Leave MegaSquirt to the boosted old-lady-in-a-straw-hat Miatas.

The stock ECUs can run modified software supporting GT35 series turbos. What are you trying to accomplish?

GIAC offers BT software using the stock ECU and you wont have constant check engine lights and tuning issues you'd experience with a stand-alone or piggyback on a street car. If you get a GIAC now for your stock turbo, you can always upgrade at a discount later.

The only successful aftermarket engine management for B5 is 034ms... but you're looking at a couple thousand bucks or more, plus a lot of trial-and-error, dyno time, and test and tune track days... all for the same result you'd get out of a $500 chip.

Unless you're planning on running massive displacement, a different engine, or a turbo so large you could launch your A4 to Mars with it, you'd be wasting your time and even more money

 

Haha, alright.
Thanks for the input, and no im not planning on traveling to mars anytime soon....maybe next fall. lol. But i understand the general idea your all saying. Just one last question before my noob curiosity is satisfied, if i would say get a GIAC chip for my fairly stock 1.8T, what happens if say in like 3 month i get an exhaust kit or an intake?

 

You really need an exhaust to get the most out of the GIAC chip (or any chip). You can run with stock exhaust, but you'll be able to squeeze more out of it with a bigger down pipe and exhaust. The software is flexible enough that it will compensate and you wont have to worry if you are using a stock exhaust, however.

As for intake, forget it. The stock airboxes have been used in 400hp setups without issue. Most chip companies recommend using the stock airbox as "short-rams" and so-called "cold air intakes" can actually rob horsepower or raise IATs.

You can use the GIAC chip with a CAI, but you're not going to see any gains except some more noise in the cabin. It sounds cool, but it's not faster .

 

Alright, thanks. Lol and psh going fast doesnt matter, all that matters is that i look cool. DUH!

 

To my understanding tunning is key. There are allot of people that use full stand alone or piggy backs. I was going to do a full stand alone on my last car (150 shot) but then sold it. To my understanding on a full stand alone (mega squirt) its hard to get the base tune. But once you get it running your good. You dont need a dyno. I think a street tune is better. You are running on the street and you can tune as you go.

A piggy back would let you tune some but not all. Still better then any chip. You can add any mod and tune for it right there on your laptop. Its just knowledge you seek and dont let any one tell you, you cant. Money is whats going to stop you lol. The more you want it the faster you WILL learn it.

 

Yes, Stand-Alone and piggyback engine management systems are much more flexible and precise than the average $500 chip, especially when you add in wideband O2 sensors. However, this platform has been around long enough that the engine has been through all the trial and error to wring the most out of it. If you're running anything smaller than a GT35, there are companies such as GIAC, Unitronics, CTapp, and even Revo that offer BT chips and know how to get the most out of them. They even tell you what hardware should be used to get the best results. It takes the guesswork and trial and error tuning out of the picture. Even these BT setups have been around long enough now that it's common knowledge as to what works and what doesn't, so you could spend thousands of dollars and countless hours tuning with a standalone, and end up right back to where GIAC, Uni, CTapp, and Revo all left off... all for a $500 plug-and-play chip (more expensive for BT). (Additonally, Uni and CTapp are both tunable aftermarket for advanced users from what I understand)

If you have a custom setup, more displacement, 8 days a week, or a trust-fund that will support your lineage for generations, go for the stand-alone. But if you're in the boat with the large majority of us, stick with chiptuners.

But we can all dream about our custom-tuned BT setups. I know I do