Gedi

I have just bought a TypeR from Japan and it should be hear in a few weeks. I need to get it booked in for these safety measures everyone talks about. My questions are....

What do I need to fit to it (e.g. knocklink, boost controler ????) I am a little lost as to what it needs as people talk about many different devices.

What is the best make/model of the above to fit to the car?

Bearing in mind I am on a bit of a budget, I looked into the link ECU, but at 1500 quid that is way to expensive at the moment.

All input would be appricieted as I will be saving this thread to reference to

MelTypeR

iTrader: (4)

Gedi first thing you need to do is get the car SVA'd.
You will need to get speedo converted to MPH, a fuel neck restrictor and a rear fog light.
In regard to getting a knocklink etc fitted it not so much of a necessity but running the car sensibly on good fuel (SUL,Optimax)with Octane Booster and warming and cooling the car before and after hard use is. A bit of TLC goes a long way.

Also make sure you use good oils etc when servicing and if your not sure of the history of the car get it serviced when it comes over, just for peace of mind.

Mel.

Deep Singh

Hi Gedi.Remember one thing the Type R is a really fun car,I used to have one.Agree with most of Mels comments and will add some
1)Would very strongly recommend Knocklink.Not that expensive for what it could save you.
2)Always run on at least Optimax,add OB if you can.
3)Have an oil service the minute it gets over here.Use Motul 15/50 or Castrol 10/60 or Mobil 15/50.D'ont let some oink in a garage convince you to use anything else.
4)Make sure the tyres are good.The Type R has more rear biased handling which can be fun(but very predictive) in the wet.Good tyres are essential in this car to be able to exploit it.Personally I would recommend Goodyear F1s,others may disagree.
5)In terms of perf mods,I WOULD NOT fit a boost controller.The Link is the best way to go for this year of car(I had one myself).I think it costs more like £1200 and that incs Knocklink.If you c'ant afford this at present then wait.Try and avoid boost controllers,Unichips etc.Also scour the For sale section everyday,you should be able to pick up a decent exhaust for half the new price.You may even find a second hand Link

Good luck its a great car!

Deep Singh

'I rarely drive fast'.Why did you buy a 280 BHP awd car then mate?
Seriously though,if its a version 5 I think you can have a Ecutek remap.Should cost about £650.Depending on where you are speak to Pat(Essex),Bob Rawle(Swindon and London) or John Banks(Scotland)

mozza

Mate,if your not going to be redlining your car everywhere,
you`ll be fine.I`ve got an STI 5 Type R and I run it on
Optimax and NF Octane Booster (£13 a bottle does about 4
tankfulls).As the car will be mapped for japanese 100 octane fuel
it makes sense to use booster otherwise it could be prone
to detonation (knock).An alternative to using booster will be an
ignition remap.
As previously mentioned use a quality engine oil
(I use Mobil 1 15w-50 motorsport fully synthetic).
Enjoy your new car,I`ve had mine since January and I`m still
grinning every time I get in it.

5 Type R

All of the advise listed above is pretty much spot on.

One thing
Deep Singh............Please Please Please would you mind stopping advising people to simply avoid the "Unichip"!!!!!!!! I have read the same thing for the last year or so from you and I appreciate that you had a bad experience with it, but thats not to say its a bad product!!!!Just that you had a bad experience with it.

FACTS. There are very few people that know how to map the Unichip properly on a scoob and plenty that know how to do them badly , which does nothing for its reputation other than negative vibes!!!!
Conversley , when considering the Link only Bob really does the link ecu and is truly superb as we all know, hense there is generally nothing other than good things said about the Link!

We all know that whether the ECU is a piggyback or straight replacement it is only ever as good as the technician doing the mapping.

I have run a Unichip for the last 4 years and have been nothing other than 100% satisfied with its results, and thats on 3 different cars.

