OFT comments for Summer Kickoff
 

I know that normally a discussion about engine tuning belongs in the tuning thread but I wanted to put this here so that those that are planning to attend the Summer Kickoff would be sure to see it.

@shiv and his crew from Vishnu Tuning were at 86Fest last fall and had a stack of Open Flash Tablets for sale at the event for a discounted rate. He sold out of them fairly quickly. My guess is that they may do the same again at the Summer Kickoff.

I picked one up from them a few months ago. Here are my impressions of it.

Since I am pretty much bone stock, other than a drop-in air filter, I ran a Stage 1 tune. Installing the tune is very easy because the touch screen OFT device gives you step-by-step instructions as you are doing it.

After installing the tune we drove it around and I could feel a difference in acceleration. I didn't put it on a dyno to baseline it but the "butt dyno" noticed. However, I noticed that the engine would get raspy around 3500 to 4500 rpm. This is because of the change in injector usage to try to curb some of the torque dip. I should say, that is what I gleaned from reading other posts about it. @PMok noted that he heard it was a change in intake valve timing. Either way, the reasoning is the same.

Last week I got the fuel pump replaced under warranty so I flashed the car back to stock. The raspiness was gone but as I drove it to a from the dealership I noticed the drop in power. But, on the plus side, I got a new pump and the crickets are gone. Huzzah!

After talking with @PMok and a few others I decided to run the tank almost dry and make the e85 switch. This was so easy because the OFT has a ELH tune for e85 that Shiv already programmed. After filling up I drove across the street to an empty business park and installed the e85 tune. It took about 5 minutes to write it to the ECU and afterwards, the car fired right up with no issues. So, I drove it easy for next 10 miles so that all of the previous 91 gas got used up that was still in the fuel lines. Then I drove like normal for the rest of the day.

Now that the car is sipping the booze the engine feels so much more smooth (through idles and up to around 4k). It pulls even harder than the previous Stage 1 tune. "Butt dyno" says probably 10~20hp, maybe a little more. I am very happy with the results and I don't see myself going back any time soon.

Here are some Pros and Cons of the OFT that I have noticed.
Pros:
Moar Powah!!!
Easy installation
Free tunes (download them at their website)
Cheaper than most other tuning options. No need for dongles, licenses, nor the need to pay a trained tech for your custom tune.
Data logging
Real-time analytics. More of a "neato!" thing but it looks cool seeing your engine parameters in real-time
Best bang-for-your-buck power upgrade available, period.
e85 is about $1.00 cheaper per gallon (see caveat in Cons)

Cons:
Well, let's be honest, $500 is $500. But, it is cheaper than alternatives.
Raspiness of engine to compensate for torque dip.
Lack of e85 stations in West Southbay (That isn't a fault of the OFT, it just sucks that you have to go out of your way to find a station.)
Aftermarket tunes can void warranties
You get fewer miles per gallon on e85 due to the stoichiometric combustion difference between petrol and ethanol. Basically, Air-Fuel-Ratio is lower meaning it takes more fuel for the combustion to take place.
Long term effects on your engine are not known at this time.

Vishnu Tuning doesn't do any advertising. They don't need to. Just ask anyone using the OFT. Word of mouth from actual owners will tell you that this is a great deal.

They will be at the event this weekend and I would bet that they will have another stack of Open Flash Tablets on hand (possibly at a volume discount). So, if you were on the fence about it, maybe this will help you decide to make the leap. When you see Shiv at the NorCal86 Summer Kickoff, tell 'em Battlebot Buzz sent ya. :D

*edit* added some information that I forgot to mention thanks to a well informed discussion in this thread.

Welcome to the world of E85 :)

What if you are on a road trip and there's no e85 around. Can you run the tank low and then flash back to a 91 octane tune and then fill up?

Yes.

Nice, that's good to know.

Another question: Do the OFT tunes also contain the various "fixes" that are in the standard dealership/official tunes? Meaning the adjustments for the idle rpm dip, transient ignition tables adjustment/rumored fix to protect DI seals above 6K rpm, etc.

Yes. One of the reasons I chose to buy the OFT was that my local dealership declined to give me the ECU upgrade to deal with those issues. I believe the Vishnu OTS maps are all currently based on the A01 factory map.

