HUGE developments on Ecuflash for the X {off topic content}
All I can say on the subject is when EcuFlash came out initially it was nearly identical to Ecutek as far as the maps covered and the apperance of the set up.
I was told that a Ecutek dealer co-operated in the set of of the initial EcuFlash and that information was confirmed by that former dealer to my face.
Obviously the Ecuflash project has gone well beyond what was originally offered with the assitsance of many individuals.
At the end of the day its all a moot issue of who did what to whom.
I will say that I appreciate Ecutek's continued efforts to support the US market with excelent tuning tools and to continue to invest in a world class product. The fact that the business model they established (dealer network and license fees) is not appealing to certain people does not mean that they do not offer a excelent product at a fair price.
HKS V Pro for example uses a similar dealer only tuning model and it also is a amazing product which suits the needs of certain end users who do not desire to do self tuning.
Obviously for a self tuner Ecutek is not a good fit as a product unless they purchase the application.
I remind others that when I first got into ecu flashing on my Evo it was not intended as a business - I bought the Tech Tom equipment just to use on my own car and possibly help to recover some of the cost by tuning my freind's evos. Years later, I am still at it. Best $5,000 I ever spent.
Al
I was told that a Ecutek dealer co-operated in the set of of the initial EcuFlash and that information was confirmed by that former dealer to my face.
Obviously the Ecuflash project has gone well beyond what was originally offered with the assitsance of many individuals.
At the end of the day its all a moot issue of who did what to whom.
I will say that I appreciate Ecutek's continued efforts to support the US market with excelent tuning tools and to continue to invest in a world class product. The fact that the business model they established (dealer network and license fees) is not appealing to certain people does not mean that they do not offer a excelent product at a fair price.
HKS V Pro for example uses a similar dealer only tuning model and it also is a amazing product which suits the needs of certain end users who do not desire to do self tuning.
Obviously for a self tuner Ecutek is not a good fit as a product unless they purchase the application.
I remind others that when I first got into ecu flashing on my Evo it was not intended as a business - I bought the Tech Tom equipment just to use on my own car and possibly help to recover some of the cost by tuning my freind's evos. Years later, I am still at it. Best $5,000 I ever spent.
Al
HKS V pro is an even worse example of people not having control over their own car!!! V pro works great, yea, BUT its main focus is to make the person tuning it be in complete control. What if my tuner is on vacation and I need a re tune? What if I want to switch tuners? What if I want to tune it myself? I cant do any of that with V pro and thats why it hasnt taken off like AEM has. I'd much rather invest my money into a system that is as versatile as possible and lets me pick and choose who I want to use as my tuner.
-Steve
I would have no problem paying a license fee if I knew that fee would go to further developing the product. Based on what was seen with the 8/9's Ecutek took the license fee's and stopped all development. No Delta dash, no user tuning, no logging. It's no surprise Ecuflash came along and smoked it, The people doing the work were actually continually developing it, coming out with new features. If Ecutek just wants to put a 600$ flash out there and be done with it they should know by now what kind of success they will have.
In one year ECUflash will more than likely eclipse ECUtek. The EVO XI will be probably be the same platform as the X. More than likely there will be minor changes, so ECUflash for the X will probably work for the IX. All that is needed is to create new xml files for the newer rom(s).
Mark my words, the tuners who are now using ECUtek and exalting in how great it is, will start using ECUflash in one year from now. No rational customer will want to pay the $350 license fee for ECUtek when ECUflash does the same thing for $350 less.
We have seen this happen with the Evo 8-9. It is very hard to find someone who is willing to pay the license fee to tune their Evo 8-9 when there is no fee to pay with ECUflash.
Mark my words, the tuners who are now using ECUtek and exalting in how great it is, will start using ECUflash in one year from now. No rational customer will want to pay the $350 license fee for ECUtek when ECUflash does the same thing for $350 less.
We have seen this happen with the Evo 8-9. It is very hard to find someone who is willing to pay the license fee to tune their Evo 8-9 when there is no fee to pay with ECUflash.
EcuTeK has little/nothing to do with Ecuflash, as they are intended for different purposes.
