Aftermarket ECU . GOOD OR BAD IDEA ?

[SoCalRspec]

Has anybody installed an aftermarket ECU with the intent to increase horsepower and improve MPG’s? Any recommendations? One’s to stay away from? Is this a good idea? I have a 2013 5.0 R Spec Sedan with 63K miles and is still under the 10 year/100k Warranty.

Thanks!

 

[Mark_888]

1. Your car will not be under warranty if you flash the ECU (unless you can flash it back to OEM before you get any needed warranty service).

2. If you can't afford a new Genesis, I assume you can't afford to have the ECU replaced if you brick your car's computer.

So no, I don't think it is a good idea.

BTW, I assume you have a CPO or an extended warranty? The 10 year/100k warranty on the powertrain is only for original owners unless the used car was sold as CPO or someone paid for an extended warranty.

 

[dareckibmw]

Has anybody installed an aftermarket ECU with the intent to increase horsepower and improve MPG’s? Any recommendations? One’s to stay away from? Is this a good idea? I have a 2013 5.0 R Spec Sedan with 63K miles and is still under the 10 year/100k Warranty.

Thanks!

There is a tune for the 5.0, check this thread First Generation - 2014 R-spec 5.0 BTR TCU and ECU dyno results

First Generation - OFFICIAL TUNE FOR 1st Gen 5.0's

 

[Paul]

In regards to the BTR tune, in my opinion, I don't know if the gains justify the cost. I mean, $1K for a tune that gets you 20~25ish hp? That's pretty steep...

Sure, you get a factory brand new ecu loaded with his tune, but I'd prefer to just have my ecu flashed with the tune and save some cash. But then again, when you're the only show in town offering any sort of tune to a car with very little after market support, you can pretty much set your price.

From a tuning standpoint, I'd like to have a little more info as to what he's changing in the factory code. Looking at the afr's on his dyno results, he's definitely modded the fuel tables to lean the car out through the rev band. Stock, these cars run pig rich and the ECU does a pretty good job of maintaining around a 10:1 ratio, which is a great safety margin, but that much fuel is really killing power. With the afr's as they are stock, I'd be really interested to see how well the car handles a 75~100 shot of nitrous. There's plenty of fuel there to support it and I'd be willing to bet that a well jetted dry shot will put the AFR's right where they need to be to make some decent power.

It's irritating because there is so much untapped potential in a motor that should have gotten loads more attention from the aftermarket, but got left in the dust. With the right support, these cars could be easily going head to head with the mopar and chevy LSx crowd.

 

[TheMikeJones]

In regards to the BTR tune, in my opinion, I don't know if the gains justify the cost. I mean, $1K for a tune that gets you 20~25ish hp? That's pretty steep...

Sure, you get a factory brand new ecu loaded with his tune, but I'd prefer to just have my ecu flashed with the tune and save some cash. But then again, when you're the only show in town offering any sort of tune to a car with very little after market support, you can pretty much set your price.

From a tuning standpoint, I'd like to have a little more info as to what he's changing in the factory code. Looking at the afr's on his dyno results, he's definitely modded the fuel tables to lean the car out through the rev band. Stock, these cars run pig rich and the ECU does a pretty good job of maintaining around a 10:1 ratio, which is a great safety margin, but that much fuel is really killing power. With the afr's as they are stock, I'd be really interested to see how well the car handles a 75~100 shot of nitrous. There's plenty of fuel there to support it and I'd be willing to bet that a well jetted dry shot will put the AFR's right where they need to be to make some decent power.

It's irritating because there is so much untapped potential in a motor that should have gotten loads more attention from the aftermarket, but got left in the dust. With the right support, these cars could be easily going head to head with the mopar and chevy LSx crowd.

Completely agree.

Left in the dust for whatever reason.

Jeez even my 2007 G35 had a "sport" mode on the auto transmission.

Besides intake and exhaust there doesn't seem to be much happening with these 5.0's sadly.

 

[Mr. Incredible]

car manufacturers typically error on the side of caution for a variety of reasons.

1. less chance of breakage and warranty claims.
2. to meet CAFE and EPA requirements
3. to be able to use lower grade internal parts on the motor to save money (i.e. forged vs. cast pistons).


lastly, keep in mind that the R&D cycle of most vehicles is 3-5 years, most manufacturers squeeze as much power and mpgs out of motor as they can while staying within the parameters of cost, safety, and federal requirements. Do you honestly believe that an aftermarket company or some shade tree tuner will have more knowledge into the design parameters as the team of engineers that spent several years bringing that vehicle to market?

aftermarket tuning is fine if you are going to change the internals of the motor and bolt on power adders like turbos and superchargers and use the vehicle on a track, but for daily driving and back street racing, all you risk is blowing your motor and voiding your warranty.

as for "returning the car to stock" before claiming warranty work, let me tell you that nearly all the manufacturers have designed systems that can detect a tune, even if it is removed, there are flash counters, mileage and version number comparisons from multiple ECUs the vehicle, etc.

from my experience working for both GM and Chrysler, they have several systems in place to determine if a non-manufacturer flash has been sent to the ECUs, they will store the version numbers in other modules and the dealers can pull the "black box" records to see if you have used a hand held or CMR/SCT software to tune the car.

