bikirom: ecu adjustment... if you don't know about it then read this

[hysteria]

so this is basically a new thread that is stemming from another thread because the bikirom was mentioned there and the higher powers have decided that it is definitely worthy of everyones attention.

here's the old thread:zerothread?id=110002

and here's some information that has been posted so far:true, the 89/90 ecus just require a zif socket for like 3 bucks lol, but if your considering going to jim wolf, consider again... its WAY expensive, try http://www.bikirom.com the megaboard isnt out yet, but will be in a matter of probably a week or two... and will be ~150 bucksHeres a break down of what you need to know.

B13's and S13's share the EXACT same motherboard. What this means is that your ECU uses the EXACT same traces to get its information from the built in memory as the B13 SR's and S13 SR's. So, the product that your looking at on biki's site will work for the OBDI KA24DE (91-93).

Im using a B13 daughterboard on my KA and it works fine....Cost me $100 and now I have a fully reprogramalbe ECU. Dont forget though that you will also need an EPROM burner. Mine was $150, but, mine is also overkill. You can get a reputable burner for like $85 (Willems).

S14's use a different board, so its highly unlikely that this would work on them.

All said and done, modding your stock ECU with a daughterboad (exactly what JWT does only they use a single 16bit chip with scrambled code, which I have and is de-scrambled) will cost you about the same as a full E-Manage set up, or a plug and play JWT set up.

Cost break down:

$100 for a DB, $85 for a burner, $350+ for a wideband O2 <--because tuning with out one is pointless.

The beauty of it is that you will NEVER have any downtime, shipping costs, turn around, or, pay for an miscelaneous reprograming due to part upgrades like MAF/injectors/revlimit changes etc....I can do a write up, thats not a problem.

Theres several other boards available, most of which are cheaper than Biki's newest boad, but, the Biki board looks uber more versatile than the others. Seriously, that guy and the guy I bought my board from are pure genius. They could shed a TON more light on this subject than I could.

But, Ill start a write up, and hopefully the educated lurkers will chime in.

EDIT: It may take a while before I can post it though. Its just a lot of info.tuning site: http://forum.ztechz.net/Its a good site, Ive learned a lot from it.....still havent registered an account there though.

Do a screen name search in the 240SX section of that site for a guy named Calum. He knows his stuff. Im currently using his board.

Heres another cool site that you may be interested in. Its for a 300ZX, BUT, it gives you all the basics you need to know in terms of reading code and tuning your ecu. Although our boards require a more complicated chip set up than the 300ZX example on that site.

The mother of all Nissan ECU tuning links:http://cherrypicker.tripod.com/id10.html

that's all so far... and there's a write up coming soon from someone hopefully... i think it was jrl that said he could do it but it would take time. definitely appreciated.there is tons of information on these sites, so if you are interested in doing your own ecu tuning, or just curious as to how it works, or want any information at all check out these sites:http://www.bikirom.comhttp://forum.ztec ... /id10.html

more to come soon hopefully.

[turtl631]

Cool and all, but there's something to be said for paying $500 for an enthalpy tune and getting his tuning knowledge with that. Your system leaves you to your own devices, which most likely have nothing on an experienced tuner with dyno access.

[ROB240]

Cool and all, but there's something to be said for paying $500 for an enthalpy tune and getting his tuning knowledge with that. Your system leaves you to your own devices, which most likely have nothing on an experienced tuner with dyno access.

true, but theres also something to be said about being able to go to your local dyno and tune your specific car with your specific mods while it is on the dyno.

[WDRacing]

Thanks for the new thread...

[WDRacing]

Cool and all, but there's something to be said for paying $500 for an enthalpy tune and getting his tuning knowledge with that. Your system leaves you to your own devices, which most likely have nothing on an experienced tuner with dyno access.

It's $500 for the initial off the shelf tune, and another $500 for every adjustment you make after that. People have been burning chips for Camaro's, Mustangs and GrandNationals for years now with great success. If you have a dyno its not very hard to plot out. Hell, even if you only have a wide band and retard timing on boost it's not all that difficult. If I had the software and the knowhow I'd do it myself.

