Need F355 Advise on ECU Flash Tuning

Hi Charles, I know people cringe when the first response is "Use the Search Function," but indeed this topic was discussed in great length several times before on the 348/355 Forum.

To provide a short, but concise answer to your questions:

It's not the process of flash programming that is the challenge. As you correctly stated, anyone with a sufficient knowledge of computers and soldering can perform flash programming. The real issues are:

1) Does your DIY kit force you to remove the EPROM(s) from their boards to flash them? If so, the person doing the soldering better be a pro. I doubt a $300 generic DIY kit is configured to flash program through the OBDII port.

2) What exactly is your knowledge of engine control systems, or what does your computer expert know about engines? Where would you start with the programming changes? Which operating maps would you change and what values would your change them to? Do know if the Ferrari ECU maps require a checksum recalculation when you make changes to a specific map?

If these questions are all Greek to you, my advice would be to invest your money in the David Helm/Scuderia Rampante Gold Connector Kit instead. Based on the feedback from owners who have done this re-wiring mod, the improved driveability of the car is almost like having more HP.

Good luck on your quest!

 

Also from talking with Dave Helms and reading his posts over the years he clearly has stated many times the factory has these tuned very well and hard to get much more out with ecu mapping.

All those company results are questionable and the danger to mess with the expensive ECU could be the most expensive HP your either gain or loose due to messing with something that is best done by the professionals.

I had something like this done on my 993 and the tech guy needed massive information about my car and printout to make a cracked ECU that made a HUGE difference. The old days of placing a new chip in your old E30 BMW and gaining 20 HP are long gone.

Most people here would say might not be the most wise thing to do IMO.

Many other ways to modify your car with tested and tried methods. Gothspeed comes to mine!

 

Oh there are more horses to be had in there but the only guys that know how to do it properly are in Italy. They are the guys that did the originals for Ferrari. The 355 is somewhat detuned for emission purposes. The engine can withstand 10,000rpm. I dont know about the 5.2 but my 2.7 has been done and it redlines now at 9000rpm and can destroy any 360. The pull is so much more noticable BUT if you do the Gold connector kit that Dave Helms has, you will also notice a differance. I did both and man did I notice a differance. A challenge mechanic sat beside me at the track and he couldnt believe the pull. He told me that in a straight line my car was faster than a 355 challenge.

 

Hi Gerry, I don't know this for a fact on the Ferrari ECUs, but on the Audi/VW Bosch ECUs the leap from OBD1 to OBD2 (which would be the difference between the Motronic 2.7 and 5.2) was night and day. Reprogramming an open loop OBD1 system was much easier/less sensitive to CELs. When OBD2 arrived, so did checksum algorithms on all the maps we wanted to access -- particularly timing and fuel.

 

I, for one, do not (N.O.T) believe that one can "get the most" out of a tune where the tuner and the car are not in the same room together A.N.D. that room contains a dyno and the car is running on that dyno and the tuner is using the dyno outputs to do the tuning.

The reason is that after a few 20Ks of miles, the engines are different than when assembled, and will want to be tuned differently and an otherwise identical engine with the came milage. So, two engines buit exactly the same will want different tune matrix numbers after any significant amount of milage accumulates.

Add in different headers, exhausts systems, maintanence of the fuel pumps, condition of the fuel injectors, spark plugs and wires, fuel in juse, and any host of other insundry stuff, and remote tuning is merely guess work at best.

 

Well that could also be said about the original tuning chips. The people that did mine are to same people that did the OEM ones.

 

Ill have to ask the boys at the shop but I do know that they have installed them in newer Massers. Ill find out. The performance improvement is incredible and very noticalble.

 

Run far far away from anyone who wants you to send in your "ECU S", because you only have one, and they should know that.

 

Personally, I wouldn't do a tuner chip on a 355. Not unless I had already done a full SRI gold connector kit and the tuner was someone like Helms himself who had already done piles of testing.

IF you go this route please make sure you make a backup of the factory EPROM SW load. If you hate the tuned chip, you could always go back to stock.

 

The guys in Italy that my shop deals with send new chips. You keep your old ones because you cant change everything on the chips. They need to be replaced. They have to know how your cams are degreed, headers and muffler make, straight pipes or cats, bypass or no bypass valve ect ect. Even my wife can tell the difference in the passenger seat. Its like getting another car.

 

The car needs more guts that would have been awesome....

 

I am waiting for my dyno guy to call me to bring my car out to get the computers reprogramed. Mine is a 95. I had enginefixer rebuild my engine with slightly bigger pistons and ported heads and intake. I also have Goth's exhaust so redoing computers might see some gains. He is going to install two new computers connected to the harness before the old computers. He will intercept the signals going to the stock computers by reprogramming the "new" computers. This will be done on the dyno. He is studying the wiring diagram now--good luck-- and will call me in the next few weeks to bring it out. I will report when I get more info.

 

Sorry im so late in answering your question. I talked to Alex at Daytona auto in Toronto and you would have to send them your ECU if its a 5.2 and they send it to the guys in Italy where they tune it specifically to your car and the way it was designed to work. It would take a few weeks. The draw back it that you cant use your car during that time. But when you reinstall i,t your car will run like it never has.

 

My car is at the dyno right now. Tomorrow they will remove and clean the injectors and then tune it on the dyno. They will wire the "new" computers in the original wiring harness and then intercept the signals going to the stock computers. I have the GruppeM intake, Gold kit, Gothspeed muffler, Fabspeed headers, Hyperflow cats and a rebuild from Enginefixer--Gary Sharpe. The heads and intake are ported. Will see what we get.

 

Looking forward to the results.

 

ECU tuning rurally is part art as well as science.

Remember the expression, "you get what you pay for"? I own a company that tunes ECUs, and aside from the setting up of the maps themselves so that the car performs well (and doesn't grenade), there really is allot of R&d involved in getting it right. The way we do it is my software writer designs the maps, then I drive the car and give an opinion. He then makes changes. I drive, etc. We then use a dyne, and then repeat the process until I am happy, before we release a product.

We mostly use my cars, rather than random loaners to do the set ups. Chupacabra has my 348, and I am sure he can chime in as to the performance and just how strong it runs. It never ceases to amaze me that guys who spend gobs of money on a car, are willing to cut corners on something as critical as engine mapping. That $300 could easily end up costing $30K.

When I drive my cars, whether it's on the road or track, I want max performance, but I also want max reliability.

 

I would, but I'm too busy driving the $%#t out of it!!

It does run very, very well. Granted, this is the first 348 that I've felt comfortable REALLY driving, as the others belonged to individuals or dealers, but the car definitely seems to have a lot more edge to it. Of course, it's also considerably lighter, has a short ratio box, and has straight pipes, too...but I can attest to the fact that the engine is ultra-eager!

What can I say? You created a masterpiece of a 348, Dino!