The best trionic upgrade
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i wanted to fit the best upgrade to my own car. my own research showed that only one company had the expertise to remap ecu with its own software. that was maptun. so thats the one i fitted
My vote goes to Maptun too, since they did a "custom" job for me without even seeing the car (the mechanical spec is not unusual and would have been easy to reproduce). My Aero now puts out around 300hp and 330lbft on the original turbo. It's very nice to drive. The only downside is that all the torque eventually overcame the standard clutch and I had to have a sport clutch fitted. That probably wouldn't be a problem with one of their standard offerings.
Also, I asked them to remove the boost limit in 2nd gear. They recommend to leave this in place for transmission longevity.
I know MarkE has had a few problems with his Maptun custom ECU, but his car has more radical mechanical modifications and they probably couldn't reproduce them to test the software.
The problem is, Maptun don't have much presence in the UK (I think they have a dealer in Scotland) and getting hold of them by e-mail is difficult. Phoning them is best and they speak excellent English. You will need to send them your old ECU (or a spare) for reprogramming.
Unless you want something special, the easy route is to speak to Elkparts who will supply a Speedparts ECU on an exchange basis, so your car is not off the road while you wait for delivery.
Also, I asked them to remove the boost limit in 2nd gear. They recommend to leave this in place for transmission longevity.
I know MarkE has had a few problems with his Maptun custom ECU, but his car has more radical mechanical modifications and they probably couldn't reproduce them to test the software.
The problem is, Maptun don't have much presence in the UK (I think they have a dealer in Scotland) and getting hold of them by e-mail is difficult. Phoning them is best and they speak excellent English. You will need to send them your old ECU (or a spare) for reprogramming.
Unless you want something special, the easy route is to speak to Elkparts who will supply a Speedparts ECU on an exchange basis, so your car is not off the road while you wait for delivery.
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My problems with the Maptun software stemmed from 3 areas:
1. It is a first generation (MY93) unit, which is more difficult to work on
2. I have a different turbo than standard
3. They didn't take due note of 1 & 2 above when I asked them could they supply appropriate software
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However, I did ask other tuners about an upgrade and none of them could undertake the work.
I would say that as long as you have a MY94 on ECU, then you won't have any problems. I'm told by a reasonably authoratative source (another tuner!) that the guys at Maptun are ex Trionic engineers, so they should know their stuff!
Bill, I thought there were a couple of folk up in Scotland who have Maptun software- Ranald, an acquaintance of ylee, springs to mind...
1. It is a first generation (MY93) unit, which is more difficult to work on
2. I have a different turbo than standard
3. They didn't take due note of 1 & 2 above when I asked them could they supply appropriate software
However, I did ask other tuners about an upgrade and none of them could undertake the work.
I would say that as long as you have a MY94 on ECU, then you won't have any problems. I'm told by a reasonably authoratative source (another tuner!) that the guys at Maptun are ex Trionic engineers, so they should know their stuff!
Bill, I thought there were a couple of folk up in Scotland who have Maptun software- Ranald, an acquaintance of ylee, springs to mind...
Bold and interesting reply. Can I ask what kind of research you did Peter? I believe I will be getting a Maptun upgrade, but this is based solely on looking at torque & power plots (as well as comments from regulars at Saabscene). Did you get a chance to test drive beforehand?
Many thanks.
I used MapTun because they were the only tuners that knew how to remap the T5 for engines using the Volvo 'green giants'. I was told that John had worked at engine development for Saab - this is the first time I've heard that Fredrik did, too. Anyway, I would say that they are very knowledgeable and professional at what they do. I would also expect that Hirsch are very good, also. It's been my experience that anything I've bought that was designed and produced by the Swiss was very, very solid. I've never seen, nor do I know anyone using, Hirsch software. But I'd wager that it is just as good as MapTun, SQR, et al - well, at the price they get, I guess it should be
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i did not get a chance to drive a car with maptun ecu. i took a good look at all available graphs and spoke to as many experts as i could, i asked about their own cars to gauge the passion they had for saabs. i am very fussy with my car. ideally i look for engineers who are associated with motor sport as they work to much higher standards than your average 9to5 employee who happens to work at a saab garage. the engineers i currently use supply me a detailed report of all work they have carried out together with any other points they wish to make they have all the correct equipment to tune and maintain a motor car regardless of make they are what i call engineers. thats why i bought a maptun ecu
Best change that then....
