Blitz Access ECU

[Izento]

Noticed no one has covered this topic fully. Last time it was brought up, no one really answered all the questions. Anyways, anyone know the dyno numbers from stock to Blitz ecu? Oh and also, anyone know about the MINES ECU as well? How do they both compare? Dyno numbers?

[roast]

I've always wanted to try one of these tunes but I think you'll find that going standalone or custom tune is really the only time you'll find real comparisons. The only reason I want to see these tunes is so that I can try to reverse engineer and learn.

Prior to any tune, tuners do a base run and then adjust fuel/timing maps and fine tune ecu settings. This gives the tuner a controlled environment where the gains in torque and horsepower are quantifiable and tracked. The key is that the tuner uses the same dyno in hopefully similar weather (controlled environment.)

Asking for dyno numbers on a Mass market tune versus stock ECU is superfluous. Your car, if stock is not factory fresh and does not perform as expected. Second, your parts, how well they're built installed and combined together are not the same as the other guys (if you get dyno numbers from other Nico members) or the original tuners (Mines, Blitz, etc) and will not perform as expected. You can guestimate that you'll get XXXwhp but you'll never know unless it's tested.

I fear, for your sake, people buying Stage 2 / 3 tunes are doing so due to budgetary reasons; this is the #1 reason I don't have a true stand alone but have a Xtronics Pocket Romulator plugged into my ECU. Stand alone's aren't cheap and these "chips" are the easiest way to get up and go. With that said, I bet you'll find some dyno numbers, however I suspect it won't be of any use to you; for the most part, these people (I've lumped myself into the lot) don't have the money for a dyno run unless it's part of a club meet.

[Izento]

Pretty informational. But seeing someone do all of the dyno's with all ECU's will definitely show different power numbers, because you have the control (the car that is not modified any further, but is not too heavily modified to where it would drop numbers instead of raise them) and you have your variables (the different ECU's). I'm not saying I personally am going to run these ECU's, but I was just curious. I have heard rumors that the ECU's that are pre-tuned are for cars with FMIC, exhaust, and intake, but nothing seems credible without anyone giving numbers and such.

[roast]

I'm no expert, my first response is very general and can be elaborated on and confirmed (refuted) by someone with experience tuning cars. My experience, again, is with ROM Tuning and it's a huge PITA when you don't have copious amounts of time.

I don't think you'll find someone who's wasted money to test each Mass Market tune for their specific setup, if they had that kind of money a stand alone would have been ordered way before they amassed more than 1 modified stock ECU. Blitz, Mines, Tomei (if they have one), Impul, etc, they're all STOCK ecu's with new fuel/timing/knock/vq maps, massaged K values (injectors) and a some other small changes. Stand Alone ECU's offer much more flexibility yet you can't compare these unless it's a strict price per feature / software comparison (ease of use, stability, release schedule, etc [i guess, or at least I would do these comparisons and more]) as each system may or may not be liked by tuner x y or z and consequently torque and horsepower gains are in relation to the motor, mods, tuners skill and owners threshold of risk. I digress...

To answer your question while being succinct, no one will test these ECU's for power gains or torque curves. Mass Market ECU's can be found for stage 1,2 and 3 modifications.

To add one more nail in the coffin, Mass Market ECU's are all the same...

[float_6969]

As roast as covered, there hasn't been a whole lot of comparisons done due to the cost required to do so. For that kind of money, most ppl would get a standalone. As Rost also stated, most of those tunes are what I call "generic" tunes to cover hardware changes like injectors, intercoolers, exhaust, intake, MAFS, and turbo, depending on the tune. They're "generic" because every setup is different. The tuners that makes these chips take this into consideration and make conservative tunes so that ppl's engines don't blow up. The problem with is that the ECU tune isn't optimal for your setup and you're giving up power, torque, and fuel economy, for the sake of safety and convenience. This being said, I would be willing to bet money that all of the pre-made tunes are very similar, if not identical in the changes made.

Another problem is that you don't have any way of knowing what each "stage" is tuned for, which adds another variable that you're unable to account for.

I'm not saying that pre-made chip-tunes are bad. They're great if you're on a budget. IMHO, a generic chip tune for your mods + SAFC tune on a dyno is a pretty cheap, safe, and effective way to make power up to around 300HP mark. Over that I would suggest a ROM tune on the dyno, or a standalone.

I personally recommended Horsham Development out of the UK. They've got lots of experience with the CA18 and their chips are tried and true, and you know exactly what each stage is recommended for use with.

[Izento]

Yeah, I guess no one would really do this since it would just be wasting money to compare things which probably are similar in the first place, cause like you said, they barely up anything because they don't want to destroy engines.