DIY ECU Flash

casm · **Joined:** Sun Jan 29, 2006 5:05 pm **Posts:** 694

Update after driving around with Nick's 811 Stage 1 tune for about 60 miles or so in mixed (freeway and city) conditions yesterday:

For some reason, the MIL for the AFM disconnect didn't come on during my test drive, but it did on my commute. Not a huge deal, but I did think it was a bit odd.
Did not experience any TC chatter with Nick's tune.
Did notice more soot from the exhaust during passing manoeuvres - going from, say, 60 to 75mph would generate a noticeable cloud in the rear-view mirror. Not anywhere near rolling coal, but definitely there. However, it took care of a couple of tailgaters nicely
Thought it was basically a decent tune, and liked the improvement in responsiveness. Acceleration was also usefully improved. Overall feel was closer to the behaviour of our Jetta TDi than the stock KJ CRD map ever was. This strikes me as what the factory tune should have been.

In fairness to the above, I have what may be a shot thermostat (sanity-check thread on that here), so the engine wasn't running completely warm at the time. This was likely impacting the effectiveness of the revised map.

Going to give Yeti's 811 Stage 2 tune a go later on today or tomorrow and see what happens. Don't think I'm going to have good comparative data on any of them until I figure out the thermostat issue, though.

casm · **Joined:** Sun Jan 29, 2006 5:05 pm **Posts:** 694

Yeti's Stage 2 is in. First impressions:

Slightly improved responsiveness over Nick's Stage 1
Acceleration seems slightly improved as well, though that may be the butt dyno talking
Soot is about the same, particularly under heavy acceleration
Up to 70mph, wasn't able to hear any TC chatter
No MIL on first or second startup after pulling AFM connector; MIL came on at third startup approx. 1 hour after being parked

Not an extensive test by any means, but overall I like it. My only concern is the soot - we're in a no-emissions-test State, but you can still get nailed for visible emissions in certain cases. Rolling coal is one of those cases, and while I'm not close to that, it's definitely noticeable enough that a bored cop might suddenly have something to do if they saw it.

flash7210 · **Posted:** Sat Oct 28, 2017 5:34 pm

None of the DIY tunes I have tried eliminated the MAF code. Only the FCV and EGR.
If your EGR is unplugged, blocked off, or deleted, you can keep the MAF plugged in.

casm · **Joined:** Sun Jan 29, 2006 5:05 pm **Posts:** 694

flash7210 wrote:

None of the DIY tunes I have tried eliminated the MAF code. Only the FCV and EGR.
If your EGR is unplugged, blocked off, or deleted, you can keep the MAF plugged in.

Ah, OK. I think I may have misunderstood based on earlier comments what the expected behaviour of the MIL should be with the MAF unplugged. So it looks like the real fix in this case is to block the EGR and plug the MAF back in if I want the MIL out, or go to a GDE tune. Got it.

Time to start making that blanking plate...

mass-hole · **Posted:** Sun Oct 29, 2017 1:30 pm

Are you only seeing soot at full throttle?

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WWDiesel · **Posted:** Sun Oct 29, 2017 4:06 pm

casm wrote:

flash7210 wrote:

None of the DIY tunes I have tried eliminated the MAF code. Only the FCV and EGR.
If your EGR is unplugged, blocked off, or deleted, you can keep the MAF plugged in.

Ah, OK. I think I may have misunderstood based on earlier comments what the expected behaviour of the MIL should be with the MAF unplugged. So it looks like the real fix in this case is to block the EGR and plug the MAF back in if I want the MIL out, or go to a GDE tune. Got it.

Time to start making that blanking plate...

You are correct! Block off the EGR or totally remove it and the FCV with the Week's Kit, unplug the EGR & FCV, install one of the DIY tunes and leave the MAF PLUGGED IN!!!
No DTC's!:wink:

casm · **Joined:** Sun Jan 29, 2006 5:05 pm **Posts:** 694

mass-hole wrote:

Are you only seeing soot at full throttle?

Not exactly full throttle - more like under heavy acceleration. Let's call it more than half- to two-thirds throttle, and virtually always from rest.

Dez · **Posted:** Sun Oct 29, 2017 8:02 pm

I'm running the yeti 808 hot tune and I barely see smoke behind me. My friends who have followed me say they can tell when I step on it but cleans up quickly

WWDiesel · **Posted:** Sun Oct 29, 2017 9:29 pm

I never see smoke, unless I completely get off the throttle for a few seconds coming to a slow crawl and then get back on the throttle suddenly! :roll:

casm · **Joined:** Sun Jan 29, 2006 5:05 pm **Posts:** 694

Been keeping an eye on the soot situation the last few days, and rolled back to the stock flash with the MAF reconnected to see if it made any difference. Summary: all of them seem to behave about the same way, but under Nick or Yeti's tunes the amount of soot is definitely greater.

