ECU Re-flashing - To Flash or Not to Flash

As you will see in some of my other blog posts I'm preparing a ZX6R to race in the 2018 No Limits Newcomers Championship. As part of these preparations I wanted to remove the Power Commander 5 that came with the bike in favour of an ECU reflash courtesy of Woolich and Parkitt Racing.

So what is an ECU reflash?
ECU re-flashing allows you to tune the various maps and settings available in the stock ECU. You're probably thinking well how is this beneficial, well; The system eliminates the need for other boxes and modules such as Power Commanders and ignition modules which merely modify the signals coming from the ECU, with ECU re-flashing you can directly modify the ECU for things like Fuel Maps, Ignition Maps, Secondary Throttle Maps and RPM Limiters. It opens up several options that aren't available using the other boxes whilst also getting a finer degree of tuning. So what does this really mean? It varies from bike to bike but this is what you can do on the ZX6R's:
The simple stuff...

• Disabling the pair valve
• Disabling the exhaust servo (this will remove the FI light if you have a race system or prevent the need to trick the bike into thinking it has one)
• Disabling the Immobiliser (Allows you to go keyless)
• Disable Stock O2 Sensor
• Disable Tip Over Sensor (TOS)
• Adjust RPM Limiters
• Adjust Fan Temperature

The technical stuff...

• IAP Fuel Maps
• TPS Fuel Maps
• Ignition Timing Maps
• Secondary Throttle Plate (STP) Opening Maps
• Injector Balance Maps
• Ram Air Maps

I'm a big advocate of ECU re-flashing, I've used Power Commanders and Bazzaz units before but the freedom it gives you to disable sensors and systems only really required for road along with the finer tuning of maps results in better throttle response, smoother power curves and in the case of my ZX6R, bigger power gains.

How do you go about doing it?
Once you've decided you want to go for a re-flash there are two options to choose from:

1. Buying the full kit
This option includes the full package you will require to flash your ECU and inherently the most expensive (~ £375 Plus £150 for a dyno re-map)
The package includes:
- USB (Denso or Mitsubishi) v3 (Used to to connect your computer to your ECU)
- USB Cable
- Manufacturer specific harness
- Bin File Definition in the Woolich Racing Tuned software

This option will allow you to flash your ECU on the bike at any time using your computer. It's very useful if you're constantly re-mapping your machine and want the ease of just being able to plug straight in at the circuit or at home. Most of the time this isn't the case so for many of you, option 2 is the best.

2. Woolich Dealer re-flash

This is the option I went down, mainly due to the lower cost and I didn't have the desire to do my own re-mapping. Firstly, you'll need to find yourself a tuner which owns the flashing equipment for your bike. I used Parkitt Racing in Tuxford for my 2009 ZX6R, they've been around since 2000 and have extensive experience in both road and racing machines, double check with them that they have what you need but they do stock equipment for most modern machines. It's as simple as dropping off your bike and leaving it with them. (There is a postage option where you can send in your ECU, they will flash it with a generic map and post it back, it's £150 for this service but it's not recommended as every bike is different and you'll never have a perfect map)

So what do they do while they have it?
To start with they will hook up your ecu and flash in a known good map, this will give a base for the dyno tune. The guys will do a run on the dyno and identify improvements to be made, this will be repeated until they're done, it's really that simple.

Add ons

Race Tools
Race tools is the real highlight of the Woolich products. The Race Tools package allows you to enable Quickshifter, Launch Control and Pit Speed Limiter in the Stock ECU.
It includes:

• High quality strain gauge Quickshifter with digitally controlled pressure sensing that can be used in regular or race shift pattern. Quickshifter Kill times are configurable per gear and kills both fuel and ignition directly from the ECU. These are Cordona quickshifters and rebranded for Woolich, having tried the dynojet QS and a few others I can honestly say this is the best quickshifter I've used, it's incredibly smooth and the ability to control pressure sensitivity means you get a real positive gear change.
• Race Tools ECU Key to enable Launch Control and Pit Limiter.
• Launch Control allows you to modify Delay, Launch RPM, Ramp Time and Ramp RPM
• Pit Speed Limiter allows you to set the RPM to limit the speed while riding through the pits
• Auto blipper for clutchless downshifts is available on some models as well

The cost of the Race tools package is around £370, this may seem steep but you get a quality quickshifter with the added benefits of Launch Control and Pit Limiter. Stand alone QS such as the HM SS come in at £350+ so you're getting much more for your money. Parkitt can also add a 2 button switch which will give you the pit limiter button and an on/off switch for rain lights.