marmski

Hi Guys,

Im looking for some constructive advice on a remap for my MY05 STi.

The more i read, the more confused i get... so could someone please help me answer the following simple questions:

1: ECUtek vs. Opensource... which is better / safer?

2: Bob Rawle seems to be king of the ECUtek remaps, how does he compare to JollyGreenMonster who seems like a mapper using Opensource?

I was going to consider PPP when SIDC got their discount, but its still £1500.00 that seems like it could be better spent with either of the above companies.

Thanks in advance,

jasonius

iTrader: (1)

remap v's ppp is dependent on how much you value your warranty (bear in mind engine mods 'shouldn't' effect other warranty jobs, ie chassis).

I had my 05 wrx mapped by Bob when it was 6 months old and have never looked back, in fact it's been modded further and mapped tweaked a number of times since due to the 'modding bug'..

As far as different mappers/software is concerned, people can only talk from their own experiences IMO, hence my comments about Bob..

davedipster

£1500 for a prodrive remap, sports cat, center section,rear silencer and warrantee seems good value to me.

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

The PPP would also add value to the car would it not? where as a re-map may actually detract from it.

Wurzel

iTrader: (1)

PPPs are like univeristy degrees now, everybody has one so are not worth anything like what they used to be.

Don't kid yourself a degree will get you a job and equally don't kid yourself a PPP will get you your money back upon selling.

STi wanna Subaru

iTrader: (1)

Maybe but surely more desirable to your average joe than a car specific re-map regardless that the re-map my be better for the car.

Wurzel

iTrader: (1)

True I suppose but lets look at it logically, pay 1600-2k for a PPP and be happy with your new exhaust pipe, silicon hose and ecu, for a while.

I will almost put money on a person having a PPP fitted will get bored and want to upgrade, so they start with chucking away Prodrives exhaust and getting a better one, then they want a new boost solonoid, then maybe a new turbo, bigger injectors blah blah blah, then an ecutek remap at 700 odd quid to get the most out of their new mods and desire for more power, so technically wasting the initial 2k which would have been better spent on modding the car to start with. So now the PPP was just an expensive waste of money.

For the initial 2k cost of a PPP they will already own the ecutek licence, so remapping is hundreds cheaper in future, they will have a decat exhaust system that they chose and like, already mapped to the car, they will probably have a 3 port boost solonoid aswell, then it is a case of changing bits that don't initially need remapping or stock piling parts and doing the lot in one hit saving the costs of multiple remapping sessions.

I know which route is logical to me!!!

davedipster

Had my 03sit ppp for 4 years now and I'm far from bored. But I know that the weakest link is my driving ability, not the car.

Pete

I was under the impression that an Ecutek remap couldn,t be detected anyway?? so if a warranty claim needs to be made how would they know?? or am i wrong??

Daz34

Surely a diagnostic check will show that it is running more boost than normal & the game is up

T5NYW

iTrader: (4)

Prodrive hold original so they would be able to edit it the MAP or do a comparisson, also IIRC a license number held in the ECU software.

but would be nice for the Guys who use EcuTek software to give use a well Informed answer and not internet hearsay

Tony

davedipster

The ppp'd sti is about 30hp short of the max that the std turbo will give using a re-map.
And to be honest this is negligable on the road, you need a turbo swap to get serious power and make it really worth it.

davedipster

To get back to the question...
Mocom don't use ecutek, and they have had some great feedback on here.
They also have a money back garantee, if you don't like the map they will roll your ecu back.

Change the turbo and get it mapped by mocom, you know it makes sense.

marmski

Thanks for the feedback guys... im glad their has been a few angles posted because it makes me feel like the question was a valid one.

Is their any advantages to a ECUtek over an Opensource then? or vice versa?

Essentially i love my STi how it is... and i bought the car knowing that although i would love it standard, that it would also have soo much more to offer when im comfortable with the handling characteristics (ie: Remap and more power).
On paper the figures for PPP seem easyly passable by almost all mappers... but is their much difference in the real world? Becuase it also seem these mappers give you more for your £ than PPP.

One thing is for sure... warranty or not... i dont want to risk my engine going bang by asking for too much, but in would like to get to its 'comfortable power' figure which im not confident the standard map is anywhere near.

Should i just settle for PPP?

bpm1588

very hard question....my previous car was a 04 wrx with ppp which i was happy with for a year or so,i then felt the need for a bit more go so i got myself a sti .....the standard 265 sti was a slower than my wrx so it was a ? of ppp or the ecu tek route.
i chose to have my car ecu tek'ed by bob rawle with a new exhaust etc which imho is the way to go for the faster car.not only faster but a hell of a lot more drivable and useable power over ppp.as for warrenty i would'nt let getting the car remapped be a factor in the choice of the two.my car is sweet as a nut and running like a dream.i would put my house on it not blowing up!
but i have found just lately while trying to sell the car"auto trader,piston heads" the one or two interested callers i have had would prefer ppp and do seem to be put off by the fact that the car has a bespoke map all be it by one of the best in the buisness....not every scooby buyer uses forums etc or even heard of bob rawle.
i did do the rounds getting prices for a trade in with my car and had it had ppp they would have offered more.how much,i don't know.but im sure it would'nt be anywhere near 1500 quid.

easyrider

Opensource software is very good, it can be used to change the same parameters as Ecutec-personally, i would go with the opensource as i know what difference it can make without all the Ecutec licence bullsh1t(personally i think its wrong for them to lock YOUR ecu!!!)- ive mapped my own car with openecu/enginuity(very steep learning curve),and i can access it to change it at any time i want should i need to.
You wont go wrong with JollyGreenMonster-he has a wealth of knowledge.

