Unichip map downloads and tuning

[seven]

Originally Posted by Dynotronics1

Btw, the unichip is a damn fine unit. We have worked with several over the years on Porsche, and BMW. Good alternative to a factory ecu remap/ re calibration

Agreed!
I've never heard anything bad about Unichip in the years I've been into various makes. They're good people

[seven]

Originally Posted by Sportsguy83

The small letters below the bolded part say:
"This is a tune only. You need to already own a cable and license or be able to mail in your ECU."

The mail the ECU part, only replaces the cable. Even if you mail it in, you still need a license.

As I said, you mis-read it.
He's saying you need one or the other.
As in... either send it in and they flash it, or you need a license for your own ECU and a cable to connect to it.
If you needed to buy a license it'd say "this option only available if you have a license and cable" - They wouldn't bother to say mail it in because they sell the tune+license option below the one I quoted before

[Sportsguy83]

Originally Posted by seven

As I said, you mis-read it.
He's saying you need one or the other.
As in... either send it in and they flash it, or you need a license for your own ECU and a cable to connect to it.
If you needed to buy a license it'd say "this option only available if you have a license and cable" - They wouldn't bother to say mail it in because they sell the tune+license option below the one I quoted before

I understand how it reads, and I understand why you think you don't need the license (the way its written it seems mailing it in allows you to tune without a cable and without a license, but that is not the way it works). I am telling you the way it works. I'll say it again. ALL ECU's to be flashed via ECUTek REQUIRE a license. It doesn't matter who the tuner is, a license is required per ECU.

[xjohnx]

Originally Posted by seven

As I said, you mis-read it.
He's saying you need one or the other.
As in... either send it in and they flash it, or you need a license for your own ECU and a cable to connect to it.
If you needed to buy a license it'd say "this option only available if you have a license and cable" - They wouldn't bother to say mail it in because they sell the tune+license option below the one I quoted before

I'm fairly certain you need a license whether or not you mail it in. In order to flash the ecu, a license file has to be installed on the ECU itself.

[bakerr6]

I'm not too sure about the ECUtek (I'm almost certain each car has to have a license, otherwise you could just buy a cheap tune from one of the vendors, then use that and a cable and a tune from anotehr vendor to cancel the license, and make the cost lower, based on the cost of the tune in here), but let's get this on topic.

Are there any features you guys are looking for that are not currently available besides e85? I'm trying to come up with some ideas for possible additions to the system before I go FI, and I know unichips would love to see if we could come up with additional items.

[seven]

Originally Posted by bakerr6

I'm not too sure about the ECUtek (I'm almost certain each car has to have a license, otherwise you could just buy a cheap tune from one of the vendors, then use that and a cable and a tune from anotehr vendor to cancel the license, and make the cost lower, based on the cost of the tune in here), but let's get this on topic.

Are there any features you guys are looking for that are not currently available besides e85? I'm trying to come up with some ideas for possible additions to the system before I go FI, and I know unichips would love to see if we could come up with additional items.

If they have a 91 and 93 map, as well as a lower grade fuel map (which I believe he said they did, for each of the basic bolt ons, I can't think of anything extra, not currently at least. I don't see a "92" map being that much of a difference for people to want one either.

[bakerr6]

Originally Posted by seven

If they have a 91 and 93 map, as well as a lower grade fuel map (which I believe he said they did, for each of the basic bolt ons, I can't think of anything extra, not currently at least. I don't see a "92" map being that much of a difference for people to want one either.

They did provide me with a 89, 91 and 93 map. I will not be trying the lower grade fuel maps, unless requested

[ScionFrsFan]

I wonder if the e85 map will post gains in 30hp range? Newbie on e85...its not good to run that in the winter right?

[xwd]

Originally Posted by seven

As I said, you mis-read it.
He's saying you need one or the other.
As in... either send it in and they flash it, or you need a license for your own ECU and a cable to connect to it.
If you needed to buy a license it'd say "this option only available if you have a license and cable" - They wouldn't bother to say mail it in because they sell the tune+license option below the one I quoted before

This is incorrect, every Ecutek reflash requires its own license, always been that way since they started on Subarus way back when. Any Ecutek tuner can retune an Ecutek ECU once its licensed, but it needs the license to be flashed.

Will the Unichip be able to access more advanced things like the VVTi system at some point?

[Unichip Jack]

Thanks again for the questions and pm’s and also thanks to Dynotronics1 and seven… kind words are always appreciated.

