angryBits

I was told (unofficially) by a tech at the dealership that it is possible to swap ECUs -- tune one and keep the original tune on another for the sake of not voiding warranty (swap back before warranty work).

I'm VERY interested in doing this, does anyone have any information on how to do it?

mksz51

Fraud. Karma's a bitch. Avoiding responsibility for your actions. As you can tell, I strongly disagree with your perspective.

MikeyTX

On the C6 yes. The C7 nope

DAFFYDRUNK

It might be technically possible, but I think the ecu is under a fender, so kinda hard to get at. I know for sure on Pontiac G8s at least, this sort of thing has been done. A car I know of had major valvtrain work done under warranty after swapping ECUs. The issue was independent of the tune though. AFM lifters were failing. AFM was actually one of the things deleted from the tune.

lakemg

^^^And the irony is that GM may have voided his warranty if he showed up with a tuned ECU yet the Holden Commodores came from the factory with the AFM disabled on the L76 engine, yet the hardware was present in the engine to run AFM...

angryBits

You don't know what you're talking about. Understand my situation first.

I don't want to make more power, I don't want to mod the car, I just want it to run right. As is it won't run on CA 91 gas and throttle is very rough under 3k rpm. Chevy won't take responsibility so I have to.

vbdenny

Why not run 93?

robert miller

mountainears

Can't really get 93 in California.

I run 91 in my GS all the time of course, seems to run fine. Maybe in a Z06 not so good, so if that's the case time to stop up on some Torco.

angryBits

Z06 definitely needs 93. It even says so in the manual. Not sure why they wouldn't sell a 91 octane tune to California.

angryBits

Interesting. It could be an AFM issue -- I don't have a lo of experience with AFM. Any ideas how I could test this theory? (Aside from getting a tune?)

Kent1999

I *thought* all C7 ECM's were checksummed or somehow serialized and that 'signature' was recorded? Thus all ECM are not identical, even with the same part number, and you couldn't just swap ECM's in/out without the car knowing and requiring some sort of re-pairing?

I have to do more research, but I thought it was something like that...

mountainears

The GS and others say 93 too. Not sure if it's worded differently though. I looked at the manual, for the GS and other engines it says Premium 93 Octane Recommended Fuel. Unleaded gasoline with an octane rating as low as 87 may be used, but it will reduce performance and fuel economy.

For the Z06 it says Premium 93 Required. But goes on to say Unleaded gasoline with a 91 octane rating may be used, but it will reduce performance and fuel economy.

So they have themselves "covered" in California, the manual says you can run 91. I'd probably run the Torco octane booster though, that's what most here seem to recommend.

thill444

OP look into Diablosport tuning options. It looks easy to remove the tune and is not detected by dealers from what I have read. I don't own it, but lots of people have and it seems like it might be a good option for you and a good company.

Red Mist Rulz

From what I've read, GM can tell the ECU has been swapped. As for the Diablo, while it's true that the dealer can't tell you've tuned and then gone back to stock, GM can. And on any major engine warranty claim, GM requires the dealer to send the ECU to them for analysis.

Either can be reason for GM to refuse a drivetrain warranty repaif.

jimmie jam

I totally understand what you are trying to do. But "hiding" the tune with a different ECU is not what I would personally do on a 7. I'm a big fan of tuning...even my Avey is tuned especially the tranny. My 07 was tuned (engine & trans) @ about 1,200 miles. I knew that I was taking a big risk if I hand a drive line issue and the warranty but I accepted that risk. I sold the car 10 years later with only 6,500 miles (spirited miles) on it without ever having an issue. Fast forward to the 7...the technology is so complicated with our LT1 and LT4's that I would never consider a tune UNTIL all the "known issue" areas are resolved and that does not seem to be anytime soon with the A8 and AFM related problems that seem to be quite random. My 16 only has 982 miles on it (I know, don't hate) but it could be YEARS before an issue pops up with my driving habits. Nope, not gonna do it. FWIW.

angryBits

Yeah I'm worried about issues coming after the tune, even if they're unrelated its still a chance it can get voided.

I don't want to do anything sketchy, I just want the car to run well. I didn't spend all this money for a car to look nice, I want it to run well. Right now it chokes and cuts in and out when I accelerate below 3500 rpm. My options are tune it or get rid of it. Dealer wont help.

jimmie jam

Have you tried posting in the "tech/performance" section? What you described does not sound like a "typical" issue...if there is such a thing.

mountainears

Correct, start your own thread describing the issue probably in the tech forum.

I might also look in the regional forums for your area and see what dealer service departments come highly recommended. You may want to try a different one rather than jumping to a tune that could cause you warranty issues.

thill444

Not according to what I have read about Diablo. I did some quick searching and could not find a single indication that anyone has ever had a warranty claim denied and linked back to a Diablo tune. Other tunes yes.

At any rate I am keeping my car stock but just trying to help the OP.