LOL!!! Well put, Roy. :D

Yes, nice indeed. But where I noticed my power surge was around 6K RPM, not 5K, and I did not note anything at 7500 RPM... but then, I only got to drive the car for about 15 minutes after I put the mod in. Hafta pay more attention and see if I note the 75K surge too.

What I find interesting about the surge in power is that you can be accelerating moderately at part throttle, then when you hit 6K, it's almost like you floored it. The pitch of the engine changes and you can definitely feel the car leap forward. It's almost like boost coming on, just much milder. Good stuff, but not like being hit from behind by a Mack truck.

Funny, I noticed this too, but neglected to comment on it. I did notice less "popping" at throttle lift off and when upshifting than before, and as you said, the Borla now seems to more "purr" than growl. Still sounds great, just not quite as aggressive as before. Wonder what it'll sound like when I get my high flow/temp cat? :D

 

Hey Paul,

I found that the easiest way to feel the changes is to start out slowly in 2nd gear. Then mash the throttle to take the car from ~2k RPMs up to redline. Try it when you get a chance let us know if you feel both surges.

I hope that the K&N situation gets resolved quickly so I can reinstall my intake. Right now the car just sounds too tame for my liking. LOL

 

Nice to hear other impressions about Stage 1.

Just wanted to report that the Mazda service dept. didn't say anything about the piggyback after I left it in (and on) for my oil pan replacement/5000 mile oil change.

They did reflash the ECU, by the way, without prior discussion.

I guess they don't have to open the ECU cover to reflash it?

Anyway, the gizmo still works!

 

Speaking of reflash, I spoke with my service mgr today and have scheduled my oil pan replacement. He said that he updates his computer every monday and checks each RX 8 that comes in to see if it needs an update. He also said they just recieved a major update in the past couple of weeks, although even they don't know exactly what has been addressed in each update.

 

They do the re-flash from inside the passenger compartment.
The DLC (OBD-II) connector is just behind the steering wheel kick panel.
They don't even need to open the hood.

 

So I wonder: for which trips to the dealership service department might I want to remove this device? When would they need to get under that ECU cover?

 

When they change the engine. Also, the EPS module is in there with the PCM.

 

EPS?

 

Electronic Power Steering - varies amount of steering assistance depending on speed and how much you turn the wheel

 

ah... I was wondering that too...

 

So... just to clarify... having them reflash the ECU with Stage 1 installed poses no harm to the Stage 1?

 

None whatsoever.
Now, whether or not the tuning will still be accurate or not is dependant on what the flash does to the PCM fuel tables.
Without a WBO2S, you won't know.

 

thanks Jeff!

 

Funny thing is, I almost guessed that.

 

Close but not quite right. The steering is actually torque sensitive. When it notices an increase in resistance it ups the amount of power assist. So it is able to do a better job of matching the amount of boost to your current situation versus arbitrarily adjusting the boost based on your speed. Cool stuff! :D

 

I am pretty sure reflash will have no affect whatsoever above 5k rpms, as the signal will not change. What mazda changes below 5k could b a different story, though. I wonder if CZ just set ouput below 5k equal to what the mazda was, or he just said send in the mazda signal.

 

The stage 1 box changes the air/fuel at set places. If it calls for no change then if Mazda changes it no problem.

I doubt we will see much of a change in a/f from reflashes by Mazda.

 

i read on canzoomer's website about the stage 1 chip, which is suppose to increase 20 HP, however, the stage 2 chip claims it boosts up to 40 HP...is this possible? off of a chip? anyone know anything about it? anyone have the stage 2 chip installed? would be crazy if it was true, but things like that don't seem possible...

 

i have seen the stage 1 dyno, it is true. 20whp increase at everything over 5k rpms. On the dyno there was a 25whp max increase at redline. This was on a dynojet. Stage 2 has ignition timing and an illegal exhuast system. Canzoomer told the truth about stage 1 b4 he showed the dyno, but i have no reason to doubt his credibility.

 

Yes it is possible with a more aggressive fuel map and a change in timing. This also increases exhaust gas temps to the point that they would destroy the cat. So in order to run Stage 2 you need to install either a straight pipe or a hi-temp cat.

It sounds like it will be a little while before Stage 2 is released. If you are really interested you may want to purchase a Stage 1 now and then upgrade it to Stage 2 when it is released. :D

 

MrX, If you don't feel like reading 24 pages of chatter, do a search on ECU upgrades or chip performance, this technology has been around for a good while for all cars and it works really well.

 

for the love of all that is holy can we please close this thread and split up future conversations in some resemblance of order? There is no excuse for a 25 page thread.

 

You'd rather search through 30 threads with 5 posts apiece in them? :D If you'd like to discuss something that's not in this thread, start a new one. It won't get consolidated into here until it's lost so much interest that it's down on page 2 or 3. And if it's a truly unique subject, it won't get consolidated at all.

 

Obviously pmacwill has not seen Jim's V8 thread on the RX-7 forum. Now THAT is excessive!! More than 2000 pages and still counting!!!

 

I think it would be nice to have a seperate user impression thread at least, for reviews.