Well I need a flash and was debating just getting a AEM ECU instead. In about a year im going to be upgrading the turbo and will need more than a flash. Just thinking why waste the money on the flash if I could just get the ecu and have someone help me set it up. What are everyones thoughts about this.
If you want the upmost in tuning ability get the AEM. But you don't need more than a flash for most turbos. Unless you plan to run a 42R on race gas and need every lb/ft of torque you can manage you can make due on a flash. There are plenty of 5 and 600 hp Evos runnning a flashed ECU.
That logic is quite flawed, because you still have to pay someone to tune your AEM EMS, and that will cost more than a custom flash. When you get flashed, there is no hardware that you have to purchase - they just reprogram what you already have. When you're ready to move up to a standalone ECU - assuming you do ever get to that point - then you will lose nothing and have nothing to sell from the flashes. You just get the AEM and get it tuned. No waste from getting flashes now, plus it would be foolish to mess with a standalone ECU now when they are so complicated and you don't need one.
yea for a daily driver id keep the stock ecu as long as possible. standalones idle wierd are hard to start and cost a lot and you cant pass smog. not something personally id want for a daily driver.
Stand alones are only as good as the tuner. If the tuner knows what he/she is doing you can make a car run just as well if not better than OEM...to include start, idle, emmissions and driveability.
Did you just pull that number out of thin air? Or perhaps somewhere dark and stinky? There are quite a few tuners than can completely tune the EMS in two or three days for less than a grand.
And we're not talking about the average Joe. Unless you know something about the OP that I don't?
That answered every question. I really didnt think a flash would work on a car with upgraded turbo runing about 500whp. If the stock ECU will work then im keeping it. Ill just put the money somewhere else. Ohh A little off subject, Is a new head gasket required with a turbo upgrade. ill have cams and headstuds already done. My car only has 34,000 Miles on it now. Thanks, everybody for your help. This is why i go nowhere elso but evotuners.
Not unless you already have a leaking gasket. When I upgraded my head all the companies told me to use OEM head gaskets so I did. That goes to show how strong the stock material is. You should be fine with the new head studs as long as they are installed correctly. Headgasket change is pretty darn expensive!
i pulled that number as an example. if it was a little high i apologize. but 3-4 days of tuning cannot get you to idle, start, coldstart, and general drivability better than the 3+ months they spent writing the stock map.
any car i have ever been in with a standalone wont start cold as well as a stock ecu car.
Stand alones are only as good as the tuner. If the tuner knows what he/she is doing you can make a car run just as well if not better than OEM...to include start, idle, emmissions and driveability.
I don't know about out there, but no stand alone will ever pass a real emissions test in CA. It may test under all the sniffer limits, but as soon as they plug into the OBD-II port...
Im In florida and we have no checks at all as long as u have lights on it your good. Cops will sometimes mess with u if ur exhaust is loud and if they dont see a cat. converter on it but ive never been checked. Ya I want Driveability so im gonna stick with the stock ecu. will a mail in flash be good enough or should i have a road tune done? what are My options.
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