I've heard alot of talk about reflashing the ecu, but havent read about anyone that has done it yet or what affects it really has on the car. So, I thought Id be try it out and see what happens. Anyways, my car's been at the dealer for about 3 days now getting alot of things checked out, repairing the oil pan, and replacing a broken bolt cover for me. My exploits can be found here, but go to the 4th page to cut alot of crap:


http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15378

And, since I know the dealer pretty well, and brought up the idea of reflashing my ecu with one of the mechanics, since I heard alot of people talk about getting better gas milage, more hp, and some other added benifits. However, from what he told me, they cannot reflash the whole ecu, and can only refash error codes or whatever was wrong with the car, but that was 3 days ago. So I just got a call back from him today and he said he figured out a way to reflash it so I can get more HP (supposedly 20 hp.) Naturally I told him to do it, and I will be picking up my car in about 4 hours, so I'll let you know how it goes.

cool, keep us updated.

Sure hope so, but seriously doubt it :D

what dealer told you that

I had mine reflashed and nothing changed

This could be interesting ...

I hope he's not gonna coast home. It could be midnight by the time he gets there. Harharhar! Comon Coaster!

:D:D:D;) JK

Well I had almost every single warning light on my car come on under 3000 miles (CEL x 2, TP almost everyday, Oil light mainly at a constant high speed, and the car died 2 times during crusing in neutral.) So the PCM was going to have to get reflashed anyways, so I had a talk to my mechanic, and he said he would look into what was capable with reflashing the ECU. Since, I mentioned how the Japanese models make more HP and the only diffrence was in the PCM.

But, since they installed a new oil pan for me, it had to sit for atleast 4 hours before i could drive it, so no luck getting the car today. Sorry for getting everyone excited :p .

Originally posted by mikeb
what dealer told you that

I had mine reflashed and nothing changed

I'll let you know if it works and if they are willing to do it for other people. I kinda asked him for a favor to mess with the PCM so i could reset my radio :eek: JK

When they reflashed your ECU, what did they reflash? And did they change any settings? I think my guy was going to go into specific setting and play with them. I didnt get a change to go into detail about it with him, and was going to ask him after he did it. No point asking about something he hasnt done yet :) .

Ok just got the car back from the dealer and this is what happened. First the oil pan was replaced for fee, tire pressure sensor is really sensitive, so even like 1 or 2 psi off and it will light up (so it can't really be fixed.) And as far as the car shutting off in neutral at a high speed we came to the conclusion it probably has to do with my aftermarket intake, however, it hasnt ever happened again, so I dont think it will be a problem.

Now as far as reflashing my ecu goes, I talked to the mechanic about what he did to the car and this is what he said. Apperently some customers have been complaining about the car being underpowered, and for the people who have really complained alot and also come in with a code, can have the dealer minipulate a code (1666 or 1004 or something) that will change the torque curve and give alittle more HP in the proccess. Supposedly 18-20 HP. Not all the dealers are aware of this however, and its not really a recall. So it can only be done if your car is throwing some kind of code, since they cant reflash a perfectly fine PCM. The change in HP if there was any though is very minimal. The mechanic took my car out for a drive to see, and couldnt really tell if it was because of my intake or the added HP, so the only person who could really tell was me, or mr. dyno. The only thing I sort of noticed was a bit more TQ, and possible more like a 10 HP increase. I have to drive it some more again to tell, since my rental car for the three days was a Deawoo Lanos, and anything after that is like a rocket :p .

10 hp, 18-20 hp. That may not sound like much to you or I, but Mazda coughed-up $500 + free scheduled maint for the life of the waranty period to those of us who purchased before their 8 HP reduction. This is big & it's a Mazda reflash. How much is Canzoomer's perported increase? Something like 22 hp for non- moded? I'm still 100% stock GT, by the way. I might ask my service dept. & see what they say about this tomorrow. Why I wonder is there no TSB?

Originally posted by Racer X-8
I might ask my service dept. & see what they say about this tomorrow. Why I wonder is there no TSB?

From what I gathered its because its not really an error code thrown by the PCM, and not an defect that will hurt the car. It was just detuned so Mazda could get the car to pass smog, and I don't think Mazda wants to call anymore more negitive attention to the issue either. Plus from what my mechanic told me, the RX-8 that had this done was an iscolated incident where that owners car was complaining alot about running underpowered then normal, so they did something to increase his HP.

So if you go to your dealer and ask about it, more then likely they wont know what you are talking about. Its something they have to do alot of calling around to figure out how it was done or what to do.

