Alfa 33 16v Tuning

[33racer]

Hi Guy just wondering if anyone has a basic tune for a 16v 33 with aftermarket ecu preferably Haltech.

Kind Regards
Steve

[Ricky Ricardo]

I just bought one of these out of curiosity. I don't believe the 155hp claim but we'll see.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/171154769735?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649   

[hammer]

Let us know how you go with this chip. I'd love to hear some feedback once you've run it.

I'm about to install a 1.7 16V in an Alfasud Sprint track car and a bit of extra power would always be most welcome.

Cheers,

Brent

[Ricky Ricardo]

Will do, I've been hammering my 33 a fair bit through the hills lately    so should be able to feel if it does anything.

There still yet to post it and need someone to solder it. Could be 3 weeks "hopefully" till I drive with it.

[festy]

@hammer:
If that ebay chip is the one I think it is, it's a fairly safe and generic tune compared to some - but power gains won't be anywhere near what that ebay ad claims.
The rev limit is raised to about 7300 rpm, the fuel maps are tweaked a bit mainly in the high load areas plus some of the emissions compromises are removed, and the ignition maps are just very slightly advanced (1-2*) across the board, no real effort went into the ignition tuning!
There's also a couple of mistakes in it, there's two maps that were corrupted from "messy" editing but they probably wouldn't effect normal driving.
Oh - and none of the WOT maps were modified, only the part throttle maps.

If you'd like to try it out, I can send you a chip - but with the corrupted bits fixed 

[Ricky Ricardo]

 I've got nothing to report yet, when I get the chip I can post a pic of it.
They have had an issue with there post office with things not being sent. It was only sent 2 days ago but they have been profusely apologetic about it and kept me up to date with what's been going on.

[hammer]

Festy,

Thanks for the very kind offer. I'll send you a PM if I need to take you up on it.

We are now leaning toward the possibility of installing an aftermarket ECU in the Sprint with the 16V engine. Possibly a Microtech.

Will keep you posted on which way we go.

Cheers,

Brent

[Ricky Ricardo]

Well 10 weeks after I bought this M-Gear chip it has arrived today    I actually started a refund case on the last allowable day or I wouldn't have had any recourse action if it never came, so that's been cancelled now.

While I was hoping it would show up I did a lot of googling for info and it turns out on european car forums there's a lot of threads going about them with good results on new cars and old so I was really hoping it would show and disappointed I didn't already have it. 

The chip has no fanfare, it came in a simple blue box with no markings on it or the chip and some faded ink instructions that I could still just read.

It only took me only 10mins to fit the chip after I unbolted the ECU from the car, the chip was not soldered it just plugs in. The only thing that's not clear in the instructions is where the number one pin is.
In the picture my screw driver is pointed to it with the new chip fitted (there's also a small triangle printed on the chip) and the old one with the sticker is in the same orientation as it came out.


Now the good bit! When I started the car it fired up immediately the same as before nice and smooth. It seemed more perky giving it a rev so went for a drive, now where I live in a rural area the roads are straight so did a few U turns up and down highway 1. It gave me a grin to my face I don't just think it goes better "I KNOW IT GOES BETTER" much better a lot more toque and power, it's nice and smooth with no pinging and much more accelerative. I can drive the car more gently and move quicker.
So I recommend the chip but have no figures to give proof and I'm sticking to what I say, the best $127 I've spent on the car and shudder to think what it would cost doing internal engine mods for the same power and toque improvement.       

     

[hammer]

Wow...great endorsement. I might have to shell out the $127 and give it a go too.

Give us another rundown once you've lived with it for a few weeks.

Cheers,

Brent

[Ricky Ricardo]

Instead of repeating myself on different forums my results with the M Gear chip are in the last post here. http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/boxer-engined-alfa-romeos/254658-my-33-a-3.html
It's all good. I have never driven a 33 with aftermarket ECU and injection but it can't be much better than this chip. A very professional tuned chip.

[Cool Jesus]

Ricky, that sounds awesome. Might save my pennies for a couple of chips which I could install. German post is sh1t. Most German purchases I've ever made take for ever, sounds like the seller is fair dinkum at least.

Festy, are you gifted with knowledge of the inner workings of ecus? Can you tweek current chips or does it require a blank chip so to speak?

PS Ricky, the number 1 pin on micro chips is the one nearest the indent or embossed mark, aka that little circle near your screwdriver blade, the circuit board should also have some form of reference aswell.

[Ricky Ricardo]

That's right my scewdriver is on pin 1.  I had a good think about the correct orientation before taking the original chip out. The instruction were, well crap and there's nothing on the board to say.
The original chip has a Exclamation mark at the third pin closest to that corner. It would be easy for some people to install it backwards and slag on the seller so to speak saying it doesn't work. 

[festy]

Festy, are you gifted with knowledge of the inner workings of ecus? Can you tweek current chips or does it require a blank chip so to speak?

You could say I'm on a first-name basis with these specific ECUs.
The original chips can be modified by erasing and re-programming them (using a UV eraser and eprom burner) but if you were going to do your own tuning then I'd suggest purchasing a few blank EEPROM chips, and not messing with your original chip.
EEPROM chips are erased in seconds using an eprom burner, whereas the original EPROM chip takes 5-15 minutes in a UV eraser and if you want to try a couple of different tweaks out on the car then it's much quicker to program up a few EEPROMs in advance than the erase-burn-install-test-remove-repeat process with the one original chip.

Also, if you accidently break a leg off a chip while handling it you'll be in a spot of trouble if that was the only chip you had.
If you're interested in chip tuning, it's pretty cheap to get set up. All you need is an eprom burner/programmer (~$50) and a couple of EEPROMs (27SF512 chips, about $5 each).
The actual tuning is point-and-click on a computer, it's not too hard to get the hang of.

the number 1 pin on micro chips is the one nearest the indent or embossed mark, aka that little circle near your screwdriver blade, the circuit board should also have some form of reference aswell.

Yes, the IC socket in the ECU has a notch out of the end that pin 1 goes at, and the silk screen (white print on the circuit board) also shows a notch reference so if you know what to look for then it's easy to determine which way round it goes.