P5 vs mp3 ecu

[DBR]

i've got a p5 and am interested in comparing the different fuel/ignition timing maps for the p5 vs. mp3 ECUs.  does anyone know any shops in the GTA that can do this, and how much it would cost?  thanks.

[taxmasta]

im not shure.... but it u want to swap any chips i can do it for you

[Familia 323]

DBR, you can try Japanese Automotive on Bridgeland Ave. in Toronto. I've dealt with them several times when I had my Toy Celica a few years ago. Although they specialize mostly on turbocharged Japanese imports, they also offer services like custom ECU reprogramming for most Japanese stock ECU's and I've seen many Miatas there also in the past. Here's the link to their website...

http://www.japanese-auto.com/main.html

[DBR]

thanks for the info. i've sent an email to them and i'll let you know how it goes.

[Familia 323]

No probs DBR... Also, check out that Toronto Star article posted in their site. Yoshio, the owner of Japanese Automotive I believed talked about the possiblity of tuning newer Japanese models such as the P5 and the MP3. Hope you get a positive response too...

[turboboy]

From what I've been reading, the only difference between the MP3 and P5 ecu is that the MP3 has it ignition timing advanced a few degrees. The fuel map is exactly the same. BTW, have you changed anything on the car i.e header, exhaust etc.. ? Chipping the car won't help you much unless you've improve the breathing of the engine.

[MP5Navy]

What do you think is the approximate cost of a chip upgrade or tune? How much HP gains are we hoping for with a tuned Pro5 chip?

I have an AEM intake and Brullen Cat-back and the hopes of getting the new Brullen header. How much will I gain?

[Familia 323]

Dave, a chip upgrade will probably run you around $700+ and gains are minimal on slightly modded engines. If the potential power gains are to be reached (15-25% hp increase) a combination of forced induction and internal upgrades are most certainly needed. You'll probably noticed a slightly better response however. One advantage the G1 & G2 Proteges over the current Protege models have is ignition timing adjustment. A chip upgrade combined with ignition timing advancement and high octane fuel will most definitely improve torque and response on the older models. Ignition timing advancement is pretty well a non-factor on the G3 models except for the MP3 which was tuned for slightly better torque in the factory.

[DBR]

i went to japanese automotive today. here's the jist:

-  the first thing they want to do is look at the ECU before they can be sure they can help.

-  they seemed more interested in trying to optimize the protege5 ECU by itself, rather than remapping to mp3 specs, i guess cause the mp3 might not be fully optomized itself.

-  the price would be about $700 - 1000 for improving the tuning on a stock p5, and about an extra $100/hr for tuning a modded p5.

- i think the stock chip is  "flashed"  (ie wiped clean) and reprogrammed in place.

-  i said there might be a market for chips that would make a p5 ECU into an mp3 ECU (revised ignition timing and/or fuel map), but since the stock chip has to be reprogrammed in place ,  people would have to send their ECU to the shop to be tweaked.  (ie can't swap in a new chip at home).

-  they might need the car for a day or two to do the work.

thanks again for the lead.  still mulling over what to do myself.

[Familia 323]

Great you got some info DBR.. As for their reluctance to remap the stock ECU to MP3 specs, the reason quite possibly lies on the MP3's air intake system and advanced ignition timing... Glad someone locally can do it, if our members choose to in the future..

[rowan]

Followup to this thread.. there is a discussion on Protege Club about having a dealership flash a normal 2.0L ecu with the MP3 program:
http://protegeclub.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8697 (http://protegeclub.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8697)