Been looking around the forum, and I was just curious as to who uses a Unichip for their tC2's? And if so, who is in the Tri-State area?

Wouldn't mind finding a custom Unichip tuner seeing as the closest one is in MD, about 2 hours from my current location.

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Well, been over a week so and I just installed my unichip today.

Used the Torque app to gauge my gains, which isn't the best but it works.

195hp with intake and catback only, and 212hp with bolt-ons and Unichip.
Torque states that the hp measured is at the wheels, but I find that hard to believe.
When I get some more cash, I will get a Dyno and compare the two.

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Hahaha. You know better than that bud. There's no way that's to the ground.

 

Oh, I know. The gains themselves seem legit, but those numbers are way off. Thats why I want to dyno it and get a more accurate number than 212 at the wheels. Maybe more like 185-190 at the wheels and that is probably a stretch. Stock is what...168whp (180 at the crank)? So I could possibly swing 200 at the wheels when I'm finished with my N/A build.

 

Yep, and that'd be tight.

 

After almost buying the piggy back Unichip i found out from some professionals that i could spend less money, and Dyno tune the car with all bolt ons and gas used..and gain more.
It is also physically tuning the current ECU which is a plus and no extra hardware to worry about..you could add the Unichip after but not worth it..full Dyno is the way to go.

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I was going to just get a tune, but all of the local shops around here quoted me $500+ (small small area in NJ). My thought was, if I want it "tuned" right now I could spend a little less. You are absolutely correct that an actual tune would be the way to go, but for $375 I was able to get the unichip. I can just get the map that is the absolute closest to what I need and get it custom tuned later if I can find someone to do and have the extra money.

For right now, having the closest maps to what I need on the piggy back is less expensive than a tune unless I want to get a custom job done later. I could always go on a short road trip to find more tuners for my car, but to tell you the truth...I am sick of emailing people for quotes and I don't want to drive more than 30-45 minutes and spend all day at a shop if I don't have to right now (work night shift, don't have time). So while your tune is superior to mine in a sense, this just works best for me right now and its not half bad.

 

I've read a lot about the unichip for me it would be the closet thing I could do without getting a real tune, without voiding my warranty, but anyway is it really worth the $375 for maybe a 20hp gain?


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Please do the math for me because I must be crazy. Do you know how great of a deal that is. You said it yourself. That's $18 per horse. Tell me anywhere else with anything else that you can get that. Of course it's worth it, especially with these slow a.ss cars, you take what you can get.

 

If you are under warranty, I would say that yes its worth it. We aren't driving V-8s, so anything we do to our cars is going to minimal unless we get turbos, and 20hp can definitely be felt while cruising down the highway.

Personally, besides the small amount power, I feel like my car is more responsive and smoother with the unichip added. I would have gotten my ecu tuned had it been more feasible, but I am happy with my purchase all the same. Its about what works for you.

 

That is actually really good to know i was told it could be 200 bucks or so I wasn't expecting 500!?
lol if that's the case ill have 1 also, I would just rather have a full manual tune w premium and the bolts but hey Unichip is nice.

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You want a quality tune that was tendered and catered for your car and situation, you gotta pay. Plain and simple.

 

Exactly. While the unichip is great for stepping up your tuning, you aren't getting a fully customized map in your ECU which for me is fine. If you buy a unichip and want it custom tuned (because it is completely possible to get the same results as an ECU tune) later then you just spent more money in the long run doing what you could have done in one shot with the ECU tune.

Either way you look at it, a tune of any sort is going to run you $$$. I've looked into every variation and option. At least with the unichip, if the tune on it doesn't work then you can take it out of your car. With the ECU tune, if some guy is having a bad day and inputs one wrong digit...thats what you're stuck with.

Both have their benefits, and both have their downfalls.

 

You are aware that a straight ECU tune isn't possible on our cars, right?

 

Didn't know that...
Probably should have done more homework on our cars before I ranted on. I guess that really does increase the "worth" factor for a piggy back.

 

No. You can. If you have another device like AEM to do it through, you can get any tune to be however you want.

 

Yeah, stand alone computers will do the trick but like you mentioned earlier gotta pay to play. What makes the AEM unit superior to the piggy back option is tuner support. FI, I say AEM all the way (hence why dezod includes the AEM computer in their turbo kit).

 

Right right

 

What I don't get is why you can find someone willing to custom tune a unichip on a Porsche or Toyota pickup, but no one wants to do it on a Scion. The closest tuner to me is 2 hours away and they LOVE the unichip, but they refuse to work on any car unless its a Porsche. Bull shiz.

 

Yeah dude, that blows. I'd figure Jersey is full of tuners... they're just hard to find.