Ecutek eTune through Seb@ SZ

NRGz

Seb has set me up with..
Traction control
Upped rpm by 200
2 maps+valet
Knock
Torque upped for smoother shifts
Radiator cooling at a lower temp
Cruise min speed
Revised throttle
Rpm seems to idle higher @ 700.. Usually see around 600

What more could be done? I couldnt find anymore anywhere on forums or searching excluding 2step and launch (6mt stuff)


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denchan350gt

His throttle hijack you turn on and off with VDC. VDC off its on. Just ask him and see if you have it.

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04 5AT G35 13.1@101, 04 TT G35x 11.52@120, 2010 7AT G37 12.7@109

Ventruck

Bumping out of curiosity to see how things have been lately. Could be doing this end of the month.

Don't know what part of NorCal you're in, but how's temperature management and mileage so far?

If you were on MT I'd also be curious about how idle adjustment influences take-offs and creeping in reverse.

NRGz

Idle seems just a taad bit higher on startup.. Which could be good or bad depending on your set up.; too loud of an exhaust? Car warms up faster?

Up in the Shasta area, been seeing mildy cold mornings but 95+ in the afternoon.
On a good day of about 80-90 degrees im seeing temps under 220. Not sure if because the fan is kicking on earlier is helping or just the weather. Though did see 230 degrees on the oil temp today on a 45 minute commute of traffic slow and go.
As for idling, im currently @ 190 degrees idling at about 600rpm waiting in line for food lol

Everything is still good. I currently dont have new mods for a new tune or a datalog tune as im still debating a SC sometime in the near future.
Buttdyno feels smoother power as well as power output when your already rolling.

Off topic; i do realize that i have lost some power on the low/midish range when I switched out stock intake for Stillen g3(untuned).I feel LITTLE to no difference even with the tune; could be placebo effect due to the throttle mapping?

Map Switching is nice. I run map 2 (good for under 95 degrees per say) in the morning and at night. Map one for noon to afternoon. Map two feels alot better on the shifting as well as power; then again could be to the colder weather.

Throttle is still nice. Though would probably like to dumb it down ~5%. I still find myself doing some ankle work to not 'take off' from a stop. During spirited runs in the backyard i still need to get used to the throttle. You need..i dont want to say little nor do i want to say alot of throttle for the rpm to start climbing. In the backyard, im still hesitant of applying too much throttle in a curve so I go with what im comfortable with.

Gas mileage has no effect on ME. Im not too worried about what im guzzling up. Its a Z. I drive it how I always dreamed of driving it during my "2 year waiting period." And of course, its a Z. I drive it how its set up to be. Its my baby, but its also something else . Speaking of gas, I contacted SZ after about 2-3 weeks of playing with the tune to see if they could make my map #2 a little more agressive due to running it in colder weather. Response was that pump gas of 91 could only take you so far. It could be more aggressive if you are running race gas.

Currently im still playing with traction control as well as RPM setting. Trying to get the 'best launch' for when i decide to visit the drag.

I dont know much about the 6mt package. I know you get launch control and a little more. I do recommend the data log option to get the most out of it if you have alot of breathing mods and if theres no dynos around you. (Sz was the most reputable in terms of reviews for ecutek from what I found. They are 10-12 hours away from me)

I kind of purchased it on an impulse buy as i had some spare change and wanted to inch something out of it for my current mods. Again, only got stillen g3 and a custom exhaust that already came with the car.

These are just my opinions of my experiences. Hope i didnt leave anything out.


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Ventruck

Thanks for the elaborate response.

On the note of map switching, how do you know what map you're using? Is the HUD programmed to display it somewhere? Nevermind, found Seb's video. Clever

Right now I'm on tubes and drop-ins (so arguably stock). I'm really just looking at the gains/dollar with the off the shelf tune in respect to overall driving experience. Power across the board, flat-foot shifting, and response.

I may or may not go for an exhaust down the road, so I may fork over for the data logging only then if that happens.

ANMVQ

All I can say is do it, My gas mileage is a bit worse but I drive kinda hard, and with the throttle hijack the throttle is supper touchy. My shifts are VERY firm( 7 spd auto) they will actually whip you in the seat and if I hit it right shift into second will chirp!

Overall performance wise I am fully bolted and the car is very quick/fast.

I know we don't share race stories but the short of it a few new V8's(Camaro, mustangs) have had their eyes opened, and this Sunday I had a SLOW walk past a Supercharge GS350, even wife was :O!

He will completely change your car, Seb really knows his stuff, I still haven't messed with the TQ management tho.

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14 Q50 AWD, ARK, ECUTEK (SEB), Takda,

NRGz

Yes +1! Throttle was very touchy/sensitive when I first went out for a drive.