WD

[DRIFTEADOR]

what are the options for us s14 guys?

[hysteria]

go to the website http://www.bikirom.com and llok on the forum and see what they say... the guy is trying to create solutions for virtually all nissan owners, no matter what model. that's what i gathered from what he was saying. also it seems that some nissans share a common form of ecu, so it makes it easier for him. people have been asking him questions and such so you can do the same... just go to their forum and read read read... there aren't too many posts yet so it's easy to sort through and read everything pretty quickly.

[DRIFTEADOR]

i've the site before but still don't understand it well. its probably newb stuff that you guys could answer so i'll ask here to save face

he says his new db will work on:S13,S14,S14a,S15 U13,U14 N13,RNN14 Sentra Se-r KA24 S13 90-94 KA24 S13 95+

and is still testing on:N14,Z10,S14(NA)

in the first row he lists s14a and s15, i assume those are jdm/sr ecu's. what about the last? theres no 95+ s13 is there? typo? and finally he's still testing on s14(na) which seems to be what i'm looking for. so since tehre's nothing yet, what are my options for converting to any of the listed supported ecu's? who makes a conversion harness? I asked in another thread but this one seems more appropriate so i'll let the other one die.

[crzycav86]

Here's another site that I found through a simple google search..

Installing the bikirom: http://180sx.locost7.info/bikirom.php

This definitely looks exciting...

Here's a picture of the interface:

All for less than $200!

[toki]

alright, I emailed the webmaster and bikiROM a little while ago, no response.

can someone PLEASE put me in contact with someone who can write new EEPROMs for an SOHC ECU.

[JRL]

Heres what you need to know to get started for S13/B13/S13SR ecu modding......

The pics are of a 1993 NX2000 ECU, which is identical to S13 ECU's so it really doesnt matter.

First, you need to buy a board. Mine is from a Ztech forum member named Calum, his boards cost $100 INSTALLED!! Which means, you mail your ECU out, he sodders on the new board, switches the jumper, and burns your stock rom to the new chips, then ships it back all for $100.

If you go the DIY way heres what you need to know after you buy your board:

Heres the the 40 pin header (edit the pic should read header and not jumper) that you, your TV repair guy, or the person you buy your board from will have to remove the sodder from, clean, and then sodder the new board to :

Here is the jumper that you, your TV repair guy, or the person you buy your board from will have to move. By moving this CJ1 to CJ2 it now tells you ecu to read from the 40pin header, and not you OEM rom:

Now, you guys are all stuck on Biki's new board. Which is cool because it looks like it has a ton more potential than the others. But there are other options, which are cheaper, and will serve the same purpose. Biki's new board may be a little more advanced that what you guys will want to deal with.

Heres a pic of Biki's old style board, which allows you to carry up to 4 MAPS! all in the same ECU.......i.e...valet mode, emissions passing map, low boost map, and high boost map...just for example:



Other companies like http://www.plmsdevelopments.com/default.htm

Allow 4 maps on the "S" chassis boards, but, they also offer an aditional "on the fly" map switching option.....which I think is pretty cool.

Other things you need to know are that for the program call ROM-Editor. The S13 SR and S13 KA .adr files are identical. ADR files are files that allow rom editor to locate and change various aspects of your ECU code, such as speed limiters and rev limiters.

I highly recomend joining the ztech forums, search, lurk, and dont post untill you have a handle on this. Dont join and start asking super basic questions, because no one will answer them, and all it will do is push the more valuable info farther off the first page.
Modified by JRL at 6:02 PM 4/5/2005

[JRL]

alright, I emailed the webmaster and bikiROM a little while ago, no response.

can someone PLEASE put me in contact with someone who can write new EEPROMs for an SOHC ECU.

The cool thing about your ECU is that you dont need a daughter board.

This is the exact parts list of what youll need:

1, 28 pin ZIF socket1, 28 pin AT29C256 flash EEPROM (infinitely eraseable, and, reprogramable rom)

That might cost you all of $10.

