I was expecting to get torn a new one when I mentioned it but early ones were incorrectly fitted and there was also very poor technical advice from unichip in terms of problematic tuning.

Unichip has more features than the standard remap Dave .

Early ones were hit and miss but the latest version offers as much as some stand alones.

You can also see all the stock ecu parameters in live or freeze frame easily.
Including finding out why the stock ecu map brings the injector light on in 3rd gear and above.
As I thought the maf voltage is hitting 4.88 volts before the light comes on then going out of range after.
Maybe a reason why most setups tail off the boost to bring the maf back into voltage range.

This setups so good that you can connect your phones to it via Bluetooth and see what it's doing.
Very good customer support and safety features.

We've mapped 4 coupes now with the unichip with bigger injectors.
Paul shepherd doesn't map coupes as far as I'm aware therefor I can only assume that you've purchased the cable from eBay and your illegally mapping the unichip.

This is piracy and the exact reason why unichip ONLY supply to registered dealers.
Otherwise inexperienced so called mappers will be on forums rubbishing there products without the knowledge to know what's causing the issues.

If your not a registered dealer of this system then you don't have the updates or customer support.
Hence why there running rough.

If you do have the above then its down to the mapper or a serious issue on the vehicle.

A few technical points regarding the Unichip



Well having removed in the order of 15+ Unichips from Coupes, not a single one was fitted incorrectly. Some dodgy wiring and solder on a couple, which took a bit of time to rectify, but none incorrectly fitted. A couple had some issues like Jimbo's, which was resolved as soon as it was back running direct via the ECU.




Unichip has some features that can be very useful for certain applications e.g. Alpha-N, especially on older cars. However, it also lacks a lot of features and can struggle with modern ECUs, even something very simple such as raising the rpm limiter cannot be done. A car with lairy cams or a big turbo, well it's not much good if you can't raise the limiter.

The early ones were not hit and miss as you say, in fact the very basic principles of tuning are the same as the Q version. You wire into the various sensors, MAF/MAP for fuel, crank/cam for spark timing, TPS if required and likewise the boost solenoid, and then adjust/clamp voltages. The Q version is absolutely no different in this regard, it's still all about manipulating voltages in order to fool the main ECU into thinking the engine conditions are actually different. Of course when tuning via voltages, well this does have implications for example:

1. Most sensors are 0-5v, what happens when you reach 5v? Well in terms of a MAF or MAP sensor, this means the Unichip is incapable of adding any more fuel as the limit is already reached. Given that most cars, especially turbos, flow more air when tuned, well it can be a big problem. This is not the same as the injectors being maxxed i.e. 100% duty, there can still be more fuel available from the injectors, but the Unichip has no way to access this due to a voltage ceiling.

2. On the opposite end of the scale, if you run with bigger injectors (not huge, just moderately bigger e.g. 50%), then you would have to reduce the MAF/MAP voltage in order to trim the excess fuel. No problem, except the ECU may not allow this due to a minimum pulsewidth value or lower voltage limit, nothing to be done here. There are further problems with reducing the MAF/MAP voltage in that it will distort the calculated load to a lower level as determined by the ECU (remember we are fooling the ECU here). The result is that the ECU "sees" less air flowing into the engine than is the reality. At lower load levels the ECU has much more advanced spark timing, so the potential for engine detonation is much greater. So now instead of advancing spark timing for maximum power, you now have to reduce it in order make everything safe. This of course can be done, but it demonstrates how the Unichip can operate in a very hack way and is often counterintuitive, and unless you really know what you are doing under all conditions, well the recipe for disaster is there.

The above are two basic examples. You can also have issues with ECU compensations and learning, misfire detection, lambda integration, engine management lights… etc. Of course most remaps are sold on the power levels! Well the Unichip can make good power, but it certainly can’t make more power than a direct ECU remap. The reasons for this are simple, you cannot overcome all the basic parameters of the ECU that control the engine. A very important example would be knock sensors. It doesn’t matter what you do with the Unichip, advancing the timing into knock means the ECU will react and very swiftly by retarding timing. The Unichip is not a free for all control system, the ECU is the daddy in this relationship, and if you want to safely adjust the knock level then you need access to the relevant parameter within the ECU. All these issues are not a problem if tuning the main ECU, certainly not if you know what you are doing with it



You cannot see the factory ECU parameters, what you can see is the sensor voltages that it is wired into, two totally different sets of data.

