What other reputable options are out there? Is the RUF ECU a stock ECU with a RUF flash and markup?

 

They all are stock Motronic Bosch ecu's that are flashed... including Ruf's

 

RUF is solder in. Its tecnically "chipped" and will need to be desoldered before any ecu upgrade can be completed.

 

I Meant they are still the same ecus as what the car comes with... I bet other still solder in chips as well...

 

Thanks for the responses. This is EXACTLY what I needed to know.

 

Thanks to you and Unvy - I know it's not as simple as just pressing a few keys to tune. However I HAVE tuned a standalone before (at least hundred hours worth of tuning I'd say), taken what little training is offered out there, and am familiar with engine controls. I know OEM computers tend to be filled with tables that seem to make no sense but so was the AEM when I first looked at it (lol).

Anyway, for now I'm pretty happy that my car drives so perfectly well on one of Tony's tunes but I really want to clean up the intake side, swap on ICs, and that means blow-thru or some really expensive tubing. We'll see how Earle's testing goes first but if I make changes a tune will be in order so this thread has been VERY interesting...

 

Aem is nothing conpared to this

If your brave enough go download a demo version of winols at evc.de and see what you think. Then after hours of not knowing which maps are for what nor knowing the factors of x or y then you see what I'm talking about. And by no means am I a authority on this. I'm learining myself.
Getting the global maps set up with all the factors is the key. Thus only a few have them. And that why there are like 5 programmers of bosch dme and hundreds of Aem tuners.

 

Sure,
but what I meant by check out their website was I will see what products they sold, ie evoms, epl, giac, which at the the time of the offer/post was unclear to me. I ussually dont make purchase decisions based upon who has a nice website

 

++1

 

Thank you!!

I'd point out that part of the reason why there are so many AEM programmers is because they all shared knowledge (search my handle in their forums) and the ECU was designed to be user friendly. There are still pro tuners but it was setup for users to use. Not so this ECU so yeah, not expecting it to be easy but at least there's a manual - we'll see if it's useful or not. I appreciate the pointer bigtime! Satisfy my curiosity if nothing...

 

i cant believe that tuners still solder chips in ecu's LOL.

 

This thread reminds me of the B5 S4 community >5 years ago. Then the "trusted" tuners were MTM, APR and GIAC/AWE. They were the first and developed pretty good products. Fast foward to now and tuning for the B5 S4 is very competitive with more than 6 popular tuners. And of the top tuners with the most reliable/powerful tunes are also the ones with the best support because they take the time to listen to their customer's complaints and revise their tunes. And now most of the first tuners above mentioned are not really competitive with the B5 S4 anymore and those tunes are problematic compared to the more up to date files from companies like EPL, Vast and ASP. The moral to my story is don't always go with the people with the most time in the particular model when it comes to tuning. Oldest or more expensive isn't always best. The first tuners are often the more expensive and many times turn attention away from older software developement to work on newer cars that they can make more money off of. It is just the way the buisness goes.

I have never heard of an unhappy EPL customer and Tony is one of the most responsive people I have dealt with when it comes to customer service.

 

Talk to your tuner... get familiar with him... ask what comes with the tune... support? what kind? how much? any updates available in future? Or is he just trying to push a sale... if you get a good vibe then you know what to do...
The one thing that gets me is when 6speed members Pm/call me when their cars are not working properly - turbo leaking, cels, stuttering, etc etc and they are asking for help and or a resolution... I listen, try to resolve it and eventually say " where is your tuner in all of this? The answer usually is "he is not responding to my calls/emails". I spent hundreds of hours on the phone listening to some of you....
With thats said.... choose wisely....

ps. not directing that towards anyone in particular... just a general observation

best,
Mark

 

i have to agree, on that i know that anytime i have a question on something i can always call my tuner .

 

For those still looking for a good deal on an ecu upgrade .

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...-quantity.html