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unichip ecu??

1213 Views 12 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  BLKMGK
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This appears to be quite a revolutionary product from the looks of it. Seems like quite a worth while investment.....revs limiter raised, optimised ignition timing and air fuel ratios programming etc, etc, etc.... all for quite a modest fee.
Anyone with first hand experience?
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why aem is comming ;)
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I'm running it in my WRX... for $700 I got a piggyback harness from TurboXS that the stock ECU sits on. Plug n' play, easy to install & remove without a trace. The map I got added 60 awhp to take more advantage of the exhaust & underdrive pulley, and actually improved overall gas mileage. Throttle response is also much smoother now compared to when I was running with just a SBC-iD for boost control. I may not be optimally tuned for all my mods since it's a generic map, but I'm pretty happy with the power gain for just $700.

This porsche racing site has a good overview of the unichip
http://www.theracersgroup.com/enginemanagement.html
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PhD said:
I'm running it in my WRX... for $700 I got a piggyback harness from TurboXS that the stock ECU sits on. Plug n' play, easy to install & remove without a trace. The map I got added 60 awhp to take more advantage of the exhaust & underdrive pulley, and actually improved overall gas mileage. Throttle response is also much smoother now compared to when I was running with just a SBC-iD for boost control. I may not be optimally tuned for all my mods since it's a generic map, but I'm pretty happy with the power gain for just $700.

This porsche racing site has a good overview of the unichip
http://www.theracersgroup.com/enginemanagement.html
Yeah i visited the site and was pretty impressed. The unichip has just arrived on Malaysian shores. Introductory offer of usd460 with complete dyno tuning sounds like a steal. I'm tempted.
is it the same chip for non US spec turbo Supras as for Us spec? That's one heck of a price when all I want is the upgraded revs.

Eric
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Beware of the Unichip.
I have one installed on my Supra here in Australia and while I was happy with it initially there are some major flaws (in the Supra Install). If this is the same as the model in Aus (Dastek product from South Africa) then there are problems
1. It cannot modify the timing on Supras. Apparently Toyotas have a strange way of controlling timing and the Unichip cannot be used ~ Making it a very expensive Fuel only computer. The same for Celicas etc. This is a problem that is well known and they may fix it in a new revision in 1 year.
2. Fuel control is rather limited in the Supra. Maybe with the AirFlow Sensor you might have better luck but with the MAp sensor here the Unichip can't seem to bring down the fuelling all that much. At maximum lean it couldn't reduce fueling of the stock injectors at max boost and RPM (the injectors should be leaning out anyway).

So beware.
Andrei
That maybe so and I for one really appreciate the advice but look at it this way. Think of how much a G-Force rev limiter upgrade is and compare it to the unichip. I as many already do have the fuel sub-computers already so those downfalls aren't that big of a deal. I just want the rev liomiter upgrade option. And for 700, or whatever, compared to the G-Forces's price, it's a bargain.

Eric
Why not spend $1300 and do it right with an AEM ECU? FULL fuel and spark control - you can go wideband O2 as well and tune for target A/F ratios. Rev limit will be whatever YOU decide. Sell the add-on toys and you might even be close to having the scratch for the AEM.

Granted, it's not out yet but it's supposed to be shipping within a month. Give it a little longer for folks to report back on how well it works - if it's good then go for it. Seems like a much smarter way to go than adding on extra piggyback electronics to the stock ECU. Be patient and wait a month and we'll all know how the AEM unit works out - worse thing happens you buy this other unit instead.
I know that the AEM is supposed to be this revolutionary product but there are still some things I need answered from it. Who would pay big bucks for my piggyback units when all they have to do is buy the AEM just like I did. And can you adjust AEM on the fly while driving? My S-AFC and VPC can. I'm not sure that just because the AEM is coming out that it'll render our piggyback units obsolete and I certainly wouldn't call installing one "doing it right". The fact is that a majority of us already have the piggyback fuel controlers and are just looking to raise the rev limit. 700 bones vs 1350 bones then becomes a no brainer.

Eric
IF you'll read the AEM thread - yes it can be changed on the fly. That was one of the last questions Jason answered. As for doing it "right" - look at it this way...

