Aftermarket ECU Advice & Tuning Shop
 

Hi Guys,

I recently acquired a MR2, and need to get it tuned properly. It has quite a few aftermarket engine mods, but is running on stock ECU.

Anyone have any advice on good experiences with certain aftermarket ECUs, and any good shops that can dyno-tune it ?

Thanks,

for aftermarket ECUs, ive found it really depends more on who your tuner is and what he prefers to work with. mainly though you cant go wrong with VIPEC or HALTECH but again for myself personally, i would ask the tuner what to go with. racing greed is one of the revscene vendors that has a dyno and can tune your car for a decent rate.

but what mr2?
what engine mods?
whats your budget?

I would also like to know what aftermarket ECU to run on the MR2 turbo and which shop is capable of tuning it.

Unless you're hitting above 300RWHP, the stock ECU is more than capable.

I am hitting way over 300whp and wondering what is my option.

Truth is, there aren't many when it comes to the MR2 platform. There are some plug and play options such as Haltech (I had one but never used it) but other than that, I'm not sure what else is out there. Best to call up a shop like Racing Greed or The Speed Syndicate.

My car is a 1991 Toyota MR2 Turbo.

I purchased it with a bunch of mods on it, and I don't think it is tuned properly.
I don't really want to spend more than $1k on a ECU, and maybe $500 on tuning? I am honestly new to the whole ECU dyno tuning aspect and have no idea how much they charge.

I just contacted Speed Syndicate, so thanks for that piece. As I didn't know how to search for them on google properly.

What are the mods? Could be anything really thats making it run bad.

I would also look at Drift Office. Bob deff knows his way around only issue is they are in the States

You only want to spend $1500 for everything? Good luck unless you find a plug n play system with base maps pre programmed in.
A decent system is going to run you 1k and up then installing it and then tuning it and dyno time. If you want a good system properly installed and well tuned your going to be spending close to double that.

Could always try Megasquirt. Prebuilt ECU's are pretty cheap and there's bound to be a base map on one of the forums. If you don't want to spend a lot of money, spend a weekend with a buddy and tune the car yourself on the road. Or call up a shop like Racing Greed and they can probably have it well tuned relatively quickly.

Honestly? I have no idea how much ECU Tuning costs. I was just throwing numbers out because someone asked.

I know it's running TD06 Turbo with Trunk Mounted Intercooler running insane amounts of boost. Other than that, I just bought the car, so haven't had much time to look into it.

Sounds like a common setup (TD06/Greddy turbo.) I don't think it'll hit over 300rwhp with that setup on a stock ECU.

The crazy amount of boost won't do your car any good. Run it at 16psi tops and ensure the car is in tip top condition (no boost leaks, vacuum leaks etc.)

Running "an insane amount of boost" has a point of diminishing returns. How much boost are you actually running? Do you even know?

What did speed syndicate say? Are they able to dyno tune your vehicle? How much boost is your MR2 running? Is it a JDM MR2?

Before spending any money on parts or doing anything with the car I recommend you come by our shop put it on the dyno where we can monitor detonation, boost, and A/F ratio. The dyno will tell us a lot about the car and how it is running. There might be another issue other than the tune that may need to be addressed first.

^ that. If you got a second hand vehicle with iffy history it's best to get it baseline dyno'd first and know what you are working with before doing anything rash.

Pm'ed

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the advice. I emailed SpeedSyndicate a few days ago, and have not even had a peep from them.

Right now the car is waiting for parts. Since I don't know the history of the car, I'm changing seals / timing belt / water pump. Anything else I should change as preventive maintenance?

Car was bought from a used car dealer for a steal of a price, and that's the only reason I purchased it from them, the only downside being that there is absolutely NO history.

@RacingGreed, how much would your baseline dyno cost me?

Mr2 is a local BC car.

$95

Thanks. I will be sure to book a day for a baseline dyno as soon as it's maintenance is first brought up to date.