Modified/Tuned ECU info...

Was replying to a private mail but thought the rest of the 360 group may find some of this information useful so decided to post it to the wider audience...

The question was roughly related to a Tuned ECU car and if it could be put back to stock easily.

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The first thing to discuss is what was changed? Did they tell you?

While the electronics are considered quite simple by today's modern standard's there are still quite a few different computers which play different roles in the 360's. Lets take a look;

1. Bosch Engine Ignition ECU's (1 per 4 cylinder bank, 2 total)
2. Marelli Gearbox TCU ECU (for AMT gearbox control)
3. Bosch ABS ECU (for ASR and ABS control)
4. TDO Suspension ECU (for management of active soft/hard suspension)
5. Bosch Immobilizer (for security/alarm mangement)
6. TRW Airbag ECU (for airbags deployment)
7. Dashboard ECU (for statistics capture and dashboard management)
etc...

From the description of what you have said it is clear they have software replaced the pair of Ignition computers firmware and the TCU firmware too. Its worth noting that the Ignition computers are responsible for all logging faults against all failed engine components which include sensors, actuator, etc as well as emissions logging. So when the software is altered was it done 'safely' or did they do a quick and dirty patch of the original code to disable all fault codes? Did they just disable the specific emissions error code logging (possible) which was causing the original issues (CEL illuminations) or did they disable ALL CEL logging for critical monitoring (engine saftey net!) too? I'd want to know that a CEL would still trigger if something was genuinely wrong (so as to prevent it causing major engine failures in the future!). This is precisely why aftermarket tuners can sometimes get a bad name beause its easy to cut corners!

On the safety front, the ignition computers normally hold what are known as 'maps'. These are basically akin to a spreadsheet of column/row values which are normally set at factory for given performance. These include the basic fuel maps for given rpm points but also all the correction maps (when its hot started, cold started, etc.) and throttle sensitivity maps and so forth. When talking about remapping, if the engine remapping was done on a dyno rolling road it would normally take many hours to accomplish and it would be specific to your exact engine characteristics, the exhaust in use, the air flow from your (hopefully clean) filters and so forth. Unfortunately its very uncommon in the Ferrari world for tuners to bother to do this so they just take a 'basic' map and put that in the car. This has nothing to do with your exact engines state of tune and hasnt strictly been tested on your car to ensure its a good fit this means its normally non optimal for best performance. If the air to fuel mixtures are not correct as an example it could yield either poor emissions, poor performance or worst case engine damage. This is why I prefer the relative safety of the Challenge Stradale factory maps which where designed and tested properly.

The Gearbox TCU is just a direct swap in/out part but it must be re-calibrated for the clutch slip angle done using 'self learning mode' - This is accomplished normally using the Ferrari Diagnostics Computer (SDx). Its worth noting that there is information stored in the TCU which can be used in conjunction with the information stored in the Dashboard computer to allow someone to determine if the TCU was replaced at any point in the cars lifetime. Its informational only and normally used to help determine if a car has been clocked. If the history file shows the TCU has been legitimately replaced (for whatever reason) it can be cloned across or fogotton about completely.

On the engine ignition computers front, you can indeed swap them out entirely with brand new ones but again the will need to be coded to your car. This is normally done with SDx computers so yes its entirely possible to swap them. Its further worth noting that you cannot just use 'used' Ignition computers without knowning some key information. One of the ignition computers is 'coded' to the immobilizer (paired), the other is not so only 1 from a used car is useable without being 'virgin' reset - possible but is a specialist job. Also the Ignition computers themselves will automatically pair the unpaired one if placed in the other bank so its possible to do even without access to a SDx computer but again takes experience to get right. The main important point is the ecu's must be an exact match with your car and be unpaired because they are differences between F1, 6-spd manual, coupe and spider and then they changed between Model Years and whether the car was destined for different countries too. So there are lots of different combinations out there so it must be an exact match between your MY and exact model.
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