I pretty much agree with everything that Buzz said above. With one correction, the raspiness that you experience happens only if you are running the EL stg 1 tune (ie you do not have UEL headers). And my understanding is that the raspiness comes from rapid intake valve timing changes, not injectors. But yes it is there to try and reduce the dip. I also understand it's not unique to Vishnu tunes, users of other stage 1 ECU tunes (I.e. Ecutek) experience the same thing.


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I'm a noob but I think I already know the answer... once you've flashed the ECU, does OFT need to remain plugged into the OBDII port?

Nope!

Pmok gave a great demo of OFT at the meet the other night, I'm seriously debating getting one, and may if they have em on discount at the BBQ this sunday.

yup same here, went into dealership and asked for the ecu upgrade and they gave me the BS does not exist statement and you dont know what your talking about look.

buzz shouldnt be complaining about the rasp, his stereo is soo fn loud to hear the rasp. which is a good thing.

Thought so... There are tuning options that require that right? Wasn't sure if that's an ECU/Vehicle specific thing or based on the tuning device.

This thing sounds sweet and like there's no downsides except maybe the price.

Ima personally go ecutek

Care to share your reasons? Just curious.

I was originally mulling around the idea of going ECUTek in the future but never realized how bloody easy OFT is (to be honest I'm still researching the options). Have to be careful this weekend or I might walk away with one if Vishnu brings some to the bbq.

Just that most of the tuners im familiar with in norcal use ecutek. I plan on getting a protune later down the road

I would venture to say that this is an accurate assumption. However, the associated costs with paying someone to create a custom tune, just for you, can be pricey. If I were to go FI down the road I may opt for ECUtek too but for an inexpensive (relatively) solution, I think this is a pretty good deal.

Not that it really matters, because I think the OFT is a great product, but I was one of the people who bought it at the last big meet and there was no discount. So if you're holding out for that, don't be disappointed

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yea i plan on going sc but that will probably be around next year

Another OpenFlash Tablet user here, currently flashed to Stage 1. I'd definitely recommend it.

My OpenFlash Header just shipped today, so Stage 2 (and perhaps E85) is on the horizon. :drool:

Depending on what your plans are for forced induction, the OFT may suit your needs as well. Vishnu sells the Vortech kit for a discounted price to OFT users (more discounts if you own an OFH, too), and they have a free tune for it. Shiv also has free tunes for the Phantom Electric Supercharger kit as well, which I'm eyeing very closely since it's much more reasonable (price-wise) for a daily driver setup.

before everyone just assumes its a perfect product with no risk... be sure to do your own research and weigh the pros and cons. I can think of a few additional pros and cons:

+more power and better tune. I think after you install a tune (any tune) you realize how poorly the factory tune performs in some respects. Most of these aftermarket tunes despite being tuned somewhat conservatively, will make your engine feel stronger and smoother.

-unknown or uncertain long-term effects of running an aftermarket tune and/or E85 fuel. Sure people have been using it with good results, but you just don't know if something will go wrong that we haven't seen yet -- our cars are still relatively new and it's a new engine platform, etc. etc... however small it is, it is still a risk and despite all reasonable precautions there is some chance you might encounter an issue down the road. If a dealership could prove you were using an aftermarket tune that changed timing, fuel, and raised the redline (these are all things a tune typically does), they could use that to deny you coverage should something bad happen to your engine. In other words, you might find yourself paying out of pocket for repairs due to your modifications.

E85 specific considerations:
-Buzz already touched on this but E85 is not available everywhere. Depending on your proximity to the existing E85 stations, you may have to plan driving routes/trips a little more.
-others have recommended more frequent oil changes while running E85. I'm not sure why this is, but I was doing my oil changes at 2x the frequency suggested in the manual anyways even while running 91.
-E85 requires more fuel compared to 91. So your MPG will suffer. I was averaging about 24MPG on 91 now I get about 18-19MPG on E85.

+On the plus side it's cheaper cost than 87 octane gas at the moment.
+and of course it's more power.

Final conclusion: I bought one, and use it, and enjoy it. If someone came to me with a totally stock BRZ/FR-S and said they wanted to spend ~$500 to get more power, I would say get a tune, over buying an exhaust or header. Sure you may get some power, and a nicer sound from exhaust/header but for straight up power it's hard to beat the tune, especially when E85 is an option. Of course if you have $1500+ to spend then sure, get them all. :)

I think piggyback solutions like UniChip are what you're thinking of... those require hardwiring a module into the ECU harness, but typically not through the OBD2 port. Ecutek and OFT both take more of a software route.