Right now, "no rational customer" can tune his X with Ecuflash, so your point is lost. Any of the people who have been EcuTeK flashed by their tuner already will get remapped at a substantially lower rate for life.
I swear, the DSM mentality is alive and well today. Lets buy a car for $35k, then cry over a $300 one time license fee. I cannot believe someone hasn't found a way to get a Monprice style cable for $4.75, so everyone can ***** about how expensive the Tactrix cable was: "I can't believe you paid $87 for your cable! What a rip off! I paid $4.75, and had it shipped book rate for 64 cents! Then I found a used Innovate on Craplist for $16 and tuned it all with freeware! My car ran mid 12s at the track with less than $22 invested!"
You can't fault a business for hard work. The license fees are associated with ongoing support, and ensures that the product will stay cutting edge. The EcuTeK hardware that I used to flash my car this past weekend was substantially more advanced than Ecuflash I've used on VIIIs and IXs in the past.
Lets have this thread be our one trainwreck off topic reflash thread in this forum. That means nobody highjacking an Ecuflash thread to talk about EcuTeK, and no hijacking EcuTeK threads to talk about Ecuflash in other threads.
Last edited by Noize; Jun 10, 2008 at 07:37 AM. Reason: Fee is $300, not $350
Last edited by zbomb; Jun 10, 2008 at 06:48 AM.
To be fair with you, I have not seen EcuTeK for the VIII and IX. But with what they have now for the X, its the best and most complete flash tool I've ever used for any car.
The point is that EcuTEK comes with manufacturer support rather than a network of homebrew tuners who may or may not know what they're doing. The fact is, while many of us have an understanding of the tuning process, we are in no way qualified to tune our own cars and personally, an additional $400 is worth the peace of mind of knowing that it's tuned by not only a professional but a professional whose tuning product is backed by EcuTEK's support.
The point is that EcuTEK comes with manufacturer support rather than a network of homebrew tuners who may or may not know what they're doing. The fact is, while many of us have an understanding of the tuning process, we are in no way qualified to tune our own cars and personally, an additional $400 is worth the peace of mind of knowing that it's tuned by not only a professional but a professional whose tuning product is backed by EcuTEK's support.
And not to be the pot calling the kettle black, but even though NJ contributed to this thread going off topic, you havent made a serious attempt to bring it back on topic. All you've been doing is defending Ecutek in a thread about ECUFLASH developments. I'm not trying to pick a fight or be a **** though, so please dont take it that way.
And there are hacks in every profession. I could hire a contractor to build me a deck and he could do a terrible job. That doesn't mean I'm going to necessarily do a better job myself with the guidance of a few of my drinking buddies.
Imagine paying 350$ for the hack deck builder just to come to your house.
Evolved Member
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 972
Likes: 0
From: Mid-West IL
Some of us are to scared to mess with the tuning of a car by our selves in a garage on a 35k car needed for daily driving. The 350 for the license doesn't bug me as much as the idea that better tunes producing better power and results may come.
Pro tuning what exactly is that? 
I had my VIII flashed years ago. I heard all the hype. Untill I got the proper tools logged my car and found out it was knocking like Paris Hilton.
I then with the help of somone who knows there s*&t (4WS FTW). Got my tune dialed in learned all that I could and now am able to make adjustments as needed.
Im sure ECUTek can tune a car just fine but enduser functionality is key even if its just datalogging capability.
Ive seen many logs and mapping from some so called pro tunes and quite frankly they are a joke.
Do you really know what you getting when you drop your car off to a Pro Tuner
I had my VIII flashed years ago. I heard all the hype. Untill I got the proper tools logged my car and found out it was knocking like Paris Hilton.
I then with the help of somone who knows there s*&t (4WS FTW). Got my tune dialed in learned all that I could and now am able to make adjustments as needed.
Im sure ECUTek can tune a car just fine but enduser functionality is key even if its just datalogging capability.
Ive seen many logs and mapping from some so called pro tunes and quite frankly they are a joke.
Do you really know what you getting when you drop your car off to a Pro Tuner
Yea but youll know what was done every step of the way and likely will be more inclined to take your time and tripple check everything (Datalogging)