[
Now as far as reflashing my ecu goes, I talked to the mechanic about what he did to the car and this is what he said. Apperently some customers have been complaining about the car being underpowered, and for the people who have really complained alot and also come in with a code, can have the dealer minipulate a code (1666 or 1004 or something) that will change the torque curve and give alittle more HP in the proccess. Supposedly 18-20 HP. Not all the dealers are aware of this however, and its not really a recall. So it can only be done if your car is throwing some kind of code, since they cant reflash a perfectly fine PCM. The change in HP if there was any though is very minimal. The mechanic took my car out for a drive to see, and couldnt really tell if it was because of my intake or the added HP, so the only person who could really tell was me, or mr. dyno. The only thing I sort of noticed was a bit more TQ, and possible more like a 10 HP increase. I have to drive it some more again to tell, since my rental car for the three days was a Deawoo Lanos, and anything after that is like a rocket :p . [/B][/QUOTE]

That is a line of crap, the dealer does not have a clue!

Originally posted by Mazda Monkey
[
Now as far as reflashing my ecu goes, I talked to the mechanic about what he did to the car and this is what he said. Apperently some customers have been complaining about the car being underpowered, and for the people who have really complained alot and also come in with a code, can have the dealer minipulate a code (1666 or 1004 or something) that will change the torque curve and give alittle more HP in the proccess. Supposedly 18-20 HP. Not all the dealers are aware of this however, and its not really a recall. So it can only be done if your car is throwing some kind of code, since they cant reflash a perfectly fine PCM. The change in HP if there was any though is very minimal. The mechanic took my car out for a drive to see, and couldnt really tell if it was because of my intake or the added HP, so the only person who could really tell was me, or mr. dyno. The only thing I sort of noticed was a bit more TQ, and possible more like a 10 HP increase. I have to drive it some more again to tell, since my rental car for the three days was a Deawoo Lanos, and anything after that is like a rocket :p .

That is a line of crap, the dealer does not have a clue! [/B][/QUOTE]

Which part is a line of crap? In all honestly now that Ive had the chance to drive the car more, I can infact say I have more power and my gas milage has gotten significantly better since I took it in. I can actually pass in 6th gear and have no more need to shift to 4th gear on the freeway now as well. I am thinking of getting the car dynoed soon too, but will probably wait till i get my exhaust in. But yeah, I just recently had a trip down to San Diago, which is about 137 miles away, and it was alot more fun then it use to be :) . And now I can finally stop calling the RX-8 a slow pig, its actually decently quick now :p .

Mazda would have offered it if it were true.Sounds like the service dept is Bsing you.

Originally posted by Crashunit
Which part is a line of crap?

Two parts - the part about not being able to reflash the entire ECU; and the part about manipulating certain codes to get more HP. Every Mazda dealer is capable of flashing the ECU with updated code maps from Mazda - that's how they distribute any and all changes, by replacing the entire ECU tuning map! As for manipulating certain codes to get more power - that's complete BS, he's either making that up or he doesn't understand at all the process Mazda is using.

For what it's worth, quite a few people on this forum have posted their experiences with having the ECU reflashed; some have even posted Mazda's internal code (like a part number) for the version that was downloaded to their car.

Regards,
Gordon

hmmm I am very skeptical about this without hard evidence.

Originally posted by Crashunit
That is a line of crap, the dealer does not have a clue! my gas milage has gotten significantly better since I took it in. [/B][/QUOTE]

Sounds promising. What kind of gas mileage are you getting now, and what were you getting before? Are you willing now to tell us which dealer this was, and even the mechanic's name? Maybe we can have our mechanics talk to him and start spreading the word. Damn, I'd like a few more mpg's, but the performance improvements you mentioned sound tempting as well.

Originally posted by Crashunit
That is a line of crap, the dealer does not have a clue!

Which part is a line of crap? In all honestly now that Ive had the chance to drive the car more, I can infact say I have more power and my gas milage has gotten significantly better since I took it in. I can actually pass in 6th gear and have no more need to shift to 4th gear on the freeway now as well. I am thinking of getting the car dynoed soon too, but will probably wait till i get my exhaust in. But yeah, I just recently had a trip down to San Diago, which is about 137 miles away, and it was alot more fun then it use to be :) . And now I can finally stop calling the RX-8 a slow pig, its actually decently quick now :p . [/B][/QUOTE]

Everything the dealer told you is BS. They can't change bits & pieces of the mapping. They can only update the entire program from Mazda. The EPA would never allow it.