The thermostat needs replacement, so that may be a contributing factor. At this point the Jeep will reach operating temperature with the heater off, but in another couple of weeks that won't be a realistic proposition.

In any event, taking off from a stop seems to be a more or less sure-fire way to make it happen, as does lifting off then getting back on it. Doesn't need full throttle to make it happen, but about half to two-thirds will do it.

GordnadoCRD · **Posted:** Tue Nov 07, 2017 12:20 am

Mine has also had an apparent turbo lag (boost follows fuel) as well. Not huge, and it's pretty clean at steady throttle, even deep throttle up hills, but it'll throw a puff anytime I increase the throttle quickly. The only time it got really bad was when my young nephew "helped me" by "working on" the turbo vacuum control solenoids.... yeah, they're both new now, and working much better!!

casm · **Joined:** Sun Jan 29, 2006 5:05 pm **Posts:** 694

GordnadoCRD wrote:

Mine has also had an apparent turbo lag (boost follows fuel) as well. Not huge, and it's pretty clean at steady throttle, even deep throttle up hills, but it'll throw a puff anytime I increase the throttle quickly.

This sounds pretty close to what I'm seeing.

Quote:

The only time it got really bad was when my young nephew "helped me" by "working on" the turbo vacuum control solenoids.... yeah, they're both new now, and working much better!!

Hmm, interesting. Haven't got even that deep into this one yet, but you bring up a good point by mentioning them.

mass-hole · **Posted:** Tue Nov 07, 2017 6:08 pm

casm wrote:

GordnadoCRD wrote:

Mine has also had an apparent turbo lag (boost follows fuel) as well. Not huge, and it's pretty clean at steady throttle, even deep throttle up hills, but it'll throw a puff anytime I increase the throttle quickly.

This sounds pretty close to what I'm seeing.

Quote:

The only time it got really bad was when my young nephew "helped me" by "working on" the turbo vacuum control solenoids.... yeah, they're both new now, and working much better!!

Hmm, interesting. Haven't got even that deep into this one yet, but you bring up a good point by mentioning them.

The easiest thing to do is check the boost with torque pro or something similar. Mine will lay down soot under high throttle too but it makes the boost I ask it too so it’s just because I am running richer. I am at 6500’ so I can not afford to run more boost.

You may also check that your MAP sensor is reading right. You can do this by turning the key on but not starting the engine and seeing what manifold pressure is reading as. It should be ambient pressure. My MAP was reading 880 mbars when ambient was 800 where I live so my Ecu always thought it was making 10% more boost than it actually was.

Most of these tunes don’t run a lot more boost than stock but instead take up some of the slack in the afr. Boost only increases <3% or so while fuel increases 12% or more depending on the tune. You get the most power from fueling to a slight amount soot.

If you do confirm that it’s making the boost it should be then your only option is to have a new tune that leans it out by increasing boost more at higher fueling.

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mass-hole · **Posted:** Tue Nov 07, 2017 6:35 pm

casm wrote:

mass-hole wrote:

Are you only seeing soot at full throttle?

Not exactly full throttle - more like under heavy acceleration. Let's call it more than half- to two-thirds throttle, and virtually always from rest.

That’s probably because the Ecu will go to full load before the pedal is on the floor. It leaves room for the engine to use its full potential before downshifting 1 or 2 gears.

The soot from rest is because the turbo relies on heat energy to spool it. That heat comes from running rich. You can tune it out but the engine would probably be very laggy and unresponsive off the line.

This is why diesels have dpfs now. You can’t have a well performing diesel and not make soot.

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casm · **Joined:** Sun Jan 29, 2006 5:05 pm **Posts:** 694

mass-hole wrote:

That’s probably because the Ecu will go to full load before the pedal is on the floor. It leaves room for the engine to use its full potential before downshifting 1 or 2 gears.

The soot from rest is because the turbo relies on heat energy to spool it. That heat comes from running rich. You can tune it out but the engine would probably be very laggy and unresponsive off the line.

All of which makes sense. Further to that:

Quote:

This is why diesels have dpfs now. You can’t have a well performing diesel and not make soot.

I think this may also be a case of needing to adjust my expectations of expected behaviour for the KJ vs. my experience with diesels over the years.

For the last four years, we've been driving a 2012 Jetta TDi. It's DPF'd, so no soot.

A decade before that, my last diesel was a 1985-ish Peugeot 505 turbodiesel. Before that, it was a 1980 Mercedes 300 diesel wagon, and prior to that I had diesels with 1960s- and 1970s-era engines.