Then take your ECU to a TV repair guy and have him de-solder your OEM 28 pin rom. Have him clean the mounting suface, then, solder on the ZIF socket. Thats it. Now you can reprogram your computer all day everyday.

These are ZIF sockets with the oh so coveted AT29C256's (because there no longer in production)...this is my spare set:

The ZIF sockets are the blue things with the metal handles on the lower corners. Those metal handles allow for quick chip changes, and reduces the chance of breaking any pins....kind of like high end bicycle's with quick release rims.

And obviously the other things in the pics are the EEPROMs. The one youll be removing from your ECU should look IDENTICAL to the ones in the above pic....although the writing on the top will be different per each manufacturer.

If your gonna do this yourself, buy a chip burner. I recomend a willems burner or the pocket programmer II (which is what I have and is extremely stupid proof). Then go to the Ztech forums and find your .bin file, and, .adr file. I can email them to you if/when you need them.

[Import_Ant]

...go to the Ztech forums and find your .bin file, and, .adr file. I can e-mail them to you if/when you need them.

just for refrence that site is HERE

[toki]

JRL, are the .bin and .adr files the same for the SOHC as they are for the DOHC KA/ SR? I have a good friend in the air force who should have access to a chip writer, all I really need to know is which program to get to properly edit the ECU Maps, and to make sure I am using the correct .bin and .adr files. If you could email me, that would be awsome. [email protected]

[onosqv]

JRL:

You don't happen to have the sohc ka24e auto transmission ecu bin & adr files do you?

and wouldn't we be able to extract our own bin & adr files from the stock chip? Too much reading = headache and confusion... need time to let it all settle in

THANKS

[Import_Ant]

JRL:

You don't happen to have the sohc ka24e auto transmission ecu bin & adr files do you?

and wouldn't we be able to extract our own bin & adr files from the stock chip? Too much reading = headache and confusion... need time to let it all settle in

THANKS

KA 24 E bin file

get the 2nd one.

[JRL]

JRL:

You don't happen to have the sohc ka24e auto transmission ecu bin & adr files do you?

and wouldn't we be able to extract our own bin & adr files from the stock chip?

Here is another cool tool you may find usefull, if you have a lap top.

Its the Nissan Consult board. Not the $1000.00 OEM Consult that Nissan techs use.

A few members on the Z forums have sucessfully made their own consult port readers for less than $100. They have also made their own software for data logging. With this tool you can read the data on you ROM and dump it into a file. It also allows you to see data such as MAF voltage, TPS voltage, temp, etc... all on your lap top, ALL REAL TIME. The board I will be buying is going to have a wideband plug in....definitely a plus.

As soon as there ready, Ill post a link to where you can buy them. I would post the link now, but, [selfish] I want mine first [/selfish].

Another thing in terms of chip burners go....the Pocket Programmer II can also read chips. So if you have a chip that you want read, and converted into a .bin file you can always mail it to me and Ill post the file up or email it to you. Or just buy you own PPII.

But, no I dont have a AUTO .bin file. Just curious though, doesnt your transmission have a separate ECU? If so, you may be able to use a manual .bin file on your car.

To bad they dont allow file attachments on these boards.

[JRL]

JRL, are the .bin and .adr files the same for the SOHC as they are for the DOHC KA/ SR?

They are different.

I do have KA24E .bin and .adr files (I save every rom I come accross), but, as I have a DOHC, I have no way of testing them.

[toki]

can you shoot me an email with both the files? I already found one .bin file, but no harm in comparing. Also if you could let me know a good place to download a copy of ROM Editor that would be great.

[email protected]

[Import_Ant]

Here is another cool tool you may find usefull, if you have a lap top.

Its the Nissan Consult board. Not the $1000.00 OEM Consult that Nissan techs use.

I heard there were compatability issues with pre 91' 240's. (due to the change in ECU and difference in service port) have they developed a different Consult board for the 89-90's?

[JRL]

Here's another site that I found through a simple google search..