At £550 including EBC the Unichip is a great value for money solution if mapped correctly.I dont dispute that the Link could be a better solution if you get to the stage of needing to control things like injector duty cycle with bigger injectors etc, but up to around 320-330bhp the Unichip is more than adequate in my opinion.

Gedi , I have run a Version 5 Type R for the last year or so , please feel free to mail me if there is anything specific you would like further info on.

Other than that you have chosen a special car that I am sure you will have many a happy mile in!!!!!!!!

Deep Singh

5 Type R.Gedi asked for opinions and I gave him mine.Just like I gave an opinion on tyres and stated that others would have different opinions.The whole point is that we as a collective give our opinions and then the asker can make up his mind.My opinion is based on experience just like yours and so is as justified as yours.I like you have had(have) a Type R.
I'm not going to hijack Gedis thread with a Unichip vs X ECU type debate but will say the following.I think you would be hard pressed to find a company that will supply and map a Unichip for £550 inc EBC,it will be over £650.Actually I politely challenge you to prove that.At that price you can have an Ecutek remap(if I'm correct in believing that its available for MY99).Why have a piggyback chip with EBC and major limitations when you can have an Ecutek for the same price? On top of that you can have one of the respected tuners(ie Bob,Pat,JB etc) map it ie guys whose work has been proven on the rollers.
Anyway,at least we agree on the oil(LOL)

5 Type R

Deep Singh...........You challenge me!!!!!!!
Do you honestly think i would go to such lengths of trying to give a fellow member a balanced opinion if I didnt know the facts!!!!

1)www.owendevelopments.co.uk

contact
dino@owendevelopments.co.uk

FACT: Unichip with EBC £550.00

2)Not sure what you are trying to imply with the Dyno comments, but my cars been proven on the dyno at various group days and was the most powerful scooby the last time out at the Powerstation day when running less boost than others! Which forgive me if I am wrong kinda indicates good mapping, or shall I say indicates that it isnt mapped badly? Infact it was commented by Rich and Dirk how impressive the power curves were

On a serious note though, I wasnt trying to make you accept the Unichip purely to acknowledge it as a credible option for an owner.

.

5 Type R

Sorry mate also forgot to ask what you believe the "major limitations" are on the Unichip when compared to the Ecutek that you state in your previous mail.

Actually while we are at it , you could also enlighten me on the "major limitations" when compared to the Link or any other replacement ECU.

I say this bearing in mind we are talking about a relatively standard car with perhaps exhaust and slight boost mods, lets say 320-330bhp max as I have already acknowledged the unichips restrictions when in this area of modifications

Hoping I might learn something

Dave R

Gedi,

I know it's a bit expensive to begin with but if you get a 2nd hand Link setup, chances are it'll still be worth what you pay for it when you take it off the car, so all you really pay for is the remap/install etc...

Not seen many Unichip wotsits for sale but would think (FSO) that they don't sell for much afterwards (FSO).

Would stop this lot bickering too...

mega_stream

I was told by several people when I got mine it'll be fine if you leave an STi5 catted, run decent super fuel such as Optimax and add octane boost, servicing and quality oil goes without saying..

I think it does depend on what you're going to be doing with the car to a large degree though, John.F is still running his RA on a standard map with IIRC nothing but a backbox mod engine-wise.
And we all know how well that goes

Deep Singh

Mel I really d'ont want to get into a Unichip banter as its been done before many times before as you know.I'll stand corrected on the price but the last time I looked around most places were charging £650+vat.The reason I 'challenged' you is that some people seem to round down the price of the Unichip and then round up the price of the Link(like Gedi did when he said it cost £1500)this gives a distorted view.But as I said I stand corrected.
In essence the point I'm trying to make is simply this.I am NOT saying that your car is crap/inferior to mine etc because it runs a Unichip.I do actually know another person who has had excellent results on his Scoob with a Unichip.At the time you bought it it was a reasonable option,ie cheaper(not much though with a decent boost controller,the old EBCs that came with it had major problems) than a Link.But times have changed.For the price of a Unichip you can have an Ecutek.You can also have your car mapped by very experienced knowledgable people who have built/mapped 450 BHP Scoobs if you have an Ecutek.Why(at this point in time)would you want a Unichip?

