ECU Tune

[GTA Jay]

Just got to a reputable shop to do a couple dyno pulls to see where I am pre and post JB4 install. Currently have a Injen intakes, custom mid pipe, and a magnaflow back.

The shop owner is telling me he can do an ECU tune on the car and provide better performance gains than a JB4. I’ve told him that no one has fully cracked the ECU yet, but he assures me they can do it. And he will revert it back if I need to go in for warranty work.

Should I believe him, or is he blowing smoke up my ass?

 

[Terry@BMS]

There are tons of flash maps out. They are not better than the JB4 but the good news is you can do both together. Load the flash map and then we have special settings on the JB4 allowing it to work WITH the flash map for fine tuning, features, octane changes, E85, etc.

 

[Revvdmedia]

I don't doubt that ECU tunes can get better gains than the JB4. The JB4 in my opinion is a fairly modest tune, but that in my opinion makes it a little safer than an ECU tune since it's not pushing the boundaries too far. The JB4 mainly seems to command more boost and can slightly alter AFR with fuel wires, but still allows the factory safeties to do their magic (dialing back timing, etc). The way an ECU tune gains more power is by leaning out AFR further, changing boost parameters or throttling down at low RPM from a launch, etc. The harder you push it though, the riskier the mods become.

As for the shop being able to properly tune the Stinger, who knows. I remember back with my old 2012 Sportage SX I was watching the tuners try to crack the Sonota/Optima ECU and found it just kept slowly reverting back to stock and gains disappeared. Not sure how difficult the Stinger ECU is, but it seems modern manufacturers try to lock them down.

 

[Pnbnationsbest]

Just ask any 2017+ Mopar owner lol

 

[Talloneus Khan]

If you care about warranty work, Id be careful. My understanding is that some ecu's log when they get 'flashed' which would void the warranty.

I could be wrong though

 

[Pnbnationsbest]

You're right. They all keep a kernel count...they won't go searching for that unless you break something.

 

[GTA Jay]

Update:
The car put up impressive numbers pre tune.

The shop said that when reflashed to the original mapping they can delete the flash counter and remove those cookies. However the cost of building the tune, and the cost of reflashing back and forth just doesn’t seem worth it at this point.

I will move forward with installing my JB4 and have the car dyno’d again and see how much more power it makes.

 

[ecko04]

I don’t believe a word of any shop saying they could remove the flash counter. I haven’t found verifiable proof of a single one that could do so.

If anything, it would be better to go the spare ECU route and swap back to the original for dealer visits.

Like others have stated, the dealership wouldn’t be the ones to do the digging. It’ll be a request from corporate before extensive repairs are authorized and once they see the flash counter in connection with the times, that likely won’t match service records all bets are off. I wouldn’t go down that path.

 

[Terry@BMS]

Update:
The car put up impressive numbers pre tune.

The shop said that when reflashed to the original mapping they can delete the flash counter and remove those cookies. However the cost of building the tune, and the cost of reflashing back and forth just doesn’t seem worth it at this point.

I will move forward with installing my JB4 and have the car dyno’d again and see how much more power it makes.

There are around 6 different ways they can track flash tuning even if flashed to stock. The hardest to counter is the fact that modules outside the ECU store true peak torque demand values they can easily scan for. So just be aware of the risks on that front with flash tuning. Also when flashing, make sure the tuner is good, there is a lot more areas to go off the rails compared to the approach we take with the JB4.

 

[MisterMac]

Just want to contribute.

I have the @PRESSERtech full ECU tune. My dealer and service department are aware. They've checked and double checked to find proof of the tune. They've found none. Even still, they have no issue with it being tuned. I have nearly 20,000 miles on my tune without a hick up.

 

[Pnbnationsbest]

I can GUARANTEE you that if KIA sent an engineer out to your dealership to investigate a failure that blew your engine or transmission under odd circumstances the engineer would find it. Your dealer does NOT have the same know how or tooling to break down hidden ECM/TCM/BCM tables.

