• Registered: 2023-06-11
  • Posts: 70

Topic: ECU

Hey again all,  I am back with more questions as we move forward with our build. as always we are building a mk5 GTI this is the first time that we are doing anything with an ECU its the car that we got our hands on so we are taking a swing at it. wondering if anyone has any pointers about tuning/programing/flashing and ECU as a dye that will not break the bank. not looking for the speed/ HP end of things as much as being about to disable the key immobilizer and limp mode, things like that that when the car is pushed during a race don't kick in and slow us down or make us an issue for others on the track. I know there are lots of cars on the track with ECU's so I thought I would ask all of you as you have all been super helpful so far!

thanks again for the help!

Team Captain: Highway to Schnell '06 VW GTI, it did run for a very short time! we will get there!
Team member: The Neighbors '89 Foxbody notchback 4 races, finished 2
no wins yet but hoping!
  • Zacks
  • Ripened Lemon
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2022-10-17
  • Posts: 111

Re: ECU

I dunno much about German cars, my understanding is cracking their ECUs is harder or something.   Probably a question for the VW forums.

Luckily for us our subie has readily available open source tuning and I already had the tool, so we could just completely delete stuff like rear o2 or other things related to having the wrong engine ect lol.

I would search for open source tuning for vws Probably cheaper than a piggyback or whatever.  Even if the stuff to tune is expensive might be able to find a tuner or someone you mail your ecu to for reflash and just delete limp mode ect.

Idk about the immobilizer, as a security system it might be harder to crack.  If you still have whatever module runs it might be able to relocate the antenna ring and stick a programmed key chip to it as a kind of bypass.  Idk

  • Registered: 2013-11-15
  • Posts: 673

Re: ECU

I believe Ranger Road runs a Mk5 GTI, maybe you could get ahold of their team captain.  It was at Sonoma last weekend.

Team whatever_racecar #745 Volvo wagon
  • Registered: 2011-06-17
  • Posts: 109

Re: ECU

It looks like HP Tuners supports tuning the mk5 GTI engine and transmission:

https://www.hptuners.com/vehicles/volks … up-tuning/

I'd start calling local tuner shops to find someone that uses HP Tuners and is willing to tune your engine.

You'll want to have them disable torque management, cat protection (assuming you are removing the cat), maybe richen the AFR to protect against detonation and more. Since you don't want to tune for power, someone that knows HP Tuners and the mk5 GTI well could do it in an hour.

Start looking at VW GTI forums to see what tuning adjustments people are making with HP Tuners.

Some people also sell "remote" tuning where they just provide a file they've already adjusted and a cable with software for you to flash it into your ECU.

I'd try hard to find a shop that specializes in the mk5 GTI to get the best possible tune for track reliability.

EPA Racing - #40 Supercharged Dodge Caliber
  • Registered: 2023-06-11
  • Posts: 70

Re: ECU

rb92673 wrote:

I believe Ranger Road runs a Mk5 GTI, maybe you could get ahold of their team captain.  It was at Sonoma last weekend.


does anyone have contact info for the Ranger Road team. if they have a Mk5 Gti I would love to pick their brains.

thanks

Team Captain: Highway to Schnell '06 VW GTI, it did run for a very short time! we will get there!
Team member: The Neighbors '89 Foxbody notchback 4 races, finished 2
no wins yet but hoping!
  • From: SF BayArea/Land of Enchantment
  • Registered: 2012-01-22
  • Posts: 903

Re: ECU

etb1009 wrote:
rb92673 wrote:

I believe Ranger Road runs a Mk5 GTI, maybe you could get ahold of their team captain.  It was at Sonoma last weekend.


does anyone have contact info for the Ranger Road team. if they have a Mk5 Gti I would love to pick their brains.

thanks

Here you go.....  https://rangerroad.org/pages/ranger-road-motors-2

45+x Loser.....You'd think I would learn......
5x I.O.E  Winner   1 Heroic Fix Winner   1 Org Choice Winner
2x  I Got Screwed Winner    2x Class C Winner
(Still a Class B driver in a Class A car)
  • From: Chicago-ish
  • Registered: 2010-04-19
  • Posts: 3,506

Re: ECU

Tim Tomas is the guy you're looking for. He's the Guy Who Knows Volkswagen Things.

Eric Rood
Everything Bagel, 24 Hours of Lemons
eric@24hoursoflemons.com

therood's Website

  • Registered: 2023-06-11
  • Posts: 70

Re: ECU

thank you all. I emailed ranger road,

is Tim Thomas with them as well if not do you have any contact info for him?

thanks!

Team Captain: Highway to Schnell '06 VW GTI, it did run for a very short time! we will get there!
Team member: The Neighbors '89 Foxbody notchback 4 races, finished 2
no wins yet but hoping!
  • From: SF BayArea/Land of Enchantment
  • Registered: 2012-01-22
  • Posts: 903

Re: ECU

etb1009 wrote:

thank you all. I emailed ranger road,

is Tim Thomas with them as well if not do you have any contact info for him?

thanks!

https://www.facebook.com/TomasSportTuning/

45+x Loser.....You'd think I would learn......
5x I.O.E  Winner   1 Heroic Fix Winner   1 Org Choice Winner
2x  I Got Screwed Winner    2x Class C Winner
(Still a Class B driver in a Class A car)
  • Registered: 2018-03-13
  • Posts: 16

Re: ECU

look at nefariousmotorsports.com/forum/

Nefmoto is the go to for homebrew VAG tuning.  The nefmoto software lets you pull the bins from your ecu to then tune/modify etc. with WinOLS or some of the other tuning suites.  The immobilizer is a separate thing from the actual "tune" on the car.  You can disable it without doing anything to the rest of the ecu.  On the older VAG products its almost always easier to disable the immobilizer with the ecu on a bench with a bench flashing setup where you can open it up to ground the right pin(s) during bootup.  Not sure how easy ME9 is to work with compared to the ME7.1 and 7.1.1 that we run, but figuring out the immobilizer part wasn't too difficult.  I have not spent any time really learning to tune but there are plenty of people on nefmoto who would be willing to help im sure.