Power Commander Q's

1854 Views 11 Replies 0 Participants Last post by Guest, Mar 11, 2005

Discussion Starter · Mar 10, 2005

Quick question: do you need to be running the stock ECU to be able to utilize a PCIII? My bike came with pipes and a stage III ECU already in it. The other logical question I guess would be since I already have the DP computer, would a PCIII really do all that much, or is it not really worth the expense? I'm eventually going to put either a 944 kit or at least high comp pistons in it at some point along with a bit of head work, so I guess I'll need a custom map when I do that. The bike is a '99 900SS ie by the way. Any suggestions are appreciated, Thanks.

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Discussion Starter · #2 · Mar 10, 2005

Re: Power Commander Q's (blueSS)

no reason you couldn't install a PCIII. it doesn't care what type of ECU you've got. it intercepts the signals to the injectors, alters them and then sends them along.
that said, i believe your chip could be reflashable which might be a better/cheaper option if somebody can tune it accordingly to your planned mods.

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Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 10, 2005

Re: Power Commander Q's (s4strati)

Does that mean that investing money into a different ECU is a waste if you going to use PCIII later on?

Or are there some things a non-stock ECU can provide for you that PCIII can't?

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Discussion Starter · #4 · Mar 10, 2005

Re: Power Commander Q's (jbraslins)

I know that BCM, possibly others as well, can reflash the ECU, which is what I was planning on after I did the other mods. But is there a limit to what can be done with the ECU vs a PC? Like jb is inferring, I don't want to spend $200 reflashing my ECU when I'm really going to have to get a PC to truly get the most out of my mods. I guess the other downside would be needing a reflash every time I do a different mod in the instance that I do the mods sequentially rather than all at once.

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Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 10, 2005

Re: Power Commander Q's (blueSS)

the appeal (in my oppinion) with the PCIII is that you can tune it over and over again for the changes you make.
if your ECU is reflashed with a map that truly suits your mods, then the PCIII will offer you nothing.
if your ECU is reflashed with a "generic" map, for slip-ons and pistons, then the PCIII will probably be able to squeek a bit more out of the bike. given BCM's rep, i doubt they'd throw on anything other than what the bike really needs.

carrying on... i think the PCIII is really a good buy for folks with the newer ECU's which are not reflashable. you can only tweek the stock setting so much on those ECU's.

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Discussion Starter · #6 · Mar 10, 2005

I noticed that the horsepower gains with a Power Commander is greater with the stock ECU than the ECU supplied with a Termi exhaust.

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Discussion Starter · #7 · Mar 10, 2005

Re: Power Commander Q's (s4strati)

The PCIII is only to adjust the fuel map.
if you have a diff ECU in it thee might be a higher rev limiter on it then a stock.
Some do and some don't.
I had a Termi 1/2 system put on the bike with a computer supplied with them and i still got 5 HP and cant ermember TQ but got a few FTLbs too.
With the new system on and no PCIII the bike would bog down on takeoff and now it dont with the PCIII.
So it doesnt matter what ECU you have in there but like i stated earlier there might be a diff rev limiter or spark curve set up for the bike with a DP ECU.
Hope this helps.
I have a 02 998.

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Discussion Starter · #8 · Mar 10, 2005

The Techlusion unit is a less expensive and in my opinion much easier to use option. I have one on my '00 900SS and I love it. Totally smoother now, front wheel comes up much easier. Have not had it dynoed yet though.

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Discussion Starter · #9 · Mar 10, 2005

Re: (corsastrada)

Great example:
http://www.clubdesmo.com/discu...58898

The relevant cut part:
"The results are in. Just had the bike dyno'd and a custom map made. To recap, this is a 2005 999S with the Termi half system (stainless) and ECU that come with the Termi.

With the PCIII installed but with a zero map (in other words, it isn't supposed to be doing anything, just letting the ECU do it's thing): 124.46hp & 71.55ft/lb

With the PCIII running a custom basic map (basic = same map for both cylinders): 130.57hp & 73.59ft/lb

On HP, both were close (+2-4hp for the PCIII), with the PCIII gaining advantage above 9k rpm as the Ducati ECU went lean.

On torque, the PCIII was better throughout the range except between 5k-7k rpm where they were about equal.

Measurements taken on a Dynojet model 250.

The PCIII made more difference than I expected!. A worthwhile add-on in my opinion!"

Running lean and making more power are two great reasons for the powercommander. The fact that the bike runs cooler and probably has better throttle response throughout the whole RPM is a bonus!

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Discussion Starter · #10 · Mar 10, 2005

Re: Power Commander Q's (jbraslins)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jbraslins »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Does that mean that investing money into a different ECU is a waste if you going to use PCIII later on?

Or are there some things a non-stock ECU can provide for you that PCIII can't?

</TD></TR></TABLE>

RPM's.... the DP ECU for the Monster S4 for example gives you another 500 RPM's before the limiter hits. Other then that it doesn't matter which ecu is in the bike if you use a PC3.

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Discussion Starter · #11 · Mar 11, 2005

the ultimap (fim) software for the 1.5m ecu (900ss) allows you to change main fuel map, offset fuel map and spark map at any of the 256 individual points and pretty much any amount - up to +/- 100% fuel from memory. it also allows you to change the rev limit. over and over as many times as you wish. the u59 5.9m replacement ecu has all this plus coolant and air temp trims and fan on/off.

but you need the software to do it, and not many people have that it seems. and even less seem to want to try it.

the pc changes the signals coming out of the ecu. some can do both main and offset maps. dunno about spark. can't do rev limit. not sure what the maximum change available is. it doesn't care what ecu you use. if you need a different rev limit you can always use a dp ecu for that if one is available. tuning centres are plentiful to. to some extent the finshed job is somewhat reliant on the base spark map or offset fuel map if you don't modify that too. a fairly relevant point for a dp ecu, especially 749/999 ones.

a pc is a tuning tool. the ultimap software and u59 ecu are also tuning tools. you wouldn't use both. any 5.9m ecu, std or dp, is a pre-tuned part you can't adjust.

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Discussion Starter · #12 · Mar 11, 2005

Re: (corsastrada)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by corsastrada »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The Techlusion unit is a less expensive and in my opinion much easier to use option. I have one on my '00 900SS and I love it. Totally smoother now, front wheel comes up much easier. Have not had it dynoed yet though.</TD></TR></TABLE>
the techlusion unit is a good (and less expensive) alternative to the PCIII but note that it can only ADD fuel, it cannot take any away. so if your stock map has any overly rich points (such as on the 999), this couldn't help.

that said, it's most often the case that fuel needs to be added to get to an ideal mix. it's worth getting a couple baseline pulls on the dyno to see what you really need before purchasing any product.

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