I feel like i get less chirp going to second with VDC off plus less of that push force that VDC on gives. Not part of the tune; but traction control is.

Playing with TC, I felt the most comfortable launch is right around 8-900 rpm; and with the sensitivity of the throttle already, i dont have to give it much and I feel more control on the throttle when trying to launch from a dig.


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Ventruck

Don't wanna hijack a thread but 1) can't really say my experience yields a new one yet, 2) was posting in this already.

Got my OTS tune from Seb at Specialty Z. Great guy in being responsive with questions. He does go out of his way to answer some stuff after business hours. I'm currently running HPS tubes, aFe drop-ins (so virtually stock in the power department), SB Clutch and ZSpeed ~18lb flywheel.

-Throttle response is there. For me running a 6MT it actually adds up to better take-offs for general driving, especially hills where things are more predicable in timing a launch with minimal slip. That, and the higher idle just make life easier as a DD.

-Power; Don't ask how I confirmed a gain, but I know it's there (). Previous thread had a user posting a ~10hp gain across the board. Not sure if Seb sent me an OTS tune for stock cars, or actually had something that catered more specifically to smooth tubes + drop-ins. Can't imagine there being a world's difference but either way, I know my car is faster.

-When I inquired about radiator fan timing, he told me 10-20 degree drops. A little loosely worded but it's completely true within reason. You of course can't expect it to act like an oil cooler that'll outright reduce peaking temps; but the car will cool down more effectively, like 45 seconds of coasting/light throttle literally dropped my oil from 220-to 200 degrees. It's as if the stock fan setup is only programmed to activate once you get into limp mode. Insanely practical.

-Car does run smoother. Before, 2000rpm cruises kinda felt bogged down.

It's only night one, but I can surely confirm it's doing as advertised. Feels like what the car should've been, although with the grabby stock clutch+flywheel I could imagine new drivers ****ing up in traffic.

Really cost-effective standalone mod given the data logging option isn't necessary. Of course if I get an exhaust I have to fork over some more.

Bosshog104

You guys talked me into the ecutek + seb. Just ordered online and should be here in a few days. Looking to improve the fun factor on this car.

I only have tubes and k&n drop ins, along with a berk hfc (which I love). Looking fwd to faster throttle response and off the line torque. Watched a few guys on you tube, and noticed a huge difference in 7at shifts.

Wish I had a manual though, would love to have the option of launch control. Well see how it goes and I'll try to contribute here.

Ventruck

Seriously, the car is much more fun. Perhaps what it should've been.

Small update is that I was sometimes getting jerky throttle cutsif I had to juggle the clutch in stop-and-go (so not to relevant to you mechanically). Throttle input goes in a weird loop. Seb sent over a revised tune that tones thrown the response and helped it.

And it did. Almost goes away altogether in Map 1, but I went back to the original flash/tune because I loved the higher response. I'm just going to settle with acting slower in stop-and-go instead of hanging with every inch in slow traffic. Technically that's how I was with the garbo stock clutch and flywheel so nothing new.

But big takeaway is Seb was helping me Friday night and responding through the weekend. Even if stuff may be a few clicks away for him, he still took some time away from leisure to help a customer, and in other threads I've seen him do it for others. I hate thinking about work on weekends so it means a lot to me because like you, I don't even have major engine mods (just tubes and filters) and opted for an off-the-shelf tune. Of course don't go demanding/expecting it from him — he shouldn't have to act outside of his work week unless there's a catastrophic emergency — but he evidently will flex sometimes.

Paying for an upgrade and awesome service.

ChopsZ

I've had my EcuTek for about 3 weeks or so now, and unfortunately, still only running the base "off the shelf" tune even though I have the Z1 intake now installed as well as the HKS CBE. Seb wants to wait to move forward until I get those ART pipes installed.

The thing that sucks about that is something keeps coming up, postponing the install. First attempt when installing the HKS, my installer couldn't get those stupid demon bolts to budge. He tried for an hour straight and nothing. Two weeks ago, I was supposed to go back to have him try again, but I had to work instead. Then that weekend while installing my intake, I aggravated a cyst that's been on my back for years, it ruptured and got nasty, stinky and oozy. Yesterday, I took the day off work to go to the dermatologist to get it lanced. It now has 20 inches of packing in it that needs to be pulled out 2" a day.

Anywho, I hate delays and want to get the ART pipes on so I can get the shelf tuned dialed in so we can move on to Maps 2 & 3. With that being said, my Z does feel a lot better even with the unaltered shelf tune. It's more responsive, more lively, most likely thanks to the throttle hi-jack. I can say though, with the addition of the intake, it now pulls hard all the way to redline whereas before it felt like it somewhat plateaued after 6k rpm.

