ECU Flash Vs Power Commander

[Felix]

Hi guys, Just been contacted by my friend saying he will do my ECU for ?50 but will get rid of the power commander...Is a Flash much better than a power commander? He wants to do the bike today.
He says that a ECU Flash has many more options E.G. Ignition etc. Should I scrap my PCV and get the flash?


Thanks

 

[Stephen]

How long have you had the powercommander? How many miles have you done since you had all that work done?

 

[Felix]

How long have you had the powercommander? How many miles have you done since you had all that work done?

500 miles +
But the dyno guy near me says its rich at top end

 

[Stephen]

Personally I'd leave if for a while till your really used to it and then think about doing more. But that's up to you, all depends what you want from the bike... have you done a track day since doing the work?

Did you think there was anything wrong before the dyno guy told you it was rich?

 

[Stephen]

Also, I'd have thought an ecu flash would void your warranty? At least you can always remove the power commander if you need to take the bike back for any serious warranty work..

 

[baz]

If it's running rich then the power commander wants setting up on the dyno.
There's no reason to suppose an ecu flash would be any better unless it's flashed on the bike,on the dyno.
And,at ?50,he's either a very good mate or he's not going to optimise it to your bike.
Just my opinion!

 

[rocroc]

In terms of quality it doesn't matter if you use a piggyback solution or a direct flash. Important is the quality of the map. With both methods you can do the same.

500 miles +
But the dyno guy near me says its rich at top end

Most of the bikes are to rich at top end. Rich = cooler running engine. The manufacturers want to stay on the safe side. Better too rich than too lean. You will gain some ponies at top end with a leaner AFR around 13 - 13.5. But as I said: An optimized map is not a matter of the solution you use to affect your ECU.

Important with both is the possibility to recover the original status (loading the original flash or remove the piggyback solution). I worked a lot with my Ducatis (Monster 1200S with a RapidBike Evo, Panigale 1299 with a direct flash from TuneBoy). Both allow you to change parameters yourself, loading different maps and more. For both you will find professional tuners to create an optimized map for your bike.

 

[MacRR]

If it's running rich then the power commander wants setting up on the dyno.
There's no reason to suppose an ecu flash would be any better unless it's flashed on the bike,on the dyno.
And,at ?50,he's either a very good mate or he's not going to optimise it to your bike.
Just my opinion!

+1, do yourself a favour and get your bike properly checked out, if no-one near you contact BSD in Pboro - they know what they're doing

 

[Felix]

Thanks for the replies guys

 

[Oli]

There's no way I'd entertain the idea of a ?50 flash, as Baz and others have said if yours is running rich in any area it just needs setting up on a Dyno. Your bike will run spot on just by doing that.

It IS true that there is always more potential in an ECU flash, due to the ride by wire etc on modern bikes being restrictive, however ... if you have a major engine problem and BMW wants to see your ECU, that flash would be the worst ?50 you ever spent in your life ... it will totally invalidate the warranty.
A PCV or any plug and play module on the other hand, makes no permanent changes .

 

[user 445]

Is it 'simple' to reset the ECU to standard map if you need to undertake any warranty work?

 

[alex]

Is it 'simple' to reset the ECU to standard map if you need to undertake any warranty work?

I expect a BMW tech could reflash it for you, but at that point the cat's out of the bag. Unless they are being very nice to you.

 

[user 445]

I expect a BMW tech could reflash it for you, but at that point the cat's out of the bag. Unless they are being very nice to you.

Thanks Alex! So apart from warranty being void - is it 'good practice' to have an ECU flash. I'm not after any miracles - just a flash that ensures im getting the best/optimum from the current set up...

 

[alex]

Thanks Alex! So apart from warranty being void - is it 'good practice' to have an ECU flash. I'm not after any miracles - just a flash that ensures im getting the best/optimum from the current set up...

Yes chap, ecu flash = most potential optimisation. No way around that short of replacing the ECU.

I would PM Tim @ Lind for an off record chat about the realities around ECU flashing from a his perspective.

If I was paying I?d have it done by Hm or Phil Crowe




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