Steve, I looked into this a bita couple years back. It looks the same now. The AEM is a full engine management solution. The unichip is much more of a fuel/inigtion computer. I think it would be a good option for a BPU level of mods. Can you tell us what dyno results your friend achieved? What was the cost of the unit? Did it plug into the stock harness or did it have to be spliced in? On what basis do you claim it replaces a BCC? I'm assuming your friend still runs a boost controller, right?
Can't afford the upcoming AEM ECU? Check this out!
The Unichip is a piggy back ECU, and used to be called the PROgram, it was used largely by Porsche owners...but is adaptable to nearly any car, including the MKIV Supra. I'd never heard of anyone using it with a MKIV until now. One of our local Seattle area Supra owners was talked into being a "guinea pig" for the installation and tuning of the Unichip, and the results are very good so far. The bang for the buck of the Unichip looks unbeatable at this point, but I'm waiting patiently for them to explore the possibilities and limitations of it. Here is what I know so far:
The car that it was installed on is a 1997 6 speed with about 50k miles and standard BPU mods (no FMIC) except for ported turbos. He has an HKS downpipe with catalytic converter still on the car and it made 385 rwhp/403 rwtq on pure 92 octane pump gas. The dyno graph (which I do not have) is very smooth...much smoother than I've come to expect from running pump gas. Not sure what boost he ran at for that, but I can tell you that he is using the Unichip for fuel control (instead of the HKS VPC/GCC).
The Unichip may prove to be the best bang for the buck solution for the MKIV, as it will effectively replace a Greddy BCC, HKS VPC, HKS GCC, and GForce upgraded ECU...all for about $600 (uninstalled). This compares favorably to the AEM, which is set to retail for $1999 or so, but I won't tell you that it can do things the AEM cannot because I have a feeling the AEM is more capable overall. The Unichip is not a direct replacement for the factory ECU, but plugs into it and is tuned by a laptop computer interface.
Judging from what I saw so far, I may personally be getting a Unichip instead of the upcoming AEM ECU...but I'll wait and see. Here is more information on the Unichip if you're interested:
http://www.theracersgroup.com/theprogram_unichip.html
By the way, I hope this doesn't come across as a "AEM bashing post"...that is by no means my intention. The AEM unit is going to rock, but I am so happy to learn of another option when it comes to ECU upgrades for the MKIV...and for substantially less money. Don't bother asking me any technical questions as I am sure I cannot answer them...I'm presenting all I know for now.
Steve T.
The car that it was installed on is a 1997 6 speed with about 50k miles and standard BPU mods (no FMIC) except for ported turbos. He has an HKS downpipe with catalytic converter still on the car and it made 385 rwhp/403 rwtq on pure 92 octane pump gas. The dyno graph (which I do not have) is very smooth...much smoother than I've come to expect from running pump gas. Not sure what boost he ran at for that, but I can tell you that he is using the Unichip for fuel control (instead of the HKS VPC/GCC).
The Unichip may prove to be the best bang for the buck solution for the MKIV, as it will effectively replace a Greddy BCC, HKS VPC, HKS GCC, and GForce upgraded ECU...all for about $600 (uninstalled). This compares favorably to the AEM, which is set to retail for $1999 or so, but I won't tell you that it can do things the AEM cannot because I have a feeling the AEM is more capable overall. The Unichip is not a direct replacement for the factory ECU, but plugs into it and is tuned by a laptop computer interface.
Judging from what I saw so far, I may personally be getting a Unichip instead of the upcoming AEM ECU...but I'll wait and see. Here is more information on the Unichip if you're interested:
http://www.theracersgroup.com/theprogram_unichip.html
By the way, I hope this doesn't come across as a "AEM bashing post"...that is by no means my intention. The AEM unit is going to rock, but I am so happy to learn of another option when it comes to ECU upgrades for the MKIV...and for substantially less money. Don't bother asking me any technical questions as I am sure I cannot answer them...I'm presenting all I know for now.
Steve T.
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I told you Jim...no questions!
Anyway, I'll try. You're correct that at this point it does basically fuel/ignition, but the timing upgrade is about the be released for it. They do revisions of the software fairly regularly, so I'm sure that the product has come along since you last looked at it. The dyno results were listed to the best of my memory (385 rwhp/403 rwtq with single cat and pump gas).
The Unichip cost $600 but he paid at least $400 for installation and dyno tuning...bringing the total to at least $1000. When you figure that the AEM will also need to be dyno tuned to produce optimal results, I don't consider this a bad thing. In fact any modified Supra would benefit from dyno time. I'm not sure how it was connected to the stock ECU, but it definitely replaces the BCC as it can control all that stuff. He said you could even configure it to turn on your headlights at 2500 rpm if that is what you wanted to do...lots of customizing available. My friend does run a boost controller (Blitz SBC-ID) but the Unichip can handle boost control duties as well, similar to the AEM I believe. You can do it either way.
If anything, it sounds like the Unichip might be a great "entry level" ECU solution, but the more I hear about it, the more full featured it is sounding. I think they are continuing to build in more functionality to it all the time. It can definitely raise your rev limiter too...that is why I said it could also replace a GForce ECU upgrade.
Steve T.
Anyway, I'll try. You're correct that at this point it does basically fuel/ignition, but the timing upgrade is about the be released for it. They do revisions of the software fairly regularly, so I'm sure that the product has come along since you last looked at it. The dyno results were listed to the best of my memory (385 rwhp/403 rwtq with single cat and pump gas).
The Unichip cost $600 but he paid at least $400 for installation and dyno tuning...bringing the total to at least $1000. When you figure that the AEM will also need to be dyno tuned to produce optimal results, I don't consider this a bad thing. In fact any modified Supra would benefit from dyno time. I'm not sure how it was connected to the stock ECU, but it definitely replaces the BCC as it can control all that stuff. He said you could even configure it to turn on your headlights at 2500 rpm if that is what you wanted to do...lots of customizing available. My friend does run a boost controller (Blitz SBC-ID) but the Unichip can handle boost control duties as well, similar to the AEM I believe. You can do it either way.
If anything, it sounds like the Unichip might be a great "entry level" ECU solution, but the more I hear about it, the more full featured it is sounding. I think they are continuing to build in more functionality to it all the time. It can definitely raise your rev limiter too...that is why I said it could also replace a GForce ECU upgrade.
Steve T.
XCELR8 said:
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