ECU Upgrade

[msu2312]

hey guys i was thinking about a way to get a little better gas milage.... what do you guys think of ecu chips or is it bogus?



TOYOTA 4RUNNER GF Peformance Chip

any feedback would be greatly appriciated

 

[BucknutBob]

hey guys i was thinking about a way to get a little better gas milage.... what do you guys think of ecu chips or is it bogus?



TOYOTA 4RUNNER GF Peformance Chip

any feedback would be greatly appriciated

In general, japanese engine designs are so efficient in stock form that performance gains come in tiny hops rather than big leaps. The only real exception to this "rule" is forced induction, such as turbo- or supercharging. Better mileage is even harder to come by than big hp, for that same reason. With ANY mod, expect only very small gains, if any. Your best bets are optimizing the running condition of your vehicle in it's current form: clean filters, clean injectors, high-quality plugs (factory wires are fine), synthetic oil, properly-aired tires. SMALL gains can be had with headers and free-flowing exhaust (but are usually expensive for good ones), cold air intakes, and yes, ECU upgrades (although you may not be able to simply "chip" it--some require sending the unit away for reprogramming directly). The biggest factor for better mileage, though, is your driving. To summarize, don't expect miracles from any one product, and don't look for large gains from any particular combination, either--these engines are just too well designed to be easily improved upon. Best of luck!

 

[SV_Dude]

In general, japanese engine designs are so efficient in stock form that performance gains come in tiny hops rather than big leaps. The only real exception to this "rule" is forced induction, such as turbo- or supercharging. Better mileage is even harder to come by than big hp, for that same reason. With ANY mod, expect only very small gains, if any. Your best bets are optimizing the running condition of your vehicle in it's current form: clean filters, clean injectors, high-quality plugs (factory wires are fine), synthetic oil, properly-aired tires. SMALL gains can be had with headers and free-flowing exhaust (but are usually expensive for good ones), cold air intakes, and yes, ECU upgrades (although you may not be able to simply "chip" it--some require sending the unit away for reprogramming directly). The biggest factor for better mileage, though, is your driving. To summarize, don't expect miracles from any one product, and don't look for large gains from any particular combination, either--these engines are just too well designed to be easily improved upon. Best of luck!

I'm going to disagree with you on a few things...

1) You can get a LOT of performance gains with a little bit of engine work. Headers, intake, cam, head work and exhaust can get you upwards of 150+ HP and 150+ TQ. It may be a little bit pricey but they are easy things to do one part at a time.

2) You cannot chip our ECU's, nor is there anyone who will reprogram them. The ONLY options for an ecu upgrade for us is an aftermarket ECU such as megasquirt. Using an aftermarket ECU you can reprogram your fuel map, timing, injector pulse, ect... You simply cannot modify our stock ecu's. You can sometimes do a few things to "trick" the ECU such as adjusting the AFM to make the ECU think that the motor is getting less or more air than it actually is.

3) You say to not look for large gains from a particular combination? Companies make combination kits with components that work VERY well together to make massive performance gains. IE: LCE Performance. They make an EFI top end kit that includes a big more throttle body, bored intake and injectors. That kit alone adds up to 15HP on a stock motor. That is better more than 10% increase in power to a stock motor. That's pretty good for our little underpowered motors. My motor for example, I have a LCE header, Street RV head, 268 cam, cylinders bored .030 over, deck milled .015, stock air filter housing delete with a high flow cone filter, under drive pulley (being installed tomorrow), and the A/C deleted. I have yet to dyno it but a lot of smart people on these motors (LCE, Engnbldr) have told me I'm upwards of around 155-160 HP and about 180TQ. That is a HUGE increase in power over stock on relatively small upgrades.


OP: Do some research and see for yourself that these little motors aren't too hard nor extremely expensive to upgrade and make more powerful.

 

[SV_Dude]

hey guys i was thinking about a way to get a little better gas milage.... what do you guys think of ecu chips or is it bogus?



