ECU reflash question???

[hanzo040107]

I have a MS3 & want to get that dual port BOV but it says it wont fit with the stock air box so I was thinking of changing my intake, exhaust & maybe some other things too. I had problems before with previous cars cause I ended up running rich or lean & causing slow engine damage over time. If i change my intake, probably to a CAI... would I have to reflash my ECU & where could I do it? I'm in Hawaii, I would prefer somewhere local cause having to send it out & get it back will probably take close to a week even with 1 or 2 day air.

 

[clos561]

you dont have to flash the ecu for intake install..jsut remove the neg from the battery for about 5minutes to reset the ecu

 

[Sacrilicious]

get a cobb sri...they did a lot of testing to get it to flow as similarly to the stock air box as possible...just less restrictively!

 

[knowledge007]

CP-E all the way!!!

 

[Sacrilicious]

cobble cobble! ;o

 

[fourthmeal]

I have a MS3 & want to get that dual port BOV but it says it wont fit with the stock air box so I was thinking of changing my intake, exhaust & maybe some other things too. I had problems before with previous cars cause I ended up running rich or lean & causing slow engine damage over time. If i change my intake, probably to a CAI... would I have to reflash my ECU & where could I do it? I'm in Hawaii, I would prefer somewhere local cause having to send it out & get it back will probably take close to a week even with 1 or 2 day air.

Woah,...you're talking about ECU reflashing to compensate for your mods (like a BOV?) This isn't possible on the MS3 at this time. You can reset the ECU by pulling the negative batt terminal (don't forget to press the brakes once or twice, this will activate the brake lights and pull the rest of the power out of all the circuits' capacitors.) But a reflash for performance isn't out there yet. We do have a stand-back from CP-E, and a piggy-back from Xede. I know the CP-E will let you run a Dual port BOV fairly well, but ideally you'd want to keep your BOV in recirculation mode 100% of the time. With just an intake and downpipe, you won't need a tuning solution, but you could still benefit from one if you wish.

Have you searched on this topic around the forum? Tons of threads have been created on the exact same topic.

Short version: Our cars benefit strongly from the following things, performance wise, and in this order (roughly)

1. Intake, CAI or SRI, your choice.
2. Downpipe/mid-pipe combo (anything cat-back only will not be all that effective in increasing horsepower, though sound will change)
3. Tuning solution like CP-E standback
4. Cam driven fuel pump upgrade (this is a new advancement)
5. Intercooler, Front mount or upgraded top-mount
6. Methanol/water injection

I'd have to say its probably a good idea for you to hunt down Nutari, who is an Islander like yourself. I don't know which one he's on, but find him and talk with him.

 

[hanzo040107]

I remember reading in another ECU question thread about the PCM, I think it was, that learns how you drive or something like that. Something like that might learn or compensate for the bigger air draw? Also I noticed that the Injen & CP-E CAI's have gotten alot of good comments. I hydrolocked my Civic way back in the day & was wondering how good are those pre-filters? Also the MS3 seems decently low already, how low does the intak actually sit. There is some spots that get pretty bad drainage around here sometimes. Don't wanna put the whole filter underwater.

 

[Sacrilicious]

you might want to consider just getting a SRI and forget about the whole hydrolock problem, because in turbocharged cars, the difference in performance between a CAI and a SRI is much smaller than in a NA engine. by the time your turbo bakes the intake air and then gets intercooled before finally entering the engine, the difference in temp of "cold" vs "warm" intake air becomes rather small...;o

 

[hanzo040107]

you might want to consider just getting a SRI and forget about the whole hydrolock problem, because in turbocharged cars, the difference in performance between a CAI and a SRI is much smaller than in a NA engine. by the time your turbo bakes the intake air and then gets intercooled before finally entering the engine, the difference in temp of "cold" vs "warm" intake air becomes rather small...;o

Yeah thanks. I was considering it with co-workers today & I know there is horrible drainage on my way to work cause that's where I hydrolocked my last car. I was scoping out the SRI & CAI dyno charts. I think I can sacrifice about 10 HP & Torque. Plus you know the place for a real driver to shine is in the turns. (rofl)

 

[knowledge007]

I say CP-E all the way b/c of this fact alone not to mention the performace you get out of the damn thing. I am in Miami, Fl so I know all about rain. The CP-E intake filter points up about the hight of the head light. So you don't have to worry about hydrolock. Even then, for you to experience hydro the filter would have to be completely submerged. I sure your civic's CAI was on the friggin floor...

 

[hanzo040107]

I say CP-E all the way b/c of this fact alone not to mention the performace you get out of the damn thing. I am in Miami, Fl so I know all about rain. The CP-E intake filter points up about the hight of the head light. So you don't have to worry about hydrolock. Even then, for you to experience hydro the filter would have to be completely submerged. I sure your civic's CAI was on the friggin floor...

