StingerMG
Stinger Enthusiast
Hello,
I removed my Racechip GTS and replaced the stock ECU with the Lap3 ECU on March 6th. I wanted to share my 1st impressions, I'll take the car to the dyno later this Spring.
Why Stage 1?
After asking David Chung (Lap3 manager) a series of questions. He informed me that the Stage 1 tune will adapt to the 93-octane fuel and make additional power. I only use Shell 93 gas and I don't have any desire to use an ethanol blend like E30.
Installation
The ECU installation was very easy. There's no need to disconnect the car battery. I only did so because I had the remove the RC GTS wiring harness after the RC was removed. I drove the car some with the stock ECU and scanned for engine codes just to ensure everything was fine after the RC removal. Once back in my garage, I swapped out the ECUs. I also checked my turbos, they're good The black mark on each turbo was always there from when I bought the car (strange), with no performance impacts.
Drivability
Wow...I never had issues with the RC GTS but this is a night and day difference. Everything is extremely smooth; low-speed driving and high-speed cruising. I did notice some cylinder retard after the initial Lap3 ECU install, only -1 to -2 degrees but after a quick ECU reset (unplug the ECU for 5mins) to relearn the fuel quality, the amount of cylinder retard went to zero (even during WOT pulls). While I don't have a TCU tune, the 1st to 2nd gear change is a lot smoother. I'm sure my bolt-ons help some with power responsiveness.
Power
The car feels very strong, it definitely more powerful judging by the ole butt dyno. I'll have to head to the dyno to obtain numbers. I'll use the same dyno I received my RC GTS results from.
I removed my Racechip GTS and replaced the stock ECU with the Lap3 ECU on March 6th. I wanted to share my 1st impressions, I'll take the car to the dyno later this Spring.
Why Stage 1?
After asking David Chung (Lap3 manager) a series of questions. He informed me that the Stage 1 tune will adapt to the 93-octane fuel and make additional power. I only use Shell 93 gas and I don't have any desire to use an ethanol blend like E30.
Installation
The ECU installation was very easy. There's no need to disconnect the car battery. I only did so because I had the remove the RC GTS wiring harness after the RC was removed. I drove the car some with the stock ECU and scanned for engine codes just to ensure everything was fine after the RC removal. Once back in my garage, I swapped out the ECUs. I also checked my turbos, they're good The black mark on each turbo was always there from when I bought the car (strange), with no performance impacts.
Drivability
Wow...I never had issues with the RC GTS but this is a night and day difference. Everything is extremely smooth; low-speed driving and high-speed cruising. I did notice some cylinder retard after the initial Lap3 ECU install, only -1 to -2 degrees but after a quick ECU reset (unplug the ECU for 5mins) to relearn the fuel quality, the amount of cylinder retard went to zero (even during WOT pulls). While I don't have a TCU tune, the 1st to 2nd gear change is a lot smoother. I'm sure my bolt-ons help some with power responsiveness.
Power
The car feels very strong, it definitely more powerful judging by the ole butt dyno. I'll have to head to the dyno to obtain numbers. I'll use the same dyno I received my RC GTS results from.
