This is probably a dumb question, but please enlighten me before you laugh me off the forum

With the exception of noticing a performance change, how would you actually know when you load or have loaded new software for your ECU? Is there some indication to confirm this?

 

Typically, performance programs increase the rev limiter.

 

Is that seriously the only way to tell Andy?

I was just wondering if you were to have the pulley and ecu changed at the same time, how would you actually know if the ecu was working properly? You wouldn't be able to distingusih the perfromance gains from each item, since they were accomplished at the same time.

Or if you were to have your ECU reset by the dealership during service, would the perfomance loss be so significant that you would clearly notice it?

Are there any characteristcs (other than the higher rev limiter) of a car with the pulley mod only and not the ECU?

 

What are you expecting? As long as the chiptuner did a good job, driveability should be just as good as stock, with only increased performance and rev limiter as indications that the program has changed.

 

JB00-
I think you have a good point. ECU upgrade is a software change that leaves little to be "Seen".
If you assume that if permits a 10-12 HP gain and adds to smoothness then you should be able to tell that you have it. But as the car gets more and more HP then it might be a little harder to tell. I have a feeling that most owners of highly modded MCS are able to discern very fine points about their cars once they know their cars well.

There is no easy way to check if the software is functioning. Sure a Dyno test would reveal HP and so would a lap time or for that matter a 0-60 or quarter mile would reveal the ECU upgrade would be functioning OK. 10-12 HP is not a insignificant gain.

If the MINI goes to the dealer I would just tell them not to touch the ECU version period. With all of the troubles of ECU versions I would think they would comply.

Too bad there was not a switch to turn on and off a version for the ECU much like what we do with the DSC. Now that would be an idea. If you have something like the shark injector or AmD One Click then you can enter the software update yourself if you ever doubt that it is working correctly or has been overridden. An advantage.

 

Thanks for the response Minihune. At least you were able to understand my point

I started thinking about this when I read from someone who had just recently changed their ECU. In addition to the performance increase, they stated that there was no more black soot on their exhaust. Well I still have soot on my exhaust after the pulley and ECU upgrade, so I started wondering how I would actually know if everything was working properly. Sure I have always felt a performance increase and the car has always been pretty smooth, but how would I ever know for sure if that was both the pulley and ECU working properly or maybe that was just the pulley? How would I know? I was hoping someone could enlighten me.

 

>>Thanks for the response Minihune. At least you were able to understand my point