I've just come off the phone with X&S Automotive and they stock and tune the SMT6 here in Sydney.

Price, around 700-800 bucks.

With tuning i guess it's around a grand to do.

At least we have another alternative to getting a foreign product with zero support.

I'm curious if anyone has ever used these guys?

I'm thinking about getting a smt6 and maybe buying the map from Jason (the guy in the US). Then tuning it further with this local shop.

 

I've never dealt with them or used this SMT6 unit. That's a far better price for us though even with the tuning factored in.

Just keep in mind that you need to tap into the stock harness. That will automatically void all electrical warranties and I'd say the engine warranty as well. If you're not bothered by that little fact then go for it.

If a source for the ECU plugs and sockets could be found a mini harness could be made up that would allow plug and play without altering the stock harness.

 

Zuff, funny you should post this now.

I was investigating the Powerchip (APS) who have done work with any Nissans (200sx, Skyline, etc) as well as the Rex. They have also done some work on the XR6 Falcon.

Ive not heard of the guys you mentioned, but, I have not really been in the modifying cars since the good old days of my 2litre escort.

I am waiting for APS to get back to me to see if they're doing anything for the Z. Has anyone used these guys, perhaps someone of the ex rex owners


As always
H

 

I have spoken to APS before about the Unichip and i think it's a far more basic unit than the smt6.

From what i gather from reading the posts Jason gets the extra power at the cost of the fuel economy. But since the smt6 can hold 2 maps thats just fine imho.

One map for 98oct+ economy and one for 98oct +performance... or maybe even lower for the economy map as when you travel out a bit 98oct becomes a bit scarce.

All in all it's a good plan

 

Might have a source for this. Will let you know how it pans out.

 

Excellent. I haven't had the time to look and an ECU isn't high on the list right now but if it were available....

 

Hey Guys, just got the response below from APS in regards to the Powerchip for the Z. I dont know about anyone else but I would have suggested the Z runs rich rather than lean, as he said though it might just have been the one he had?

Not sure what the rest is about?



Hi Harrold,

We have looked at the 350Z. From what we saw on the dyno, I don't expect to see a huge gain in power, as the mixtures are very very lean for a production vehicle and I doubt we would get the engine any leaner to achieve higher power. We have only looked at one vehicle, so I don't know if this is typical of every 350Z, as state of engine tune varies from car to car.
I am confident though that we can extract the maximum power and torque from the engine that is possible by thorough tuning - that is optimum ignition timing and air fuel ratio.

 

Someone told me (I think Nathan or Peter) that they'd spoken to Unichip and basically had the same response. ie the a/f ratios were spot on and there would be no real benefit.

Now add some cams, exhaust and possibly intake mod and you may be able to get a gain IF the ECU isn't bringing the a/f ratio back to near perfect.

I'm of the opinion that something programmable like the SMT is a better option than the Unichip as you don't have to take it to Unichip to have it tuned.

 

Matt, On order: Mines air filter duct Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

Found it on the weekend. It's only about $100 with a claimed increase of 1 or 2 kw so around the same price and gain as a filter so I thought I'd give it a whirl. I'm hoping if I get it in time I'll throw it on between dyno runs for the Amuse.

 

The Perfect Power SMT6 & the Unichip are both similer in design

Both units originate in South Africa & I beleive the PP unit was designed by an ex Unichip engineer.

Both units can store 2 maps but you must go back to the vendor to reprogram or purchase the ness software if you want to do it yourself.

 

I was under the impression that you couldn't purchase the necessary unichip stuff even if you wanted to. Never looked into it in any detail though so I'm probably wrong.

Nathan, BTW I will call about the clutch soon, just been very busy. If you're going to Wakefield maybe you could have a look then?

 

I had no idea that the Unichip had 2 map stores.... must have spoken to the wrong person at APS.

what the price of the Unichip nowdays?

 

Zuffy, Im not sure if we are all talking about the same thing? Forgive me if im off the mark, but, APS do Powerchip not Unichip??

As ive mentioned before I am a little out of touch with all this ECU mod stuff as I didnt do a thing to the Clubby I had and all my previous "decent" cars had carbs.

as always

H

 

harryw

Sorry, but APS is definitetly Unichip, Powerchip is Viagra for you car.

David

 

As zzz-35 said the Unichip is in fact a piggyback which Nathan advises comes from the same design source as the smt6 anyway.

The powerchip company is just a reflash like TS. They claim 20kw for a one size fits all. I have a hard time believing that personaly.
Since they probably bought the map from someone else i'd say it's closer to 10kw.

My tendancy to a piggyback is that our cars can run lean at some points and rich in others. Each car is different and some are terribly lean accross the rev range to begin with.
It would be best to dyno and get the af readings before buying the unit.