 

[ecko04]

Once again to restate it, it’s not the dealership you have to be concerned about here. The regular technician in the service department wouldn’t know what to check for other than their typical scans.

It’s when approval from corporate is needed to authorize a repair under warranty and they send one of their technicians/engineers will you have a problem.

Do not take the word of the service department when approval may need to come from above their pay grade. They certainly aren’t going to foot the bill when corporate says no just because they serviced your ECU tuned car.

 

[MisterMac]

I can GUARANTEE you that if KIA sent an engineer out to your dealership to investigate a failure that blew your engine or transmission under odd circumstances the engineer would find it. Your dealer does NOT have the same know how or tooling to break down hidden ECM/TCM/BCM tables.

One should not make guarantees of things they have no influence upon.

Nonetheless, there is always a risk. One I'm willing to take.

 

[Pnbnationsbest]

One should not make guarantees of things they have no influence upon.

Nonetheless, there is always a risk. One I'm willing to take.

I did Ford, GM and Mopar tuning for a large R&D firm in Dearborn, MI for 2 years...I can make that guarantee.

No automaker is going to foot that bill, no dealership either. If a failure is attributable to the failure of someone else they will punt. We used to break down coding for situations luke that all the time.

Ford warranty and Ford Racing for example are especially dependent upon this company I worked for. We were working on coding for the new GT500 4+ years ago. I was inside the GT350/GT350R on the dyno when they launched the S550.

If you pay attention @MisterMac even @Sales@Tork acknowledged I'm right.

 

[MisterMac]

I did Ford, GM and Mopar tuning for a large R&D firm in Dearborn, MI for 2 years...I can make that guarantee.

No automaker is going to foot that bill, no dealership either. If a failure is attributable to the failure of someone else they will punt. We used to break down coding for situations luke that all the time.

Ford warranty and Ford Racing for example are especially dependent upon this company I worked for. We were working on coding for the new GT500 4+ years ago. I was inside the GT350/GT350R on the dyno when they launched the S550.

If you pay attention @MisterMac even @Sales@Tork acknowledged I'm right.

Yes, you have some experience and you can make some assumptions that may prove correct after the fact. Yet, you have no influence in making that decision, so your guarantee is worthless.

That being said, I agree there is a risk, and if my tune causes a drive train problem, I fully expect to be without warranty coverage. In fact, I wouldn't let Kia cover it if they wanted to. But, that's just me.

 

[Pnbnationsbest]

Yes, you have some experience and you can make some assumptions that may prove correct after the fact. Yet, you have no influence in making that decision, so your guarantee is worthless.

That being said, I agree there is a risk, and if my tune causes a drive train problem, I fully expect to be without warranty coverage. In fact, I wouldn't let Kia cover it if they wanted to. But, that's just me.

That's like saying I can't guarantee that if you robbed a bank, got caught and arrested that you wouldn't be prosecuted. I have no influence there either, however I can guarentee your ass would be in federal prison

 

[MisterMac]

That's like saying I can't guarantee that if you robbed a bank, got caught and arrested that you wouldn't be prosecuted. I have no influence there either, however I can guarentee your ass would be in federal prison

LOL. @Pnbnationsbest, My credit union was robbed in 2004. The robber was caught (which was Federal jurisdiction, not local as you are) and the robber managed a plea deal that kept him out of prison. Again, your guarantee is worthless as you have no influence whatsoever.

 

[Pnbnationsbest]

LOL. @Pnbnationsbest, My credit union was robbed in 2004. The robber was caught (which was Federal jurisdiction, not local as you are) and the robber managed a plea deal that kept him out of prison. Again, your guarantee is worthless as you have no influence whatsoever.

 

[ecko04]

Wait..wait...wait

We just went through this whole back and forth to arrive at the same conclusion that was made earlier?

That powertrain warranty would be voided over the ECU tune.

What a racket you guys are!!

 

[Kamauxx]

View attachment 28792

Wait..wait...wait

We just went through this whole back and forth to arrive at the same conclusion that was made earlier?

That powertrain warranty would be voided over the ECU tune.

What a racket you guys are!!

Life is about the journey not the destination.