Vivid Racing ECU flash tune. Any detail?

[Charlievee]

With your love of your Ford Bronco why didn’t you just wait for the new one instead of settling for a Toyota turd station wagon?

I've been waiting on one for more then a decade and I have little confidence in it being nothing more than a rebadged minivan or dare I say a cross over. The 4Runner is the only truck on the market that holds true to the heritage of a true multi functional off road capable platform at a fair price. Add in the aftermarket support and loyal fans, it was a no brainer.

 

[Charlievee]

It was not my intent to hijack a thread. I ask the mods to clean it up, so the op can gain the knowledge he deserves.

 

[Saker]

It was not my intent to hijack a thread. I ask the mods to clean it up, so the op can gain the knowledge he deserves.

Hey [MENTION=261195]Charlievee[/MENTION],
You know you have the capability to clean up your own posting thru the edit or delete button...

Thanks for replying to the post, I bet a lot of members were wondering why you were referring to the T4R as you did.

 

[Scharfschütze]

Putting it on a dyno?

Probably not. Butt dyno should suffice for me. I have the capability and the contact at a dyno shop but the effort and time for me is a waste. If its a 10% increase and the driving characteristics improve, that should be very noticeable. I may reach out to my pal with the dyno to see if he has time but its not a priority.

Please please do a dyno. If you do one, I will send you some bigtime karma and maybe even a few bucks toward the cost after the fact on paypal lol.

See above, I appreciate the offer!

So does this mean you log some pulls and they adjust the tune and send it back? I had something similar to this with my 2012 Mustang GT. Not as good as a dyno tune but probably good enough for most of us.

Negative, you just pull the file, email it to them, they perform their magic and email it back, upload and boom, done. Correct, dyno tuned would be better but probably just a tiny bit.

*** FedEx has tried to deliver it x2 now and I have been away both times. I lost my father today and I will be out of town for probably a week. Vivid is calling FedEx to hold it at my local location until I return. Was hoping to have some feedback for everyone today but it looks like it'll be a week more before I have anything to share. Sorry for the delay, life sucks.

 

[bbermann]

. I lost my father today and I will be out of town for probably a week. Vivid is calling FedEx to hold it at my local location until I return. Was hoping to have some feedback for everyone today but it looks like it'll be a week more before I have anything to share. Sorry for the delay, life sucks.

Hey man, sorry for your loss.

Mine passed in April so this is fresh for me. Hang in there.

 

[Big_Cuss]

Sorry for your loss as well!

 

[fx3s]

Probably not. Butt dyno should suffice for me. I have the capability and the contact at a dyno shop but the effort and time for me is a waste. If its a 10% increase and the driving characteristics improve, that should be very noticeable. I may reach out to my pal with the dyno to see if he has time but its not a priority.



See above, I appreciate the offer!



Negative, you just pull the file, email it to them, they perform their magic and email it back, upload and boom, done. Correct, dyno tuned would be better but probably just a tiny bit.

*** FedEx has tried to deliver it x2 now and I have been away both times. I lost my father today and I will be out of town for probably a week. Vivid is calling FedEx to hold it at my local location until I return. Was hoping to have some feedback for everyone today but it looks like it'll be a week more before I have anything to share. Sorry for the delay, life sucks.

Sorry for your loss. Hang in there.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

[Big_Cuss]

Just as a note, Orange Virus Tuning said they're still working on the tune.

They did warn me about Vivid Racing. something to the tune of "Look into them a bit just in case you want to know what you're getting into.

Are they known to be sketchy at all? I will say, Vivid's dyno images made no sense. They showed power dropping to zero way before the 1GR-FE runs out of power.

Edit: I do see they recently posted a Youtube dyno run. That explains a lot, so I feel a bit safer with Vivid. Still curious if their tune will safely adapt to 87 octane (the dyno runs were on 91).

 

[npottala]

This was the Vivid Racing response from my questions about octane and if their tune addressed any shift point changes for freeway gear searching:


Thanks for contacting us. The tune does not require 91-93oct to operate safely but it is of course suggested. The tune has significantly helped 4th and 5th gear at cruising speeds on the free way. Since completing the flash on our 2018 TRD Pro shop 4Runner we have not experienced the previous issues on the 4Runner constantly searching between 4th and 5th gear.

 

[npottala]

Just as a note, Orange Virus Tuning said they're still working on the tune.

Is this for sure? I heard they might have something this “winter” but I also saw them post last week on 4runners.com to see if there was interest in a tune.

I’m hoping they aren’t backing out. They used to have an option on their website for 4runners which said “coming soon” but it’s now gone.

 

[Scharfschütze]

OV tuning has been saying its coming for a LONG time. Also take anything they say about a competitor that beat them to the market with at least 1 grain of salt...

UPDATE:

First off, thanks for the well wishes ya'll, its not an easy time for my fam but we will be ok!

I got back from Oklahoma Sunday and went to FedEx yesterday to grab my tuner. I got the DimSport myGenius module, cords and the USB stick. Its PC only. I was able to easily set up the software, update the software, then update my myGenius very easily. Their instructions are pretty good. I was able to download my factory ECU file and then you upload it to www.vrtuned.com. I uploaded the file at about 7:30 CST last night, at 10:34 this morning, they emailed me back the tuned file. Not bad for turnaround if you ask me. Interestingly, they asked about existing mods. I assume they are accounting for that when they tune. I have a snorkel lol, K&N drop in, URD Y pipe.