As for the injector light and boost issues, well in this regard 2 + 2 does not equal 5. You have not understood how the boost control system works and other related parameters. I have, and continue to tune cars via ECU boost control beyond the MAF range as you put it (1.7bar holding 1.4bar at the redline), and of course if you have external boost control then the ECU cannot have any impact on boost control.



Wow...

That is all I'll say on the personal remarks, but as for a vehicle running rough, well you would need to tune more than just a handful of Coupes before making comments like that. The difference in engine management between manufacturers and models is huge, and this has major impacts on how Unichip works. Ultimately the integral point of any engine management is understanding how it all works, not just reacting to numbers on a screen.

I haven't mentioned as yet, the Unichip iDriver. Now this is a more recent addition to the Unichip range, and is essentially an extra module that needs to be purchased, which does allow some “direct” control over the fuel injectors, rather than just via the MAF or MAP sensor voltages. The installation requires wiring into all the injectors (quite a lot of wiring all in), and as a result it allows some manipulation of injector duty. Using the 20vt as an example, you simply cannot run bigger than 400-440cc (dependant on injector type) via the Unichip without the iDriver, it simply cannot work with correct air fuel ratios under all conditions. However, the iDriver is far from a complete solution and it doesn't sell itself as such either. Firstly, it does not give complete control of the injectors as this is not what the Unichip is about. It simply allows +/-50 adjustment range to the pulsewidth as already sent via the ECU, so there is a limit to what can be achieved. This is not the end of the story either, because not all injectors are the same and the process through which an injector fires is not just about pulsewidth duration. In basic terms, if you cannot change these other parameters (which the Unichip cannot) then you end up with horrible jumps and steps in injector millseconds causing rough and unstable idle and light load bucking. There can also be issues with closed loop lambda control, whereby you try to force the injector to deliver more fuel, but because the ECU is still in closed loop the fuel is subsequently trimmed and you are back to square one, remember the ECU is still firmly in control despite these tricks being played on it! I'll stop here because I could easily spend all night on this subject, if only tuning was as easy as + or - on the keyboard. It requires a thorough understanding of all the main principles within the system in order to achieve a powerful and holistic tune.

In summary, the Unichip is not straightforward, but I do like it a lot for certain applications, especially of course when the factory ECU is locked out. It can work very well for basic setups and "special" conversions (as I have undertaken on a number of older cars), however, it is by no means a replacement for remapping the factory ECU. The cost alone is significant, more than double or triple the average price of an ECU remap, and none of the associated hardware, wiring intervention or having to make such extreme hacks to the engine management as mentioned above. It has been around for a good while, and in the early days many Coupes were tuned like this as there was no other option. Of course, back then power levels were much lower, if you had 280-320bhp you were really at the top of the game! Invariably the Unichip is chosen by the tuner, not the customer. This is simply down to the fact that it allows a tuner with no knowledge of the factory ECU the ability to “tune” a vehicle. I could tune every single Coupe with the Unichip, but of course I won’t because tuning the Bosch ECU is a much better approach and ultimately a lot cheaper.

As it's been mentioned already why is it the injector light comes on in 4th- 6th gear when pushing on? The car also seems too loose power when the light comes on?

As it's been mentioned already why is it the injector light comes on in 4th- 6th gear when pushing on? The car also seems too loose power when the light comes on?

If you are having this problem then if Flea has mapped it get it back to him to check as it couldn't possibly be a sensor or component failing putting it into limp mode it would obviously be the mapping

If you are having this problem then if Flea has mapped it get it back to him to check as it couldn't possibly be a sensor or component failing putting it into limp mode it would obviously be the mapping

i am still confused what to get or do so meany pros and cons for the unichip