Swapping The Ecu

[Guest PacMan]

Is there anything i need to know before i swap the ECU in my 1.6 GTi for a chipped one? Do i need to disconnect the battery or anything like that?

[Guest chief]

Im not sure if theres constant power to the ECU or not, but it would be best practice to disconnect the battery negative before swapping it. You wouldnt want to short out your new toy now would you Is it a superchip btw?

[Guest PacMan]

Yeah thats what i was worried about, suppose disconnecting the battery is a good idea. Better safe than sorry and all that.

 

Its not a superchip, its by some place called Brodie Brittain Racing who i'm told used to prepare British touring cars in the 80's. The guy who sold me it had it on his 1.6 race car and he reckons it was the fastest 1.6 in his category. He also told me that with the ECU his car was rolling roaded at 99bhp at the wheels which i suppose is pretty impressive for just an ECU change?

[Guest chief]

Don't suppose the guy told you how the ECU had been modified? Obviously it'll change the fueling somehow, but it would be interesting to find out the exact details.

[Guest PacMan]

Nope afraid not. He just said what i wrote in my last post really. The ECU has a Brodie Brittain label on it with the name and address of the company on it. He did say it was chipped though rather than just modified?

 

Like you said it probably just remaps the fuel, but hopefuly it'll help the idle settle like the PPM ones do.

 

I actually know someone selling another ECU thats out of a 309 GTi Group N car or something like that, but i wasn't sure if it would have been suitable for my 1.6.

[fiji bob 0]

it will have been modded using different components you cant swap any chips with stored values on

[Guest PacMan]

it will have been modded using different components you cant swap any chips with stored values on

Whys that then?

[pug_ham 244 3 Cars]

If the chip was fitted by Brodie Brittain Racing then it'll be the normal BBR Starchip, depending on who you speak with they could be better or worse than a superchip.

 

They don't alter the rev limit but you used to be able to pay extra & get it moved 500rpm iirc, they change the fuel cut off so it isn't as likely to stall or kangaroo but whether it actually works or not I wouldn't like to say.

 

Graham.

[Guest PacMan]

pugtorque - so do you think it will be a worthwhile upgrade or not?

[Guest sicknote]

It could be worse, you could have a Superchip!

[Guest puggti]

I think it will be Pacman, put it on try it, if its poo then change it back and sell it on ebay, let us know how it goes mate so i can invest my money into one!

[cybernck 402 1 Cars]

i don't disconnect battery when changing ecu's and it seems fine

[Guest PacMan]

Are superchips no good then?

 

I'll probably get round to fitting it tomorrow so expect a full report.

[Guest sicknote]

Superchips are fine if you don't mind having no extra power, a 10% increase in fuel consumption, and a 7% CO reading at idle.

 

It does help the snatchiness around town, but you can adjust this out with the throttle switch anyway.

 

All this for £260!

 

 

Simon

[Guest d-9]

Does the pugsport ecu make any difference?

[fiji bob 0]

Whys that then?

there arent any chips with stored values in the ecu, the fuelling is determined by the values of the components its an analogue type ecu rather than digital which would have the chip/s in them

 

if its cheap less than £50 and you want to try it then it might be worth it otherwise i wouldnt bother when i changed the standard ecu for a ppm one it hardly made any difference felt very slightly more responsive but nothing to shout about

Edited September 23, 2003 by fiji bob

[NickR 10]

Could always just adjust the fuel cut off on the throttle for free

[pug_ham 244 3 Cars]

pugtorque - so do you think it will be a worthwhile upgrade or not?

I wouldn't like to comment on whether it will be worth it or not, the truest way to check this would be to haveth car correctly set up on the standard ecu, take it for a drive & then swap them over & do the adjustments needed before driving it again.

 

I have read better reviews of a 205 GTi fitted with a BBR Starchip than I have of them fitted with a superchip.

 

I have a write up somewhere that came with topgear a few years ago, I'll dig it out and post their remarks later.

 

Graham.

[Guest d-9]

nickR - how? would this stop the kangerooing?

[Guest PacMan]

Well i popped the new ECU in this afternoon. Although i haven't had a chance to road test the car yet, what i can say is that after fitting, the car fired into life straight away which it never used to do. It hasn't totally eliminated the erratic idle but it seems to have calmed it a bit. I used to get the revs going up and down by at least 500rpm, now it doesn't seem to be even 100rpm. Revving the engine seems a lot smoother and when i take my foot off the pedal it returns to a steady idle, where before it would drop right down and often cut out.

[Guest puggti]

Nice one Pacman, so your happy with your little Chip?