 

[66nexus]

Completely agree.

Left in the dust for whatever reason.

Jeez even my 2007 G35 had a "sport" mode on the auto transmission.

Besides intake and exhaust there doesn't seem to be much happening with these 5.0's sadly.

Left in the dust because low volume car and a good majority of owners not expressing enthusiasm for tuning this car. You should see some of the earlier threads on this forum, some folks were so against doing anything other than badges to the car.

 

[QuantumRift]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. But if you 'increase horsepower' you will not increase mpg. And how much more detectable HP do you want? Are you racing it? I guess I'm more pragmatic in my old age (turned 61 today). I was driving the 3.8 and had to 'get it on' for freeway and the HP on this 6 cyl suites me just fine...LOL...another 20 hp I wouldn't really notice or care. I'd still get a ticket at 70 in a 60 zone....LOL

 

[Paul]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. But if you 'increase horsepower' you will not increase mpg. And how much more detectable HP do you want? Are you racing it? I guess I'm more pragmatic in my old age (turned 61 today). I was driving the 3.8 and had to 'get it on' for freeway and the HP on this 6 cyl suites me just fine...LOL...another 20 hp I wouldn't really notice or care. I'd still get a ticket at 70 in a 60 zone....LOL

First off, Happy Birthday!
As far as power... I'm a car guy, and for me, it's a little bit of an ego boost to know that I'm driving a sedate looking sedan that can go door to door with some of the newer pony cars out there, and then watch their faces drop when they figure out that I'm driving a Hyundai.
I do have a lot of friends that are performance guys, and it's fun to be able to put them in their place when they're feeling froggy.
Here's the thing... Hyundai gave us a 429hp V8. This wasn't an accident. Unfortunately, it never caught on with the aftermarket and we're really limited as to the type of mods that we can do, shy of forced induction or whatever.

@Mr. Incredible , I definitely agree with you for the most part. What I disagree with is the fact that the manufacturers know when they stick a hot motor in a particular car, they are opening the doors to guys that want to mod them. Guys like myself don't necessarily care about warranty claims and the such, but would like to see a decent aftermarket available. I personally would LOVE to see a few different manufacturers offer headers or ecu tunes similar to what is available to the Mustang/Camaro crowd, or hell, even the Cadillac CTS-V guys. Give me moderately priced long-tube headers, and an ECU flash and I'm a happy camper. Mods for the LS community are a dime a dozen. I just wish that we could say the same.

I'd be happy with support that could take me to 390~400hp at the tires without sticking a bottle on it.

 

[Mr. Incredible]

First off, Happy Birthday!
As far as power... I'm a car guy, and for me, it's a little bit of an ego boost to know that I'm driving a sedate looking sedan that can go door to door with some of the newer pony cars out there, and then watch their faces drop when they figure out that I'm driving a Hyundai.
I do have a lot of friends that are performance guys, and it's fun to be able to put them in their place when they're feeling froggy.
Here's the thing... Hyundai gave us a 429hp V8. This wasn't an accident. Unfortunately, it never caught on with the aftermarket and we're really limited as to the type of mods that we can do, shy of forced induction or whatever.

@Mr. Incredible , I definitely agree with you for the most part. What I disagree with is the fact that the manufacturers know when they stick a hot motor in a particular car, they are opening the doors to guys that want to mod them. Guys like myself don't necessarily care about warranty claims and the such, but would like to see a decent aftermarket available. I personally would LOVE to see a few different manufacturers offer headers or ecu tunes similar to what is available to the Mustang/Camaro crowd, or hell, even the Cadillac CTS-V guys. Give me moderately priced long-tube headers, and an ECU flash and I'm a happy camper. Mods for the LS community are a dime a dozen. I just wish that we could say the same.

I'd be happy with support that could take me to 390~400hp at the tires without sticking a bottle on it.

I don't disagree with you about the aftermarket world, I'm a car guy, I've restored old cars and built custom hot rods, and always modded my modern cars to a point (I like my warranties, I see no point in throwing away free services) and without the aftermarket that would not be possible.

However it comes down to demand, Camaro's, Mustangs, Corvettes, heck even Civics and Subaru's have been getting modded for 50 plus years, the fast and furious franchises helped with Japanese Imports in that manner as well.

But Hyundai wasn't built or marketed to those crowds, they started out being marketed as cheap/disposable transportation. Compare the Hyundai Excel to the Civics of the day, I still see 1980s and 90s Civics running around, and a lot of them modded, Hell I still see 1970s Datsuns. When was the last time you saw a 1980s Hyundai?

