i have been reading up on the HiTech ecu upgrade, just wondering if anyone is running one of these units?, especially with the add on tuner and screen, are they still current , is the guy still doing updates? and can you just plug it in and the car is driveable in the first instance,also is there anyone in WA that is familiar with tuning the motor with the HiTech installed ? cheers
I have had a HiTech for about 5 years. It performs really well but there are other cheaper options available now. The main problem is only 2 dealers (TTZ and Z shop) and both are in Melbourne.
I have the HiTech in my z, came along with my car when i bought it. I havnt had any other computer in there so i cant say how it compares to others. But the car runs great and performance is really good
But ? Have you done before and after on our dyno, and from our tests on these chips and many others and few actually work. In fact after testing 25 chips in cars only one made more power and it was Jap chip. Guess what the rest did? Take it or leave it but don't believe everything you hear, check it out.
isn't the hitec essentially just 'tuning' or are you saying that burning a modified chip to allow for dyno tuning doesn't actually make any difference?, my understanding is that hitec is essentially a socketed ecu and if you get bob to dyno tune it, is the same result as any other way of modifying factory maps (SAFC, DrDrift... etc), which in essence is the same as running aftermarket management for core fuel delivery/AF ratios etc Are you saying that, a) (dyno) Tuning does nothing, b) tuning does nothing unless you have a full aftermarket computer or c) ??? Very interested to know, i've seen you mention this before but i don't quite understand.
think he's saying that "off the shelf" tunes are no use. don't know that i'd agree, as they allow you to run higher boost numbers safely (with reputable chips at least), as limits are removed from factory program. i suppose you'd hope that even at the same boost level, bigger power figures are obtained. certainly a custom tune is better (given your tuner knows what (s)he's doing). john, perhaps you can post some dyno charts comparing different chips. that would certainly be interesting to see.
Yes I have a HiTech ECU just delivered so I can run the Nismo 550cc injectors I have for my Zed. Will be putting them in over the next week and putting on a dyno to see how the A/F ratios come up. Then driving to Melbourne to get Bob to tweak it up a bit on a dyno. Service has been excellent so far, with 1 week going by between me giving Bob my specs to an ECU arriving via express post to my door. Will post up results soon enough.
yes... I too have dealt with Bob / Hitec in the past and he was always very helpful and would go out of his way where he could. Bob just needs to clone himself a few times so then he can dedicate all his time towards Hitec.. Cheers
Custom tune If custom tuned on a dyno then they would work otherwise lucky dip and can be dangerous. If he now actually uses a dyno and custom tune then good. It amazes me how many people just believe what they are told, and had numerous customers on our dyno sure their car was making more power with a chip when placebo detector said NO. You do not need a chip to boost the car. Generally zeds run way too rich so plenty of fuel for boost and chips if anything have more aggressive timing than factory. It is potentially more dangerous to have a chip in your car and boost it as they often run more aggressive timing especially the Jap ones which have higher octane fuel than ours.
thanks for all the replies, the main problem i face is the tyranny of distance, i live over 500km from where i can get the car dyno-tuned and i want the speed limiter removed from the ecu, which means either socketing it or a new ecu, with the HiTech it at least offers " home tuning", for me that is the only real option and i am assuming that i can also use the HiTech on the motor i am just about to start the build on, personally i don't see what is so special about dyno-tuning, it seems to be so shrouded in myth as to make it seem impossible for mere mortals to tune an engine, it is only an engine after all, what i am getting at is this, with the HiTech it offers in car tuning after an initial dyno tune, i would be interested to know of any other engine management systems that offer the same cheers
Tuning Road tune is not dyno tune as does not show power output. Always a good idea to check pat throttle and decell etc on the road with lap top and tune but not for main tune. If air fuel ratio measuring instrument is used then good, if not then again lucky dip and dangerous to adjust air fuel ratios and timing. Much easier to hear or assess detonation on dyno also. After market chips have killed more engines than probably anything. A guy just called wanting a rebuild of his motor and had forged pistons which were damaged. I enquired what set up he had and had a chipped computer which has never been on dyno. This is probably the reason for engine failure and many just wanted a rebuild thinking this is normal, not realuising it will probably happen again. If can get a custom chip tune or this Emulator or Romulator set up on a dyno then good if not be very carefull. For your engines sake make sure safe for motor and that in fact you are getting a gain in power even as?? So get checked on dyno. Where do you live anyway.
