wazzawrx

iTrader: (2)

hi guys i own a V2 WRX import, i believe the ECU is not mappable, i have been reading about people who have had the ECU chipped instead to raise boost and match fueling etc, my question to you is do these chips work and are they safe ?
thanks for your help
Warren

timmyajmy93wrx

iTrader: (27)

yep, on my second scoob & both previous & this one have had the scoobyecu chip put in, they are the best & safest mod (in my opinion & many others) for the early V1 & V2's.
Get onto the for sale section & look up the scoobyecu chips for sale by major_sarcasm, he will sort you out.
don't hesitate mate, best thing you will ever do

scoobiewrx555

You're both incorrect. The V1 and V2 ECU is very mappable using the ESL solution, and in itself is an extremely capable factory ECU. You can go MAF or MAFLESS, have launch control, Anti-Lag, all on the std ECU using the ESL daughterboard that allows the factory ECU to be calibrated in real-time.

If you want to do stuff on the cheap please get a one size fits all chip fitted. Stand back, light the touchpaper, and watch the beautiful fireworks.

If you want to do a proper job have the ECU remapped professionally by a tuner that knows what he's doing. There is no substitute whatsoever for a full custom remap.

As for a chip being the best and safest mod....You're obviously well informed

Glowplug

iTrader: (8)

Very true, if you have £5-600 to spend on a £2500 car (about 25% of its value), which you will never realise again in a resale. Asides, AL and LC on the standard internals of a 12 to 15 year old car is prob not the best idea without spending another lump of cash on decent uprated internals


It's not 'on the cheap' in the way that you are fitting a untested/unknown mod. IIRC the chip is based on Subarus own group 'N' map and the likes of Polarperformance and ScoobyECU have sold 100's of these. I fail to fine one single post/thread on here entitled 'Help, Chip Has Destroyed My Engine', so your analagy of "Stand back, light the touchpaper, and watch the beautiful fireworks" is at least, a little lame. If not pure scaremongering!

I would of course aways advise a RR session straight after fitting, if only to check the AFR's. This of course appies after installing any mod that may effect the fueling/boost.

The best mod, as you said is a mappable ecu, but bhp per buck and after confirming all is well after fitting these are a very good mod.

If you have any hard evidence that these chips are detrimental when fitted to a healthy engine i would happily read and inwardly digest.

scoobiewrx555

From experience and through helping out many owners of subarus equipped with chipped ECU's that have swapped to a remap solution due to either limitations of the chip or running problems experienced several weeks/months after fitting a chip, it's become quite clear that chip solutions are not the way, even as a short term fix. In each case a remap did the job and either facilitated the changes they wanted to make or cured their running problems.

Problems were wide ranging from poor idle all the way to serious detination. I don't need to scaremonger. I have seen the all the evidence for myself because it's me that fixes the problems!!

It doesn't matter what your car costs. If you want a proper job done get a remap. If you buy a Subaru and modify it to think you're going to get your money back, think again!! You modify and remap your car for personal pleasure not to make profits so ultimately the fact you might only have paid £2,500 for your car doesn't matter one bit.

If you have a highly modified car with proper internal/external mods then LC and Anti-Lag may well be something you want to use. I would not advocate the use of these facilities for a mildly modified car, but the mere fact you can do this with just a daughterboard and remap is testament to how capable the factory ECU is and what a cracking bang per buck solution ESL is.

If you want to use a chip solution that is your choice. In the end you get exactly what you pay for!! 'Cheap as Chips' eh!!

Glowplug

iTrader: (8)

Then please, for the sake of gezuz, share it with us so we can save our Scoobs!

Dickinson, chapter 4, verse 2

scoobiewrx555

It's not until you start to remap v1-v2 classics and newage cars as well that have used either a chip solution or PPP that the notion a one size fits all solution doesn't work for everyone is properly enforced. It may suit some cars, but not all and in some cases it causes real problems.

If it works for you great, but there are many it doesn't work for and ultimately has a detrimental affect on the car and in turn your wallet. You don't get that with a remap because the ECU is mapped exactly to your car's spec and so long as the tuner knows what he's doing you should get a result far in excess of any chip solution.

You bought the chip solution so it's natural you would stick up for it however until you have seen the wider picture and experienced first hand a lot of unhappy cars using a chip solution i wouldn't expect you to say any different.

I don't have to provide evidence when my own experience backs that up. I cannot speak for subaru tuners generally but many others may well have a similar opinion and experience with general chip solutions wherever they came from.

dj219957

i have never hear a bad story about scooby ecus (assuming we are talking about the scott t or d wallis maps, not the cheap latvian things you see on ebay). these generic maps have been in use for years and years by tonnes of pre 96 owners covering thousands and thousands of miles (including mine!).
agree, they are not safer than a custom map but they are very safe to use on a healthy car with the correct mods.

dbay

iTrader: (21)

my opinion is yes there fine if your running just the usal mods like de cat exhaust and induction kits. ive been running a scott t (pp) chip for a couple of years now and ive had no problems what so ever. but if your wanting to push the envilope a little more like fmic's injectors and turbo's then somthing more capable is required than a generic chip.


didnt know esl's can do anti lag now is it switchable or full time

joz8968

iTrader: (13)

Scott T said his chip (from old Polar Performance concern) has more than enough fuelling in its generic map to more than account for the TD05H (or the TD04 if you have that version of the chip); 97+ RON SUL; decat d/p + system; panel filter.

