Upgrade ECU

Carmaster2005 · Post by **Carmaster2005** » April 6th, 2006, 7:12 pm

Hello people ! I have brought up a similar question before about RPM's and the ECU. My question Is, Is my B6 non - Turbo 1.6 DOHC Stock ECU Upgradable to the 88 - 89 323 GTX Performance ECU ? Or Maybe A Miata 1.6 ECU or even escort? I am Pretty good at anything Electrical so wiring up anything would not be a problem. Right now im not running turbo but in the future will be. If so would my engine run too rich without a turbo? Anyone who has done any kind of work/upgrade to their ECU I would love to here from you, as im sure many others could benifit from your help. Thanks !

Limegreen mx-3 · Post by **Limegreen mx-3** » April 6th, 2006, 7:25 pm

i have a bp and just for kicks i tried a 94 1.8 bp maita ecu to see if it work turn on well it didn't and so i bp my stock bp ecu on and it turn right on. as for running with a gtx ecu the plugs are way different i have a 88 gtx and i campered the ecu fron the 1.6 mx-3 and the gtx the plug are differeent and it wouldn't just plug&play. to be truth full go standalone a tec system maybe even a mega squirt. u can set ur rpms where u like them vs the stock 6500 rpms. hope this helps out

torpedan · Post by **torpedan** » April 7th, 2006, 1:02 am

Miata ECU's I wouldnt expect to work, they use coil packs, you could make one work but it would take a bit of effort. You would have to swap in thier whole ignition system and liekly a wiring harness as well. No promises i never played with a Miata ecu, but odds are your TAC and other things would still work.

Swapping out to the GTX ecu would cause a lot of isses, you would need to swap in the wiring harnesses (possibly do a massive rewire of your underdash stuff as well, there seems a decent chance the year diffrence will make require customing wiring to get it to plug in)given i belive it has a few sensors extra because of the boost and the VAF from it would be needed as well. Unless you are swapping on the whole turbo setup this is a complete waste of time. For a N/A setup you would see a loss of power.

Pending what year your car is odds are its best to stay with your stock ECU unless you want to swap out to a diffrent wiring harness. Using a BP ecu you could get a higher rev limit, but you can modify your stock ECU and get the same results (although it affects the timing but I belive you can readvance it and fix this issue).

Carmaster2005 · Post by **Carmaster2005** » April 7th, 2006, 1:39 am

Thanks guys ! But any idea how you would go about modifing my stock ecu ? inside the ecu or splice a wire, or do i have to replace a computer chip ? my only real goal is to increase my Redline. Im NOT trying to run 10,000 RPM, Just somthing a little higher. Im planning on swapping out my cams for meita cams so I want to take advantage of them. Thanks everyone.

torpedan · Post by **torpedan** » April 7th, 2006, 9:14 am

http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=145076

Its a 12 page thread I remember eading it all so i suggest you do the same. Lots of good infromation.

Joey's mx · Post by **Joey's mx** » April 7th, 2006, 12:17 pm

or you can just send your computer to corksport..they will reprogram the 1.6L dohc ecu's now!!

Carmaster2005 · Post by **Carmaster2005** » April 7th, 2006, 7:27 pm

Thank you so much guys ! This is why I love this site everyone helps out everyone. very good information. Im going to read that link now and then im sure ill be able to handle it from there. Thank you everyone !

MXL (germany) · Post by **MXL (germany)** » April 7th, 2006, 10:30 pm

be happy....in germany there's no possibility to reprogram the ECU's.....you can do only "old scool" modifikations!

I hope so, that there will be a dealer for Corksport performance parts

(i hope you can understand my English )

...in my case i used an Miata extake cam (i hope it's the right name ) as an Intake cam on my DOHC...
So you have 1mm more Opening.

MechaManZero · Post by **MechaManZero** » April 7th, 2006, 11:47 pm

LOL it's ok man. I can't even make conversation in any other language but english lol. But by extake I think you mean exhaust. Just helpin ya out.

MXL (germany) · Post by **MXL (germany)** » April 8th, 2006, 11:20 am

ýou have one cam for the intake(entry??) and one for let out the gas (i don't know how to describe it- scoolenglish:) )

I used the "out" cam from an Miata 1.6 as "in" cam in my MX-3

It's possible because the MX-5 has a shorter "out"cam as the MX-3...it's similar to the "in"cam in the MX-3

....

...sorry it's not for this topic

ModMX3 - (Carmaster2005) · April 13th, 2006, 9:36 am

Thanks everyone ! I did that mod to my ECU (changed the 8 mhz crystal to a 9.216 mhz now i have a redline of 7,500 Actual 7,800 indicated RPM. No noticable downsides. Actually my mx is running even better now. Not bad for a .40 cent mod. So to everyone,the meita ecu mod will work on the mx3. If anyone would like info on how to do this e-mail me at Speedemon1986@msn.com. And plz I dont want any ''Granny Drivers'' e-mailing me about - Theres no power up there, or mazda engineers put the redline at 6,500 for a reason. Because the Fact is,that there IS power up there with a few mods like good intake, port and polish, good exhaust, and a set of cams, you can hit big numbers at those RPMS. Going to take the mx for a spin.

Limegreen mx-3 · Post by **Limegreen mx-3** » April 13th, 2006, 7:10 pm

not bad modmx-3 not bad for a 1.6 hitting 7500 rpms so can my BP reach these rpms 2 props on what u did laters

projectmx316 · Post by **projectmx316** » April 14th, 2006, 4:05 am

hey mxl how did u do the timming on the miat cam? and is it worh the upgrade?

WingleBeast · Post by **WingleBeast** » April 14th, 2006, 8:53 am

ive heard you can use both miata cams, but like he said use the intake for the exhaust and vice-versa

im hopeing so, i want to get some miata performance cams to put in my MX-3

ModMX3 - (Carmaster2005) · April 14th, 2006, 1:39 pm

Just to let everyone know the mx is still running great. This mod is awsome, only took about 5 mins. Unsolder 2 wires then solder in the new crystal (only 2 pins) put the ecu back in the car and thats it. only now fuel cuts at 7,500 not 6,500 , and im not suprised to say that our engines run very well at higher rpms. And again if anyone wants info on how to do this themselvs IM Me and ill post pictures and a how to on this thread. The mod will lean your fuel out anywhere from 5% to 10% depending apon how much RPM increase you want, But for me it seemed to help. I think mxs also run a little on the rich side like the meitas do. Also this will NOT damage your ecu, and you can always set it back to stock if you want without hurting anything. anyway you would think im selling somthing here, (just excited)

. so have fun mx ers.