Thanks everyone, including Adam. This thread was not meant in disrespect, I was just trying to find some common ground to the problems. Like I said, Adam has responded to every PM, email or question I've had... I have no issues with him or his company.

It seems (as this thread shows) that roughly it's a 50/50 shot of whether the unichip will work correctly.

If you think the issue is the harness, that would be great to know if it's hardwired and it works better.

I thought I read a post about another company supplying the harnesses, is that correct?

Cause if you think that the harness is causing the problem and a new harness fixes the problem, that would be great...
Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Mark

 

Hey I didn't take it that way at all and I of course WANT people to be educated prior to purchase etc.

UniChip provides us with the harnesses and units. THEY have discussed using alternatives to their current vendor because of the inconsistencies with this R56 kit. They want it to 100%!

ALTA provides the mapping. Which may not work properly if the harness isn't working right as well.

If you have any concerns before or after, you can PM me for UniChips direct contact information!

Thanks again!

 

Thanks Adam, I appreciate your usual immediate response. Hopefully a new harness will cure any issues.

Please keep us informed as many people I'm sure would jump on this if they knew there were virtually no issues.

Thanks,

Mark

 

5th time is a charm for me. I was one of the very first adopters and went through every generation of harness. The third gen harness caused no problems but then I would get an occasional CEL seemingly caused by the map. The latest map I have came directly from unichip and while it doesn't produce as much power as the Alta one did I haven't had any CELs in the last 3 weeks that I've had it. Before then I'd get cels at least a couple times a week. I bought an OBD reader so I could clear them myself.


Although my chip experience has been less than perfect, Alta's customer service has been great. I'm still loving the power the chip gives me although I have come to HATE the chime noise that comes with a CEL (same chime as low gas warning).

edit:

I have to say that since I started working with UNICHIP directly (Adam set me up with Jack - top dog at unichip) UNICHIP's customer service has been very good too.

 

Thank you!

Keep me in the loop as always!

 

Map 1, nope, still debugging, there was a boat of issues I am working on. Eventually I will look into the chip. Funny thing about modifying an engine, every little detail causes bigger headaches when trying to problem solve.

Right now I have the easy stuff fixed, and have about 3 hours of drive time on her.

Hard to deal with tuning issues without lots of data, which I am collecting. When I am ready I will decide if it is worth while to continue using the chip or try another approach.

 

Kool keep me posted!

 

These were from "other" modifications... or from the Unichip?

Thanks,

Mark

 

Hmmm, must proof read posts.... shoulda been "boat load" , and other modifications, the chip amplifies issues.

see this post:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=149105

as I said I am still debugging, and trying to decide what to do.

The real problem that bothers me is that this winter I will pull the head and port / polish / look into intake options, mount up a bigger turbo. At that point I will desperately need a tune option, and a good one at that. It is my current assessment that does not exist. the reason I went with the Unichip was the hope that I would be able to find tuning maps for where I was planning on going. The Unichip may provide the path but I need to be able to get a MAP for it.

 

I did see that but didn't feel like insulting you pretending to be the grammar police.

I'm curious though... if Alta (Unichip) writes a map for specific needs (I think it's the 1 program?) are they writing a generic tune for whatever each car has... (ie. CAI only or CAI and exhaust, etc, etc)

If they're (or Unichip, I'm not sure who's actually making the maps) is doing a kind of generic tune for each type of modification, then perhaps they can dyno it and make your tune for your specific needs. No?

I wish the R56 wasn't such a PIA to crack...

Mark

 

UniChip map on 0 is a generic made map by UniChip themselves. The 1 map is specific to your car based on the information provided. So octane, mods, elevation etc. are all compensated for.

If a client has an issue with the 1 map and none with the 0 map then likely the harness can be eliminated as a source of concern. That client should contact us directly and we may need to re-flash the UniChip on the 1 side map. In RARE occasions the map can become corrupted during the flash process and not noted until installation.

Let us know if we can help anyone!

 

I was that 140+ guy

 

Isnt the AutoBahn Nice?

