Anybody have any experience with GIAC ECU upgrade as opposed to say FVD or others. Vehicle is 02 C2 with headers and K&N filter, PSE exhaust..Headers themselves seem to have added a little mid-range but no gains on top-end. I have heard that until the ECU is done you won't get any noticeable gains. Also By Design says they can have their person reprogram the ECU in one day so you don't have to ship it off. Any input as I think I will do the ECU as hopefully with headers there will be some gains.

 

Supposedly, ECU remap gains on the 3.6L NA Porscjes are minimal if any (factory did as good job as they could)....

 

i have had it done. the same set up (headers, intake and exhaust). the ECU upgrade by EVO hardly makes a difference on the 3.6 engine except raising your rev limiter to 7300 rpm which i think is nice. as far as HP gain nothing noticiable. it makes a bigger difference on the 3.4 drive by wire system. anyhow anything todd produces is good ****. and the place that has the most knowledge and work on ECU's is Dan at Speed Gallery, X Chief mechanic at By Design that went on his own to start Speed Gallery, i believe he is a personal friend to Todd. you will be in good hands there. if you want something German, try the Techart ECU upgrade which i hear nothing but good things. Tom at Lucent would be the man for that. X-chief mechanic of CEC, started up with some other great guys, Lucent Motoring.

 

Thanks for the information. I know the 3.4 factory coding is so-so and an ECU will really bring it alive. The 3.6 I hear has much better coding from the factory so there is less to gain. Although I hear that the 3.6 even with intake, exhaust and headers really doesn't gain much until a ECU is done and with all of them it will help but by themselves it is a waste..I think I did talk to Dan at S.G. before and he said the ECU itself will gain only 4hp which sounds honest but with the headers and intake your looking at maybe 10-15hp but much better drivability and repsonse.
Any thoughts on aftermarket cats or better off leaving them alone?

 

the car graphic and techart one is really good but only 6 hp gain. don't know if $1300 is worth it. all the other ones suck from what i hear. i left it alone. i will probably go with forced induction in a few months after i hear some more drive time responses on the evo SC. don't really think the engine casing will handle it in the long run, especially if you drive hard.

 

Yeah, I agree with the S/C thing also. I think that it will last if you don't track the car and behave. I do quite a few TT's and push th car so S/C is out as I doubt the engine will last with it. I might try the ECU soon after some more homework, if I can get some hp, with better response and drivability it can't hurt. Tired of always fighting with those darn WRX STi's already. Has anybody ever added the X51 package to their engine. Sems like a lot of $$ to add it, isn't it like 8-9k wholesale w/o install??

 

i think the ECU upgrade is worth it if you don't look at it from a value point. the throttle response is quicker and it is really nice to have a longer power band especially for tracking. as far as WRX, i know there are some fast ones out there, but i raced one in Topanga Canyon and shut him out. not by much but enough to hold my dignity. yeah but for autocrossing on those super tight tracks are cars are just to heavy and i don't think more HP gain of these degrees will help. x51 isn't worth it.