DC Performance PCM reflash on a 2001 ? feedback please.

[Parisianviper]

Hello,
Besides the skipshift delete, the lower temp fan operation in conjonction with the 180° themostat, any real benefit on the engine behavior?
According to DC, the stock 2001 PCM is pretty good for a close to stock 2001 car.
Does that mean that there little room for improvement?
Any first hand experience from a 2001/2002 owner?

Thanks.

 

[GTS Bruce]

Yes there is a definite improvement.More instant response when dipping into the throttle.Builds revs much quicker.Feels stronger through out the range.Have to get it back to the dyno.You need a before dyno with A/F and a list of mods.My car has headers,no cats,corsa cat back,smooth tubes and filters,jesel roller rockers.The orig dyno a/f graph showed the motor ok running around a/f 13 up until 3000 rpms at which time it went way rich to around 11.They were going to bring it to 13 across the range.Add a little timing since 93 octane is all over the place here and all that I use.Also there is a very brief lean instant when dipping into the throttle like an old carb car in the orig program which they fixed too.So do whatever mods you are considering first and then dyno it with A/F.I was told they do it best with your car there.Almost as good with your graphs and will re-do if necessary if the later dyno shows it not 100% yet.It can be done without your dyno but then you get a more generic tune. GTS Bruce

 

[GTS Bruce]

BTW they told me the same thing.Asked me to dyno then call.They are most interested in A/F and when I told them it was at 13 then went to 11 they said send it in we can make it a lot better.

 

[Parisianviper]

Thanks Bruce.
The problem is to get a decent dyno done in France, and finding one who can give you your A/F ratio is an impossible task. That' s why i will have to go with a generic tune, or use the program of a car with similar mods.
Do you think the 180° thermostat is worthit?

 

[GTS Bruce]

Yes do it.It is required for the reflash.If you don't go to a lower t-stat your fans will run constantly,idling or driving because the t-stat will not open to the radiator allowing it to cool down which wil be a waste of time because no collant will be flowing to the radiator yet the fans will be running.A lot of people swear by the VEC.However you must be far more computer savvy to tune it yourself from a laptop and various dyno pulls than I..The good part is you can reprogram/retune after mods are added however that is way beyond my interest.So I let DC do it and pay the fee.No more mods scheduled but if I do it will be heads and cam NA but not for a while. GTS Bruce

 

[GTS Bruce]

There has to be race shops like ORECA that have their own in house dyno.Then again they might not use a chasis dyno, GTS Bruce

 

[Parisianviper]

Just a question: Which sensor is used to get the A/F ratio ? Is it reliable or a wideband sensor must be installed?

 

[GTS Bruce]

On my car the tailpipes were sniffed.Have no idea if wideband was used.Will have to ask.

 

[Parisianviper]

Thanks for your feedback, Bruce.
After talking to Damnyankee, I will upgrade my Roller Rockers before getting a reflash, in order to get the full benefit of the new program at WOT.

 

[SEASNAKE]

I had my 2001 PCM reflashed by DC after doing major (for me that is) mods to my car. I did it for the temperature reduction because my car was running a good bit hotter after the heads/headers were installed. I had already dyno'ed the car and was running close to optimum A/F, so I didn't expect to pick up much power. I dyno'ed it after the first reflash and lost power (about 15 HP). I sent the PCM back to DC and the second flash was better. The car made about 20 more HP/Tq on the low end and was pretty even on the top end when compared to the stock PCM. The car runs at 190 deg in traffic on 90+ deg days! My car is MUCH smoother with the DC flash. With the mods, it was like driving an out-of-sync Gen1 with the stock PCM and now it is smoother than stock.

I would think that you could pick up good power over the stock PCM because my car was running A/F ratios in the low 11s when it was close to stock.

Make sure you dyno before and after to ensure the flash worked well for you!

 

[dun4791]

Just a question: Which sensor is used to get the A/F ratio ? Is it reliable or a wideband sensor must be installed?

You should install a good wideband in your car, then you could datalog the A/F ratio yourself. You would get much more accurate readings with a wideband over a tail sniffer. Innovate Motorsports makes some of the best equipment out there for end users like us. go to www.tuneyourengine.com

You wouldnt need to worry about a dyno, unless knowing your hp/tq numbers are important to you.

 

[GTS Bruce]

I am barely capable of using my desktop let alone do my own program.Have a dyno session scheduled for 5,July.Mostly to check out new A/F and HP.I know there is more HP/Torque there because my upshifts on a road course were much sooner on the straights of a road course than before.I would post the before and after graphs but I realy don't know how to do it.I will post some peak #'s and possibly every 500-1000 rpm #'s if I don't get too frustrated. GTS Bruce

 

[Parisianviper]

You should install a good wideband in your car, then you could datalog the A/F ratio yourself. You would get much more accurate readings with a wideband over a tail sniffer. Innovate Motorsports makes some of the best equipment out there for end users like us. go to www.tuneyourengine.com

You wouldnt need to worry about a dyno, unless knowing your hp/tq numbers are important to you.

Thanks for the link. I guess this is what's needed:
http://www.innovatemotorsports.com/products/lm1.php
, with the RPM reader.

 

[dun4791]

Yes, get the kit with the RPM converter, so you can log the A/F ratio with the RPM files attached. This will make it easier for the tuner to reflash with the logs. The LM-1 is very easy to use, and support is available on the website as well. There are forums there, troll around on them and see what questions are common....