Jolly Green Monster

iTrader: (4)

Thanks for feedback guys..

the Opensource is very very good, the only problem with it at the moment is no 99~00.

Ecutek is well established and most people have heard of it etc..

Ideally I'd prefer to be able to offer both but due to cost for the ecutek software and the large number of dealers it is just not an option at the moment.

I do store the original ecu map and can reload it if required.

Simon

GazTheHat

You have quite a tough car there. I have been running 390 for a while now and previously 330 for about 1 year, all without any problems.

I'm sure this is down to the mapping, safety margins too. (Andy F for me!)

Quite a lot of "packages" out there for a Stage 1, circa 330bhp. People like Powerstation even offer a warranty on that work. I doubt they would do that if it were negligible if the car could take it and run at that power level.

I wish i could go back to having the car standard and doing the Stage 1 again. What a difference it made. Transforms the car and gives it the pull you want/expect.

Andy.F

With Ecutek you can have your ECU unlocked and returned to standard free of charge. In fact most Ecutek maps are available with 2 settings, std and high power, that you can change whilst driving.
The reason the map access is limited is to protect a tuners work from copying.
If you had spent 5 years developing and fine tuning ECU maps you may feel a little upset if someone came along and simply copied them to sell as their own creations !

Andy

marmski

Hi Simon, and thanks for adding to the thread... can you give me an idea of why you feel Opensource is very very good? also you say that you would like to be able to offer both, is this because ECUtek is perhaps superior (if maybe a little oversubscribed too in the UK)

Hi Andy, many thanks for your input aswell... i should have stated in my original post that im down South and didnt mean any dis-respect when i quoted Bob Rawle as it seems you are held in just as high regard here. I discounted your name because i was under the impression you were up North.

Anyways, with ECUtek... can you have 2 completely seperate maps? My car is used on some shorter journeys at times.. and it would be nice to perhaps have the ability to have a 'Performance Map' and an 'Economic Map' for such a journey that i wouldnt use max power on.

A question to both Andy and Simon, are you able to map around the Bournemouth area?

Sorry for soo many questions.. i have been thinking about this since i got the car but have wanted to learn its handling characteristics before i added power over standard... i think all the research has just confused the matter though!

Jolly Green Monster

iTrader: (4)

The software from a user point of view is very good and I can achieve what I want to very easily and quickly.. the end result is what you would expect.

I wasn't trying to imply one was better than the other, they are different solutions to the same end and both achieve it very well imho.

Ecutek is well established and from a business point of view something I am/should consider.

Totally mobile, Bournemouth is no problem.

Thanks
Simon

Andy.F

An Ecutek dealership is normally only available to existing established tuners with a proven track record. Ecutek also control just how many partners they have in a particular area, that may well be Simons issue as the tuner 'density' is greater in the South.

The Ecutek 'map switch' option gives 2 full boost maps that can be selected from the rear demist switch as you are driving.

Map Switching

Regards your question on travelling, I have been known to travel an 8000 mile round trip to map a car however things are now so busy locally that I don't really have the same time to travel any more. Group buys are a different situation but for an individual car, currently I wouldn't be a viable option for you.

cheers

Andy

andythejock01wrx

Re the first paragraph, I can confirm this, even if I did have to PM Andy cos I'd forgotten how to change the map.

As for the second para, Andy will map anywhere he fancies a cheap holiday, for example Dublin or the Bahamas would be no problem. Eh Andy ?
PS see you Friday.

T5NYW

iTrader: (4)

Isn't that something like Full open throttle and press heated rear windscreen

Tony

andythejock01wrx

That's it. I forgot the other thing : first engage brain before setting off.

Mocom Racing

iTrader: (2)

Marmski,

here's the results from a STi Type UK (MY05) both before and after our remap using a software application that derived from the openECU project.
The STi has 1 step colder plugs, Green panel filter, Prodrive Sports cat downpipe, decat centre section and a STi Genome backbox.
Both runs were taken with these mods fitted, peak boost was 1.4bar (and still is I might add ) on the same day and exact same stretch of road.

Mocom Racing

iTrader: (2)

To add, I remapped a WRX last night with 'map switching' it has two boost maps to choose from, 1 low and 1 high

Scott.T

iTrader: (2)

Which of the many sources of OpenECU software do people use for logging ?
Are you able to tell which points on the map are being hit ?

stilover

I have a 05 STI with PPP.

And as said above you get used to the power pretty quickly. I'd love a remap to say 330-350BHP. However, my worry is selling it.

I personally would not buy a remaped car. Why? Because a car is remaped for one reason. To go faster. So the car may well have been tracked or driven hard (My opinion of course).
So why would someone buy my remaped car? I think most dealers would not want your car either, as they could get stuck with a car they can't sell.
.

Andy.F

Most tuners will reinstall your original map free if you so desire when you come to sell it so thats not an issue.

Most Imprezas get driven hard from time to time, at least with a custom remap it has been set up properly for this type of use.

By the way did you know that your car has a remapped ECU in it as part of the PPP kit !

Prodrive use Ecutek.

Andy