The stock ECU is a black box. It's timing curves, it's fuel curves, it's temp compensations, and it's altitude compensations are all pretty much UNKNOWN. What you're doing with those add-on boxes is fiddling with the factory sensors - outputs and inputs. You're changing what the ECU sees so that the ECU will do what you want it to do - or at least you hope it will. Since you don't know everything that's in the factory ECU's programming you cannot know for sure what the results will be!

Here's a good example - look at the Mustang guys with their MAFs calibrated for bigger injectors. Do they realize that they hose their spark tables switching to those units? The MAF allows a different injector to be run by modifying the MAF's output voltage curve. To get a bigger injector to idle it needs a shorter voltage P/W - to get this they setup the MAF so that it puts out s signal telling the ECU that the amount of air going through it is actually LOWER than what's actually occuring. That means that the engine thinks it's seeing lowspeed idle airflow when it's actually receiving much more going down the road, as a result it outputs spark designed for IDLE. Changing the MAF changes things across the board! The correct way to have done this would've been to modify the variable in the ECU to tell it that it was running larger injectors.

So, how does that effect you? What do YOU change when you goto bigger injectors? What does the VPC output when you remove the MAF? Does it mirror what the original MAF output for various airflows? It might be close but MAP infers airflow over MAF's actual measuring of airflow. If the lookup tables aren't just right it will infer incorrectly and send the wrong signal. That signal might still let the car run but it could be slightly rich or slightly lean - you'll never know.

Fiddling with the outputs of the ECU is probably smarter. Take direct control of the engine this way and there's less chance of errors occuring. Except now you've got to tune those boxes. Using more than one? Have fun tuning them and getting everything to interact correctly. I'm betting you've not got nearly the tuning range with those boxes either. You'll have a few points in the RPM curve where you can adjust up and down what the ECU is sending out or maybe take over completely. But what about the RPMs in between those points? The box will interpolate, hopefully smoothly, what it does between them. Except that too might not be right.

In the end it's a compromise. Yeah it obviously can work as lot's of people are using these things but do you really think they won't pick up power going to a full on standalone that can adjust with MUCH more granularity? IF this box is everything it's supposed to be I'm betting that people who make the switch pick up power, hopefully lot's of it. Maybe not peak power but power for sure.

So, $700 to raise the rev limit? Or $1300 to be able to do anything you want. It's up to you but I was simply suggesting which might be a better more flexible way to go. Hrm, so what questions didn't Jason answer that you asked?
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Unichip

I am not sure if anyone has used the Unichip to raise the RPM limit or get rid of the fuel cut on Supra yet. Here in Australia some of the dealers say they would try but there is NO guarantee. The AEM thingie sounds great ~ if they only made a MAP sensor model aswell for the Jap/Aus/NZ market :)
Well, to be honest, I didn't read all the AEM thread. 495 entries is just way too much for something that for now I have no aspiration to own. I'm sure that the AEM is everthing it's cracked up to be but the simple fact is a vast majority of us who have some sort of fuel management run something similar to the VPC and S-AFC. And we all have some sort of boost cut capabilty. There may be a use for the AEM for me in the future but for right now, when hovering at 500 rwhp levels, all I need is a rev limit increase. And if it's a choice of 1350 or 700, then I take the 700 and buy myself some uprated valve springs. Even if I would buy the AEM, what would I do with all of the other fuel computers? Sell them? Who would buy them now that AEM is out? And if you blow an intercooler pipe, does the AEM let you operate with no boost but run safely to the nearest exit for a quick fix? VPC does. MAF will damn near kill your car and have you puffing black smoke until the problem is resolved. And don't dream of any sort of idle. But I'm not hear to make a comparison. All I want, as do many want, is a GD affordable rev limit upgrade. If unichip will do it reliable for less, then I'm interested.

Eric
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The AEM will let you run MAP or MAF - your choice. Jason is actually recommending that higher HP cars go MAP. And yeah, I'd sellth eother computers to folks who either don't want to mess with the AEM or who don't realize that it's a better way to go. What is NOT known yet is wether or not it will live up to all of it's expectations. Time will tell and I'm betting it will ($1300 bet!) but it's not yet a sure thing. The concept IS sound.
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