Is it possible and worthwhile to re-flash ecu on Mazda 2?

[bobbin]

I have a 2014 Mazda 2 Elegance 1.5lt. petrol. I found this:

which answers the first part of my question. It is possible. But is it worthwhile? They use a different measurement for hp than the one I'm used to, coming from N.America, but indicate approximately a 10% hp gain. What's not to like about that?

I note from reading the Ford Everest thread that there is more potential in a diesel engine than a petrol engine...

Does drive-ability suffer or does it only shift the focus of the engine from fuel economy to power output ? I understand that a re-map raises warranty issues but my warranty expires in a little more than a year from now.

There are a lot of us driving these small cars here, but it doesn't mean we wouldn't like more power.....

[DavisH]

10HP is about what you'd expect with a remap/piggyback, intake / exhaust and headers on a small car. That could be about 30-40K baht in total. I don't think it's worth it really, especially if it's an auto. The manual is quicker out of the box (and more fun). The diesel has more tuning potential.

There are small turbo kits for these cars for more serious power. These will need tuning on a dyno as well. That is your best bet for power. I would guess cost would be below 100K baht.

[sebastion]

Only the diesel Mazda 2 has chip tuning. Nothing for the petrol.

[DavisH]

The 9hp would need to be across the rpm band. If it's only top end it's not much use. Diesels are much more easily tunable, unless one goes turbo.

Edited January 15, 2016 by seedy
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[bobbin]

I'm a little old to aspire to joining the ranks of "boy racers".

That extra hp has to have some effect.

I'm not looking to do exhaust modifications, only change the engine management software. We live in a country that penalizes (financially) horsepower. Nowadays it seems that even normal sedans are outputting 200+ hp, with functional dual exhausts.... These, for the most part, are not available in Thailand of course.

I'm thinking that these smaller engines are factory tuned for fuel economy, and wondering what their potential for a little more oomph might be...

It is an automatic transmission, in answer to a previous post.

Edited January 15, 2016 by seedy
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[seedy]

Nonsense Post - and Quoted Replies - Removed

[sebastion]

I'm a little old to aspire to joining the ranks of "boy racers".

That extra hp has to have some effect.

I'm not looking to do exhaust modifications, only change the engine management software. We live in a country that penalizes (financially) horsepower. Nowadays it seems that even normal sedans are outputting 200+ hp, with functional dual exhausts.... These, for the most part, are not available in Thailand of course.

I'm thinking that these smaller engines are factory tuned for fuel economy, and wondering what their potential for a little more oomph might be...

It is an automatic transmission, in answer to a previous post.

You can't squeeze much more out of that little naturally aspirated engine.

I think 9hp is optimistic.

Turbo diesel is a different story.

The mazda 2 diesel puts out 320nm of torque with a racechip piggyback. Great for that little motor.

[IMHO]

I'm a little old to aspire to joining the ranks of "boy racers".

That extra hp has to have some effect.

I'm not looking to do exhaust modifications, only change the engine management software. We live in a country that penalizes (financially) horsepower. Nowadays it seems that even normal sedans are outputting 200+ hp, with functional dual exhausts.... These, for the most part, are not available in Thailand of course.

I'm thinking that these smaller engines are factory tuned for fuel economy, and wondering what their potential for a little more oomph might be...

It is an automatic transmission, in answer to a previous post.

The reality is, there's not much a chip is going to do in a naturally aspirated car, without other mods.

If there are areas of the powerband that have been intentionally de-tuned to pass emissions tests, you might be in luck - but it's unlikely Mazda were faced with that challenge in this engine. Outside of that, an engine can't make more HP without ingesting more air and fuel (stoich needs to be maintained for a healthy engine), and getting the exhaust gasses out in the most effective way.

A chip can try to inject more fuel, and play with timing a little, but it's only one small part of an overall system.

[Ace of Pop]

I get lost with Re Map V Chip.!!. 2 young Men are No 1 at power ups nearby, nice workshop the Lot. They were doing a BM5 series. .. can You give my Honda a boost.?. No we only have Audi and BMW engine data on the lap top. So non the wiser i retreated for a Leo. They Recon you can get up to 200 BHP out the Honda but they cant. .

[seedy]

one Post discussing Moderation removed

[bobbin]

I'm a little old to aspire to joining the ranks of "boy racers".

That extra hp has to have some effect.