Before hitting the questions since my last post, we're running a January special for FT86 Club members in the Vendor section… http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24864&page=3

On to the questions… just like last time, red is a post quote and black is my answer…

Since our car requires premium wouldn’t we all fall under premium? Premium is recommended, but the car automatically pulls ignition timing if you run something lower. You can’t make as much power without the octane rating and the ignition timing it allows, but you can drive it that way. We make the lower octane maps to give you some flexibility.

Does the "stock tune" take away that torque dip? As posted somewhere previously, the “torque dip” is a result of engine internal design not tuning. The only thing tuning can do is move the dip somewhere else.

There’s a long discussion here, but the best way to think of it is to look at the torque curve… if you permit me some artistic license, the torque curve looks like two hills with a valley at either end and another in the center. Each of the hills is a cam profile… low speed on the left and high speed on the right. The peak of each hill is the maximum breathing that cam can provide… either side of the peak the cam doesn’t breath as well and that will only change by reprofiling the cam's lift and/or duration - you can only change the hill shape by reprofiling the cam. Changing the VVTi timing just moves the peak left or right... the problem is if you move, for example, the high speed peak left to fill in the valley between the two peaks, the valley to the right of the high speed peak gets deeper very quickly and the engine falls on it's face.

The plug and play kit does *not* include the map download cable which is required to get additional maps from your database on to the Unichip. Please confirm, thanks. Correct… the cable, maps, and SW are normally a onetime cost of $35… we are throwing them in at no cost for anybody that buys the Flux version of the kit in January.

If they have a 91 and 93 map, as well as a lower grade fuel map (which I believe he said they did, for each of the basic bolt ons, I can't think of anything extra, not currently at least. I don't see a "92" map being that much of a difference for people to want one either. One point of octane rating tends to be pretty insignificant and is generally well within the “noise” level of the other variables like individual vehicle misfire sensitivity, air temperature, density altitude, etc… we build our premium maps on 92 octane and they cover both 91 and 93 nicely.

Will the Unichip be able to access more advanced things like the VVTi system at some point? We’ve been doing variable cam timing changes since way before VVTi came into being and it’s no issue to do on the FR-S. The Standard kit isn’t set up to do it (for reasons posted previously in this thread) but it can certainly changed with a simple wiring change and some reprogramming.

Have a grear New Year's!

[seven]

What are the advantage of the flux2 besides adding more tunes (5 vs 2 IIRC)?

Does this offer any "auto-tune" like megasquirt does, where you can plug in a wideband, give it a target A/F, and then drive it to have the ECU correct?

What setup would you recommend for someone who only needs 2 MAPs (premium and e85 for sake of argument), wants VVTi control, wants to be able to tune them-self, and would like the "auto-tune" feature (if available)? Also is there another sensor one would need when going turbo (upgraded MAP sensor, etc)?

[bakerr6]

Originally Posted by seven

What are the advantage of the flux2 besides adding more tunes (5 vs 2 IIRC)?

Does this offer any "auto-tune" like megasquirt does, where you can plug in a wideband, give it a target A/F, and then drive it to have the ECU correct?

What setup would you recommend for someone who only needs 2 MAPs (premium and e85 for sake of argument), wants VVTi control, wants to be able to tune them-self, and would like the "auto-tune" feature (if available)?

It oes have other features,s uch as easy datalogging, along with if you plan on tuning your own car, will make it a little easier to tune it. i like it just for the feature that when I end up going boost, it has a loadout for 3 parameterst o monitor, which I plan on monitoring boost, EGT and most likely use the third one to switch between multiple items (LT and ST fuel trims, IATs and I'm hoping I can tap into the fuel sensor and change it to flex fuel, so I may end up creating my own flex fuel kit for it, to measure the amount of ethanol).

In regards to tuning yourself, they do offer the software (I haven't bought it yet, but I plan on it). The flux2 will measure the amount of meth/nitrous left in the system to adjust in case for some reason it would happen to get below a certain level, and will adjust the tune accordingly.

I do not believe that the flux2 can act as a wideband, but I don't see any reason why you can't hook the wideband into the system and have it monitored and adjusted through the flux2. I plan on running an aem uego on mine.

[ScionFrsFan]

I dont plan on making my own tunes. To get there maps all i need is the cable right? Have you messed around getting new maps on your unichip yet?

[seven]

Originally Posted by bakerr6

I do not believe that the flux2 can act as a wideband, but I don't see any reason why you can't hook the wideband into the system and have it monitored and adjusted through the flux2. I plan on running an aem uego on mine.

Not asking if the flux2 acts as a wideband, but more if it can work with one and if the software has the autotune ability when one is present to make drivability tuning easier. Sorry for the confusion.