I figured rather than hiding this info in my journal, I would post it in the tunig section so other members that may be thinking about switching to ECUTEK from UpRev or doing a tune for the first time would be able to see it more easily.
So as soon as I saw that ECUTEK had finalized the phase 2 RaceRom for the 370Z I made up my mind that it was time to switch from UpRev to ECUTEK. I decided to do this not because I was unhappy with my UpRev tune, but because I really wanted the new features that RaceRom had and I was curious to try it out. Any HP gain would just be a bonus. I had also made a couple changes to the car since my last dyno tune.
Current mods:
- Fast Intentions Non-Res CBE
- Stillen Gen 3's
- Motordyne ART pipes
- NST UD Crank/OD Alt Pulleys
Last time I was tuned I didn't have the pulleys and I had Berk TP's instead of the ART pipes. Since installing the ART pipes, my butt dyno said there was more torque down low, but who knows.
Greg and Sebastian from Specialty Z flew in as they have the past few years and did tuning for the Z guys from Edmonton and surrounding area at Horsepower Solutions in Edmonton. This is the same shop I had my UpRev dyno tune done at 2 years prior by them, so the dyno is the same however it was moved to HP Solutions new facility. The temp today was about 10 degrees hotter than it was 2 years ago, and it was 15% more humidity IIRC.
The first thing they did was a baseline 4th Gear pull with the Uprev tune still in:
They then pulled the Uprev out and reflashed with ECUTEK. After some tweaking, here is where I ended up with (4th gear with ECUTEK):
They then did a pull in 5th gear to get final numbers:
For reference, here is my 5th gear pull from two years ago:
Numbers so that you don't have to stare at graphs:
Baseline 4th (Uprev): 293/232
Final 4th (ECUTEK): 300/237
Final 5th: 303/250
2 years ago: 303/251
Gain (4th gear) from retuning with ECUTEK (and some mod changes[ART pipes/pulleys]): 7WHP/5WTQ
As you can see, while there were some gains from the baseline, it's impossible to say what was a result of the ECUTEK tuning, pulleys or changing to ART pipes from standard TP's. And while I ended with almost identical numbers to two years ago, based on the baseline it's clear the numbers on the dyno were just lower all around today than two years ago. So impossible to compare my 'glory' pull from two years ago to this one.
Additionally, it's clear that up here at 2201', I'm not gonna get anywhere near the 330/275 numbers that I see my southern brothers putting down. So if you're thinking the numbers look low for the mods, consider all the factors.
Overall the tuning and reprogramming process went really well, once again I was extremely impressed with Sebastian and Greg, if you ever have the opportunity to get tuned by Specialty Z I suggest you take it!
Driving impressions:
First off, throttle response. I would be remiss not to mention it. For those of you with the Sprint Booster, it's like being on 'Race/Red' always. ECUTEK allows control of the throttle that UpRev did not. Sebastian could explain it better, but basically they can do anything with the throttle now. No lag at all, ever, from any RPM. So that's awesome.
As far as power, honestly, it's hard to say if I feel any change. The UpRev tune they had done for me previously was really good, and this one is as well.
So other than the throttle response (Which is NOT insignificant) if you were already dyno tuned with UpRev and were looking to go to ECUTEK ONLY for power gains, I'm not sure I could recommend it on that basis alone.
HOWEVER
Features:
Let's start with map selection. Amazing. If you've see the videos of it, you know what I mean. If you haven't, watch them. I don't know why, but I would often think "hmm am I still in map 'x'?" With ECUTEK it's so simple to find out, or pick a new one.
Launch control:
Amazing. Again, WATCH THE VIDEO if you haven't. The ability to adjust the launch RPM via the cruise control on the fly is incredible, plus it has a memory so whatever RPM you last launched at is what it will default to the next time you launch. This combined with no lift shift makes racing WAY more fun, and a lot easier.
No Lift Shift:
Like it sounds, now you can keep the accelerator pedal smashed to the floor and shift with no bouncing off the rev limiter! (That is, once you retrain your mind. At first, out of habit, I would lift ever so slightly and that disables it, then OOPS there is the rev limiter lol)
The way it works is, as soon as you put the clutch in, provided the feature is enabled, and you are 100% on full throttle, the RPM is held WHERE YOU PRESS THE CLUTCH. Then you shift. You you can no lift shift at 3000RPM every gear if you want to, or you can do it at 7500RPM. It's a great system.