I'm not looking to do exhaust modifications, only change the engine management software. We live in a country that penalizes (financially) horsepower. Nowadays it seems that even normal sedans are outputting 200+ hp, with functional dual exhausts.... These, for the most part, are not available in Thailand of course.

I'm thinking that these smaller engines are factory tuned for fuel economy, and wondering what their potential for a little more oomph might be...

It is an automatic transmission, in answer to a previous post.

The reality is, there's not much a chip is going to do in a naturally aspirated car, without other mods.

If there are areas of the powerband that have been intentionally de-tuned to pass emissions tests, you might be in luck - but it's unlikely Mazda were faced with that challenge in this engine. Outside of that, an engine can't make more HP without ingesting more air and fuel (stoich needs to be maintained for a healthy engine), and getting the exhaust gasses out in the most effective way.

A chip can try to inject more fuel, and play with timing a little, but it's only one small part of an overall system.

Thanks for your input IMHO...

I did have to Google stoich though, as I have never heard the term used.

I was hoping that you might be one of the people who responded, as you always have quite level-headed responses on these vehicle threads. I'd also like to thank the other posters who took the time to respond and contribute.

I guess the consensus is that I should just put the Mazda Racing 2 decals on the sides and leave it at that...

[Ace of Pop]

I'm still non the wiser ,where's Warpy for a straight reply.

[IMHO]

I'm a little old to aspire to joining the ranks of "boy racers".

That extra hp has to have some effect.

I'm not looking to do exhaust modifications, only change the engine management software. We live in a country that penalizes (financially) horsepower. Nowadays it seems that even normal sedans are outputting 200+ hp, with functional dual exhausts.... These, for the most part, are not available in Thailand of course.

I'm thinking that these smaller engines are factory tuned for fuel economy, and wondering what their potential for a little more oomph might be...

It is an automatic transmission, in answer to a previous post.

The reality is, there's not much a chip is going to do in a naturally aspirated car, without other mods.

If there are areas of the powerband that have been intentionally de-tuned to pass emissions tests, you might be in luck - but it's unlikely Mazda were faced with that challenge in this engine. Outside of that, an engine can't make more HP without ingesting more air and fuel (stoich needs to be maintained for a healthy engine), and getting the exhaust gasses out in the most effective way.

A chip can try to inject more fuel, and play with timing a little, but it's only one small part of an overall system.

Thanks for your input IMHO...

I did have to Google stoich though, as I have never heard the term used.

I was hoping that you might be one of the people who responded, as you always have quite level-headed responses on these vehicle threads. I'd also like to thank the other posters who took the time to respond and contribute.

I guess the consensus is that I should just put the Mazda Racing 2 decals on the sides and leave it at that...

Gasoline cars need to try to maintain 14.7:1 air:fuel ratio - i.e. 6.8% fuel, 93.2% air - running too rich (too much fuel) will increase emissions and fuel use, without any gain. Running too lean (not enough fuel) can give a very slight gain in HP, but risks severe damage to the engine.

So in order to make more HP, the first thing you need is more air... More fuel to go with it is actually quite easy, being the lesser of the two.

The Air flow path in a naturally aspirated car is pretty simple: intake > filter > pipes > throttle body > head > valves. The only part of that chain that the ECU has any control over is the throttle body - but so do you with your right foot

Unless the ECU is implementing a throttle map that does not open the throttle body butterfly valve linear to your input, there's nothing it can do to improve air flow. Note that many cars do implement throttle mapping in order to pass emissions regulations, but usually you'll find that happening on turbo diesels, not naturally aspirated gasoline engines. I don't have any insight on whether the Mazda 1.5L engine does this or not.

The other parameter the ECU has control over is timing (at what point in the pistons cycle does the ignition spark happen). Manipulating this can indeed have effects, but nothing Earth shattering, as there's still only a very small window to play with, and it's unlikely the Mazda engineers chose the least efficient settings when they programmed the ECU - because doing so would negatively impact FE and power.

At a guess, I'd say and ECU tune only will be worth maybe 3% +/- at best. If they're clever, what they'll do is re-map the throttle input so that it feels more 'peppy' under normal throttle movements - i.e. the sensation of a more responsive engine - but really all that would be doing is stabbing the throttle when you just brushed it. Nothing you can't already do with your right foot

Edited January 17, 2016 by IMHO