For those who had an ECU tune..

[projectXTR]

Originally Posted by brichard0625

I honestly feel like the tune is must for this car! It provides a 5-12hp increase throughout the powerband and 5-10lbs of torque throughout the power band. Heres a quick video of my 0-60 and 1/4 mile with the tune. before the tune i wud get like 6.9-7.3 secs 0-60 now i pull 6.1-6.3 secs. Flatfoot shifting and launch control also help with shaving some secs off.

That's pretty sweet. I'm also looking into the launch control. Only downside is that there aren't that many Ecutek tuners around here.

[projectXTR]

Originally Posted by mswhong

Going for a tune right away wouldn't be my cup of tea but I'm guessing a tune on a stock car would yield 5-10 ponies to the wheels. I think that'll shave off APRROX 0.3 (don't take my word on this) seconds off the stock 0-100/0-60 time.

Well I try to convince myself to keep the car as stock as possible but I'm already looking at new wheels, an exhaust , coilovers,.....shit

[chutrain]

Originally Posted by projectXTR

That's pretty sweet. I'm also looking into the launch control. Only downside is that there aren't that many Ecutek tuners around here.

The beauty of Ecutek is the tuner does not have to be there. They send you a base map that you load and get datalogs off of. Send the datalog to the tuner and they make adjustments according to the conditions, and they send you the update. Repeat until the tuner and you feel comfortable with the results.

[Simmons]

My stock 0-60 times were 6.8 seconds,

After my bolt on's, and my Moto-East tune I am getting 5.84 0-60.

Simmons

[bakerr6]

XTR, while ecutek is a great product, there will be other options out there, such as the hydra ems and the unichips piggyback system. I would suggest figuring out what your current needs are, as one of the cheaper (unichips) or more expensive options (hydra) may be more suitable than just tuning the ecu.

[brichard0625]

Originally Posted by Simmons

My stock 0-60 times were 6.8 seconds,

After my bolt on's, and my Moto-East tune I am getting 5.84 0-60.

Simmons

Nice! Imma try an e-85 0-60 once the weather gets little better

[mswhong]

Originally Posted by projectXTR

Well I try to convince myself to keep the car as stock as possible but I'm already looking at new wheels, an exhaust , coilovers,.....shit

Hahaha, oh the joys that come along with modding a car

Well if that's the case then, i'd suggest tuning after you get your exhaust. Reason for that is to save yourself time and money for a re-tune

[xwd]

Originally Posted by bakerr6

XTR, while ecutek is a great product, there will be other options out there, such as the hydra ems and the unichips piggyback system. I would suggest figuring out what your current needs are, as one of the cheaper (unichips) or more expensive options (hydra) may be more suitable than just tuning the ecu.

The Unichip sucks, I would never recommend it. On the flipside I've owned a Hydra before and it's very complicated and requires a lot of tuning by an experienced tuner. You can't just buy a Hydra and drive your car, with a base map you'll be lucky if the car even starts.

It sounds 100% like tuning the ECU is the best option for the original poster.

[bakerr6]

Originally Posted by dwx

The Unichip sucks, I would never recommend it. On the flipside I've owned a Hydra before and it's very complicated and requires a lot of tuning by an experienced tuner. You can't just buy a Hydra and drive your car, with a base map you'll be lucky if the car even starts.

It sounds 100% like tuning the ECU is the best option for the original poster.

what have you owned unchips on? I've never had issues with it. As long as the tuner is good, you are in great shape. I do agree though that the hydra can be a little harder to get set up, but it is well worth every penny if you are looking for an all out piggyback system

[BadCompany235]

Originally Posted by chutrain

The beauty of Ecutek is the tuner does not have to be there. They send you a base map that you load and get datalogs off of. Send the datalog to the tuner and they make adjustments according to the conditions, and they send you the update. Repeat until the tuner and you feel comfortable with the results.

are you logging just using car sensors or do you have additional sensors installed. more specifically, to you have a wideband, oil and fuel pressure gauges, additional thermocouples, etc...

[ScionFrsFan]

Originally Posted by dwx

The Unichip sucks, I would never recommend it. On the flipside I've owned a Hydra before and it's very complicated and requires a lot of tuning by an experienced tuner. You can't just buy a Hydra and drive your car, with a base map you'll be lucky if the car even starts.

It sounds 100% like tuning the ECU is the best option for the original poster.

wow and I was looking at Unichip...why does it suck? lol

[QFry]

Originally Posted by dwx

The Unichip sucks, I would never recommend it. On the flipside I've owned a Hydra before and it's very complicated and requires a lot of tuning by an experienced tuner. You can't just buy a Hydra and drive your car, with a base map you'll be lucky if the car even starts.

It sounds 100% like tuning the ECU is the best option for the original poster.

"UNIChip sucks" really? based on what exactly? because my car dynoed 2whp less than an ECUTek custom tuned car...the same car that dynoed 3whp more than mine stock...or were you talking power curves or drivability? yes, the ECUTek tunes have cool features like flatfoot shift and launch control etc...but there is nothing wrong with spending 1/2 the money for a product that gets the same gains per tune and is just as easy to retune if needed...to each their own but at least provide empirical data as to why it sucks...

[Simmons]

Originally Posted by brichard0625

Nice! Imma try an e-85 0-60 once the weather gets little better

Cool, let me know the results. What tires are you using?

Simmons

[mangostick]

Originally Posted by bakerr6

I do agree though that the hydra can be a little harder to get set up, but it is well worth every penny if you are looking for an all out piggyback system

Any standalone unit is going to be a headache to tune..unless you have a tuner that already has base maps for our application and has some healthy dyno time under his/her belt. I know of two local examples of STI's with hydra's.. One was traded in because it never ran right.. the other, doesn't fully run right but at least it runs.

An other thing to think about when it comes to a full standalone system is that its bare when you install it. Even if you have a tuner that has come up with a basic map, its going to be rough. Driveability is often sacrificed. Cold starts become problematic, hot restart will be a problem, weather can pose problems, elevation correction (if staying with maf) can be a problem.. If any of you remember how finicky old carbureted cars were, that's how a standalone system acts if you dont have the time into it to come up with the correct compensation tables/variables. If you go with a speed density setup that changes some issues but definitely not the temp comp and driveability problems. Cant drive everywhere at wot.. well.. maybe but that's on you! lol

Lastly, if you live where they do emissions testing of any kind.. running a standalone? Unless you have a hookup for testing.. fogetaboutit.

Ecutek in the hands of a good tuner seems to be working well for folks and I'm sure there are other companies looking to get on the bandwagon... right now the car is still so new its going to be tough to find a good system with reliable ots maps that you can just buy/flash and drive.