I have dinner plans at 5pm today, right after work, should be home around 7ish...I will tune the truck as soon as I get back! I have been pumping 91 octane last 2 tanks to get ready for the tune. 93 octane here in TX is WAY more expensive so Im going to run 91. Hoping for a nice result. Ya'll will be the first to hear my impressions. I will try to do some decent driving tonight so I can form an opinion.

One nice thing I suppose, I will making the same trip back to OK to see mom Friday-Sunday again. 5.5hrs, almost all highway...I got 15.5mpg on the way there and 14.5 back. Will be interesting to compare both drives since I was on 91 for the last one. Im going to try to drive it a lot before the trip so the tune sets in and learns.

Im not paid or sponsored by anyone just FYI.

 

[Big_Cuss]

Thanks for being so scientific about this, dude. Looking forward to more!

 

[newbian]

Why did it take 9 years for someone to come out with a tune for this simple platform?

 

[Scharfschütze]

Why did it take 9 years for someone to come out with a tune for this simple platform?

Toyota supposedly did a great job locking down their ECUs, also market demand for the 4R tune is probably not high, relative to other platforms with more demand...But i feel the same way, FINALLY.

 

[Momentum4Runner]

Toyota supposedly did a great job locking down their ECUs, also market demand for the 4R tune is probably not high, relative to other platforms with more demand...But i feel the same way, FINALLY.

So Awesome! Looking forward to hear your experience with this tune.

 

[Sparkkky]

Yes, I am also waiting to hear some feedback.

 

[Scharfschütze]

TUNED!

Got home around 7 last night and immediately went to work to get my truck tuned. They emailed me the file, you essentially just use the software to move the tune from your computer to the tuner, then disconnect it from the computer, plug to the car, press ok a few times and cycle the ignition a few times. myGenius tells you exactly what to do the whole process. Uploading took about 60 seconds to complete. The truck didnt crank over the first time, this is common any time the ECU resets, next try fired right up, all normal!
I did get a transmission temp high warning in the cluster while it was flashing...weird but not concerning.

I did a bit of driving last night, initially about 5 miles of hard throttles and trying to notice changes. Then over to a friends house for a bit and home, about 30mi round trip, mostly highway. Here are my observations so far:

-downshifts seem more prompt and snappy, seem to happen earlier and hesitate less....WOT from a cruise you feel it snap down gears and take off, feels good
-revs feel like they come up a bit faster, I can feel a bit more grunt, not face melting but its there
-pedal is a little more sensitive, not much though (somewhat disappointing)
-Seemed to feel it pulling a little better uphill with some throttle
-shifting seems smoother under normal driving
-I noticed while coming around corners I am now early getting back on the gas (anticipating the factory delay), one of the most obvious changes so far

I drove to work this morning totally normal, just like I do every day, some traffic and rain along the way. The truck just felt a little healthier, maybe feels a little lighter on takeoffs from lights and getting up to speed. I am happy so far. This weekend I'll be putting almost 800 hwy miles and repeating a trip I just did last week. I would LOVE to see mpg crack 16.5, which would be 1mpg better than last week.

My results may be different than yours. My truck is highly modified and carries tons of additional weight. I also have 4.56 gears which certainly change performance. I hope that someone with a stock geared, stock truck can also provide some feedback, that would be the cleanest data.

Any questions, just ask! I'll update with some more impressions over time and certainly after this upcoming trip.

 

[Sparkkky]

TUNED!

Got home around 7 last night and immediately went to work to get my truck tuned. They emailed me the file, you essentially just use the software to move the tune from your computer to the tuner, then disconnect it from the computer, plug to the car, press ok a few times and cycle the ignition a few times. myGenius tells you exactly what to do the whole process. Uploading took about 60 seconds to complete. The truck didnt crank over the first time, this is common any time the ECU resets, next try fired right up, all normal!
I did get a transmission temp high warning in the cluster while it was flashing...weird but not concerning.

I did a bit of driving last night, initially about 5 miles of hard throttles and trying to notice changes. Then over to a friends house for a bit and home, about 30mi round trip, mostly highway. Here are my observations so far:

-downshifts seem more prompt and snappy, seem to happen earlier and hesitate less....WOT from a cruise you feel it snap down gears and take off, feels good
-revs feel like they come up a bit faster, I can feel a bit more grunt, not face melting but its there
-pedal is a little more sensitive, not much though (somewhat disappointing)
-Seemed to feel it pulling a little better uphill with some throttle
-shifting seems smoother under normal driving
-I noticed while coming around corners I am now early getting back on the gas (anticipating the factory delay), one of the most obvious changes so far

I drove to work this morning totally normal, just like I do every day, some traffic and rain along the way. The truck just felt a little healthier, maybe feels a little lighter on takeoffs from lights and getting up to speed. I am happy so far. This weekend I'll be putting almost 800 hwy miles and repeating a trip I just did last week. I would LOVE to see mpg crack 16.5, which would be 1mpg better than last week.

My results may be different than yours. My truck is highly modified and carries tons of additional weight. I also have 4.56 gears which certainly change performance. I hope that someone with a stock geared, stock truck can also provide some feedback, that would be the cleanest data.

Any questions, just ask! I'll update with some more impressions over time and certainly after this upcoming trip.

Thanks for the review was surprised it didn't affect the pedal much. Wonder how this Vivid tune would compare with the TPPS?

 

[6172crew]

When I disconnected the battery on my 2013 taco it ran better for a few thousand miles. Wondering if the mapping is reset and has anything to do with the way they run after installing a tune?

 

[Big_Cuss]

I would def give the ECU time to adjust to the new tune and keep reviewing/providing feedback. This was the case with my dozens of tunes and revisions on my track car.

You rock for beta testing this as well. Owe you some karma, dude!