Vivid Racing ECU flash tune. Any detail?
- Thread starter speedyglx
- Start date
Scharfschütze
New member
No issues at all, im running 89 octane consistently now and rollin' fine, I dont remember what stock felt like and don't even think about the tune any more. My rig is so fat and heavy, its hard to notice anything hahha.
Thank you so much for all this info, this has been extremely helpful and thanks for all the updates! True service!
I intend to go for a stage 2 but will have to mod the motor out a bit more still before I get that far.
I'm trying to figure things out with the headers as I'd like to keep cats in there (as my wife and son drive in the 4runner quite frequently) which means i'd go for the short tubes welded to the cats and I'm curious how that would effect things.
Gonna be a few months out but look forward to anymore discussion on the topic! Thanks again fellas
I intend to go for a stage 2 but will have to mod the motor out a bit more still before I get that far.
I'm trying to figure things out with the headers as I'd like to keep cats in there (as my wife and son drive in the 4runner quite frequently) which means i'd go for the short tubes welded to the cats and I'm curious how that would effect things.
Gonna be a few months out but look forward to anymore discussion on the topic! Thanks again fellas
Considering this for my '16 4Runner and my '10 FJ Cruiser. There is an Australian tuner that has a similar approach for the FJ but it's a bit more. I have family in Gilbert actually, but I won't be going there until this winter. :frusty: Those that have done the tune, $750 worth the price for 20ish more HP and some better pedal response?? I wonder how this would do with the 2010FJcruiser motor.
Flix
New member
I did the tune in Feb on my 2010 SR5. So far it's been a good improvement over the stock in terms of better use of the gearing at highway speed. Pedal response is about the same. The most notable change is my truck isn't hunting as much between 3rd and 5th gear on the highway going up a slight incline. I just did a 800km round trip through the coastal mountains in BC and got about 14.5 L/100km (16mpg). I should note my truck has an extra 500 lbs of mods cargo cabinets and gear compared to a stock truck.
Hmmm. 15 is pretty crummy after a tune and only 500lbs extra crap. I'm on the fence here with this still. I do notice that the 5-3-5-3-5 hunting is annoying going up hill. We drive from CA to MT about once a year and the 4Runner struggles getting up those hills even with non ethanol fuel. I would be helpful but for $750 I have to be saving a lot of gas real quick.
Flix
New member
I also have a few ext. mods that create extra drag on my truck. At the end of the day, each person's experience will be different with the tune. Just putting in my 2 cents here to help you make a decision
Louisiana Overland
New member
True. 285s + lift alone can put a stock truck ~15 mpg
Adding a tune for the sake of gas mileage is not a very good reason to spend the dough. If its anything like the custom tuning I did on my gmc truck, the transmission/shifting help alone is worth the price. Getting rid of gear hunting and 3rd gear drops at highway speeds has to be easier on all driveline components. Id be happy with the results you are seeing. After my experience with the gmc/custom tune I am a bit hesitant to do it to the t4r. I broke a couple drive shafts and they dont come cheap...nor does the rest of the crap they tear up under the truck when they break. I doubt seriously i would see that same issue on the t4r but a different unforseen issue is always possible.
Interpret that as...i have other things i am working on with my 4runner and will likely do this mod in the future. Lol
TheWraith
New member
honestly alot of these tuning chips or reflashed; I suspect only are just messing with throttle position sensors like the sprint booster or pedal commander.
I have yet see someone dyno their 4runner before and after...
ps. I dont believe in Vivid's dyno video because theyre the manufacturer and have everything to gain from it ...
I would like to get this tune and put it on the dyno ... But I dont want to fork over the $500 bucks for one on top of the dyno time.
I have yet see someone dyno their 4runner before and after...
ps. I dont believe in Vivid's dyno video because theyre the manufacturer and have everything to gain from it ...
I would like to get this tune and put it on the dyno ... But I dont want to fork over the $500 bucks for one on top of the dyno time.
CajunRunnerRN
New member
Has anyone done the stage 2 yet?
For a naturally aspirated engines (e.g. ones without a turbo or supercharger), ECU tunes are snake oil - you will not realize noticable HP or TQ gains. If your butt dyno can accurately assess a 0.33% gain you're amazing and should be in a different line of business.
Power gains come from increased air intake that allow the ECU to compensate with increased fuel while maintaining the optimal stoichiometric air:fuel ratio for internal combustion engines and a naturally aspirated engine cannot force more air into the combustion chamber to significantly increase this.
Throttle position mapping like PC/SB do, as accurately denoted by their vendors do not alter the HP/TQ numbers of the vehicles, but do alter the "felt response" to throttle input.
IMNSHO, save your money on any and all naturally aspirated engine ECU "tunes".
Power gains come from increased air intake that allow the ECU to compensate with increased fuel while maintaining the optimal stoichiometric air:fuel ratio for internal combustion engines and a naturally aspirated engine cannot force more air into the combustion chamber to significantly increase this.
Throttle position mapping like PC/SB do, as accurately denoted by their vendors do not alter the HP/TQ numbers of the vehicles, but do alter the "felt response" to throttle input.
IMNSHO, save your money on any and all naturally aspirated engine ECU "tunes".
SparkySparks83
New member
Not completely true about the ECU Tune being "snake oil", it is similar to swapping out the jets on a carburetor to adjust the air fuel ratio and turning the distribute to adjust timing. You can lean out the air fuel mixture and add timing (as long as you can avoid knock) and get some more out of a stock naturally aspirated engine.
I do agree that to truly get the most out of an ECU tune on a naturally aspirated engine you need to allow the engine to breath more (better flowing intake, intake manifold if there is even an option for the 4Runner,headers, exhaust) you will probably have to add more fueling at some point as well depending on how much headroom the stock system has. But if you are doing all of that, you are going to most likely want to put it on a dyno and get a better tune.
Now if you are purely talking about a "Boxed" ECU Tune for a naturally aspirated vehicle, those normally make very small if any adjustments to Air/Fuel or Timing but instead adjust the throttle response curve and possibly crank up the shift pressure. It is a very generic and minor tune that will fit MOST vehicles and those tunes are a waste of money.
Thebeastlives
New member
You are 100% correct. Every generation of 4 runner goes through this bs. There is literally a thread on this site for each generation of 4 runner about snake oil like this increasing power. These are utility vehicles not sport SUVs. If you want power then get a performance vehicle or super charge or turbo your 4 runner. You are going to spend a lot of money to make this thing go faster and in the end my former X5 or my neighbor's Audi q8 will smoke our 4 runners and get better gas mileage doing it. I love the 5th gen but I got it for what it is and coming from a turbo v8 bmw x5 with 400+ hp the 4 runner won me over for what it can do that few SUVs can, not its zero to 60 or passing power.
I have one too but it's for my lexus and I believe they're locked to whoever sells it to u right? I'd love to be able to use it on both my 4runner and IS350
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI1Nxjq_fH0&ab_channel=VividRacing
Here's the dyno everyone was asking for ... definitely not "snake oil"
Here's the dyno everyone was asking for ... definitely not "snake oil"
