Chip for stock ECU!

ScottyS · Post by **ScottyS** » Fri May 01, 2009 6:57 pm

Received my chip in the mail today, unfortunately due to time commitments I won't have a chance to do the install for at least a week or two.......boo.

BSOD2600 · Post by **BSOD2600** » Fri May 01, 2009 9:18 pm

ScottyS wrote:Received my chip in the mail today, unfortunately due to time commitments I won't have a chance to do the install for at least a week or two.......boo.

Ditto. Need my 440c o-rings and do some ECU logging before the chip goes it.

Grayguy · Post by **Grayguy** » Sat May 02, 2009 12:49 am

I still want to see a dyno plot of this stage 2 VS a stock setup.

gijonas · Post by **gijonas** » Sat May 02, 2009 11:10 pm

Just bought my own stage 2.....pumped to finish my car!!

BSOD2600 · Post by **BSOD2600** » Sun May 03, 2009 12:12 am

Grayguy wrote:I still want to see a dyno plot of this stage 2 VS a stock setup.

I will be dyno'ing mine after I get the chip installed and sure everything is functioning properly. Will then have a dyno of my stock setup vs TD05+revtronix from the same dyno/company. Maybe in a month...

Agreed though, Revtronix should be posting dyno plots of both the stage 1 and 2 chips on their site to backup their claims.

Grayguy · Post by **Grayguy** » Sun May 03, 2009 1:12 am

^ that's good to here. I'll probably just end up putting my LINKecu in my car, but I'm still considering this as an option

beatersubi · Post by **beatersubi** » Sun May 03, 2009 4:41 am

BSOD2600 wrote:
Grayguy wrote:I still want to see a dyno plot of this stage 2 VS a stock setup.
I will be dyno'ing mine after I get the chip installed and sure everything is functioning properly. Will then have a dyno of my stock setup vs TD05+revtronix from the same dyno/company. Maybe in a month...

Agreed though, Revtronix should be posting dyno plots of both the stage 1 and 2 chips on their site to backup their claims.

Perhaps they'd be willing to cover your dyno time in exchange for the charts proving the power gains?

impreza_GC8 · Post by **impreza_GC8** » Mon May 04, 2009 8:00 am

I have a JDM VF8 with 440cc injectors. Does this mean I should wait until Stage 3 comes out? The VF8 isn't too much bigger than a USDM TD04 from what I understand. It is a stock early 90's Legacy RS turbo.

ScottyS · Post by **ScottyS** » Mon May 04, 2009 5:13 pm

I am going to pull my VF8 and run the TD04 for starters. I would prefer to wait until they are able to tune for it, so that I can max out the top-end.

mlitz123 · Post by **mlitz123** » Thu May 07, 2009 10:27 pm

so i understand that every car is different and there are to many variables to look at to make a plug and play chip like this perfect. so my question is, is it smart to run a piggyback after installing the chip? is an AFC like this apexi good enough?
http://www.apexi-usa.com/products/Defau ... 347&v=more

or do you go to something like the SMT6 or the new SMT8
http://perfectpower.com/Products/smt6.asp
http://perfectpower.com/products/smt8.asp

but if you do the SMT piggy back cant you use bigger injectors witch makes no point for the chip? except the chip has altered ignition timing so it still might help.

i don't know someone point me in the right direction...

GodSquadMandrake · Post by **GodSquadMandrake** » Thu May 07, 2009 10:54 pm

Yes there are still benefits to using a piggyback with the chip. The chip just alters the base map or program of the car and some variables that are internal and cannot be adjusted by the piggyback. An example would be cranking pulsewidths ie; how much fuel is injected on startup. Also things like the rev limiter.

The piggyback works the same with either although you just start from a different spot that could be closer to what you need and then you fine tune with the piggyback. Any car could benefit from using the piggyback with the chip, but some cars might need it depending on how much modification has been done.

My compression ratio, injectors, displacement, intake, exhaust, cams have all been changed so there is no way this chip would be perfect for my car. It's going to need at least a little fine tuning.

mlitz123 · Post by **mlitz123** » Fri May 08, 2009 5:13 am

OK that is what i thought... so then what piggy back system do people suggest? pros and cons of each, or even better what would work best with the chip?

GodSquadMandrake · Post by **GodSquadMandrake** » Fri May 08, 2009 11:28 am

PP6 is pretty popular for OBDII cars but if you look up threads where people tried to use it on a BC Legacy withan OBDI ECU you'll see a lot of issues with misfires and random bucking.

E-Manage Ultimate is popular too, although more expensive. It seems to work better with the OBDI ECU'sthough. The main advantages of E-Manage Ultimate are that it can drive the injectors directly so you get greater resolution over fuel control. With PP6 the fuel is a scale like -6 or +6 but with Emanage you control the time in milliseconds how long the injectors are open. That also let's you effectively remove the rev limiter and fuel cut.

I'm going with EMU myself. There are a few other piggyback systems but none as good as the EMU.

ericem · Post by **ericem** » Fri May 08, 2009 9:16 pm

No one tried out there stage 2 chip yet?

ScottyS · Post by **ScottyS** » Fri May 08, 2009 9:22 pm

Injectors are being serviced, gonna be a week or two yet for me.

gijonas · Post by **gijonas** » Tue May 12, 2009 5:10 am

Got mine in today,passes the "looks cool test" anyway.

BSOD2600 · Post by **BSOD2600** » Tue May 12, 2009 6:25 am

ericem wrote:No one tried out there stage 2 chip yet?