So how safe is it to increase boost on a standard ECU? without a tune? think i've herd about 14 psi max in the past
11 to 12psi may be safe provided no detonation occurs.... depends on ambient and intake air temps... so beware! 14psi+ requires a re-tuned ECU which may cost from $500 - $1000 if done properly on dyno.
I've used Hitec for years. I'll be catching up with Bob this saturday to have the tune tweaked now that the car is a manual.
Good to see now manual and get tuned on dyno or road tuned? with air fuel ratio measuring device at least and all good.
I trialled the Hitec a few years ago (back when car was an NA) It just wasn't the chip or me. Main reason being even at idle you could hear the detonation. Even my friend who doesn't know much about cars and noises and wasn't even expecting anything was like 'whats that sound??' Put it on the dyno (with the recommended 16 degree timing), and the operators were too scared to keep it going past 2500rpm. Backed the timing to 12 degrees and again, couldn't push it for fear of doing critical damage. A pity because I really wanted a good before/after shot of the power and air fuel curves. Normal ECU had zilch problems at 25 degrees of timing (however backed to 20 degrees for daily driving). In short, I would never trust an off the shelf chip no matter how well it worked in another car EVEN if that car had the same mods. And if you get the Hitec, smart thing to do would be to have it checked on a dyno anyway. I agree its a great chip provided its tuned to your own unique car.... Tuned to someone elses car no matter how safe that tune may have been for them or more power they made on it, it can be a very expensive lucky dip with even more expensive consequences.
Why Hitec? I can never understand why people seem to want to throw heaps of money at an aftermarket ECU when a better option IMO would be to get the original ECU socketed and either write your own EPROM or buy a Romulator or an Ostrich and write the tune on the fly. As long as it's done properly on a dyno, you use a wideband O2 sensor and don't tune to the limits of timing or too lean an A/F. You'll end up with a safe tune wirtten specifically for your car and retain the full functionality of the original ECU. A much cheaper option than anything aftermarket.
That's the reason I am going piggyback, keep all the stock ECU features and you just change the bits you want to, as well as getting a lot of the other features that you normally only get from stand alones, i.e. extra inputs and outputs. And you can hook your laptop up anytimne and fiddle
For the modestly worked Zed Engine, factory ECU is the only way to go. Beneftis: Cost effective, Reliable, Maintiain Full functionality of all systems, Car remians fully drivable with no surpises! Why Hitec is so darn expensive I'm not sure, maybe because they have been in the game so long when there was not much knowledge around of how these things worked they put a lot of R&D into it and this is how they need to recoup their costs. My engine is making more power than some engines on this forum (with less boost) with aftermarket engine management and intereptors like SAFC's and Unichip and similar mods. I suppose the reason people go to interceptors is they don't understand how to remap the native binary so it is easier (and more expensive) to go that way. There is so much information available nowadays for free this should no longer be the case. Also, I don't agree that all off the shelf chips are a waste. When I started modding my engine for more power, I had my ECU socketed and chipped by a very helpful person on this forum. There is no way I could have safely run 15PSI with the OEM Jap tune that was previously there. Could there be more power to gain, of course there is but at what cost? I know that bang for buck this was by far more economical than a full dyno tune to recover what, an 25RWKW big deal.
Sort of on track You have the right idea as factory is nice and why we use Power FC's on GTR, GTS-T's etc and also zeds as factory basically a factory computer with programming features and much more, as has hand controller with read outs and uses factory knock sensor etc. If can rewrite factory one on dyno then great. There still seems to be a false belief that you can't boost zeds or over certain psi with stock computer. Why not?? They run way to rich generally so plenty of fuel for cooling and unlikely to detonation, and AFM measures increased air flow nd adjust to suit, and timing if anything as mentioned is safer than most after market chips. It is often actually the opposite if anything safer with stock computer. Also people regularly experience more power with boost and chip and if boosted only would make similar power or more in most cases form our experience. Again every car should go on a dyno if boosting to check as some cars can run lean as have poor wiring to fuel pump and old fuel pumps. EVERY car if changing tuen MUST go on dyno to measure air fuel ratio and shod have equipment to see timing otherwise asking for trouble.
