This topic has been hashed/rehashed, but thought I would add my very late $0.02. Anyway, with the flow mods I have, the recent 234-235 RWHP #'s were a bit disappointing. Not really unexpected as the 2003.5 5AT sedans rarely put down #'s to brag about.

So, after mulling the UTEC, Uni, E-manage etc. for months, decided that the age-old TS reflash probably was the best bet for me since I never plan to FI this car and all the mods are basically done anyway.

First, the service was top rate. FEDEXed the ECU and dyno w/ A/F ratios to them, they received it and flashed next day and sent back FEDEX. So the car was only down for 2 days. Came back with the 92 octane only label with the program # for reference.

Second, did all of the ECU, throttle, idle learning resets etc., and went for a drive. Didn't get on it at all for about the first 5 miles just to let it adjust etc., but immediately noticed a totally transformed car. The responsiveness and flat torque was noticable as hell. It is like the drive-by-wire is gone and you have a direct braided cable to the throttle body.

After a fill up, decided to finally let it rip on the on-ramp. I kinda roll my eyes when I see guys go OMG! WOW! when they install N/A mods because its like they're trying to sell their mods to everybody. I will not use those terms, but I will say that if you have an early 5AT sedan and you dont mind losing the ability to run 87 octane, DO IT!

My only regret is not doing it sooner. By far, the best mod I have done to the car after 4 years of owning it. I'm going to try to get onto the dyno tomorrow to confirm gains, but it's so obvious, I will go out on a limb and say it's around a 12-15 RWHP gain. Big claim, but that's how big a difference this has made. I'll post sheets when I get them.

#'s aside, the responsiveness and livelyness it has given is worth the $495 alone. Makes sense because the ECU programming is basically the "personality" of the car.

 

when im done with all my mods (gawd knows when) i plan on getting mine done there too. i have a friend that used to work there. now he drives this:

 

nice review!!!!

 

Where is the Dyno?

 

They said that if you pay for the first 2 dynos, the 3rd is free. They have now ended that and want another $120, so there will not be a dyno. I know it runs sweet. If someone wants to contribute to the dyno fund, I'll do it, but the mods are done with this car. It's 4 years old already.

 

Impressive report. But makes me wonder.. you are retuning a 5AT sedan factory tuned for 87 octane to run better on 92 octane.

So if I take a 5AT coupe which is already factory tuned for 91 octane.. can a TS flash do much good without more mods to take advantage of it? I do have a CAI (Stillen) and a spacer.. maybe I need to write TS.

 

It should do some good since it adjusts how the throttle operates. The stock drive by wire programming disconnects the "feel" of pedal to power delivery somewhat. The TS remaps this for a more linear pedal to throttle connection and it keeps the throttle open 100% all the way to redline. That has to account for something in itself.

Then of course, the more mods you have, the more difference it will make. If you have just a CAI and spacer, your A/F is fine now, so you won't see anything gained there. Add an exhaust and some cats/testpipes and you will need more fuel.

If your done modding, go for the reflash. If not, and you want optimized fuel now, go for the piggybacks. But most of the piggybacks dont do anything for the throttle, revlimiter, speedlimiter etc. Some guys do the reflash for that stuff, then get the piggyback added to really finetune. But that's usually only for FI.

 

Kind of what I figured. I understand there is a 'cheap flash' .. not sure it's TS or another supplier that opens the throttle all the way and raises rev limit to 7100... not sure it improves the throttle ramping profile any..for that I imagine it requires the full flash. With the 99% of the fuel in CA locked in at 91 octane timing changes are quite limited in my case.
A/F being the next step with more breathing mods. thanks for the info.

 

If you're limited to 91, then the "F-Spec" reflash will probably cause you to ping. Maybe not in the winter, but sitting in summer traffic will not be good. TS has the "L-Spec" which is supposed to have everything except the timing advance. Up here in WA state, we can still get the 92 gas and I have had no evidence of knock/ping under heavy load. Hopefully, never will.

 

I'll check it out, thanks again. You can get 92 octane here (at least that's what the sticker says!) but they are few and far between.

 

If I'm in Texas with 93 octane, will I stand to benefit from this at all?

 

i haven't seen a chevron with 92+ octane in sight in norcal...

once i saw a shell with 93 octane in fresno somewhere, don't recall where exactly though.... i want a ts flash too, just that now, funds are allocated for a wedding...

 

Sedans were factory tuned for 87 octane??

Im limited to 91 here in southern California, and I have a 06 automatic. I got flashed at technosquare, if I remember correctly I picked up 11 hp / 8 ft/lbs. (they dyno'd it since my car was used for prototype) It is a noticeable difference, especially because of the adjustment to the drive by wire system.

 

Sweet, thanks for the review. i'll be sure to look into this in the future.