TOYOTA 4RUNNER GF Peformance Chip

any feedback would be greatly appriciated

Stay away from these so called "performance chips". They're a scam and do not work.

 

[Hyde802]

Woah normally 399 down to 69 bucks.

With that kind of saving you can get the electronic supercharger too!

 

[BucknutBob]

I'm going to disagree with you on a few things...

1) You can get a LOT of performance gains with a little bit of engine work. Headers, intake, cam, head work and exhaust can get you upwards of 150+ HP and 150+ TQ. It may be a little bit pricey but they are easy things to do one part at a time.

2) You cannot chip our ECU's, nor is there anyone who will reprogram them. The ONLY options for an ecu upgrade for us is an aftermarket ECU such as megasquirt. Using an aftermarket ECU you can reprogram your fuel map, timing, injector pulse, ect... You simply cannot modify our stock ecu's. You can sometimes do a few things to "trick" the ECU such as adjusting the AFM to make the ECU think that the motor is getting less or more air than it actually is.

3) You say to not look for large gains from a particular combination? Companies make combination kits with components that work VERY well together to make massive performance gains. IE: LCE Performance. They make an EFI top end kit that includes a big more throttle body, bored intake and injectors. That kit alone adds up to 15HP on a stock motor. That is better more than 10% increase in power to a stock motor. That's pretty good for our little underpowered motors. My motor for example, I have a LCE header, Street RV head, 268 cam, cylinders bored .030 over, deck milled .015, stock air filter housing delete with a high flow cone filter, under drive pulley (being installed tomorrow), and the A/C deleted. I have yet to dyno it but a lot of smart people on these motors (LCE, Engnbldr) have told me I'm upwards of around 155-160 HP and about 180TQ. That is a HUGE increase in power over stock on relatively small upgrades.


OP: Do some research and see for yourself that these little motors aren't too hard nor extremely expensive to upgrade and make more powerful.

The kinds of things you're recommending are major upgrades, not simple bolt-ons like what the man was asking about. Sure you can make big gains if you redo the whole insides of the engine, but that's not the topic. And as for the ECU, I know for a fact that the factory ECU can be sent out and reprogrammed--I HAVE researched it. Peace, bro.

 

[SV_Dude]

The kinds of things you're recommending are major upgrades, not simple bolt-ons like what the man was asking about. Sure you can make big gains if you redo the whole insides of the engine, but that's not the topic. And as for the ECU, I know for a fact that the factory ECU can be sent out and reprogrammed--I HAVE researched it. Peace, bro.

My reply was slightly off topic, but it was directly related to yours. Most of my engine work is simple bolt ons. Some of which increase mileage, some may not... not sure on that one. I didn't build my engine to compete with the prius. I just wanted to point out a few facts.

Who do you know of that will re-program a factory ECU for a 22re or 3vz?

 

[fourwd1]

hey guys i was thinking about a way to get a little better gas milage.... what do you guys think of ecu chips or is it bogus?



TOYOTA 4RUNNER GF Peformance Chip

any feedback would be greatly appriciated

First of all, you didn't bother to tell us anything about your truck, like what engine would be helpful.

But since you posted in this forum, which is for 84-95's, that means it's a 22RE 4 cyl or the 3.slow V6.
Both of those have rather crude EFI's that aren't "rechipable" or "reprogramable".

All you would be buying is a cheap part that "fools" the ECM into thinking the engine temp is colder, so it dumps in more fuel.

 

[BucknutBob]

My reply was slightly off topic, but it was directly related to yours. Most of my engine work is simple bolt ons. Some of which increase mileage, some may not... not sure on that one. I didn't build my engine to compete with the prius. I just wanted to point out a few facts.

Who do you know of that will re-program a factory ECU for a 22re or 3vz?

JET Performance can reprogram the 3.0, according to actual ads for their product specifically for this application. They have you ship your factory ECU to them, reprogram it, and send it back--it is not a different ECU, but an upgrade for your existing one. I didn't check on the 22RE, so I'm not sure if they do it for that application. As for the other stuff, it's all cool--I understand where you were coming from!