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Why does nobody know how to reprogram/tune the stock ecu's?

24K views 21 replies 14 participants last post by  RanchTruck  
#1 ·
Ok, so Honda/Acura has Hondata that turns your setup into a standalone setup..

GM's ecu's are fully reprogrammable and on par with a full standalone and then some..

So with the fanbase of Toyota's, nobody has hacked or broken code to be able to fully play with the parameters to control everything?

Whats the deal here? :shrug::brickknoc

If I want to push it to the next level and control things, I have to do a piggyback.. If I want to really take off, a standalone, but I loose the obd2 monitoring system? What else would I loose? cruise? speedometer?
I really don't want to loose the simple diagnostic system for future troubleshooting.

I'm just a little surprised and disappointed that with any Toyota out there that there hasn't been a group of tech enthusiasts that haven't figured it out by now.. The obd system has only been active since late 1995.. :doah:

I'm trying to understand what needs to be done with my trucks setup to safely run around 15psi. This stand alone fuel management stuff confuses me and I'm working with a guy that does megasquirt but don't understand what will work and what won't.

I want factory reliability with a few options to achieve my goals.
I'm starting to think it mite not be worth it and just persue other alternatives.
 
#5 ·
Toyota ECM's are capable of at least a limited amount of reprogramming. However, this involves both detailed proprietary knowledge of the ECM's 'guts' and a Toyota-specific tool that's usually only found in dealer and other authorized shops.

I remember reading some time ago that Toyota finally started letting people from the general public purchase their proprietary tool, but I have no idea how much they charge for it. As far as I know, Toyota still doesn't share the proprietary knowledge (spec's, memory addresses, etc.) required to do any 'free-form' program manipulation.

Beyond that ... I've seen claims that Toyota ECM's (at least ones prior to around 2005) aren't flexibly programmable at all - i.e., there's little or no modification allowed for some parameters. I don't know whether this is true or not.
 
#6 ·
I just figured it was a matter of demand. No real viable demand for it, no one wants to invest in it.
How do the Supra guys do it? Is there a similar product for them? I don't even know, that is why I ask.

It's kind of like the S/C 5.4 Triton engine swap I did last year. I could have put just about any other mod V8 in the old car and called most any wiring company for a swap harness, but noone wanted to produce a swap harness for what I was doing (which would have been a real pain modifying the stock F-150 harness to work with all of the aftermarket mods I added on). So after hounding every company around trying to talk them into it, and using my build as an R&D platform, they all said no (no demand). 6 months later, Ron Francis unveils their new swap harness for the 4.6/5.4. I guess I wasn't the only one bugging them. So $1250 and a reprogrammed ECU later, I had it running.

Maybe we should just start bugging the right company.
 
#8 ·
I know the subaru guys have what's called 'open source'...they can change something in the ECU with a laptop running the right software plugged into the OBDII port. There are a BUNCH of impreza's on this base/local area its ridiculous...I started to ask the question "where do I get my standard issue impreza wrx/sti", Because they are EVERYWHERE!!!

Makes me want one less now... :(

But I'm in the same boat as Chris...I rather like the OBDII system and it would be awesome to retain it. IF ONLY THERE WERE A WAY!!!!!

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#9 ·
Subaru STI's come with an ECU that can be programmed and performs better than most standalones. Unless the chips in our Toyotas are made of write only compact disk material, I highly doubt you can't reprogram everything the ECU controls. The thing is no one cares to do it. Supra guys can afford a standalone. The other Toyotas all belong to broke guys like us lol.
 
#14 ·
you have a few guys succesfully running the megasquirt standalone. Very cheap and it works.
Toyota ECUs just have not been cracked and theres other alternatives to get you the power. Standalones are not that expensive. You guys also have Paradise Racing to help with other standalone options.
Stock ECU for Evolutions are soo easy to tune. All you need is one cable and download the program. I think stock ECU record is 1056 hp on an Evo:evil:.
Chris, like you said, this is fun and a learning experience for you. Just talk to the Megasquirt guys and see how they are doing. I sold my Megasquirt setup for a good price since the guy never got mine to work right and be reliable. I did loose my cruise control, tach, and even speedometer but that guy did a ****ty job. Im pretty sure Nate(ncook21) had all that **** working for his setup, and it kicked ass.
 
#15 ·
I've been wondering, if the GM LSx ecu is so good that it beats most standalones, would we be able to have one run our 2RZ motors? I'm sure there would be some serious wiring involved (although it's the same with most standalones), but if the LSx ecu is cheaper than a standalone, I don't see why not. Maybe I'm just dreaming here, you guys tell me?
 
#17 ·
The only thing I can think is its programmed to run 8 cylinders...how do you just turn off 4 of em?

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