ecu reflashing

[calibeary]

Hi I am new to the forum , I have a 2018 VMX1700 that I am upgrading and I have put Akropovik exhaust on it also a Power Commander 5 on it and I want to have the ecu reflashed , I was thinking about Gurued gear ecu reflash? Is this a good one or does anybody know of a better company to go with ?

 

[Akbash]

Gurued gear is the best and only one that takes care of all the factory faults the ecu flash has. Tim is very nice guy and has great customer service.

 

[Itgoes]

Hi I am new to the forum , I have a 2018 VMX1700 that I am upgrading and I have put Akropovik exhaust on it also a Power Commander 5 on it and I want to have the ecu reflashed , I was thinking about Gurued gear ecu reflash? Is this a good one or does anybody know of a better company to go with ?

Yes Gurued Gear. Tim is the best, that's why he's called the VMax Guru.

He's a friend of mine, tell him Mark sent you.....hopefully he won't charge you more because of that!

 

[crynool]

I've sent my ECU last Saturday to Tim. Unfortunately, the delivery was a day delayed, anyhow, it arrived yesterday and within a few hours, the ECU was on its way back to me.
I got updates via email about the whole progress.

I'm hoping it will arrive tomorrow, so I can do the Clutch Mod und put this thingie back together.
K&N done, Plate in the Airbox removed, as well as the Airfilter cover thing.

 

[Itgoes]

I've sent my ECU last Saturday to Tim. Unfortunately, the delivery was a day delayed, anyhow, it arrived yesterday and within a few hours, the ECU was on its way back to me.
I got updates via email about the whole progress.

I'm hoping it will arrive tomorrow, so I can do the Clutch Mod und put this thingie back together.
K&N done, Plate in the Airbox removed, as well as the Airfilter cover thing.

Prepare yourself for lot's of smiling.

 

[calibeary]

Thank you guys for the info about this . I will be sending out this ecu to Tim ASAP .

 

[why2kmax]

Another vote for Tim the Vmax Guru. I had the power commander and didnt have good luck with it. Removed it and put Tim's ECU in and never looked back. Zero issues, miles of smiles. I love it.

 

[rebeltaz83]

All hail third gear burnouts!!!

 

[why2kmax]

SO SAY WE ALL!!!!

 

[calibeary]

So I went and picked up my bike from the dealer where I bought it and they had put on the aftermarket parts I had " Akropovik exhaust with cat delete , power commander 5 , 240 rear wheel kit . I asked the mechanic who worked on it and he said not to have the ecu reflashed because 1 : it makes it to where he can't interface it with Yamaha and 2: he said when he installed the power commander he downloads the proper dyno tune for my set up ( exhaust , KN filter ) . Just seeing what people think of this compared to Gurued Gear ? Thanks

 

[calibeary]

What is noticeably different between the power commander 5 and the Gurued flashed ecu ? Also do I need the power commander after I have the ecu reflashed .

 

[crynool]

I cannot comment on this, but how much did you pay for the 240 Wheel Kit? Have a link?

 

[mikenason21_nUZ]

I have pc5 , K&n air cleaner , x- pipe & Akros . Thinking of getting ecu reflash done , air box mod , retainer & double clutch spring. I guess pc5 is to be removed if ecu is reflashed or maybe leave on for fine tuning?

 

[why2kmax]

Im not an expert but I stayed at a holiday inn express once. Im sure people will chime in to correct me If Im wrong.

Tim did extensive testing and dyno tuning on the Vmax to create his programs. Im nearly 100% sure he tunes each cylinder vs just an overall tune. Id say he has the most experience out there on this bike.

Nothing beats tuning your bike on a dyno vs generic canned tunes BUT Tim has a lot more experience with the Vmax so Id say his canned tunes are better than dyno tuning your bike by someone who doesnt specialize in the Vmax. Does that make sense?

If you have a PCV and a tune in it that was just a generic tune for your mods from PCV or akro that the mechanic downloaded then thats fine. Its about a 6 on a 10 scale. If your mechanic dynotuned your bike with all the mods on it and put in a custom tune, that's "usually" better but is dependent on his skill and knowledge of the bike. Thats prob a 7 or 8.

If you put Tims Reflashed ECU in your bike, then you no longer need the PCV, and his tune is probably a 9 on a 10 scale. The only thing better is having Tim dyno your bike and tune it himself. Every bike is different so there can be some variables.

If I were you Id call Tim and try to pick his brain and see what he thinks. Im sure he has better advice than just a random dude typing in his kitchen.

