So is it even worth the money of doing stage one if I am just going to swap out the fuel management system? I know I want one, not sure which, but I don't want to pay for something needless. Sigh... even as I type this I know the answer, but for the sake of some people that don't.

Thanks for humoring me.

Lancer

 

Swap out the fuel mgmt system? I don't follow. Fuel management for stage 1 augments/adjusts your ECM fuel managment to offset the additional air flow in and out due to the upgraded intake and exhaust. Nothing is swapped out. Depending on the device, you would plug it into your existing system, tune the ECM (i.e. SERT), or you actually plug the device in-line permanently (i.e. fuelpak, PCIII).

There's nothing needless about it. Your bike is tuned on the lean side to begin with by the factory to comply with EPA regs. If you add stage 1 components, you likely will overlean the bike and it will not be running properly and could even do long term damage. You need some sort of upload/download or device to tune the ECM to deliver the right amount of fuel to mix with the additional air flow.

 

When you are referring to Stage One, are you speaking of exhaust, air cleaner, and the Stage One download by the dealer?

If so, the only advantage to the download, if you also plan on installing a fuel management system, is the download will act as a back up. Most your fuel management systems trick the ECM to make it deliver more fuel. If the fuel management system fails to work, you are back to running too lean of a fuel mixture and may not even know it. If you have the download and your fuel management fails, the download will help protect against the too lean condition.

Normally people will use one or the other, not both.

 

Thank you thank you thank you. I was thinking of switching my ECM to an aftermarket one... Can't recall the name right now. Of course I am running on an hour of sleep so I could be off my rocker entirely. It would replace the ECM unit and the oxygen sensors, and runs auto tune. So in my thinking I figured I did not need to do the Stage 1 download and then get this ECM unit. But now I realize, I am even more confused... Thanks again though. Very very helpful.

 

In your case then, going to the ECM replacement and replacement O2 sensors, the stage one download serves you no purpose.

 

Thank you. That was my thinking, but I wanted to make sure. Thank you very much for your help.

Has anyone ever done this? What are your likes/dislikes?

Lancer

 

And what I am thinking of going with is the Thundermax with Auto Tune, if anyone has any pro's or con's about them...

Thanks.

 

So when you said stage 1, you meant the download. No wonder it was throwing me. No, if you are swapping out the ECM altogether or adding a fuel management device/tuner, you don't need the Stage 1 download - waste of money.

 

I have the T-Max and it works fine for me. I see pipes and a stock breather, get a hi-flo breather to match the pipes and tuner, It's kinda like sucking through a straw with the stock air filter.

 

Post this on the ECM/Tuner threads and you will get more opinions.

I have a SERT and it works fine for me. But I would advise you to check out 3 systems before you buy.

1. SEST (new model of the SERT)
2. TTS Mastertune -find Steve Cole and ask him
3. Thundermax- lots of users on here.

Good luck.