Whenever I get my headers installed I would like to go ahead and get reflashed while I'm at it to prevent running too lean. AA and TS being the obvious choices are off the list since I cannot be without my car for several days/weeks while they do it. Is there anywhere in Nashville that I could take my car and have them do it in one afternoon? I don't think Doug's shop does it. Anyone got any suggestions?

 

AAM has to have your car for several weeks to get a reflash? I was just planning on driving up there and getting it done in an afternoon. It would be a much longer drive for you but i think they can do it in an afternoon. Plus the price seems good and you dont have to remove your ECU that way.

 

To my knowledge Doug uses TechnoSquare. He and TS have developed the "Crawford Flash" as a joint effort. This flash works with all his goodies. I have the "Crawford Flash", and yes it does work. My car was "down" for only 4 days over a weekend. I took the ECU out Friday, sent it overnight, and had it back in the car Tuesday when I got home from work.

Lou

 

So they take my ECU out and ship it to Technosquare or they do it at Dougs shop? I really can't afford to be without my car for a day. If I can go by early and stay all day while they do it then that is fine but shipping out the ECU is probably out of the question.

So how does the car feel now that you had the reflash?

 

We can turn the ecu around the same day we receive (must use UPS Early AM or FedEx Express Overnight). If you schedule with us we can dyno the car and flash the same day. It may be a bit of a drive but we do have an inhouse dyno with wideband A/F.

 

When you send the ECU to TS, they reflash... next day the ECU back to you... and you're back up and running.

 

I have a couple of questions:

1.Without having dynoed my car what kind of info do I need to send to TS along with my ECU?

2. How difficult is it to remove the ECU myself? Any insider precautions I need to be aware of?

3. With the reflashed ECU and the headers will my warranty be totally shot? I hear people say that unless the problem can be attributed to the mod then the warranty "should" remain intact.

4. If I don't do the reflash and have the headers installed, the chance of me running lean is very high. How does this negatively affect my engine? What are the dangers of running too lean?

 

1. TS really does a better job when you have real info to give them. They are able to give you a more generic flash based on mods . . .in fact with your mods prolly all you will need is their basic flash.

2. Ecu is removal is easy. The last time I swapped i think I did it in 3 min 11 seconds timed (I have done it prolly 30+ times though ).

3. Technically yes, but what nissan does not know wont hurt them . . right? I can tell you unless you know what you are looking for on the consult or actually have the TS sticker on the ecu, it is hard to tell the difference.

4. You wont run lean enough to hurt the car. There are lots of cars out there with these mods and no flash. The largest advantage of the flash is the 7200 redline. With stock ecu and first minor flashed ecu I was making clean consistent power around 13.5 -13.7+. It took work to get the power to stay or increase while the ecu was tuned to keep a/f around 12.5-13.0.

 

Thanks Adam. I feel better now So how much is this basic flash you speak of? I guess that TS only needs to know about my Borla since nothing else has changed down the exhuast line. A little off topic, what would you recommend first: Crawford plenum or cats? One or the other will probably be added when I get the TS headers installed.

 

You probably don't want to have the ECU flashed until your finished with your mods, so you don't have to send it back again for another flash.

I recommend the plenum first and the cats second. Both are great mods. Again, this time for the record, IMHO the Crawford Plenum is still the best bang for the buck out there.

Lou

 

Tricky question . . .hmmm . . .you are already working on the exhaust so install wise it makes since to replace the cats because it wont cost you any more, but you need more air in to complement the increased air out. Its a toss up. My advice would be do the ecu last and put that money towards the plenum (and cats).

I am not for sure what the price of the ecu is. I think its $400 or $500.

 

FYI, Install price for Headers + Cats is same as just headers. Cats are like 1.5-2 hours I think when done alone. There is never a charge for plenum install.

 

Yeah thats what Chris told me. No install charge on the Plenum. I dunno man. I would love to get all three done at the same time but thats around $1500 all at once. I need a financial come-up in order to feed this monkey on my back.