Deep Singh

Mel,forgot to ask does the £550 include mapping and vat?

5 Type R

Deep ........I think you mean me not Mel!

Yes , it does include mapping, its an empty vessel without it as you know.

I think we perhaps should drop this line as other members have stated as I dont think we are going anywhere.

I was genuinely interested in finding out what the major limitations were regarding the Unichip but obviously you have chosen not to share this with me.
Anyone else out there with technical knowledge on this subject care to help out. Basically the question is........... What can't a Unichip do that the other straight replacement ECUs can? This relating to an scoob that wants to run up to and around 320horses as I am aware of its limitatins beyond that when alternative injector sizes etc are brought into the equation

5 Type R

Cheers John

Fantastic information, Just what I was after.

Deep Singh

5 Type R,sorry I did mean you not Mel.Very similar names! Agreed lets drop the line of the conversation.The reason I did'nt explain the limitations of the Unichip is because I'm a muppet! I've had them explained to me a number of times but would never have been able to express them like John kindly did.
I'll stress again I was'nt trying to say that your car does not run well.What I'm saying is that at this point in time if an Ecutek remap is available for your car then it makes little sense to have a Unichip both in terms of the hardware and the people who map them.In some countries thats all they have available (unless you go for more expensive replacement ECUs) so would be a sensible option.IMHO,right here right now they are not.Just my opinion mate.
Cheers,Deep

Gedi

are there any other ECU's that would suit me?

I rarely drive fast and never go on things like track days. Its just a daily car to take me to work and back. It seems a little harsh to pay out all that money for a link ECU.

*Edited to say its a MY99 V5 in case that makes any difference *


[Edited by Gedi - 3/10/2003 6:52:47 PM]

Gedi

I may be interested as the unichip is a price I can justify. Can you recomend anyone to map it?

I have also just stumbled across the ecutek......does anyone have any opinions on these?

[Edited by Gedi - 3/10/2003 9:24:47 PM]

john banks

The Unichip cannot increase knock sensitivity or integrate boost control with knock control and octane compensations. The maps are not scalable and of the same resolution or size. Boost cannot be mapped by throttle position and RPM with adjustable sensitivity closed loop control. The speed or rev limiter is not adjustable. Values reported to diagnostic tools are incorrect because of the piggyback. The piggyback method manipulates several inputs with cross interactions, and working out the final result can be difficult.

Whilst you can get the results, the cost is similar to remapping the original ECU, there is lower control quality, lower protection against detonation, and lower ability to compensate for varying fuel quality. There is nothing the Unichip can do that remapping the original cannot achieve with more accuracy or safety.

Would be a good choice if you wanted to retain the original ECU benefits but the original ECU was not mappable. Also a good choice if you have a mapper you have a good relationship with who can only use this system rather than map the original ECU.

The Link and other standalones have key advantages and disadvantages compared to remapping the original ECU.

Of course I am biased, but I don't think there is anything unbalanced, unfair or inaccurate I have posted above.

http://www.ecutek.com/frame_tuning.html

Can I make it clear that an STi does not need a remap to be safe if:

1. You run it on either Optimax or SUL, but both with octane booster, I suggest NF from good results I have had
2. Ideally you have a knocklink.

Nothing at all to be scared of if you have both of these, and you should not get an ECU map out of paranoia that it will blow up if you pay attention to both of these.

[Edited by john banks - 3/11/2003 11:31:54 PM]

Gedi

yeah, thanks John.

I will be running it as standard using the measures you suggested.

Just one last thing, which it the most reliable/favoured knocklink?

A new ECU will be something to look at doing in the future.

[Edited by Gedi - 3/12/2003 2:54:44 PM]