What are the disadvantages of ECU-remapping?

[badaveil]

I'm still new on ECU and read many compliments about ECU-remapping over the internet however there is very little mentioned (or I :confused_smile: don't know where to search) about the problems faced living with a car that has been ECU remapped.

Can anyone l enlighten me on the worse case scenario of ECU remapping?

 

[khoyos]

problems? u spend nearly rm1000 for the remapping services, and u dont get any black/blue fancy box with greddy emblem on it, or blue screen display... all u get is a lousy add-on chip in the ecu...

i've been using remapped ecu for years now. no problem whatsoever

 

[badaveil]

Go to here you don't have any problems. I'm just taking a look before you leap approach and looking out for potential minus points.

 

[khoyos]

well, apart from the point that u have to burn another chip if u change settings, i dont see any other problems bro...

 

[badaveil]

I'm a bit confused here...Does ECU remapping mean resetting the variables of the original chip or having to take out the original chip and replacing it with another chip of a different setting or they mean the same thing?

 

[khoyos]

there are 2 ways to remap std ecu.

1. burn the program onto chip that's embedded in the ecu (earlier generation ecus)
-just like burning a CDROM and inserting it into ur CD player
2. upload the program onto the ecu directly (OBD2)
-just like saving the song into ur MP3 player hard disk.

so after altering the variables such as fuelling, ignition and others, we upload the program either onto a chip (EPROM) or flash rom for OBD2.

p/s please dont treat me as a sifu in this field. i'm just telling u what i know. my knowledge on this field is very limited. this is all that i know. there are many more experienced and knowledgeable people lurking around... wait till they give clearer answers to your questions.

 

[badaveil]

p/s please dont treat me as a sifu in this field. i'm just telling u what i know. my knowledge on this field is very limited. this is all that i know. there are many more experienced and knowledgeable people lurking around... wait till they give clearer answers to your questions.

You are already kind enough to want to reply.

Anyway, RM1000 is a lot of money alternatively could get you a complete exhaust system which has no electronic or moving parts to worry about maintainence. Do you feel you got better performance and maybe better FC from ECU remapping?

 

[khoyos]

better FC, yes. better performance, yes. better driving feel, yes. definitely worth it. but make sure it's custom tuned to your engine, instead of those copied chips/programs like mines/spoon/ralliart etc etc. i'm not saying that those ralliart/mines programs are not good, but they may not suit our engine/setup...

may i know what engine u using? maybe i can recommend places that does remapping for your ride...

 

[badaveil]

My car is a KIA Spectra. My current priorities is the braking system.

 

[E3newbie]

Bro Khoyos,
I have got a chip installed by Vasmas. Is that called re mapping? I think mine is copied chip... *sigh* luckly didn't cost a lot. Paid rm399 for it. If after i change snail doing a remapping by the place you recomend is gonna be enough? How much does it cost to remap?

 

[mcbert]

problems? u spend nearly rm1000 for the remapping services, and u dont get any black/blue fancy box with greddy emblem on it, or blue screen display... all u get is a lousy add-on chip in the ecu...

i've been using remapped ecu for years now. no problem whatsoever

hehe...good one khoyos..:regular_smile:
I've been using remapped ecu for months....no problm til now....and i dont see thr should be any problms too for the years to come.

DRIVABILITY is somethg i gained alot after the remapped was done.....im not sure if i can get ths from piggybacks....definitely not from the "fancy box".

 

[accord21]

just wanna advise from all forumers...oneday one mechanic offers to me to remap my ECU with cost me around RM450..mine is H22A BB4 taken from prelude. Just wondering whether this price quite reasonable or too expensive???

 

[khoyos]

my tuner does remapping services (custome tuned to each indivudual's engine, must bring car) for honda vtec/non vtec OBD1 and most mitsu VR4, evo1,2,3, mivec, gti etc etc. no siemens. can only do on ecus that have eprom. by the way, i dont have any intention of advertising in here. i'm just explaining to the thread starter on whatever i know...

so any enquiries, do PM me... dont ask in forum, as this would be bad for me and my tuner(no free riding in forum-marketplace rule)

p/s dont think ecu remapping is cheap. this is serious stuff, no joking. even copied chips are charged around rm300-500, and there's no guarantee that those will suit each individual's setup...

 

[MitonCT26]

let me support abit on khoyos' statement.

there are another way of remapping ECU especially on honda's.

by means of just exchanging the main chip with the "copied" ones flashed into the new chip. some sort of plug out, plug in.

the problem comes over time. if the chip is fried or lost its memory over time, the car felt sluggish and consumes tonnes of petrol. sometimes it wont even start. the only option is to change to another chip.

no2 of disadvantage. in japan, the chip is custom mapped according to your setup done at their workshop be it in mine's or spoon or mugen or whatever lah. but the problem comes when a dude in malaysia got hold of a chip from the halfcut ECU and then makes mass copies of it claiming to increase hp, well partly true also. but take into consideration their air temp over there, the octane of the fuel (japs have ron 100s) and their ignition timing etc etc etc. is just totally diffrerent than the conditions here in malaysia. well some have been working fine touch wood but it is still worth to buy programmable chip/ecu/piggyback/management with some sort of fiddling to compensate or to optimise your setup. some mugen chips are known to bypass ECU error codes/check light or just cancel any warning signs to extract more horsies out of their engines. one small error...then there might be a chance you see a piston or a conrod fly out from your engine. that's the worse case scenario lah.

that's why it is a risk and there is no guarantee that your car will become faster by just adding a chip. but, ultimately for the amount of money you spend for one (rm 300 to 500) for a non-programmable, why dont spend a tad bit more for some programmable, adjustable management to suit every upgrade or setup you want in the future?

my 2 cents. uncle getting old and grumpy already. hahahahaha.

 

[E3newbie]

I should have come to this website earlier!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jinkl]

E3newbie, u can check my previous threads,
u can see , i ran with evo3 , vr4 block , 1.5bar , rechip ecu using drax n got me 301hp on wheels, hehehehe

 

[xrickx]

Is there anywhere where i can remap a sgti mmc ecu?

 

[accord21]

is it suitable for NA engine for remapped ECU+piggyback (VAFC or e-manage)

 

[khoyos]

accord21, they perform the same functions, in fact remapping standard ecu is more superior compared to vafc or emanage in terms of parameters...
so if u have the engine remapped(tuned) and tune again, then it would be a waste of time and money, as u dont have to tune a tuned engine. unless u change setup of course...

 

[E3newbie]

Correct me if i'm wrong but does it mean that stand alone have more parameters?