OEM 3UZ ECU TUNE/FLASH

[V86]

Hi All,

So I have been doing some research regarding the OEM lexus 3uz/1uz vvti ecus which are OBD2 compatible. Many claim that tuning the oem ecu via OBD2 is impossible(well all info online is dated pre-2010 anyway). There are actually multiple tuning interfaces that have cracked the Lexus/Toyota ecu encryption. Dimsport offer off the shelf tunes, however custom tuning is possible if your tuner is familiar with Dimsport. Ktag is also a popular interface and any competent tuner should be able to custom tune with it.

1. Dimsport ( https://www.dimsport.it/en/applicat...lexus/gs-s430/gs-430-43l-v8-224kw300hp-denso/ )
2. Kess/Ktag ( http://ecutechnologies.co.za/2017/06/k-suite-2-31-update/ )
3. Are there any others that you know of??

I know many of you are old-timers who don't like learning new things because... ''I have been building 1uz motors for 10+ years bla bla bla'' but guess what, its 2019, technology is on another level. If anyone has gone down this route please share some info for the people out there.

Thanks Mense,

 

[V86]

As you can see, it is very much possible

 

[ChopsLS430]

I have been thinking the same thing for a while now since I've owned my '01 LS430. Everything I read on the "typical" Lexus forums all date back 8 to 15 years ago where everyone says it's impossible to crack and tune these ECU's. Considering when these cars were new, probably 99% of the owners were older and could care less about performance and whatnot with these cars, which makes sense. So there was never any kind of demand for performance parts and tuning for these cars, until now that they are a lot more affordable and are well out of warranty.

Now that I've sold my '16 370z and took it off of my insurance, I've freed up over $700 a month in bills, not to mention a new, better paying job on top of it all.

We all know these engines have loads of potential in stock form, and with a few breathing mods and a decent tune, we should be able to get possibly another 30-40 hp out of them I would imagine, if not more. It all depends really on how de-tuned Lexus made these motors. Plus, if ECU tuning is now possible, that means the transmissions should be tunable as well, changing shift points and all, maybe even able to control the torque converter as well.

Mind you, I don't plan on turning this car into a sports car, but I wouldn't mind getting into the same league as the older Merc AMG's and M-Series BMW's from the late 90's, early 2000's. Likewise with the suspension and wheels. No air bags, no huge 20" wheels, no VIP, none of that. Just a nice muscular-ish look and stance like the M's and AMG's that I mentioned above.

If you have heard of or found any more info (or anyone else on here for that matter), please let me know. After six months of owning this car, I want to finally start fixing it up other than the ceramic window tint, JDM Celsior tail lights and muffler delete that I've done so far.

Many thanks in advance, and Merry Christmas!





With my brother's '18 Alfa Giulia...

 

[joemg]

I contacted https://www.rr-racing.com to see if they could tune my SC430 and they wrote this:

We can, but most likely we do not have the stock file. You can purchase the ISF tune and write SC430 in notes. If we cannot get the stock file, the only way for us to get it will be for you to ship us your ECU.

 

[ChopsLS430]

I emailed someone as well and waiting to hear back from them. They do everything, and I do mean everything car related, from simple oil changes to full-on engine swaps. You name it, they do it, and probably have the resources to pull off something like ECU tuning for our cars. I'll let you know when I hear something back from them.

 

[V86]

Hi

I have been thinking the same thing for a while now since I've owned my '01 LS430. Everything I read on the "typical" Lexus forums all date back 8 to 15 years ago where everyone says it's impossible to crack and tune these ECU's. Considering when these cars were new, probably 99% of the owners were older and could care less about performance and whatnot with these cars, which makes sense. So there was never any kind of demand for performance parts and tuning for these cars, until now that they are a lot more affordable and are well out of warranty.

Now that I've sold my '16 370z and took it off of my insurance, I've freed up over $700 a month in bills, not to mention a new, better paying job on top of it all.

We all know these engines have loads of potential in stock form, and with a few breathing mods and a decent tune, we should be able to get possibly another 30-40 hp out of them I would imagine, if not more. It all depends really on how de-tuned Lexus made these motors. Plus, if ECU tuning is now possible, that means the transmissions should be tunable as well, changing shift points and all, maybe even able to control the torque converter as well.

Mind you, I don't plan on turning this car into a sports car, but I wouldn't mind getting into the same league as the older Merc AMG's and M-Series BMW's from the late 90's, early 2000's. Likewise with the suspension and wheels. No air bags, no huge 20" wheels, no VIP, none of that. Just a nice muscular-ish look and stance like the M's and AMG's that I mentioned above.

If you have heard of or found any more info (or anyone else on here for that matter), please let me know. After six months of owning this car, I want to finally start fixing it up other than the ceramic window tint, JDM Celsior tail lights and muffler delete that I've done so far.

