The Ford V8 EEC learns by itself. If a chip is put in, the computer will actually learn its way around it. If you make large changes, the computer may not be able to compensate and you may need to get someting like the EEC Tuner (which actually changes the eec code) or unichip.
Unichip is good for the tuning side of things, however be prepared for loud interference in your radio at 94, 96, 98, 100, 102, 104, 106 FM. Enough to drive you crazy, not that the people at Unichip give enough of a sh!t to call the customer back about it........
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Yes it's true the vast majority of chips are shit and not just for Ford computers.
I'm currently working on EEC-Tuner/Tweecer support for EF to current EECV. It is a slow process I'm afraid. If didn't have to work I'd be at it full time.
The problem with "chips" is that they are usually made using a Real time Emulator. This allows the operator to see in real time which part of code the EEC is looking at at any given point. All the operator does is change portions of code to see what effect it has on the running of the car. If it gives more power for example, they burn a chip and sell it to ya. Problem with this is that they have no idea what they just changed and more often that not it rears it's ugly head as driveabilty problem or long term calibration problem after you've paid for it. A custom chip is better(actually done on your car) but only if an expensive amount of both dyno and road time is spent with the car.
What EDXR8 mean't to say is that Piggyback devices(ie attach to the harness side of the EEC) Like Crane Interceptor,PMS and UniShit...er...Chip cannot account for the adaptive learning strategy that the EEC has. So the EEC will learn it's way around changes made if one of these devices is used. Basically it's a fight between the EEC and the "parasite"(as I like to call them) for absolute control.
The only proper way to recalibrate is to do it the way Ford does in the first place....through the J3 port(That's that edge connector covered by a plastic plug on EECV or piece of tape on most EECIV's). This is where devices like the EEC-Tuner and more recently Tweecer plug in. It's also where a "chip" will plug in but Ive already outlined why they are less than desirable.
EECV also has the ability to be reprogrammed ("Flashed") through the Diagnostic connector. Of course no-one but Ford is able to do this and they won't do it for you. There are some people like chip tuners that can do it but once again it's what they change that they do not know so you're in the same boat as the chip.
The EEC-Tuner or Tweecer has a cable that plugs into your pc and allows you to change the original Ford calibration. At this stage many U.S. EECIV and V vehicles have been "cracked". By this I mean the locations of all the various map and tables etc have been found. I also have several aussie EECIV and some initial developments of EF-L EECV(mostly V8) at this stage.
Obviously none of this helps you NOW but hopefully you can understand the differences.
Thanks for the insight. I was basically told the same thing. So if i for instance modify my engine ( port the heads,higher lift cam, larger throttle body, higher flow injectors etc) iwouldn't have to do anything with the computer because it will adjust itself to suit?
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Originally posted by philstoj Thanks for the insight. I was basically told the same thing. So if i for instance modify my engine ( port the heads,higher lift cam, larger throttle body, higher flow injectors etc) iwouldn't have to do anything with the computer because it will adjust itself to suit?
As long as you have a correctly callibrated MAF for the larger injectors it should be able to run it fairly well, but there would be a lot of gains to be had with proper tuning.
Originally posted by philstoj Thanks for the insight. I was basically told the same thing. So if i for instance modify my engine ( port the heads,higher lift cam, larger throttle body, higher flow injectors etc) iwouldn't have to do anything with the computer because it will adjust itself to suit?
Yes you can do a large amount to the V8's due to Mass Air.
When you do change to larger injectors you must use a MAF that will compensate for that fact otherwise the engine will run rich. The EEC cannot "learn" around MAF and injector changes. So, what you have to do is fool the EEC by using a MAF that will supply the same voltage output whilst allowing more air to flow. This way the fueling will still be close to correct. It's a good idea to have an adjustable fuel regulator to allow a little fine tuning of the air/fuel ratio. I have sold many stock regs modified to allow adjustability for just this purpose.
The main problem with tricking the EEC using a different MAF and Injectors is that load calculation is thrown out by a large amount.
So you end up with too much spark advance at any given rpm or sometimes only at a certain load point.
This is easy to compensate for if you have a distributor because you can just back it off a tad. If you have an AU or other distributorless engine you will need to make an adjustable crank encoder pickup. Of course this may fix a detonation problem but it will likely provide less than ideal spark advance for all load points.
Of course electronic recalibration via an EEC-Tuner or Tweecer is the only way to get it absolutely right. Only then do all the other tricks become absolete.
I saw the Website for a Tweecer,sounds great but would they be hard to set-up??????.
I have just brought a XR8sprint and would like to do something with computer!
Depends what you call hard?
Personally, I think it's easy to do. In fact we picked up 30 rwhp on a Sprint I tuned on Saturday. It turns out it was lean almost everywhere. The timing had already been bumped on the dizzy so we put that back to stock and then changed the Base spark map to give more advance whilst pulling a bit out at around 1800-2500 to stop a surging problem it had.
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