In short, I skipped ahead by a couple of generations of diesel development in going from the Peugeot to the Jetta, but stepped back about one with the KJ. My experience with '90s and early-2000s diesels is pretty much nil, so I'm having to fill in that experience gap somewhat with the Jeep - and not compare it to the behaviour of the VW in the process, or the Peugeot, or any of the other diesel vehicles I've owned.

Yeti · **Posted:** Fri Nov 10, 2017 10:51 am

is not the DPF , but the lambda sensor

marcozzi · **Joined:** Mon Apr 24, 2017 10:23 am **Posts:** 15

Just wanted to check in and let everyone know how my Yeti tune is doing on my 07 WK

Marco did at least 11 or 12 changes on the file over several weeks to get it just right and it's incredible! There were some issues keeping the MIL out, but it's good after some changes.

Other mods:
DPF, cat and resonator delete.
OEM air box mods
Swirl motor resistor
Crankcase breather converted to road draft tube
EGR manually blocked
Park brake button pin....I drilled a hole through the side of the park brake release button and handle, while holding the button in. When I'm gonna launch hard, I push the release button and stick a metal pin through the hole which keeps the button depressed. That way, I can pull up on the lever to do a brake torque and just let go of the lever to launch and not have to worry about holding the button to release the brake. On the 3.0CRDs, the VGT will go open and the engine will de-fuel when the PCM sees a brake pedal input, so you can't brake torque these to launch them hard. With this method, I can get about 5-6 PSI manifold pressure a few seconds just before taking off, versus no pressure until the turbo comes up. Once you learn how to stage it, there isn't much that will get ahead of you on the holeshot. I'm usually well into 2nd gear before they are even half way through their first gear. Get ahead of them at first and most don't have the HP to catch up since I jumped so far ahead at first.
I'm going to try another mod soon at the PCM to make this one step better.

I have no MIL, no codes. Runs like a SOB!

Several months ago, I was playing with a manual shift WRX with a loud pipe. After a bit of teasing, he was first in line at a red light and I was behind him. When the light changed, he took off hard, ripping gears, and I put full fuel to the tuned CRD. At about 45MPH, I actually had to lift off the pedal because I thought I was going to go through the back of his car! We ran up to about 85 or 90 and both lifted since there's a common speed trap ahead. That WRX went nowhere haha. When we got to the next light, he drifted up beside me with his mouth hanging open, giving me the "WTF just happened look." Nothing says "launch" like 3.73 gears, parking brake "brake torque" to get the turbo lit, AWD and torque numbers in the 450 lbs/ft range.

No problem with an ecoboost F-150, hemis rams, hemi WKIIs, or even a ford interceptor police package. I had it on the open road and got it upwards of almost 130 MPH, according to my GPS unit.

No tranny slip or chatter. Great cold starts, nice idle. I'm getting 22-23.5 MPG around town with it, too.

I can't speak for the other software guys out her, but Marco is the real deal! His work is top notch and I highly recommend him for the 3,0 CRD tune if you're going to do one. Don't waste your money on a GDE tune. You'll be quite happy with the work Yeti and others on this forum.

WWDiesel · **Posted:** Sat Nov 18, 2017 2:24 pm

I agree, Marco (Yeti tunes) definitely is "the expert" when it comes to tuning these diesels!!! :rockon:

mass-hole · **Posted:** Sat Nov 18, 2017 10:09 pm

marcozzi wrote:

Just wanted to check in and let everyone know how my Yeti tune is doing on my 07 WK

Marco did at least 11 or 12 changes on the file over several weeks to get it just right and it's incredible! There were some issues keeping the MIL out, but it's good after some changes.

Other mods:
DPF, cat and resonator delete.
OEM air box mods
Swirl motor resistor
Crankcase breather converted to road draft tube
EGR manually blocked
Park brake button pin....I drilled a hole through the side of the park brake release button and handle, while holding the button in. When I'm gonna launch hard, I push the release button and stick a metal pin through the hole which keeps the button depressed. That way, I can pull up on the lever to do a brake torque and just let go of the lever to launch and not have to worry about holding the button to release the brake. On the 3.0CRDs, the VGT will go open and the engine will de-fuel when the PCM sees a brake pedal input, so you can't brake torque these to launch them hard. With this method, I can get about 5-6 PSI manifold pressure a few seconds just before taking off, versus no pressure until the turbo comes up. Once you learn how to stage it, there isn't much that will get ahead of you on the holeshot. I'm usually well into 2nd gear before they are even half way through their first gear. Get ahead of them at first and most don't have the HP to catch up since I jumped so far ahead at first.
I'm going to try another mod soon at the PCM to make this one step better.

I have no MIL, no codes. Runs like a SOB!

