I've got a US spec 8 here in Germany and was worried about a Re-Flash. I'm still running the one I bought it with and hoped for some improvement. The question is, is the European flash a whole different ballgame than the US, and if so, is there any way to get my car up to the current level?

 

Based on my personal experience of Ford and Mazda calibrations, I can almost definitely say that the EU flash is different and would not be compatible with your PCM and/or engine hardware.
However, it is possible that all the existing calibrations for a given model be available globally from a centralised website, but I don't know. The recalibration tool used by the dealer probably is the same globally. Maybe the US files can be transferred onto a EU calibration tool. Some US dealer attending this forum could maybe tell you.

Shipping your PCM to US would not work either I think, as the PATS (or whatever the immobiliser is called at Mazda) might prevent a proper re-flash if your PCM is installed in another car.

 

bump

 

No problem to update your PCM in Europe. The WDS will automatically recognize which one to load when it identifies your vehicle.
Remember though, the Europe Mazda Policy is the same as the US, customers who have a complaint such as hard starting or poor fuel economy get the flash. If you don't have the complaint then you may not get the flash (depending on the dealer).

 

I doubt the Euro dealers get the US ECU flashes.

There is a new euro flash, no idea if it'll work on US cars tho.

 

All the flashes are on the WDS CD sent to dealers. They are all loaded to WDS from the CD, so they can be used on any car. That's why it is called the 'Worldwide Diagnostic System'

 

So that means that I can take my US import car to the dealer here in the Netherlands, and they can reflash the car with the latest US flash?