I had one and had no issues with it. Ran it for a year on my old WRX, and when the engine was opened up for a build, the rods, pistons, shells, crank were all looking beautiful lol.

Obviously nothing beats a responsible safe bespoke map... but I believe the 'proper' UK-derived chips have value. £ per bhp gain, they can't be beaten (as long as they are indeed safe ).

As always, best to confm for safe AFRs after fitting though...

timmyajmy93wrx

iTrader: (27)

cheers b13bat, thought i was not reading the post correctly, im sure he asked if the chips are any good - to which im sure i gave an addequate answer?
I'd like to hear about one of major_sarcasms chips or polar performance chips being bad for a subaru. They are literally the best chip out there that IS safe.

edit to say: as mentioned dont touch the dodgy fleaby ones

scoobiewrx555

I hope it will be switchable by way of a rocker switch or perhaps a routine similar to swapping boost maps on a newage ECU. That kind of thing. We'll find out soon enough i think.

ETA:

I suppose you could the same system as newage ECU's when running the GrpN maps which uses the read/write 4-pin block under the dash to switch between GrpN conditions met and not met.

I presume you could do the same with the two black connectors under a classic's dash and have those wired up to a rocker switch to performa similar on/off function.

dj219957

yeah you can use a switch in place of the j1 resistor to switch between the map on the main board and the map on the chip.

Glowplug

iTrader: (8)

No worries bud

Yeah you read it right and yeah you gave a more than addequate answer, based soley on your direct experience with the afore mentioned chip.

The opening paragraph of Major_S's for sale thread says it all to me


You have some very established names and reputations in that statement. All of which are obviously in total agreement with the statement and happy for Major_S to associate them. I dread to think how many years experience they have between them.

We are in very good company



So are you now saying that the Subaru PPP map is also likely to damage the engine? I know it not got the best reputation on the performance front but.......


OK, hyperthetically speaking.

1] I fit a PP chip to my 18 year old almost stock car, cost me £100 and gets me to 300bhp. A year later it goes pop, big style It then costs me £3000 for a forged rebiuld and a SimTek and i get my car to 450bhp. Total cost=£3100.

2] I decide in six months time i want to go to 450bhp. I need to get a forged rebuild and a SimTek, it's gonna cost me £3000. Total cost=£3000.

3] I never fitted the chip, it's an 18 year old car, and it's number is up, it dies of natural causes. I then spend £3500 on a new one or take option 1 above, cost= £3000.

(Hypathetical mode off)

So for those in the same situation, of which there are many (MY'92,'93',94 owners) it's not gonna be detrimental to the wallet because one way or another, their days are numbered.

I would bet you a pint of Stella to a bottle of tonic water that, more Scoobs with a bespoke custom map have gone pop than Scoobs fitted with the proper ScoobyECU/PP chip. And that'll be a percentage, not total No.'s.

That is no reflection on the mappers work (live or chip). Just the fact that some engines will and some wont, but the harder you push um...



I'm not sticking up for it/recommending it because i bought it ya loon. I'm doing it because i know it works.

I am not narrow minded or fixated on one point and am able to see the wider picture. Mapping has progressed for the good and can only proceed in the same direction, maybe one day i may experience it's advantages, but i would still tell you the same where chips are concered

But you must admit, with out something concrete, your witch hunt is, to say the least a little floored



Yes scoobiewrx555, i'm having trouble keeping up with the opinions and experiences of the resident mappers. None of which afaik sell the chip. Perhaps they are keeping quiet out of respect, for the work, efforts and development of their predecessors in this field.

dj219957

at the end of the day custom maps are only a necesity (sp) if you have lots of custom mods. the scoobyecu was designed to allow for an optional decat and filter (iirc) which makes it a very popular, cost effective choice.

wazzawrx

iTrader: (2)

opps it seems like i have opened up a can of worms here, lots of different opinions !
thanks for your help guys its been an interesting read

Glowplug

iTrader: (8)

Ar, don't worry about it Wazza.

This topic pops up on a regular(ish) basis. Same old same old

It's good keyboard practice if nothing else

john5f

iTrader: (3)

Just a quick question.

I am led to believe that the 'generic' map on jdm imports is mapped for 100+RON fuel.
In which case, would a generic chip of known origin, mapped for UK fuel, not be a safer map than the original??? - or would one be wrong in assuming that?

joz8968

iTrader: (13)

The generic chips being spoken of in this thread are for the early MY93-96 cars. Back then, the Japs didn't have 100RON. I think they had 95/97.

So these chips - certainly the Polar performance one - is fine to use on 97+. Scott T, the seller of the PP chip, told me that the map on it was designed around Esso Supreme 97 RON SUL.


Also, don't forget the OEM ECU still has, and uses, the IAM feature in conjunction with chip's map -- so should be able to retard the ign timing (but obviously reducing power as well) for an 'inappropriate' low octane, anyway...

Glowplug

iTrader: (8)

Yes, i can see what you're saying, and yes an import is mapped to optimise 100ron.
However, the ECU is clever enough (even as factory) to cope with 99ron, it will slightly retard the timing to conpensate and prevent det. I think the main reason the fuelling map was developed is problebly down to the lack of availability of 99ron fuel in the UK at the time(early,mid '90's)

edit; thats what you get for making a brew half way through posting