first, you make keyboard changes in a table and download the updated map when you’re finished… that download takes ~ 10 seconds.

In the second, you can use “tuning pots;” with the tuning pots “enabled” in the software, you can literally turn a knob and change the AFR as you're driving without doing a download. Once the AFR is what you want, you hit an enter button and that value is stored in the Unichip. I think that’s about as “on the fly” it gets.

Thanks for all the questions and enjoy the weekend.