To chip or not to chip.

[EfiOz]

My question is, for those who have bought them, what results have people seen from "chipping" stock ECU's?

My other question is, for those who "tune" them, how close do you think you get to an optimum tune?

Just curious.

[ProECU]

My question is, for those who have bought them, what results have people seen from "chipping" stock ECU's?

My other question is, for those who "tune" them, how close do you think you get to an optimum tune?

Just curious.

OK here's my honest opinion on the subject.

1. Chipping Stock ECU's
Regardless what you might read on this "very accurate & technical" technical forum, I actually believe that given the correct chip is chosen, they can be exceptional value for money & work relatively well in a controlled environment.
There are dangers in doing this. a LOT of the available chips on ebay, WWW, etc are actually stock fuel maps, with slight changes to ignition.
They tend to change vtec x-over point to give a "feel" of a big burst of power, and they also tend to raise redline. Herein are the dangers.

I have a LOT of these chips, I wouldnt personally run them, not because they are shit or dangerous, but because they dont tend to vary from the factory maps much at all.
Having said that, they aren't bad in certain circumstances.
End user should educate him/herself first before using any generic chip.

I'll put my neck on the line and say, they are generally frowned upon by certain members of this forum, becuase they tend to want to push their own products. Perhaps im guilty of this also, at least i'm open about it.


2. Tuning Factory ECU.
I may be biased here, however there are many cases where i would recommend sticking with the factory computer.
Honda have gone to great lengths to derive the VE curves of their own engines. It honestly beats the shit out of me why you would want to forego this R&D and start from scratch.
I dont know about other products, ala Hon$a$a, but as a relevant example, ProECU can allocate 24x24 resolution, with user defineable break points for RPM & LOAD for both low & high cam lobes.
It retains all stock sensors, retains all stock fuel/ign tables and I believe, has many other benefits, including COST as a major benefit.
Without trying to turn this into a ProECU commercial, I guarantee I can set target idle (both cold & warm) and light throttle tuning FASTER than ANY aftermarket (Hon$a$a aside) computer i've seen.
So to answer the question, how close an optimal tune... well closer and arguable better than most.

comments welcome.

[pornstar]

Pat,
if ur interested, ill give u a live demonstration buddy :)

just shoot me a pm if ur keen.

Also, i should see the comp sys in action while im there just been so busy!

[michael_antoi]

wow, props to u pro ecu

when i saw that u had replied to this post i was expecting major flames towards chipping and, naturally, push ur own product.


i was also curious about this topic and i appreciate ur honesty here

[EfiOz]

I wasn't looking for flames, only an insight into some methods.

ProECU, I agree about the bang for your buck angle in your first point. But it does seem to be a case of buyer beware. We've heard from a couple of guys with horror stories about chips they've bought and fitted. And theyweren't all bought on Ebay, that's the worrisome bit.

2. The ProECU sounds like a good alternative to Hondata and I think you'd get pretty good back up with it as well. ;) The plug'n'play nature of using stock sensors/wiring is a big bonus as a pro rewire can add up in the thousands.

Can you tune in real time with a ProECU? Or is it a flash/dyno/compare/reflash kind of idea.

[ProECU]

RealTime!

every sensor and a/f input is logged/displayed in realtime.
Let me make the distinction between emulation & realtime as well.

has been realtime since its inception.
The S300 has (dare I say it) "adopted" the concept.

It took them a few years to catchup.

[EfiOz]

No, I mean can it maipulate fuel, injection phasing, cam advance and ignition advance in real time.

[ProECU]

I understood what you meant :)

and yes it can. Always has. This is the ONLY way it works, and will always be realtime.

[Weq]

u can use freewhere ecu manegment like uberdata and chrome, but there is little to NO tuner support for it hear in australia. In america, plenty, and i mena plenty, of professional tuners will tune them..

Otherwise they are quite comparable, feature wise, to hondata etc. they are niggly and can be a pain in the ass, but people have used them sucessfully.

[ProECU]

u can use freewhere ecu manegment like uberdata and chrome, but there is little to NO tuner support for it hear in australia. In america, plenty, and i mena plenty, of professional tuners will tune them..

Otherwise they are quite comparable, feature wise, to hondata etc. they are niggly and can be a pain in the ass, but people have used them sucessfully.

Thats fine in theory,

however i'd NEVER use a product that is not tested in a controlled environment on oscilloscopes and engine simulators or even engine/chassis dynos.

BTW: Crome although comes in a free version, is a severely crippled and disabled editor. You need to PAY for the features needed to actually tune anything.