You can always get the shiv to tune it then everyone will have tunes for that sc if you share it.

if mike at gst tunes frs's and brz's, than im going to gst.

The more I read about tunes, the more I want one.

I didn't realize or consider that tunes were free. I might just pick this up and run a 91 octane tune until I get a header/full exhaust. I've mulled it over and I don't think I want to run E85. But I know a tune will help, and that I'll definitely want one after a header.

More than anything I just wish we had 93. Eff this weaksauce 91.

Very well said. I think that sometimes people tend to get caught up in the Pros of something and then forget the Cons. In retrospect, I think I need to add a couple of Pros and Cons that this discussion has brought up. Running an aftermarket tune is not "warranty friendly" and, as you so astutely noted, no one knows what the long term effects will be.

Doing any modifications to your car is a calculated risk. Fortunately, the calculations tend to favor the car not breaking down, but it is a risk all the same.

i'd get one if i could get rid of my unichip without losing a gazillion bucks on it.

Another underrated pro is that E85 gets rid of crickets too, right?

In that case, I'm no longer interested.

http://i1.cpcache.com/product/855563...dth=1000&qv=90

Has anyone gotten a custom tune yet? I mean, vs. an off-the-shelf tune like the OFT. I made a thread in the software tuning section, and I don't think it's worth going custom if you're N/A.

I will probably go with OFT for the convenience factor. I have no power mods at the moment but may do it for just the 91 tune and then for the exhaust mods later down the road. Free tunes are a big deal.

Use the OTS maps and be happy with it, unless you're trying to extract every last drop of HP from the tune, or you have some really exotic parts. I had my car pretty much maxed out with NA mods and picked up an additional 3 whp peak and under the curve after a custom tune. :)

I figured as much. Was curious if people had poorer performance on say, a really hot day or if the car was more sensitive to crappy gas on a OTS, whereas maybe a custom tune would compensate for all that.

Seen your BRZ in person at the Fremont meet last week, btw. Never knew you had a Supra. Both badass cars. For your BRZ I'd go with custom too.

Here's the thread I posted: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67270

It seems like the Crawford BPB need a custom tune as well as the nameless headers (until someone is willing to share their tunes at least)

But otherwise I would agree based on my research from flipfloppibg so much. Lol

You can think of a custom tune as "run what you've brung." If you bring crappy gas or go on an extremely hot day, then you can tune for that. Otherwise it's just impossible to tune for the n number of variables that you would experience in your thousands of driving miles throughout the year. You're only on the dyno for a few hours, at most.

With that said, Shiv's OTS tunes seem to be working well for a wide range of people across different geographies and climates. I wouldn't worry too much about this aspect of the tunes.

I need e85... This garbage 91 makes me miss NY and my sweet sweet 93. Maybe in a couple of weeks I'll grab one of these OFTs


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OFT
 

This is a great tune. Probably the best mod I've spent on my car for $500. Full exhaust setup doesn't even come close to what the performance gain you get with the tablet. You won't regret it and many users will tell you the same thing.

All smiles here.

Very excited for this event and hope to meet everyone there. Our team will be there to answer questions and do some local installs.

There will be special summer kick off pricing just for this meet.

We will be donating a $100 off coupon for the raffle that is good for the OFT.

Cheers,
Robert@Vishnu

I picked up an OFT at the kickoff today, very happy with it. It was very straightforward. I am currently running stage 1 on 91 octane, gonna play with that for a while then try the E85 tune. Thanks to everyone who chimed in.

I noticed the louder VTAK noise right around 4k, and I made sure to test multiple times, and it isn't just my imagination... despite the throttle dead zone, I can tell the difference from around 4.5k to redline. Has more pickup at lower revs. It even feels smoother at cruising speed, though that one may be placebo.

Thank you @Garrett@Vishnu and @Robert@vishnu. I was the guy whose fraud alert went off as soon as you swiped the card. For everyone else, no worries! I think Chase was just suspicious that I was dropping $500+ in Oakland of all places :D Garrett was really helpful walking me through the install.

Hey,
It was a pleasure to meet you and we are glad we were able to setup your OFT at the event. It was a great turn out and we are glad to meet many of you at the event and answer some questions regarding the OFT and how it works.

I think you will really like the e85 tune. But in the mean time just enjoy the stage1 and get use to it and have fun with it. If you have any issues or questions or need of suggestions please feel free to let us know and we will get back to you directly.

Cheers,
Robert@Vishnu