Many thanks in advance, and Merry Christmas!





With my brother's '18 Alfa Giulia...

Hi Buddy. Compliments of the new year to you. Yea man tuning is very much possible here in South Africa. Our tuners here are more than capable of getting it done. I suggest you email DIMSPORT ITALY and they will refer you to a tuner in your area, well that worked for me.

 

[V86]

I contacted https://www.rr-racing.com to see if they could tune my SC430 and they wrote this:

Hmm Interesting. Well as suggested above, email DIMSPORT ITALY. They have tuners world wide

 

[joemg]

Hmm Interesting. Well as suggested above, email DIMSPORT ITALY. They have tuners world wide

Will do!

How do these tunes work? Do you go somewhere with a dyno and they custom tune it, or is it like a "chip" programming, where it's kind of a 1 size fits all map?

 

[ChopsLS430]

I highly doubt it would be a "one size fits all" tune. It would be custom flash tunes per vehicle for the fuel you use, climate, elevation, etc, etc.

And hopefully they would do more than just air/fuel trims. It should include ignition and cam timing to get the most out of these motors. And hopefully even tuning for the transmission. Firmer, crisper, quicker shifts would be a major plus.

 

[V86]

I highly doubt it would be a "one size fits all" tune. It would be custom flash tunes per vehicle for the fuel you use, climate, elevation, etc, etc.

And hopefully they would do more than just air/fuel trims. It should include ignition and cam timing to get the most out of these motors. And hopefully even tuning for the transmission. Firmer, crisper, quicker shifts would be a major plus.

@joemg what @ChopsLS430 said. However, Dimsport do have an universal/off-the-shelf tune that can be loaded onto you ecu. This will work better than stock tune but not as efficient a getting a custom dyno tune.

 

[joemg]

Thanks for clarifying. I emailed Dimsport on Friday, waiting to hear back.

I'm really hoping they tune the VVTI. From what I've seen on other engines, there's usually a lot of power to be gained there.

 

[Zuffen]

I'm one of those old Codgers who didn't think anyone could beat the Toyota program. of cours that isea was formed 15 or 20 years ago when you couldn't hack Toyota ECU's

Good to see some progress has been made (I won't say a lot of progress) but every little bit helps.

For those with 1UZ's no help.

Perhaps I should upgrade.

But it wouldn't be a UZ series.

 

[joemg]

I emailed TTFS and this is what they wrote:

"Hey Joe,

Yes we can tune the SC430 remote not problem. We offer a handheld flashing device for you to upload your tunes. You can use this link to purchase the tune.

http://tuningtechfs.com/lexus-is-350-performance-tune-2005-2013/

Once the order is placed you will receive a flashing device so that you can send the stock file from your car to us via email. You would fill out a build sheet as per our website and then we would build you a custom tune and send it to you via email.
Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Frank"


It's not exactly a dyno tune, but it's good to see what all our options are. They're located in Maryland, so you could probably get it dyno tuned in person.

dimsport italy referred me to dimsport US, so now I'm waiting on a reply from them. I also emailed some local shops in SoCal to see what they say.

 

[joemg]

Dimsport US replied:

"Hi Joe,


We only provide the hardware and the software here at Dimsport, we do not actually provide any type of tuning, that would be done by a tuner/tuning shop and we aren’t involved in that part. The easiest thing for you to do would be to research tuners in your area and go from there."


Looks like I have to call around locally. If anyone knows a shop in SoCal (the closer to SD the better) who can dyno tune our cars, please let me know.

 

[joemg]

TTFS wrote me back, they do remote dyno sessions too:
"All you need to do is setup a dyno and I can send the files to you and revisions when your on the dyno. "

I'm going to look into doing this.

 

[joemg]

Update, I spoke further with Frank Smith @ TTFS and he's going to be on the West Coast in a couple weeks, I'm going to have him tune it on a dyno then. I'll post my results.

 

[V86]

wow wow great . @joemg that sounds so awesome. I cannot wait to see your results. Please post it up as soon as you are done, Would be nice to keep this thread going

 

[V86]

Boosting these cars is about to get much easier and cheaper since there is no need to go for an aftermarket management

 

[V86]

I'm one of those old Codgers who didn't think anyone could beat the Toyota program. of cours that isea was formed 15 or 20 years ago when you couldn't hack Toyota ECU's

Good to see some progress has been made (I won't say a lot of progress) but every little bit helps.

For those with 1UZ's no help.

Perhaps I should upgrade.

But it wouldn't be a UZ series.

Yes exactly. Every little helps.

 

[Zuffen]

I'm one of the old codgers that always said you couldn't flash the ECU.

We were right at the time. Sort of like Colonel Custer, he was right at he time, but not now.

I think the easy boosting is a fallacy as the rods in any engine that has an ecu that can be flashed has the skinny rods so not a whole lot to be gained.

Still good progress.