For you ECM gurus out there, I have a question for you. I currently have the Alpha Stage 1 w/2 bar sensor turbo kit (OEM manifold) with the Alpha side exit exhaust manifold that was flashed by Bob. I am having a 1320 performance turbo manifold/header installed on it and it will now require an ECM reflash. Since I am not unable to install the header, I am having it installed by someone who is 120 miles away. My question is: Should I have the ECM reflashed before I drive it 120 miles away to have it installed or wait until I get back home and have it reflashed? Thanks for your input.
ECM Reflash
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I would check with Henry or Bob on this, but I would guess that you would want it flashed before the installation of the header.
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i did something similar. when alpha released their turbo manifold .had ordered turbo and was waiting for the manifolds. received turbo kit before manifold so i had computer flashed for turbo kit with turbo manifold henry said just keep it easy on boost don't beat it just take it easy he said. but doesn't hurt to double check with him
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@Crusher it was about two weeks, I'll be completely honest with you some guys either don't have the issue or some guys maybe don't step on it hard enough but theres a tune issue and nothing you can do about. The tune is on the richer side for safety reasons. But there's this evil flat spot when you tend to drive hard. Kinda feels like you lose all you power then it comes right back. Usually when trying to shift in to 3rd and stepping on it . Have you ran in to this issue ? I had it with turbo manifold and withought. In the process now of upgrading to a aftermarket ecu.
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@Crusher it was about two weeks, I'll be completely honest with you some guys either don't have the issue or some guys maybe don't step on it hard enough but theres a tune issue and nothing you can do about. The tune is on the richer side for safety reasons. But there's this evil flat spot when you tend to drive hard. Kinda feels like you lose all you power then it comes right back. Usually when trying to shift in to 3rd and stepping on it . Have you ran in to this issue ? I had it with turbo manifold and withought. In the process now of upgrading to a aftermarket ecu.
I have not run into this issue and that is probably because I have not had the 1320 manifold installed yet and the ECM reflashed. Maybe you need to check with Bob to see if he has made any changes to the tune since you had yours done. Also (not likely) but there may be a couple of changes from your tune where I may not have the lag/power issue since I am having the 1320 manifold installed rather than the Alpha turbo manifold.
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Ya not sure what's goin on there's a bunch of guys who have had the issue and some haven't. Last time I spoke with bob about he said the tune is wheee it's suppose to be. My issue doesn't happen all the time just here and there.and not to sure about the alpha manifolds being the issue. They were designeed to work with the alpha turbo.
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I used to have the issue when running hard (really really hard), shifting from 4th to 5th when playing
. I've since learned not to use 5th and just redline 4th. You all can do the math as to speeds I'm talking about there, but at any rate, not using 5th while "exercising" her has cured my "flat spot". It felt more like a delay in winding up rather than a completely flat spot. AFR was always in the happy range so don't know what was happening. Keeping the RPMs high seems to have resolved the issue for me. -
Anyway, to answer your original question, I was going to do the same (switch from stock manifold to the alpha header) and when I spoke to Henry he told me to overnight it to BOB and he'd have the correct tune put on it and overnight it back. There's a different tune for 1320 vs the Alpha header, vs stock manifold.
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I used to have the issue when running hard (really really hard), shifting from 4th to 5th when playing
. I've since learned not to use 5th and just redline 4th. You all can do the math as to speeds I'm talking about there, but at any rate, not using 5th while "exercising" her has cured my "flat spot". It felt more like a delay in winding up rather than a completely flat spot. AFR was always in the happy range so don't know what was happening. Keeping the RPMs high seems to have resolved the issue for me.Interpretation: "Drive it like you stole it!"
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Was Running whatever Henry installs (the lower one). He later sent me the red one to add to it. Supposed to be up around 9 ish pounds at around 300hp or so. Pretty much the standard everyone is using now. I did have to upgrade the headbolts prior to doing that.
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You can do it either way, but it is best to send out for the updated tune first. In this way, it will run a bit rich with the stock exhaust manifold and then correct with the new header installed.
I'm sure the Alpha header tune has some small changes in it. Anytime Bob can spend more time in a machine tuning, he works very hard to make changes to get the tune even closer to perfect. He is aware of the rich condition and is working through more complex tables to test solutions. It is a confusing situation, but revolves around throttle position % and how it correlates to the pedal position %. Fly be wire is sure fun.... You can easily drive around this condition by shifting at higher RPMs.
https://youtu.be/Pgln9L5Y7sQ
If I were you, I would run red and natural springs, as this puts you right around 9psi on this setup. It should run really good at this boost level and there is less to worry about than going with a green spring.