 

I had issues cuz of the harnesses but once I got the 3rd gen. harness, no more issues for many miles.

 

Thanks guys and gals! Glad we can have this type of discussion for the greater good!

 

This is my first Feedback post on the Unichip ECU.

I have had about 1500 miles and love it.
I drove Stage 1 for a few days and i barely felt anything.
I finally overcame my fear and put switched to stage 2 and WOW!
Its Great!!

So-What if the Cell goes on and off every once in a while. Its usually if I am cruising on a gear too high right b4 the turbo really starts at 2,800rpm. And the boost might cut off for a few seconds. The Cell will stay on for a while but work fine. Bad ECU Vacuum reading? - dunno

The power is great and is there when I want it.
I took it off once to take to the dealer and don't know how I survived with so little power b4.

I cant wait to make more mods and send it back for a reflash.
HP is more addicting then Crack

 

[quote=ADAMSALTAMINI;2391450]We stand behind our mapping 100%, and it is unfortunate that any harnesses have detracted from that power benefit. All clients with hardwired units have had 0% failures. quote]
This is what they found to be the issue with my specific car. After replacing my harness with a new harness the catastrophic failure went away.

 

I've had the unichip on my car for almost four months. I had flurry of CEL lights the first few weeks and sent it back. They reflashed it and returned it to me. Before I put it on I took off the Alta turbo inlet hose which was soft and compressing, reducing airflow. I now think that may have caused the CEL's I was getting. I've only had one CEL in the last three months and it just went off later that same day.

As for the performance, the car is louder at high throttle, the boost much higher and more audibly pronounced, and the power band is wider and more consistent. This single mod easily produces the most power and change in performance of anything currently out there. It's not perfect though. My car starts and idles a little rougher and less consistently. When i'm slightly modulating throttle from 2/3-3/4 throttle it will tend to exaggerate the change making control a little more difficult. This really doesn't matter on the street, but not ideal for track/autocross. Also, sometimes the turbo diffuse sound is odd and rattly rather than the straight pssssst sound I get with the unichip off.

When it works, its cool, but there will be better solutions out there eventually. Some people have issues that aren't being caused directly by the unichip but aren't there when the unichip is off, which to me indicates that the chip is pushing the cars parts and sensors much closer to their tolerance limits and sometimes past them. Most people agree a good ECU Flash will be a better long term solution, but that might require a lot of patience

 

Patience is a virtue! Sorry for any issues, let me know though if I can help!

 

Oh man, this post is really offering me conflicting emotions . I soooooo want this ECU. I dont have the luxury of easy shipping due to my local..
So consequently I cant easyily return items cost effectively.
This post is amazing, we have some with no issue and some with great issues its never ending. Excuse my ignorance but what do you all do when a CEL comes on? Does it affect the cars performance or is it just a light on the dash? Can you reset them yourself?
ADAM do you have issues on your mule?

 

Oh man, this post is really offering me conflicting emotions . I soooooo want this ECU. I dont have the luxury of easy shipping due to my local..
So consequently I cant easyily return items cost effectively.
This post is amazing, we have some with no issue and some with great issues its never ending. Excuse my ignorance but what do you all do when a CEL comes on? Does it affect the cars performance or is it just a light on the dash? Can you reset them yourself?
ADAM do you have issues on your mule?

 

We have three mules now in the R56 family and one in the R53 family. The PnP R53 and the hard wired R56 have never had any issues at all. The PnP R56 mule has had problems with harnesses, but it has a good harness on it now, so no issues or concerns.

BTW: When the CEL comes on, it generally resets itself if it is a temp code. If it is a hard code you must have it cleared via an OBDII tool.


Hope that helps!

 

When I get a CEL I clear it with my Scangauage. You still got that exhaust by any chance?

 

Quick question kinda off topic;

If you add more mods to your car after you buy the Uni chip what is the price to change to a map matching the new mods?

 

Currently a $49.99 charge plus shipping or core exchange. You can always ask your sales person to possibly work that into a deal for the new parts!