The bottom line: overall the aftermarket sees no value in parts for most Hyundai models. They are starting to with the Genesis Coupe and the Stinger, but no where near the level they do for their Japanese Counterparts.

FWIW, I have contacts at several aftermarket companies, having been in the industry for many years, I've talked to Corsa and Magnaflow about exhaust for the G80 sport and both gave me the same response, not enough interest, same with AEM and K&N (same company BTW), Maybe in a year or two.

I ran into the same issue with my Lexus RCF in 2015, no parts, but by late 2017 their aftermarket was starting to come up. Headers through Cat-back and Axel back systems, CAI's, Suspension, Steering wheels, Body kits, even Turbo kits with piggy back ECUs.

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[Roc 5.0]

Look you guys, if you want more 5.0 R Spec performance, just go to Summit and get the 50 or 75 hp NOS shot for under $600 and have a real sneaker. Works for Fords for over 40 years with no problems. The engine/trans can take it and the rich mixture schedule already in it insures that you won't blow. Even without that, just doing the 2nd cats delete and air box magnetic delete combined with using top grade 93 octane fuel with running the car engine hard till the ECU reaches it's max advance will allow you to blow off '15 & '16 mustangs, Pontiac G8s, all "A" Audies, most (up to '16- S Audies, but not RS's) and most Non Mod BMW's and Mercs. Don't even waste your time running noisy Infinitis/Zs into the ground. After '16 many car manufacturers really started to add HP so you just can't compete unless you go NOS. Remember, it was only made from '12-'14, so it's getting to be an old, unsupported car. And that's the way it is.

 

[QuantumRift]

Well, I guess I"m past 'going door to door'. My guess is that if they have half a brain they'd already know the Genesis has a great HP rating (hell, I enjoy the HP in my 3.8)....

 

[Paul]

As of late, I'm kinda waiting to see what's happening with the G70. Ive been looking really hard at the Stinger, especially now that they're offering the TT V-6 with AWD. Some basic turbo friendly mods will definitely make their mark. Right off off the bat, a decent turbo back exhaust, intake and intercooler upgrade will free up some power.

 

[66nexus]

As of late, I'm kinda waiting to see what's happening with the G70. Ive been looking really hard at the Stinger, especially now that they're offering the TT V-6 with AWD. Some basic turbo friendly mods will definitely make their mark. Right off off the bat, a decent turbo back exhaust, intake and intercooler upgrade will free up some power.

I'm in a similar boat, waiting the next couple of years to see how the G70 hits the ground, and also to see what mods they come out with for the Stinger.

What's holding me back from both is I actually prefer a V8 (I'm still pondering an RCF in the future but it looks snug).

Genesis, in its many forms, is near-peer (pretty much peer) with many of the luxury models that do have aftermarket support. If companies saw a bigger market in it there would definitely be more. But honestly, I'm not really complaining because IMO that's as much an advantage as it is a disadvantage: they'll never see you coming.

If I do get the ECU tune and the car is WELL into the 400hp I'd be quite content (even for 1k)
I like being that odd car out, where we can run with most cars on the road...and I don't even have an R-Spec.

 

[Mr. Incredible]

I'm in a similar boat, waiting the next couple of years to see how the G70 hits the ground, and also to see what mods they come out with for the Stinger.

What's holding me back from both is I actually prefer a V8 (I'm still pondering an RCF in the future but it looks snug).

Genesis, in its many forms, is near-peer (pretty much peer) with many of the luxury models that do have aftermarket support. If companies saw a bigger market in it there would definitely be more. But honestly, I'm not really complaining because IMO that's as much an advantage as it is a disadvantage: they'll never see you coming.

If I do get the ECU tune and the car is WELL into the 400hp I'd be quite content (even for 1k)
I like being that odd car out, where we can run with most cars on the road...and I don't even have an R-Spec.

RCF is an awesome car, I loved mine.. sadly though with a motorcycle injury I got after buying the RCF I could no longer drive it without pain and discomfort. The G80 is a great car, and far more comfortable for me, but I miss my RCF.

 

[66nexus]

RCF is an awesome car, I loved mine.. sadly though with a motorcycle injury I got after buying the RCF I could no longer drive it without pain and discomfort. The G80 is a great car, and far more comfortable for me, but I miss my RCF.

Damn definitely sorry to hear that. RCF looks like an awesome car, but it doesn't seem like it would be comfortable (I'm a bit long lol). Maybe it can be my weekend cruiser.

 

[Mr. Incredible]

Damn definitely sorry to hear that. RCF looks like an awesome car, but it doesn't seem like it would be comfortable (I'm a bit long lol). Maybe it can be my weekend cruiser.

6'1" 250lbs myself, it was fine until I broke my pelvis, hip, and femur. the problem I ran into was the overly bolstered seat cushion was digging into my pelvis where the break was and caused my leg with the replacement hip to swell and hurt, 20-30 minutes in the car and I couldn't bare it, I stuck it out for 18 months (had the car 35 months total) but it just got to the point I couldn't drive it anymore.