6G Celicas Forums

i've noticed several ECU chips being advertised in different places, but are they really worth it ? they sound too good to be true, that is, increase horsepower AND mpg's in just 15 minutes for 70 bucks .. ??
does everyone have one of these except me ? am i that late to the "party" ? just wanted to ask for anyones two cents worth on the subject. thanks to one and all in advance. -al

No.

^^^
What he said

it depends. Dot let first responses fool you...

if you are selling them, its totally worth it, you can make a lot of money, claiming false resutls, that cant be vrified, most are placed by the user, which voids the warranty, thus excluding you from liability.

if you are buying them yes and no. On a celica definetely no.

about the only "chipping" thats worth it is when you program an ECU. In our case, theyre not programable. also installing a small "chip" in place or in line with a sensoe is 100% BS, all the time.

biggest ricer scam ever.

It really depends on your everyday situation. Unless you're fitting performance parts to your celica to do sunday cups than go for it... but you really wouldnt want an ECU for everyday driving. When you fit an ECU into a stock celica, you think you've noticed something different but there really wont be much difference at all. ECU = Placebo effect. Might as well buy a packet of chips and stick it under your hood. You'll notice something too, your car's engine power will smoke competition for sure

You talking about those chips on eBay? No, those don't work. Those are nothing more than a resistor that you could buy for about $0.03.

CHIPS you install in place of or in line of a sensor = scam

Chipping or PROGRAMMING your ecu (a legit reprogram of your ecu, like honda guys can do, but NOT on a toyota ecu i ever heard of) WILL make a difference.


so any "chip" directed to a toyota = scam unless it replaces the ecu entirely, or a piggy back.

So when I run cams, I don't have to reprogram my ECU right? Because it's not possible?

I believe you will need to reset your ECU so that it can pick up on the modifications and make the necessary adjustments on its own.

QUICK INSTRUCTIONS:

Start the car and let it idle for about 10 minutes
Turn off the car, pop the hood.
According to the BGB - pull the EFI fuse for ~20-30 seconds (IIRC)
Put it back in, close the hood
Start the car.

Takes a bit to learn itself... but after any significant performance modification, its a great idea to reset the ECU.

Should you get a fuel management system when you get cams?

you should get something to tune with for anything more than intake / exhaust.

hell just getting a piggyback on a stock car will probably gain you >10 hp and some mpgs as well

Why are toyota ECU's not flashable?

I have a chevy tuner/flasher for my rx7 its pretty much amazing. You can do anything to it. I'm in the upper 700rwhp range and I still have the stock ECU. That really blows if you have to get an engine management system for pretty much any real mods....

the ROM that holds the tune isn't reprogrammable IIRC.

I've run across a 'New Standard' that says all ECU after Model Year '03 must be able to be re-flashed by other than the Dealer.. but that doesnt apply to us

Interesting...

toyota locks them in the firmware. other manufacturers like mitsubushi dont, so you can just plug into the ODBII port and reflash it

Most manufacturers lock them, however with enough aftermarket support the money is there to be spent to get around it. I know it took a few months before the latest GM vette stuff was unlocked.

This post has been edited by czwalga: Jan 10, 2012 - 7:10 PM