I got my 96 MY 2.0 Eco Abbott modified. You'll see from other threads they are criticised for not giving much extra bangs for buck.
My view is that the extra gains in power (eg now 200 BHP/Lb ft +) are more than adequate for what is in every other sense a standard car, save for dump valve and "performance" air filter. In real life (motorways, fast cross countrying) the extra horses and torque are plenty adequate for almost any purposes. I have had an indicated 120mph and still accelerating and pulling like a train (not saying where but not in England) - and in gear acceleration cross country is "adequately swift."
It's about balance I suppose. With a standard gearbox and clutch there's little to no chance of totalling either (touch wood) through too many horses/too much torque, yet there's plenty enough real world useable power.
I now have a good quick car that is devastatingly quick in overtaking, leaves most other cars behind on the motorway at a prod of the loud pedal even in fifth, (thouugh I've yet to have Bill J or any of the other Marks come tearing up behind me thankfully !) and it outperforms most all non modified 9k's (including Aeros) for a pretty small price - eg less than £600 supplied and fitted.
I got my 96 MY 2.0 Eco Abbott modified. You'll see from other threads they are criticised for not giving much extra bangs for buck.
My view is that the extra gains in power (eg now 200 BHP/Lb ft +) are more than adequate for what is in every other sense a standard car, save for dump valve and "performance" air filter. In real life (motorways, fast cross countrying) the extra horses and torque are plenty adequate for almost any purposes. I have had an indicated 120mph and still accelerating and pulling like a train (not saying where but not in England) - and in gear acceleration cross country is "adequately swift."
It's about balance I suppose. With a standard gearbox and clutch there's little to no chance of totalling either (touch wood) through too many horses/too much torque, yet there's plenty enough real world useable power.
I now have a good quick car that is devastatingly quick in overtaking, leaves most other cars behind on the motorway at a prod of the loud pedal even in fifth, (thouugh I've yet to have Bill J or any of the other Marks come tearing up behind me thankfully !) and it outperforms most all non modified 9k's (including Aeros) for a pretty small price - eg less than £600 supplied and fitted.
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382 Posts
to be honest i dont think i could tell if i had 225bhp or 200bhp the only way to know is rolling road. what i do have is a car that is very capable in dealing with most of the situations uk roads provide. i am very happy with my car, thats all i can say, i have not had the benifit of tryng all possible options. what i can say though is what a good site this is, its great to see so much interest in a very good car.
so what is the differance between a stage 1, 3, 4, etc.... the ECU is still the same for all stages right? but when the stages get higher it just includes more performance parts right? like 3" down pipe, injectors, air filter?...
or does the ECU have to change as well??
or does the ECU have to change as well??
Indeed, the ECU program is different at each stage to suit the mechanical mods. For example, a 3" downpipe will lower exhaust gas temperatures for a given boost pressure compared to standard, so the ECU program to match that will be able to use higher boost pressure reliably than that for the unmodified exhaust.
Greater airflow (and boost pressure) will require different fuel mapping to give optimum results. Ignition timing can make a big difference too.
Greater airflow (and boost pressure) will require different fuel mapping to give optimum results. Ignition timing can make a big difference too.
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115 Posts
I have about 500 miles on my 2000 9-5 aero since fitting a chipcenter stage 1 ecm and the car runs flawlessly. I am not sure if they did the remapping in house. The service there was great and they shipped very quickly. www.chipcenter.cc
The main reasons I decided to go with this company is that they have a specific program for the auto trans and also the price was far less than any of the other tuners. They are located in Sweden as well. With the auto and the JR filter, I am rated at 265hp and 277ft/lb (yet to be tested on dyno). Manual would have been first choice but I couldnt pass the deal I got on the auto.
The main reasons I decided to go with this company is that they have a specific program for the auto trans and also the price was far less than any of the other tuners. They are located in Sweden as well. With the auto and the JR filter, I am rated at 265hp and 277ft/lb (yet to be tested on dyno). Manual would have been first choice but I couldnt pass the deal I got on the auto.
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323 Posts
maybe off at a tangent here, but I'm stiil talking ecu upgrades............if i want a speedparts stage 3 and I already have the air filter and full exhaust and cat but am still on a standard ecu ( with forge dump valve and a manual boost control) will the cost as quoted on Elkparts be less these two items, i.e approx £300?
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Speedparts would sell you the stage1 price.. but programed for example with the stage2 or 3 program... at least that's what the offered me..
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