Alfa giulietta QV ecu tuning.

[Bam Bam]

Hi guys, I've been talking to Peter James from superchip,
He has been very helpful with my inquiries and questions regarding mapping the ecu of the QV.

He has told me that if I can get 3 or more people, he can reduce the price by $200 to $1049.
What do you guys think of this price?
Is there anyone interested?
I have at least one other interested person already.

If anyone wants to know something, let me know as I have been getting constant feedback from he for a few days that I can share.

[Dolmio]

G'day Bam Bam,

I can't speak for Superchip but in March this year, I purchased a Novitec Powerjet 3 additional ECU from Squadra Sportiva (Europe) for my 2011 Guilietta QV.  She's about to have her 30,000km birthday and has only just come out of warranty.  Let me just state up front, that I only ever drive her in 'Dynamic' mode.  From what I can tell during my research of ECU's, Novitec is a bit like Alfa Romeo's tuning arm.  Total cost for the ECU (including freight to Perth and additional bypass plug) was 433.96 Euro or approx. $628 AUD. 

The ECU box has a potentiometer dial on the base that goes from 0 - 10.  It took less than 30 minutes to fit. Would've been closer to 10 minutes if I could've levered the original Bosch sensor plugs off quicker as removing the throttle sensor in particular, gave me a fair bit of grief.

Once the six sensors on the wiring harness had all been connected, I cable-tied the ECU box horizontally to the front of the battery so that I could still access the dial on its base and also the top of the box, which is where the wiring harness connects to (I also purchased the additional bypass plug, which allows me to return the car to standard factory set up for servicing - to do this, you remove the wiring harness from the aftermarket ECU and attach it to the bypass plug, which causes the QV to access it's factory ECU).

From memory, the dial on the base of the Novitec ECU was factory set at 6, which was OK but didn't excite me all that much.  The Novitec blurb that came with the unit (which is nothing more than a couple of photocopied black 'n' white sheets I might add), says moving the dial to any setting other than 5, 6 or 7 may cause electrical errors (they don't tell you this on the website).

Of course, I had to try the '8' setting and was reasonably impressed by the power surge but it did cause strange things to happen from time to time (e.g. bluetooth dropping out, random power steering failure, 'dynamic' mode to return to 'normal' randomly, etc.)  All these problems could be rectified easily enough by flicking the negative lead off the battery for one minute.

But rather than live with electrical issues, I did what any red-blooded male would do and turned the ECU all the way to '10' and Holy Mother of God!, this thing is a different beast altogether.  Suffice to say, for the past few months now I've had zero electrical faults and the additional power is just sensational (the QV is also on its second set of p-zeros  ). I haven't performed any official dyno testing since fitting the unit but I'd hazard at a guess that it's taken close to a second or more off its 0-100km time.

The official blurb states that the Novitec Powerjet 3 will increase bhp from 235 to 261 (380Nm).  Whilst I realise there are other ECU boxes out there that will probably extract more power than this unit, I'm genuinely happy with the results achieved (and the fact that Novitec seems to have some affiliation with Alfa Romeo).

Ultimately, I'd love to mate my QV with a sports exhaust (Raggazon or similar), which I'm fairly confident would unleash more Italian fury but I had a hard enough time sneaking the ECU past the Commissioner for Finance, let alone a pricey sports exhaust (which is far more noticeable than a black box in the engine bay).  I have fitted a K&N sports air filter to her though.

Here's the website if you feel like checking it out: 
http://shop.alfisti.net/Tuning-Styling/Alfa-159/Motor-Airfilters/Novitec-Powerjet-3-Additional-ECU-for-18-TBi::5132.html

Best of luck with your ECU tuning, BB.

Regards, Mark

[poohbah]

How did you get your missus to stand still long enough to fit the K&N filter to her?

[Dolmio]

It's a muffler she really needs..   

[poohbah]

Hope she doesn't read the forum!

[Bam Bam]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the response!

I have fitted the BMC air filter which is similar to the K&N one. But it did not make a lot of difference.