If I didn't have this annoying thing called work, mine would be in already

. First have to datalog the 440's (for myself and the community), then the chip goes it.

ScottyS · Post by **ScottyS** » Thu May 14, 2009 8:33 am

Got the injectors back from WitchHunter today, and got ambitious. Dropped them in along with the JECS and chip. Removed my FCD and MBC.

Oh, WitchHunter provided a great service, replacing O-rings and pintle caps as well as cleaning and testing. Apparently 2 were stuck on arrival but are working fine now, 2 flowed 440 and 2 flowed 444 after servicing. They definitely were sitting around on an EJ20G for a few years doing nothing.

I followed the install directions exactly, including the ECU reset. Started right up, runs smooth at all non-boost throttle settings.

Revtronix says to run for a "few hours" engine time without going full-throttle crazy to allow the ECU parameters to set to the specific motor. I just drove it for about 30min, letting it get up to 9-10psi on part throttle sometimes.

I noticed that EGT's would start to climb toward 1600 pretty fast in the taller gears, and I tried to keep them at 1500 or below.

I would get an occasional stutter as boost passed 6psi, but so far everything sounds and runs pretty nice. I'm expecting this is a wastegate issue and that the ECU will learn around it in time.

This is my commuter, so I will be able to develop a pretty good impression of performance changes, fuel economy, etc as I use it on my regular drive.

I'll know more in a week.....

BSOD2600 · Post by **BSOD2600** » Thu May 14, 2009 9:50 pm

Datalogged the stock ECU with 440's. Reset ECU, installed JECS, stage 2, and went for a short drive. More to come....

farfrumwork · Post by **farfrumwork** » Thu May 14, 2009 9:59 pm

So (BSOD2600) you are installing the stg2 with your 16g? Nice. Thanks for going the extra mile in datalogging between the stock ECU and the chipped ECU

I have a vf12 (slightly smaller than the 16g), and have been following this thread. Looking forward to seeing how the stg2 does with your setup.
I've got a JECS, and will be picking up some 440's in the near future...

And yeah, whitchhunter provides a great service Scotty. It's almost worth it for the pintle caps and o-rings alone (with a cleaning/flow test as the cherry on top)

gijonas · Post by **gijonas** » Thu May 14, 2009 10:24 pm

I am almost afraid to see what happens with my car having made like $7000 worth of upgrades all at once including a rebuild and throwing in some alien chip to the car.I have a feeling my ECU is going to feel as though it has been wired into a Ford and catch on fire,before somehow killing me and some nearby babies.

ScottyS · Post by **ScottyS** » Thu May 14, 2009 11:13 pm

Funny stuff!

Actually, if I had a wideband installed already, I would feel 100% confident in knowing what is going on health-wise.

On the 45min drive this morning, things were already feeling smoother.

There is no doubt that the "feel" of the car through the RPM range and lower boost is more responsive, and this is with 440's mind you. I think the timing maps are much better so far. I'm not going to be romping on it until I get more engine time and see how the EGT's develop.

The factory ECU running an intercooler, TD-04, etc always felt like it wasn't making the most out of things. This was definitely the case with the VF-8 hooked up.

One of the reasons I'm not very worried is that I already have a high-mileage lower end. About the time I get the car right where I want it it will be time to rebuild the motor. Then I won't be experimenting with a serious investment, all the trial and error will be done with. Unless I use my EJ20G heads on the new build.......

RJ93SS · Post by **RJ93SS** » Fri May 15, 2009 2:55 am

ive been running mine for quite a while, it's custom stage 1.5. no problems and def enjoy the increase in power and torque.

stage 2 coming soon

BSOD2600 · Post by **BSOD2600** » Fri May 15, 2009 10:31 am

I'm still limiting myself to ~11.5 PSI MBC until the ECU/chip has learned and I feel comfortable things are ok. Overall, even with the same PSI level I've been restricting myself to from stock, 440's, and then stage 2, I DO feel a noticeable increase in power/speed in the mid-range gears/rpms.

Right now the ARF's are a little lean for my liking, but I'm attributing it to the ECU learning still after it being reset.

It's now been ~50mi since I installed the chip. WOT in 5th is ~12 AFR (vs the ~9 AFR with stock ECU+440's). Cruising is ~14.5-16. Idling still has some major issues and dips into the 26-30 AFR range. Once I get my fuel rail gap fixed, that I'll start to really worry why it can't idle worth shit anymore. Still does a lot of 'hunting' with the rpms bouncing around from 500 to 1000 rpm as it near stalls.

Also, not sure if its because the ECU is learning or I got a bad Autec MAF... but so far during the first ~10 min of driving when the car is cold, during medium throttle acceleration, the car bucks/stalls somewhat. After it's all warmed up, it doesn't seem to do it anymore.

Hopefully get in some data logging later this weekend after more driving.

ScottyS · Post by **ScottyS** » Sat May 16, 2009 2:22 am

Also, the directions from the Revtronix website had switched labels on the "normal" and "power" mode jumper graphics.

After checking with them, I confirmed this. So actually I had loaded the 93 octane map instead! I took it out today with the switch in the right place and found that things were a bit more stable.

The idle is 100% fine, and the boost proportion to throttle input is correct. In fact, it is really nice to not have the part-throttle full-boost issue of the stock setup and MBC.

The ECU is clearly "hunting" when you hold the throttle steady in boost, and there are some little stutters when coming off-throttle.

Torque feels up, and of course the ability to run 14psi safely will be nice.

I really, really would like to run my VF-8 with this if there would be a way to get the lag out of there.

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Chip for stock ECU!