When I bought my bike used, it had an Xpipe, the big air kit, AIS removed and the 240 rear with a PCV and autotune. The bike ran fine but occiasionally Id get a check engine light. I sent my ECU off to Tim, installed it, removed the PCV and autotune and the bike has run flawlessly for 9 years an 10,000 miles. Not 1 issue or hiccup.

If you do order Tims reflash, make sure you account for all your mods and get the right one.

 

[Itgoes]

I would add that most Power Commander maps (and all of the ones that are available on Dynojets website) tune for fuel only. They do not make adjustments of the throttle by wire throttle openings, and individual cylinder fuel mapping and ignition mapping. So things like the throttle nannies that Yamaha put in to limit throttle openings in the lower gears and limiting the top speed in 4th and 5th gear can't be changed.
As well as several other quirks like jerky low speed throttle, surging at cruise speed and excessive engine braking.
To adjust any of that you need to make changes to the code in the ECU.

 

[Traumahawk]

I would add that most Power Commander maps (and all of the ones that are available on Dynojets website) tune for fuel only. They do not make adjustments of the throttle by wire throttle openings, and individual cylinder fuel mapping and ignition mapping. So things like the throttle nannies that Yamaha put in to limit throttle openings in the lower gears and limiting the top speed in 4th and 5th gear can't be changed.
As well as several other quirks like jerky low speed throttle, surging at cruise speed and excessive engine braking.
To adjust any of that you need to make changes to the code in the ECU.

EXACTLY.

One of the things that Tim discussed when I called him originally was that one cylinder (I think left rear) was actually lean from the factory. So with an unflashed ecu, you can add or take away fuel with a PCV, but if you get the lean cylinder right by adding fuel, then you will be rich in the other cylinders. if you get the other cylinders spot on, then you lean in the one. Whats Tim does is to balance the cylinders and give you a good foundation to then build everything else on.

 

[calibeary]

I cannot comment on this, but how much did you pay for the 240 Wheel Kit? Have a link?

I bought this kit from the dealership when I got the bike 2 weeks ago . They have had it for that bike since the owner of the dealership had got the bike in 2018 . He was supposed to have put all this stuff on it and never did. Basically the bike just sat on the showroom floor for the past 2 1/2 years and he never sold it . So when I bought it 2 weeks ago it had 4 miles on it , it is a 2018 model and he sold me the bike and all the aftermarket parts for $18,360.00 . The bike was $15,999.00 and the parts were the rest . I think the kit was $700.00 plus the tire and the wheel bearing kit . They told me that Yamaha doesn't offer this kit anymore , so I guess I lucked out on this .

 

[Mighty]

I hate fuel programmers. Mine just never ran well and was always too Rich. I spent the cash and had a local performance shop put it on their dyno and tune the ecu. They did way more than just adjust the fueling. Power delivery in 1st and second gears, timing, etc. I was able to see it in action and saw all the different variables they could adjust. Considering the tech fiddled with it all day, the $500 and needing a new rear tire was worth it. Man does the bike run great.

 

[Traumahawk]

Also, this is what Tim had told me when I called him the first time (because i asked him if I needed a PCV with a reflash), and he said about 80% are perfectly happy with the reflash as is, and dont get the PCV to lay on top of the ECU. He said the other 20% want the PCV to fine tune the fuel curve on the ECU. I was one of the 20%. Ive had the bike at the dyno a couple of times. Tims map was only rich anywhere from 2 to 8%, with I would say an average of 5%. Thats REALLY not bad as a base map, that you can fine tune with a PCV. So, would I say that is a PCV needed....No, do you WANT it for the bike to be perfect....that is up to you.

I am one of those people that I'm on a first name basis with the local dyno operator, and working on a map (A/F) for max TQ, Max HP, and max fuel economy. An autotune, and POD300 are helping with that. LOL, its only money.

 

[calibeary]

I hate fuel programmers. Mine just never ran well and was always too Rich. I spent the cash and had a local performance shop put it on their dyno and tune the ecu. They did way more than just adjust the fueling. Power delivery in 1st and second gears, timing, etc. I was able to see it in action and saw all the different variables they could adjust. Considering the tech fiddled with it all day, the $500 and needing a new rear tire was worth it. Man does the bike run great.

Thats funny you say that , mine seems like it runs too rich now . In fact I was riding it yesterday and it stalled out when I came to a stop . You can hear it and feel the lower rpm sluggishness and I can smell it in the exhaust.