I also removed the centre muffler under the car and replaced it with a straight pipe.
This made it sound just a little bit better, but it was rather subtle! The wife did not notice this change, but I did!

I have the TMC tuning box, which is slightly cheaper than the novitec one. But this, yours and the magnetti maranello one are all manufactured in Germany, only the "tuning" on them is slightly different.
Mine also has the 1-10 knob on the bottom. I usually leave mine on 7 as I've been to scared to go higher! However, now that I know you have, im gonna try the 10 setting too!

I have this one its way to me from Germany: http://shop.alfisti.net/Tuning-Styling/Alfa-Giulietta/Sport-Exhausts/Ragazzon-Rear-Silencer-With-Flap-Regulation::6509.html
Except the one I've got coming has been updated so the flap opens all the way!
It also has a wireless remote now too so you don't have to bring the switch into the cabin, you just press the button on the remote! beautiful!
I went down this path as the car gets driven by my wife to bring the kids to school etc. and doesn't want it too noisy. this way I can change the exhaust volume on the fly!

It is because of these changes and more in the future, that I want a custom tune, rather than just the box. The problem with the box is that it just piggy backs off the sensors and fools the existing map on the ecu.
it cannot change things like maximum torque allowed (350nm to protect drivetrain), the max RPM, total boost etc.
These things are the maxiums programed into the ecu. The box cannot change these.
Only it makes things happen quicker.

However a custom ecu remap CAN change all these maximums! especially it can help if you have modded things like intakes and exhaust to get the most out of these mods. This is something also that a tunning box cannot do.

These were the reasons for wwanting an ecu tune.

I love the TMC tuning box though! the car drives far better with it, for sure!

[Bam Bam]

here is a link to the TMC one I have. http://www.tmcmotorsport.com/TuningBoxDetails.aspx?s=3362517592

You can see it's exactly the same size, shape etc as yours, except it's red!
I also put the box next to the battery!

I would like that bypass plug though! mine did not come with that!

[Dolmio]

Hi Bam Bam,

Well, if there's any such thing as 'sports exhaust envy', I certainly have it now...  that looks like an amazing system and if I had a lazy couple of grand to import one and have it fitted, I think it'd be a solid investment performance-wise.  No wonder you're going down the custom tuning path!  So now I get what you're up to, I totally agree with the direction you're taking.  With all those awesome mods, the QV certainly warrants a custom tune.  Would love to hear how your exhaust performs and sounds.  Keep us posted!

PS:  You're absolutely right, the TMC ECU unit and Novitec ECU look identical!  Go on, you know you want to turn the dial up to 10.  But fair warning, just be prepared to look like this from now on... 

[105gta]

Just curious, has anyone looked at the evolve technik tunes? Have a friend who has one on a bmw and it's awesome! Very refined for an aftermarket tune.
Ben

[Meng]

good but expensive is is the word of the day from evolve teknik

[rocklogic]

Hey BamBam - I've got a QV and the TMC Tuningbox too. Great addition to the car.

How much did the shipping cost you if I may ask?

Cheers

[Bam Bam]

shipping was not cheap! 120 euro's to be exact and honest.

I have it and fitted it now. I VERY happy with this! it's exactly what I wanted!
The quality is top notch, and it was very easy to fit.
The remote works a treat too!
I'll post so vids, but they don't do it justice! you really have to hear it in person!
With the flap open, it's pretty loud, but there is still no droning when just cruising around.
Pump it up to hear it properly in the vid.
Loving the popping and cackling when getting off the throttle!
With the flap closed, it's not too much louder than standard, but has a way better sound!

[Bam Bam]

some vids! Really have to turn it up! but vid does not give the full impression!

flap operation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVQP_Msjbj8&list=UUiWBisbf4FZSCZwacnNHF9Q

with exhaust flap closed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmPPds79_aM&list=UUiWBisbf4FZSCZwacnNHF9Q

[Bam Bam]

with the exhaust flap open,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jsi9f-RyLS0&list=UUiWBisbf4FZSCZwacnNHF9Q

[Bam Bam]

I forgot to mention that the car was in 'N' in these vids!
Forgot to put it in d! It's a little meaner in d!!