Several months ago, I was playing with a manual shift WRX with a loud pipe. After a bit of teasing, he was first in line at a red light and I was behind him. When the light changed, he took off hard, ripping gears, and I put full fuel to the tuned CRD. At about 45MPH, I actually had to lift off the pedal because I thought I was going to go through the back of his car! We ran up to about 85 or 90 and both lifted since there's a common speed trap ahead. That WRX went nowhere haha. When we got to the next light, he drifted up beside me with his mouth hanging open, giving me the "WTF just happened look." Nothing says "launch" like 3.73 gears, parking brake "brake torque" to get the turbo lit, AWD and torque numbers in the 450 lbs/ft range.

No problem with an ecoboost F-150, hemis rams, hemi WKIIs, or even a ford interceptor police package. I had it on the open road and got it upwards of almost 130 MPH, according to my GPS unit.

No tranny slip or chatter. Great cold starts, nice idle. I'm getting 22-23.5 MPG around town with it, too.

I can't speak for the other software guys out her, but Marco is the real deal! His work is top notch and I highly recommend him for the 3,0 CRD tune if you're going to do one. Don't waste your money on a GDE tune. You'll be quite happy with the work Yeti and others on this forum.

What I wanna know is how you get involved in so many street races? Even when I had my 2006 GTO and 2007 Legacy GT(with a LOUD turbo back exhaust) I never got any attention. With my Liberty and F150, forget about it. The most excitement I get is a highway on ramp.

WRX's can be tough to drive. Unless you really have it down, launching one is hard cause you either release the clutch too quick and bog, or slip it too much and dont get the power to the wheels. My Legacy was really hard to drive consistently, much harder than my GTO which was rwd, but when I did get it just right it was QUICK.

Be careful with the ecoboost's. If you find a driver that knew what he/she was doing, and did the same brake boost launch you are, it may not end well. They are seriously quick out of the hole(for the same reason as your diesel, lots of low end torque and turbos) and pull much better up top than a diesel. If they are tuned i doubt it would be close because they put down close to 420 RWTQ. I am sure most ecoboost owners wouldnt know any better though.

marcozzi · **Joined:** Mon Apr 24, 2017 10:23 am **Posts:** 15

I guess I just know how to antagonize people really well LOL. I have a supercharged 928S4 Porsche and have had many other toys over the years and became good at getting people to want to race. I had a local with a blown 5.0 mustang years ago that would never race my Shelby Charger that runs 28PSI boost. I kept trying and trying and one day, he came up beside me, he mumbled something and I yelled over "you get the mulching attachment with that piece of doo doo when you bought it!" The race was now on after months and he lost to a 4 banger.

I've driven the ecoboosts and you're right- if you brake torque it, they launch well. The problem is that when you go just a little too far, you spin a rear wheel and the traction control kills the throttle. If you disable the traction control, you just make a ton of tire smoke. This is the same problem with the Hemi Chargers- the traction control kills you. Even if you turn it off, it will still pull throttle away after spinning.

I've owned a good number of fast things, but the most fun was certainly not the most fast. It was a 1989 XJ 4.0 automatic with a Paxton supercharger. I've punked more people with that XJ that you could ever imagine. It made 318HP at the rear wheels. IT doesn' t sound like much today, but in the mid 90's it did ripped apart just about any mustang, camaro and even 'vettes. My problem with that was the launch, but some rear leaf spring trickery, and a single torque arm (similar to the 80's camaros) solved that issue.

My latest one is my 06 Cummins Ram 4x4 dually. Just did a 708HP pull on the new engine and am out of fuel. Gotta go to dual CP3s now and I'm also going to do a HE451 VGT turbo (from an ISX) with a Steed controller. The existing 66mm turbo takes a while to spool and gives me WAY too much smoke...and I HATE black smoke. The VGT should be able to close off enough to give me several PSI at idle from what I've seen on another 5.9 with a similar conversion. I'm currently making 65 PSI and hope to get the same from the VGT, depending on what trim the compressor wheel is. I use a TST PowerMax PDA for fuel control and also have some other changes in the ECM via EFILive. Surprised a guy in a 360 Modena back in September who thought he was going to get ahead of me before the two lanes merged into one...and I didn't lift for the radius in the road afterwards. Love the dual wheel traction. I'll never own another single wheel pickup, nor a gasoline one. And I still manage to get nearly 17MPG around town. After the CP3 and turbo change, I'm targeting 750HP and that's it. I'm done. I don't feel like breaking it again. I can't blame the failure on power though. It was a faulty #6 injector that stuck open on the highway at 85 MPH. When it happens, it's over quicker than you can imagine and #6 piston had no more upper ring lands left. Moral of this: if you have a 5.9 or 6.7 common rail, change you injectors if you're past 125,000 miles. You'll be glad you spend the money to do it.

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