You seem pretty knowledgeable on the CP-E, which is the CAI I'd probably get anyway, how low does it sit? Like I said my way to work can get pretty bad. If the filter sits pretty low, it might get fully submerged. How high does the pre-filter sit? Does the pre-filter sit on the end of the CAI? How well does the pre-filter work just in the rain without puddles like the freeway or something? I know one guy was complaining a lil about rain but he chose not to get the pre-filter, that's scary. Maybe he's never hydrolocked a motor before. I know back in the day, AEM made a pre-filter that went between the two intake pieces so I think it sat about the level of the stock air box or maybe even in the engine area. I wouldn't know cause that product came out a month or two after I hydrolocked my motor, coincidence huh? (iagree) I had the Iceman intake on my EG Civic before & that design was pretty sloped so you figure it couldn't suck up water either. I want the CP-E CAI but am a lil worried on how well it works against hydrolocking. You ever hit any deep puddles or just rain? Well nothing like New Orleans of course. (lol) Any info you could give me would be much appreciated.

 

[Sierra117]

Well nothing like New Orleans of course. (lol) Any info you could give me would be much appreciated.

Did Katrina hydrolock any cars?

 

[User Name]

I have the CP-E CAI on mine and I live in Vancouver, BC, a known rain forest. I've driven it through heavy rain and large puddles without any issues, and no I didn't slow down for some of those puddles. Obviously driving through DEEP puddles will result in problems, but as has been mentioned several times already, the filter is right up behind the headlight. The key is to put the under tray back on so that. On the other hand, if you're driving through water that deep, you shouldn't be driving an MS3, you should be in a sky jacked pick up truck.

 

[VAspeed3]

Yeah thanks. I was considering it with co-workers today & I know there is horrible drainage on my way to work cause that's where I hydrolocked my last car. I was scoping out the SRI & CAI dyno charts. I think I can sacrifice about 10 HP & Torque. Plus you know the place for a real driver to shine is in the turns. (rofl)

Funny you should mention that last sentence. The first change I would make on my MS3 is to stiffen suspension damping. These cars have more than enough power on a road course -- mine kept up with some very fast cars on the straights. The weakest point in terms of performance is the suspension. To each his own, but that's where I would go first.

 

[hanzo040107]

Funny you should mention that last sentence. The first change I would make on my MS3 is to stiffen suspension damping. These cars have more than enough power on a road course -- mine kept up with some very fast cars on the straights. The weakest point in terms of performance is the suspension. To each his own, but that's where I would go first.

(iagree) Seems like we think on the same wavelength. I used to be heavy into going to the tracks. Drift Session, Road Course Events, & Drag Racing. Usually I'd modify suspension first but the MS3 has decent enough suspension stock plus I don't think I'm gonna visit the track much at least not for awhile. The track here closed down over a year ago... no track. My main goal was to get the turbosmart dual BOV & a Blitz DTT timer. The BOV said it wont fit with a stock air box though so I figured I'd change intakes plus a couple other goodies.


Looks like I'll go with the CP-E CAI (bow)

 

[AutoXRacer]

You seem pretty knowledgeable on the CP-E, which is the CAI I'd probably get anyway, how low does it sit? Like I said my way to work can get pretty bad. If the filter sits pretty low, it might get fully submerged. How high does the pre-filter sit? Does the pre-filter sit on the end of the CAI? How well does the pre-filter work just in the rain without puddles like the freeway or something? I know one guy was complaining a lil about rain but he chose not to get the pre-filter, that's scary. Maybe he's never hydrolocked a motor before. I know back in the day, AEM made a pre-filter that went between the two intake pieces so I think it sat about the level of the stock air box or maybe even in the engine area. I wouldn't know cause that product came out a month or two after I hydrolocked my motor, coincidence huh? (iagree) I had the Iceman intake on my EG Civic before & that design was pretty sloped so you figure it couldn't suck up water either. I want the CP-E CAI but am a lil worried on how well it works against hydrolocking. You ever hit any deep puddles or just rain? Well nothing like New Orleans of course. (lol) Any info you could give me would be much appreciated.

The AEM hydro-lock thing only works on NAs... Not intended for FI cars...according to their website. I was talking about that with some other forum members last night. I am looking to get the Mazdaspeed CAI and that one sits a little low... But I chose that one for warranty purposes...does not void warranty and Mazda recognizes it as their own factory part.

 

[knowledge007]

Like I mentioned earlier, the filter is about headlight height and points upward. there is no cause for concern for hydrolock unless you are in 2' below water or more. Your splash guards will do just fine. I have had no problems and have hit some nasty puddles here in Miami.

 

[hanzo040107]

Cool, thanks for all the helpful knowledge. I'm a newbie to Mazda. I started off with Civics like most Import guys then went to RR Nissans. 300ZX's & a 240SX. Now I'm a proud Mazda owner & still getting used to FF again. Whacking the turns is a lil different technique than rear, haven't been used to this in a long time. (yippy)

 

[VAspeed3]

(iagree) Seems like we think on the same wavelength. I used to be heavy into going to the tracks. Drift Session, Road Course Events, & Drag Racing. Usually I'd modify suspension first but the MS3 has decent enough suspension stock plus I don't think I'm gonna visit the track much at least not for awhile. The track here closed down over a year ago... no track. My main goal was to get the turbosmart dual BOV & a Blitz DTT timer. The BOV said it wont fit with a stock air box though so I figured I'd change intakes plus a couple other goodies.


Looks like I'll go with the CP-E CAI (bow)

Seems to me they know what they are doing well into the stratosphere of MS3 performance. If I were looking for more power I would strongly consider them as well. Did you see another thread where The CPE Standback made 365 torque at the wheels of an MS3? I just can't imagine when or where I would ever be able to get all of that to the ground except at a drag strip, but I have no interest in drag racing.