Traction Control:
I was very excited to try out the traction control, but they had not added the feature to a Z yet so I was the guinea pig. The way it works is, with the feature enabled, and VDC off, ECUTEK takes over the traction control task with a definable level of wheel slip. The factory oil temp gauge is temporarily hijacked to display the slip setting as a scale of 0-100% (max temp reading is 0% slip, min temp reading is 100% slip). You dial it up and down via the cruise control toggle. Once you select this, like the launch control, it has a memory and will remain at the level you set. Again, I don't know the technical details as to how the system works, but I know it DOES work.
I went to an empty parking lot, and started playing. With VDC off and traction control not on, I got rolling in second then pinned it and turned. Instant spin out, as expected. Then I set the map to my traction control one, and set it to 50%. Same thing, rolling, floor it and crank the wheel, and it started to slide, but it was a gentle, very controllable slide that I could recover immediately. I then set it to 0% slip and went again. This time, there was no slipping AT ALL. It seemed to cut throttle and apply some braking, similar to VDC but WAY faster. Finally I set it to 100% slip and tried again. The back end did spin out, but it didn't seem as 'out of control' as VDC off with no traction control. It seemed like something was still going on that was letting me spin it, but still doing....something lol.
I set it back to 0% slip and went out on the street. Now I have very sticky tires, but I took some 90 degree corners at speed just to see, and the car WOULD NOT SLIDE. Power was always restored much faster than with VDC too. I had Sebastian enable it on all my maps, as far as I'm concerned VDC is dead to me. (Yes, I know some people never have it on anyways, but the way I drive on the street, absolutely no electronic nannies will = the ditch, or worse, sooner than later.)
I also tried using traction control in tandem with launch control to see if in case you launched too high, it would limit wheel spin. It did not. Also, as you dial up and down the speed to launch at, you're adjusting the slip% as it's the same button. So currently, I would not use the launch control/traction control together.
I still need to test traction control in the rain, and lock in my setting for DD (looking like 30% slip will be perfect), but it is VERY good and changes the way you can drive at/near the limit. I'm not saying it replaces the $1400 racelogic.... but I'm not saying it doesn't. I know there are no videos up yet of the traction control feature of ECUTEK in action on the Z so when I get some time I will endeavor to make one.
Other features:
I had SZ turn on the increased fan duty cycle, just like with UpRev, and they made 4 modes for me:
Mode 1: 94 Octane, Street tune w/traction control enabled
Mode 2: 94 Octane, Race, Launch Control and No Lift Shift enabled
Mode 3: 94 Octane, Traction Control
Mode 4: 91 Octane, safe mode
(Mode 1 & 3 are identical now that I had TC enabled on every map)
Additionally, I learned ECUTEK has valet mode built in. You go past mode 4 and the needle goes to 8. The valet mode sounds very cool, you can select RPM and speed limits by distance: EG: 60km/h for 1km then 5km/h after, etc. I just left it on the stock settings.
I also had them enable the SES light as a knock sensor. Again with this, they can program how much knock it needs to detect before it flashes. It works too, I had it flash at me once since the tune (in 1st gear weirdly, not WOT, just an instant) but it must have just hit the threshold for a second. It's just another nice-to-have.
Honestly, I may be missing other features but that's the gist of it. We are working on per-gear rev limiting too, it wasn't 100% at the time of the tune but Sebastian emailed ECUTEK and they are already working on it.
If you can't tell from the last 750 words, SWITCHING TO ECUTEK FOR THE FEATURES ALONE IS WORTH EVERY SINGLE PENNY AND MORE.
Speaking of pennies, the cost:
ECUTEK Cable is: $350USD
ECUTEK License: $250USD
Tuning costs will obviously vary, so contact SZ for a quote for your situation. I bought a cable as it will be well worth it with updates, new features, etc. Apparently reflashes and updates are even easier with ECUTEK to do remotely than UpRev was.
Plus the cable will work for my Juke! lol.
As I explore the new tune and features further, I'll update this thread. I hope this helps people who are on the fence to make the best decision possible and move to ECUTEK!