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She's For Sale! PERFORMANCE: Aero Workz | Akebono | BC Racing | EcuTek | HKS | MaxBore | Motordyne | Nismo | RJM | SPL | StopTech | Z1
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Bosshog104

So, finally got the ecutek in. Once I dowloaded the software and uploaded the base tune, per SZ instructions, all I can say is I'm pretty impressed! Don't even have a tune yet, but throttle response, and overall attitude of the engine/ transmission is already a great improvement.

Throttle is pretty touchy (wife had difficulty moving the car), only touch the pedal to drive (otherwise jerky start), but passing gears(7AT) still slower than I want.

Ended up taking longer than expected to post because I decided to go ahead and get a garageline cbe, installed over the weekend.

Been sending seb idle, cruising, and finally 3rd gear WOT, but haven't heard back yet. He's been very responsive and answering questions as others commented. Just waiting for him to get back with my first tune.

Was there a big difference between baseline and first tune? Or was it just smoother, more responsive?

Anyway, I like to log somehow to see what my performance upgrades do for me. So I'm testing on the same length of road with my accelerometer. (I know it's not that accurate, but wanted to easily measure differences somehow)

So, best of three runs each,

Stock 0-60: 5.38sec ;1/4mile:13.78@101.2mph

Add intake tube,k&n,berk hfc-0-60: 5.20sec ;1/4mile:13.57@103.7mph

Add garageline cbe w/ecutek baseline tune-0-60: 4.95sec ;1/4mile:13.35@105.8mph

Keep in mind, this is a roadster 7AT, and I am only using the accelerometer as a relative (cheap/easy)gauge for my own amusement, info to share with others, etc. I know these are not as accurate as drag times.

Well see what the actual tune does with this. I thought it would be cool to get it under 13 sec 1/4mile (accelerometer), but think I'll give up on that goal. Thought the cbe was gonna help more than it did. I'll get back after I get my tune tested.

NRGz

Good to hear im not the only one and that this tune was no longer a placebo affect on me!

As for the tune, im just off the shelf at the moment. Datalogging will probably come later in the spring as I feel that the colder weather right now may affect the logs. Tell me if im wrong about this.. just my opinion.

As much as i would like to datalog, i live in a small crowded 'city' and doing some WOT around here to redline is too much.

Ive been itching to do a datalog now that I have upgraded my exhaust to an Ark grip over a custom one, did some cleaning up on TB, plugs changed and intakes cleaned. My custom one lookee very identical to AAM's resonated short tails as well as its midpipe.

Throttle is still very sensitive. I still find myself taking the jump at a stop.


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blueranger

I can confirm with all of the other satisfied customers Seb @ SpecialtyZ is the Best!

His service level and knowledge is honestly the best I have encountered in the car business. What sets him in a league of his own is his willingness to help and he always responds.

If anyone is on the fence you cannot go wrong with Seb @ SpecialtyZ & Ecutek!

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F.I. Stage 1 Twin Turbo #48 | E85 FlexFuel | Built 7AT | F.I. 34 Row Oil Cooler | F.I. Flex Plate | F.I. 19 row Trans Cooler | MT ET Street S/S | ECUTEK Tuned by Seb | RPM Roll Bar

Ventruck

Follow up as I got more of Seb's services recently:

>Originally got an OTS tune on my setup which was pretty much filters + tubes. Car drives pretty much how it should've from the factory as far as throttle/engine behavior goes.
>Did a Nismo Exhaust swap. Couldn't be sure what I gained or potentially lost. Sound was off too.

And so I opted for remote data logging. Pleased with the results. 3 maps increasing in aggression (and I think still Valet). TC disabled depending on circumstance.
For the money, especially since I can't DIY a lot of installs at my place, it's pretty good value, even if your car is stock. Your can always data log later with mods. The improved throttle response/sensitivity does wonders even for normal drivability. That, above anything, is what I can't do without.

A recap of the process: Once you have everything downloaded and initialized, he starts off with idle+cruise+WOT logging. From there he just carefully makes a more aggressive tune with each update until the logs return indications of knock correction on pulls. There's always a conservative map to switch back to in between updates.

I would always suggest doing a legit dyno session if you can, because not everyone has the right place to keep doing 3rd gear pulls (believe it tops out at 90mph, and ideally you have to start at 2500 rpm) with each update, and more elaborate builds are much safer to do in an isolated environment in general, but this is a very nice alternative if you have simple bolt-ons. Get to go at it on your own time, and still an iterative process under real life conditions.

Overall Seb's service is top notch. One way or another he'll usually have an update ready by the next day or two. Keeps the messages concise so every thing is clear in the process, but he's a nice guy. If I lived near SZ they'd totally get my business.