Just went ECUtek
 

I just picked up a ecutek setup from Joe at Dynotronicstuning.com in New Braunfels, TX.
I'll let you know how the experience goes both with the tuner and the tuning. Instructions are kinda vague but I'll guess I'll ask more questions if I need to.
Anyway, I'll keep you informed as I go.
My 2015 nismo is lightly modded with Stillen Gen 3 intakes and HKS exhaust...not much but I won't be adding any more bolt ons. So..we'll see .

In for updates...

I believe JARblue used Joe for his ECUtek tuning and was extremely happy. You should be in good hands.

Sub'd for progress.

:iagree: Even without lots of bolt-ons, the throttle response improvement by itself is worth the tune IMO.

Joe is a good tuner and a good guy as well :tup: :driving:

What was the tuning process like? Was there a lot of wait time before getting new calibrated maps? Did you finish it off with a dyno tune or just map switching? Any other info would be helpful. At this point I feel like all i bought was a 600 dollar cable lol

My first tip is be patient. Joe is a busy guy. Pretty much all of the good tuners are from what I can tell :twocents:

First step is to make sure Ecutek has your ROM in their database. Back in 2013 mine was not in their database. I drove to Joe and had him dump my ECU ROM and send it to Ecutek. He did this in a matter of 15 min, but I did have to wait around for 45 min or so. Within a few days I received word that the process was complete, and my car could be tuned. If you have the cable, you can dump the ROM yourself and send it over to Joe to send to Ecutek. Might be a lot faster than my trip from Austin.

It was several weeks before Joe and I were able to coordinate a time where I could drop off the car for him to tune it. He is a busy guy, and I needed to coordinate a ride. IIRC, I dropped the car off Thurs or Fri and picked it up the following Weds. He did a drive tune where he takes it out, records data, comes back, tweaks tune, and repeats until he's happy with the tune. We talked about dyno tuning as well but did not have the time as he has to put in a request to use it.

I recently added an exhaust and will be going back to Joe for a re-tune and added Race Rom features. I plan to leave the car with him for a week as I don't have a cable and don't want to e-tune anway. I am hoping we can schedule a dyno run or three so he can maybe make some fine tweaks or at least get some power and torque numbers.

Sounds pretty much what he told me. There is no file for my 2015 Nismo yet so we are waiting for ecutek to send him the file then send it to me. From what i understand I'M supposed to datalog the ecu by driving around for 30 min and doing a few WOT runs then sending him that data back to him to tweak. onced tweaked i get a map back to load and continue with the process over and over till completely tuned. Does this sound right? he didnt offer to keep my car there to tune it himself. am i missing something here?

Yup. You're essentially doing the driving for him, and he'll analyze the data and tune accordingly. It'll be a bit of back and forth, and I'm not sure how quick the turnaround will be for him to send you the new tune each time.

If you wanted to just give him the car for a week, that is probably an option. Call him up and ask him. I'm not sure if he'll charge you more for his time though.

Thanks for the info. that's why i love this forum.

Sounds like quite a bit of work but like you said i just got to be patient with the tuner and the whole process.
updates to come.

Update: ecutek did not have my ecu's rom available for my 2015 370z nismo. I'm waiting after taking a screenshot of the ecu's info to get the file back to load the file and begin data logging. I've been researching others with 2015 Nismo and have been reading about CEL'S and stuttering. Wondering if this is a tuner thing or an ecu thing. Having a bit of buyers remorse now. Patience....I have none. Lol

Ok so just heard back from Joe....i had to "query the ecu" using the supplied cable that will display all the info about my ECU and send the screenshot back to him. The first one i sent him was useless as i didnt press the Query button lol. so he received just some vague Nissan and ecutek start up crap (useless screenshot). BUT... He said i should have a file available to load in about 30 min after i send him the new screeenshot. So im excited ... yay!

Yay for receiving customer service from your tuner.

:driving:

Ok so its about 48hrs and i still have not received anything.
He mentioned something about getting a car ready for SEMA but im not sure if he was actually going.
i sent him another email just asking on what was holding up the process (politely). I m hoing for a response by morning.
Im the type of customer who demands attention, especially after dropping $700 on a frkn cable. if he is at SEMA i expect i wont hear back from him until about two weeks. Since hes so busy.

lol

You don't expect to hear back from him for two weeks yet you are worried when you don't hear back after 48 hours?

:rolleyes: Why don't you just go ahead and ask for your money back?

You seem to be preparing for the worst :ugh:

:iagree: Just go get a dyno tune and be done with it.

Guess i wasnt clear enough.
Worried cause I know he's been here for the last 48 hrs and I got no response. If he's at SEMA now then obviously I won't get a response for awhile (2 weeks probably) and I can be more understanding. Like I said I'm hoping for the best. This is not a money issue but a time issue. My time is worth more so I don't want it wasted. JARblue I've done tons of research on Joe at Dynotronicstuning and have seenquite a bit of bad reviews. BEWARE, STAY AWAY, A Rip Off Report...stuff like that....and these are from mazda guys ...what he really specializes in. This is also why I'm worried about this just ending up a disaster. But hey I wouldn't mind being suprised and actually getting what I expected. Glad yours went well, I'm hoping others that have dealt with Joe can chime in that have had good results.

Good things come to those who wait... :stirthepot:

We'll definitely see.

If he's getting a car ready for SEMA but not attending then he won't be available until the car is shipped off. Interesting how you can be understanding about him being gone for two weeks at a show but you can't be understanding about being unavailable for 48 hours to finish up a car for the show.


Frankly, all the people I know that have actually let Joe do his job have been extremely happy with the end results. The only people I know who were unhappy with him did not let him complete the tune due to their impatience over his busy schedule. Some of the more negative reviews I've read were idiots who had Joe do a bunch of e-tuning and then didn't let him finish and asked for full refunds after he had spent hours on their tune.

I definitely don't understand why you chose to use Joe after all your research findings. Sounds like you should just go ahead and request a refund and find another tuner. That or just be patient.

I chose DynoT cause it was the closest tuner to me.

JARblue did you ever do any dyno runs during your tuning process?

Nope. We discussed it, but it just wasn't in the cards the week I was able to drop the car off. IIRC, he has access to a dyno down the street, but he has to coordinate usage with the shop.

Since I still want the additional RaceRom features, I'll be dropping it off with him again sometime. I'm going to ask him to tweak the tune since I've added an exhaust and see if he can get at least get some dyno numbers.

Wait... who did you get ahold of?

Joe at Dynotronics. And to be honest, the last time I conversed with him was on this forum a few months ago. But if I call him and leave a message asking him to call me back, he's always gotten back to me within a few days.

Update: he just sent me my first bin file.
JARblue...your were right, just be patient.
I'll keep updates coming.
Thanks guys for your feedback.

I submitted a rom dump on 10/23. Still waiting.

John you listening?

So i dont know if the base rom was already tweaked a bit or not but the first thing i noticed...i mean the first thing I noticed was immediate throttle response. i kept loosing traction when i usually dont.....felt good. cant wait to continue.

Just got my new maps. loaded them into the ecu and all is running good...well for the 10min i test drove it.
this is just my first set of maps. With Sema and other things my tuner was dealing with it took a wee bit longer. On a positive note, the car felt much more torquey and the throttle response is night and day. i'll give a better review tomorrow as ill be driving it more for sure tomorrow
cheers

Now this car is starting to pull.