UNICHIP vs. UTEC
 

I am planning on having a piggyback management system installed in my G. After a bunch of searching, I am still coming up short on answers. In short, for those of you in the "Know", what are the major differences between the two platforms? Do the pros and cons of each unit yield one which is claerly better than the other?

Any insight and/or comments would definitely be appreciated. Thanks in advance for any helpful insight. ;)

try this thread over on MY350z. I hope it helps. I too am in the decision phase of ECU upgrades.

http://www.my350z.com/forum/showthread.php?t=181684

I have seen multiple posts by Sharif (of ForgedInternals.com) that support the UTEC as the best unit out there right now. FWIW.

I would even consider it for NA if it weren't such a pain to install in our Gs (due to its size).

As I recall the main debates have been between Emanage Ultimate and UTEC and the UTEC is clearly superior right now as apparently the Greddy unit does not allow precise timing control.

It is my understanding based on reading/researching that the Unichip does not have knock management and the logging capabilities to the extent that the UTEC does but is otherwise very similar. It is also physically much smaller, making it easier to install.

Of course Miaplaya recently announced a new Unichip "Q" or something.

IMO, the biggest difference is that the UTEC software is freely available while the Unichip is not (access by authorized tuners only). I find this type of access locking VERY distasteful. When I pay for something, I want full access to it. If I screw it up, it's my (or my tuner's) fault. It's not like the Unichip developer is going to cover my costs if something blows whether it was an "authorized" tune or not. Ha ha, ok now I'm just ranting for the fun of it. ;)

i have played with both and own a utec. i would highly recommend the utec. tis easy to use. let me know if you have any other questions. i have been through it all it seems like... :)

Thanks you guys . . . I have a bunch of reading and studying to do now. ;)

anyone try HKS's F-Con Pro? i heard that was the **** from GT Motorsports, Ontario (APS dealer) anyone running it?

I love my Utec now that I got some kinks worked out. No biggie, and Turboxs was quick to help. Just the learning curve kinda sucked....

One point that might matter is that I think a difference between the two is the Utec = user tunable, while Unichip = dealer tunable only? I think that's the case with the Unichip, but (correct me if i'm wrong) you're able to buy the software to tune it.

Mounting isn't that much of a pain, just have to be creative because its a tight space :p

I want the HKS, just its too damn expensive and its really not too too much better then the Utec....

OK... i ca't belive this was't mentioned yet (i read it pretty quickly though...hope didn't miss it). The Unichip is a piggyback (an average one at that), while UTEC is a full standalone. I have been running the eManage Ultimate, and in my opinion, and in that of many others, it's FAR FAR superior to the Unichip, on a few levels. It is VERY consistent.

THe UTEC lacks a good and efficient user interface, as well as an atomatic AFR tuning option, which could cut down the time and effort in tuning a car's AFR by 80% or more. It's a very very useful feature. It's got a target map, and it will automatically edit the table when the conditions you set are met (% trottle, etc.) To my knowledge, UTEC does NOT do that, and unichip definitely does't do it either. eU will have a firmware upgrade in the near future that wll make it standalone for timing, which is all you need a standlone for in almost all cases. Not to mention it's nearly half the price. All of this is almost moot though, as the crappy interface of the UTEC is a FATAL flaw imo... telnet interface, c'mon... What about looking at a log clicking on the spot you want to correct, and the program automatically finding the primary AND secondary cells in the map that were used to make up that point (AFR and timing).... EU does just this (among many other things), while the UTEC doesn't only not do it, but it can't possibly, it being a text- and not graphics-based user interface.

Excellent info, I will have to check into the eManage system. thanks.

sorry gurgen but the utec is only a standalone for the fuel and timing with FORCED INDUCTION. if you use the UTEC naturally aspirated then it alters the signal coming from the MAF sensor to the computer.


that makes it a piggyback for fuel if you are NA.

Is it true that EU can alter AFR on individual cylinders while UTEC cant? This might be helpful to someone, like me, whose B2 is leaner than B1.

I am still thinking that your car has a problem with it to begin with..15 A/F ratio is very abnormal especially for the mods you have.



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My understanding was that it was a standlone *at load* (regardless of FI or NA setup).

Here is my list of UTEC pros/cons:

PROS
-----
1. Complete control of fuel and timing ("standalone" at load).
2. Data logging, including A/F.
3. Knock management.
4. Temperature-based adjustments/corrections.
5. Plug 'n Play harness - no splicing... (easy to revert to stock, unlike EU)

CONS
-----
1. Too BIG.
2. Infrequent software updates.
3. Clumsy text-based interface.
4. No auto-tune feature.


It is my understanding that having complete control of timing and fuel with datalogging and knock management is *only* available on the UTEC. If the EU get this someday, then it will be a contender in this area.

Yes, the user interface sucks - but just because it's text based doesn't mean the user interface can't be improved or that improved functionality can't be added. That said, I have also read that there have been very few updates to the UTEC software...

yes the user interface is pretty ghetto, but it works. in NA mode (open loopfueling, MAF pulldown) the car runs off the factory MAF sensor to a certain TPS and then takes over altering the signal to the computer from the MAF. which still is considered a piggyback system.

in FI (speed density) you actually dial in injector pulse widths across the board and it uses the PSI x rpm x TPS to adjust the fuel

in both modes you can alter the timing however you would like...