Here's a picture of the interface:

That is a picture of an Emulator screen. This is what Biki's newest board is geared towards (although it can be used just as a basic DB).

It basically converts your OEM ECU into a full stand alone (or the equivalent of). Although this screen shot looks like it has some consult features built into the software.

Emulators allow you to save a .bin file to the Emulator and then make real time changes to the .bin code WHILE THE CAR IS RUNNING!! For example, in the above fuel map, you can change any of those variable to adjust your mixture (rich/lean) while the car is running.

Plus, you can leave the Emulator in your car, and, you only need to plug your lap top into when you want to change a map, or, some mondane detail.

No more time consuming chip swaps.

[DRIFTEADOR]

It basically converts your OEM ECU into a full stand alone (or the equivalent of)

there's been a big debate over this in other forums. a tunable chipped ecu is a great tool, especially for the price but it's not a full standalone. i'm sure anyone with a full standalone, such as aem's ems, would agree here.

[JRL]

I heard there were compatability issues with pre 91' 240's. (due to the change in ECU and difference in service port) have they developed a different Consult board for the 89-90's?

Same consult board, different type of conection....

[JRL]

there's been a big debate over this in other forums. a tunable chipped ecu is a great tool, especially for the price but it's not a full standalone. i'm sure anyone with a full standalone, such as aem's ems, would agree here.

Well, thats why I put the "equivalent of" as it does act just like a stand alone. It just has a few less features.

An Emulated OEM ECU (not a daughterboarded OEM ECU) can do:

1. Timing/Fuel can be tuned via lap top while the car is running2. New maps can be installed while the car is running 3. No chips to swap out or reprogram4. Shows real time voltage, AFR's (if wideband equiped), datalogging, etc.

It is lacking though in terms of using a MAP sensor, and, anti stall settings.

Either way, its FAR better than just a regular OEM daughterboarded ECU. And in the right hands offers more value than other $2000 stand alones seeing as how all of this can be had for $500 +/-

[virus77]

So hows the S14 love looking, any hope sooner or later.

[hysteria]

i'm sure if biki, or anyone else had enough incentive, which will probably follow soon, they would make a solution for the obd2 s14's if it hasn't been done already. anyone who is interested should probably tell biki or whoever else they would like to deal with because i'm sure if there is a good deal of people who want to do this then they will make it happen.

this threads coming along really well... a lot of good info here.

[TurboKA37]

after reading a few of Biki's posts on the ztech forum and the forum from his own web page it seems he is in the process of making the KA24DE chip and should be done soon.

[hysteria]

can't wait till i have some time to read everything and talk to biki and/or whoever else about getting a setup for my car... oh summer is gonna be sweet. i'll need to get a laptop or borrow my friends. can't wait for the write up.

[jmhalder]

hate to revive this old thread, but the bikirom effectivly IS out, ive already paid badbiki for mine, and you can use it for either harness 20x2 or 40x1(s14ka24de) its worth it @ 280 shipped from australia. and "some z people that have consult" HELLO, ive had the consult adapter made from zcontrol.net for about 6 months, at least, works great on my 95 s14, just thought id bring some attention back to this, also a new forum JUST for ECU tuning for the KA has emerged in the past month http://eccs.hybridka.com and ive noticed some other people in this thread are also members there... if you havent yet, check it out

[hysteria]

i emailed him recently because i've been waiting patiently for the new megaboards to arrive. he told me that the support for the ka will grow as people buy them. they will have a database of maps you can download and upload... so obviously the more people that do this the more support it will have. the customer care is already pretty good. bikirom is being just completely ambushed by people who are interested, so it takes a little time for you to get a response, but a response will come for sure.

he has it set up to work with a specific wideband o2 sensor, and you will have the ability to do all sorts of modifications to the sensors as needed... much like a stand alone. for the money it's probably the best solution anyone has for a turbo ka, or for any model/breed of the 240sx/silvia/200sx/etc. you can store 3 maps on the board and uploading maps takes 17 seconds flat they say. i can't wait to get mine. obviously there is a waiting line.