I need help on which ecutek I should get, stg 1 or 2
 

This is what I have done to my car so far, front pipe, mid, pipe second cat delete, dual muffler exhaust. And injen intake. And I would like to know the hp and torque gains in these.

:popcorn:

Intake and or header usually = stg 2. Header back or less is stg 1.

Visconti

This thread makes me sad :(

Is the search button missing in some browsers?

x2

People should have to lurk for a few days before being able to post these inane questions in the tech sections. I think I lurked for about a year here before I posted anything. Same at every forum I've ever been to. I think we're going to be flooded with questions like these as the weather gets nicer and more cars sell.

Putting the whole search first issue aside, there's also the other problem of ECUTek "stages" meaning different things to different ECUTek vendors. FA20Club's "Stage 2", for example, was tweaked for the aFe Takeda intake (perhaps others as well). Perrin and Visconti, on the other hand, have done similar things and still consider it part of their "Stage 1".

Bottom line - go with whichever ECUTek vendor you feel good about, they will all accomplish the performance gains. Ideally, you'd want someone local to you so you can have them Dyno tune if you want to get every possible last drop out of it. If there isn't one local, then go by pricing and customer service response. All of the ECUTek tuners on this forum have received favorable customer service feedback. I personally have tunes from Visconti and Perrin, and while both can be very busy at times, they have always responded to requests I've made. With recent resource additions and big projects out of the way, both have been very easy to work with lately. I can't speak for the others, but I've had good communications experience with FA20Club as well, even though I don't have his tune, and he has a strong following here on the forum.

I remember these posts from the Saabcentral forums. BSR vs Vtuner vs JZW vs Maptun. How much fun those were to read, but that was dealing with turbos, which, when tuned, could net you an extra 40bhp and gobs of lb/ft.

Go FA20Club. After reading some posts about how bolt-ons gain you nothing, I was concerned that I had bought a full exhaust system and intake for little to no gains. He took the time to explain why that explanation was right and why it was wrong. I just got the tune files in my email today and I will be installing it tonight!

Word of warning, though. FA20 is VERY busy and is a one man show, so don't be surprised if there are some delays in getting your cables and such.

As others have already said, all of our EcuTek vendors seem to have different criteria for what determines Stage 1 or Stage 2.

I believe FA20Club says their Stage 1 is for completely stock cars only, and even basic bolt-on cars get Stage 2. E85 tunes must be purchased separately.

Visconti's Stage 1 tune is for all bolt-on only cars, minus E85 users. For E85 tunes, similar to FA20Club, you will have to buy a second map.

Moto-East on the other hand seems to have more of a 'tuning is tuning' philosophy, as their kit includes tuning for ANY level (or combination) of NA modification, including E85, if desired..

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31010
Best Deal for an EcuTek tune currently available. So far, @moto-mike has been very communicative with me to address my questions and concerns, more than other vendors. That, and the fact that he is within driving distance for me is what made my decision to go with him.

He is the only vendor that has made a detailed video explanation of what your RaceRom features actually are, which is a huge plus. Oh, and he responds to inquiries with more than three word answers, which makes you feel more like he is actually answering your question, and not blowing you off, or hiding "future update secrets".

There is less feedback for Moto East on this board (compared to the other vendors), since he hasn't been in the 86 market as long. He does have a good history in servicing the Mazda (MX-5 & Turbo Mazda models) communities, and I have yet to hear anything bad regarding his tunes or service.

I don't know about any of the other EcuTek vendors, as I haven't researched.

I hope this helps clear up your question regarding which "stage" tune you need.

BTW, I learned all this by using the :search: function, and rummaging around for information...

Mods need to close lock and delete these threads, and refer noobs to existing info, this is a waste of resource. I am sure we could benefit a USE THE SEARCH sticky

I vote for a screening process for new members, basically rather than their posts showing up they must get approved by a moderator until they have x posts. Maybe enslave a team of us frequent posters *raises hand* to be a screeners. With the summer coming I don't want the nature of this form to be people saying "SEARCH BAR NOOB" and "What X should I buy" "Can I use 87 Octane?" "WTF is a TUNE and how do i get one?"

I'd be willing to screen like I said to try to keep it civil here. We've got one of the better forum communities out there, I'd like to see it stay that way.

:word: I'm on board with this. Only issue is, with the 86 platform gaining popularity, there are likely to be MANY new members registering each week. To screen each of those new members posts may take some excessive resources. That said, sign me up as well. I'll gladly screen new members threads. It would definitely keep the forum from going in the wrong direction, help keep vital information in ONE thread instead of reposted hundreds of times (which ruins the search functionality), and likely stop many a flame war from happening.