showstoppertk

iTrader: (6)

already, so somehow I've accumulated a few bolt-ons now. how I let myself sink money into these things I have no idea, I guess its just a power that my car holds over me. anyhow, as I'm about to put on my crawford cats and my 5/16 motordyne spacer I find myself wondering if I'm going to have to now get a technosquare reflash. I realize that to maximize the benefits of my mods I will have to do it, however I'm wondering if you guys think my Z will be running within a safe A/F ratio (and not leaning out too much) to go without the reflash or not? I do plan on doing the reflash, however I just don't have the time (my Z is my only means of transportation) or money right now. also is there any other lower cost alternative to a techosquare reflash? below is a list of my bolt on's, thanks guys.

injen short ram intake
JIC Bul Spart DE Type 2 SuS Cat-back
crawford cats
5/16 motordyne spacer
unorthodox pulleys
circle earth grounding kit

Alberto

iTrader: (14)

Hard to say. Ive seen Z's with test-pipes and exhaust running lean. And Ive seen a Z with full bolt-ons and cams running a great 13:1 A/F on a stock ECU. Every car is different. I would guess that with your mods though you are probobly running a little lean around 14:1 (maybe leaner) A/F especially mid range where it seems test-pipes and a free flowing exhaust seem to lean Z's out the most. With similar mods to you I was over 15:1 lean so I went for the reflash route at that point. Besides Techno, the only other place that flashes Z's with the same software is AAM.

showstoppertk

iTrader: (6)

thats kinda what I figured. I'm just going to have to find out for myself which means going to get a dyno right? oh well, I guess its a never ending cycle. what should I be looking/listening for to tell me if I'm running lean? honestly I've never heard knocking/pinging so I'm not sure what I'm looking for. thanks alberto.

showstoppertk

iTrader: (6)

also I've heard from some folks on this forum that a technosquare reflash will void your warranty, however in reading about the reflash on technosquares website it plainly states that the reflash WILL NOT void the factory warranty. so whats the truth?

Alberto

iTrader: (14)

You really dont have to listen for anything, very hard to get the engine to knock NA. Just go to a dyno that has a wideband O2 sensor and get the readings. Truth is Nissan dealers can detect your flash, but they wont take hours loading stock engine parameters back into your ECU. In other words most dealerships wont be looking for it, so what they dont know wont hurt them....technically any dealership can give you crap about any mods, just find a mod friendly dealer and if you ever get a reflash dont say a word.

ZIABLO

iTrader: (7)

def go for a reflash. when i had intake, cats, exhaust, plenum...my car was still about even, only slightly faster, with stock z's

after the aam reflash i was racing the same cars and consistently pulling hard on them from mid speed on up. what an amazing difference it made!

showstoppertk

iTrader: (6)

mmm that might be difficult considering there are only 3 nissan dealers on this island. oh well, I'm sure the reflash will be worth it. btw which reflash is better AAM or technosquare? what are the pros and cons of each?

GAaaAR

iTrader: (1)

They are the samething, same software and everything. No difference at all. Only difference that there might be is maybe TS might have a little more experience in reflashing the ecu so that the A/F is perfect for your mods. But that doesn't say much because even TS is having alot of difficulty making the A/F perfect. People frequently have to send their ecu back to get it done right.

EM-EFER

iTrader: (6)

Buy a ECU from a wrecked Z and send it into technoquare or AAM with your current ECU. They will copy the program from the current ECU onto the wrecked Z ECU giving it your current ECU's parameters. Then if you ever blow your motor or funny things start happening you can do a quick swap and bring it to the dealer. This will totally by-pass the immobilizer and you can use your current key.

Both will pretty much provide the same results.. They both say when WOT the Z runs lean.

james840a

iTrader: (7)

Or just get the UTEC, if you have to take it in just unplug it.

RNL323

iTrader: (2)

Dyno to find out your A/F's

IMO, you've invested a lot of money in your mods... Better to invest in a Unichip or UTEC or similar piggyback/parallel upgrade. That way when you add future mods like Headers, you don't have to do another Technosquare reflash.... the Unichip or UTEC or whatever you choose would just have to be tuned so you get the most out of your mods..... But since you're out in the islands not sure if you can find a shop to do the tuning for you?

Good luck!

showstoppertk

iTrader: (6)

yeah, I'm def doing a dyno ($90 for 3 pulls w/AF here in Hawaii) as soon as I get my spacer installed. I just gotta find an in/lb torque wrench, which seems to be a rarity here. anyhow, I'm still leaning towards the reflash since I truly don't foresee doing any other power mods. I don't want to deal with the labor intensive header install and cost for such a low hp return and I def don't want to start digging into the internals. so I think I'm pretty much maxed out as far as power bolt ons go right? if my dyno shows that my A/F ratio is within spec, then do I really need to do the reflash? I mean I know the other benefits of a reflash, but is it still necessary if my A/F is good? thanks.

blkevo8

with all the breathing mods it would be safe just to get a reflash. Besides you really want to see results with your mods anyway. So go for the reflash.

breed

iTrader: (3)

most cars that are running lean tend to get lean burn on the spark plugs..look up a web site that shows pics of burnt plugs,then compare..

Cannysage

iTrader: (29)

even if your a/f is good, ECU reflash will smooth out your power curve. If you have too much fluctuation in your curve, then you're not getting the maximum hp out of your mods.