hey everyone...

Got my new Stillen catalog in the mail today and came across something interesting...

On page 12, there is a new upgrade that is coming out for our VQ engines, actually the ECU. It is called the VQ-Pro and the unit plugs directly into the stock ECU. Its supposed "to control the air/fuel rations and ignition timing beyond the stock ECU's programming.....Programming may include dual mapping depending on vehicle and trim. Also includes bypass connector that returns ECU to stock programming mods."

This is kinda exciting....will this be an alternative to the TS ECU flash? Granted, this Stillen VQ-Pro unit probably wouldn't be customized with your existent mods like the TS ECU can be but can the VQ-Pro unit adapt to detected changes resulting from your bolt-ons and make the necessary ideal and optimized changes?!?!

The catalog didn't have a price nor did the product make it onto the stillen.com website yet. I plan on calling my contact over at Stillen tommorow to get the details....

Anyone have any input on this prospective TS ECU alternative? It might be worth it if the VQ-Pro is cheaper (really doubt it d/t company's history) than the TS....won't have to disable your car for 3 days if you don't live in cali.


doc



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pic of actual unit...





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A good alternative for us 04.5 people.

 

how much for the unit?

04 DG G35 coupe 5AT / z-tube / more to come...

 

Hopefully someone here is willing to try it out and get some dyno results

The nice thing is that it looks like simple plug and play, no wire cutting.

 

I posted a thread about just such a unit a while back. I was aware of the Stillen unit, but as far as I understand it's not yet available. A PM sent to me indicated that this was tripping "check engine" errors, and thus not released. I've not contacted Stillen to inquire. At this point, given what's happening with one of our Nor. Cal. members (see the "Engine Failure" thread), I'm not inclined to do a TS ECU (even if they had a ULEV-2 version), unless they can guarantee that there is no way it can be detected by the dealer. A "piggy-back" unit could be removed prior to service visits...

2004.5 G35 Sedan | Garnet Fire + Willow | 6MT | Z-Tube, K&N panel | Stillen Cat-Back

 

OK. got off the the phone with stillen.....

1. VQ-Pro is not out yet and still in development, sales rep says it will be out sometime in the next few months, before the end of the year.

2. Rep says it will be better than the TS ECU flash(as exepected). His basis was that the TS ECU requires 100 octane gas to reach optimal performance. Is this true? Stillen's VQ-Pro will do well with pump gasoline. Also, should have no issues with 2004+ models unlike the TS development for 2004's.

3. Ease of installation. No need to send or take your stock ECU to TS to be programmed. VQ-Pro is simple plug-and-play installation and has bypass to return to stock ECU settings.

4. Lastly, PRICE....of course he would not comment or even speculate on price which is reasonable since it has not even been released yet. I asked him if he knew if it would be cheaper or more expensive than the TS ECU. He didn't know....

I guess time will tell to see how much it will be and if it will be better than the TS choice...

doc

 

Does anyone have any ideas how this would overcome the "adaptive" programming of the stock ECU? Doesn't the stock ECU adjust to compensate for changes in the A/F ratio (like cancelling the effects of an aftermarket intake)? I guess this unit would send signals to "trick" the ECU into adjusting the "wrong" way, providing the "right" result. Even if that were the case, would the ECU retain that adjustment or keep trying to adjust? Just curious...



03.5S DP / Prem / Sport / NAV / Other

 

That's good news... However, it doesn't appear that Stillen has designed the unit the way I would prefer (built one to provide timing advance only, for a Neon). It would much more useful to have "*****" which allow for on-the-fly adjustment of advance and A/F ratio. I personally doubt claims that an in-line system would function better than an ECU re-flash. I stopped development on the Neon design because Mopar came out with a factory performance ECU. That is BY FAR the most desireable - if only NISMO would... The real advantage of this type of in-line unit is that it can be removed prior to dealer service visits. As for ECU learning: The timing advance function of the Stillen unit would not be affected. That's likely to provide the most hp gain anyway. I can only speculate as to how the A/F portion would work. Ideally, both the MAF (mass air flow) and O2 (post cat.) sensors would be fed into the unit. Remember, the ECU is going to use both of these sensor inputs (plus perhaps TPS?) to attempt to maintain the programmed A/F ratio (it's not constant, but is load and rpm dependent). Modifying the sensor voltages pre-ECU doesn't affect the ECU adaptation, but rather provides an offset (i.e. the A/F could be made leaner). Since the unit knows RPM (part of the timing advance side), the A/F ratio offset could also be non-constant (RPM dependent) like the stock ECU program. To paraphrase a member's signature "Better living through firmware..." As for TS requiring 100 octane, chenga seems to have disproved this in tests after our dyno-day. Anyway, nobody claimed 100 octane was required. Essentially, he was pinging on the dyno, and added 100 octane fuel to the remaining 91 octane in his tank. That brought him to an estimated 93-95 ??? octane and the pinging stopped. That MAY well have been caused by bad gas, as the symptom wasn't repeatable on his subsequent dyno run in So. Cal. (read chenga's report in the Nor. Cal. forum, dyno day results thread).

2004.5 G35 Sedan | Garnet Fire + Willow | 6MT | Z-Tube, K&N panel | Stillen Cat-Back

 

I'd really love to have a rep from Stillen join in this discussion... I'd like to know how this "piggy back" would work.

1. If I have mods, would this "help" my mods?
2. Would it "negate" the mods or not work on a modded G?
3. What is it trying to do to our cars, lean them out a bit?
4. If I've already leaned my car with cats/plenum combo will it richen my car up?

<font color=blue>The above statements are only my take on the issue. If you disagree with anything I typed then you are 100% right!</font color=blue>

 

Good questions neff....

Don't we have a couple of stillen reps that occassionally post on these forums?

doc

 

Is this system like those micro tuner system you see for American Pickup trucks?

 

The real purpose of the unit would have to be in conjunction with mods. Probably not a big deal with a stock engine. That's just what my little pea brain is thinking.

Somehow the unit would have to "know" what the mods are or automatically adjust by MAF and O2 readings to give a slightly richer A/F.
Still lots to learn about this unit.

'04 6MT coupe

 

something like this may be the only difference from the '03 and '04's to the '05's. 280hp to 298hp. on 6MT.

 

That is great information. I would assume that we should be ready to drop about $499-$599. This will be Stillen's cash cow. As far as the TS ECU, "Chenga" at 6mt.net did indicate that he needed to go higher octain to leverage his TS ECU flash and to prevent detonation.

http://6mt.net/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC...s=technosquare