Versatune Arrived

[Alpha Wolf]

Well my cable arrived and I downloaded the software from the link they provided. I was all jazzed up about starting this last Friday. Got my laptop all cabled up in my car and started the installation....

Immediately the program rejected my car as unsupported. Sent an Email off to VersaTune as it was supposed to be supported. Of course this was late Friday afternoon so I did not expect a response until Monday.

Steve surprised me by getting back to me the very next day, Saturday. He apologized and wanted the L code from the software and said that a new version would be ready soon. I emailed him the code and again did not expect action until Monday. But he kept in touch on Sunday and on Monday I received a new link and was instructed to remove my current program from my laptop and install the new one and try again. Which I did. Unfortunately for reasons not clear to me, it did exactly the same thing again.

Steve got right back to me and I had a new link by the next day (Tuesday today). This one actually accepted my car and installed as advertised.

One note about installation. It may be my car's battery sucks, but by then end of 30 minutes of sitting with ignition on during the installation I did not have enough juice to start the car. No big deal for me as I have my own charger sitting right there. So I hooked it up and spent the next 20 minutes reading their tuning manual while it recharged. It may be my Bose amp sucking juice even with the stereo off, but it did this with everything I could turned off. So be warned, this issue may happen to you.

The VersaTune program auto backs up the stock tune and then it auto installs the basic tune. You have no choice in this. It is part of the installation. I was a bit worried with the 93 octane in it's title living here in 91 octane KommieFornia....

I have had it out on two short test drives and no fuel cuts or any other issues.

My impression of the this modest base tune?

Does not rev as high when starting and seems to idle a bit slower and smoother.
Shifting in the auto mode is way smoother.
Shifting in manual mode is also smoother and appears to shift when you command it.
Appears to have more power everywhere. Less pedal on normal takeoff and a bit more acceleration.
No WOT yet, but even partial throttle midrange and up are noticeably stronger without the die out it had stock as it went past 4800 rpm.

Now to see what kind of help I can get to tweak this tune to meet my unique needs.

Overall so far, even with my rocky start it is a good thing and I would recommend it at this point. More to come as I play with it in the coming months.

[jerseymazda]

Keep us updated. I'm thinking of getting vt soon.

[Alpha Wolf]

Will do..

[Project_dog]

Yes yes please keep us updated.

[Alpha Wolf]

Installed the 93 oct tune as instructed by Steve.
Really did not note a lot of difference but I now see more knock retard at WOT near red line.

[Alpha Wolf]

I now have my ETS TMIC back on as well as my Forge BPV. I have left my CAI off for the time being.

[Project_dog]

how do you like using the tuner? Easy? User friendly ?Lot of options?

Are you using stock exhaust?

[Alpha Wolf]

I have a custom Cat back dual muffler exhaust.

Simple to use in that you just go in and edit a number in a table, save it and flash it.
The trick is knowing which of the dozens of tables and fields within each table control what or affect what. Not like my old N/A tuning with older vehicles. Where we played with jets, needles and shims and power valves in the carbs and reading the plugs for fuel and setting initial timing then changing weights and their springs and shapes to adjust the advance curve and total advance in the vehicle. I am thinking the desired load is a bit high for my car and gas which is why I am getting some knock now. I have sent my latest logs to Steve for his review and commentary.

I will take some screen shots and save them the next time I am playing with it so you can see what is involved.

[SpeedRebirth]

I was reading and saw you had auto shift.. i was like WTF??! Then i see it... Because cx7!!

I believe both AP and VT use alot of battery power when extracting the base tune. My friends battery actually died during AP install.

VT's base tunes are extremely conservative, even the High Load maps. I gained 60awhp by getting a E85 tune from Lex

[Alpha Wolf]

Yes. Would have been nice if they warned about the battery drain. For me it was no big deal but for others without a charger sitting around it could be a rude surprise.

Ass Dyno even with the base tune says the nannyware is gone and the pull from 4,000 rpm up to 6,000 is way better with way more pull over 4,500 rpm on up.

The smoother auto shifting and now the manual shifter mode actually shifts when commanded at WOT versus going on for another 300-600 rpm past when you asked when stock.

[Project_dog]

I havent decided to either get versatune or mazdaedit

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 4

[SpeedRebirth]

Mazdaedit isnt even close to VT... Either get VT or AP, end of story! =)

[lildisco]

I didn't notice any battery drain when i first installed my tune, but if you're sitting in the car with the door open and the radio going, i'd imagine it could drain the battery relatively quickly.

I've been using sassimac's tune for awhile. I recently went back to stock for a dealer trip. I immediately noticed it wasn't a peppy as it was. The turbo didn't spool as fast & felt sluggish. There was a second or 2 delay in making power, kinda like heat soak.

I have similar mods to you, minus cai & exhaust. I also have access to 93 octane, but relatively stock, i noticed a driveability improvement right away. As a added bonus, i noticed a mpg or 2 increase.

I'm hoping to get a more custom tune, but i don't have the money for it at the moment. I know enough to get by, but not nearly enough to make real power. But i wanted a little more driveability & power & better fuel economy, which is what i got from sassimac's tune. Hopefully there will be more us to share a knowledge base of cx7 tunes, kinda like the ms3 & 6 people.

Originally Posted by SpeedRebirth Mazdaedit isnt even close to VT... Either get VT or AP, end of story! =)

Us CX7 peeps are limited to Mazdaedit or VT, No AP

My thread on versatune.net for reference:

Clicky Clicky

Here's the thread with the tune i attached for more information:

Clicky Clicky

[VR11]

Sorry for the off topic post Alpha, but I noticed that you're from Salinas and just wanted to let you know that I am too actually. It's pretty cool seeing someone else on MSF from here. If you ever see me in my red Pu (my avatar) with my corksport decals give me a wave!

[Alpha Wolf]

Originally Posted by lildisco I didn't notice any battery drain when i first installed my tune, but if you're sitting in the car with the door open and the radio going, i'd imagine it could drain the battery relatively quickly. ]

Yeah very funny. No all doors were shut and the radio and other units were all powered off. If I had left the radio on for 20 minutes I could understand this. Just seemed odd the car drained the battery so much. Maybe the damn amp is on with the radio powered off???? I know the Kenwood will drain it in 30 minutes if on though.

[Alpha Wolf]

Just did a 1300+ mile trip with the tune in it and no issues.

Was real nice and maybe 2 mpg better than before. Hard to do that as I find myself playing too much.

No issues just did not have much time to play.

[lildisco]

I've had my radio going without the car running for awhile before while i was washing & waxing it & the battery started up the car w/o issues. I think you can monitor alternator voltage in the dashboard on vt.

I'd start planning on a new battery if i was you. They don't like to be shocked like that too many times. Your battery should last longer than 30 minutes though

[sidekick]

So, this is kind of off topic, but where did you find a tuning guide from VT?
@Alpha Wolf;

[lildisco]

It's in the help & support tab under home on VT.

[sidekick]

Originally Posted by lildisco It's in the help & support tab under home on VT.

Oh, are you talking about the MAF calibration instructions? I thought there was a full guide like Cobbs.

[lildisco]

No maf cal tuning instructions in there. Versatune is load based tuning & it breaks down what's supposed to be what in the tune & what fine tweaking you should do

EDIT:

Just re-read the Tuning Guide & it does show you how to do the MAF Cal. My Bad

[Project_dog]

But versatune lets you change things manually? If you or know someone that tunes.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[sidekick]

Originally Posted by lildisco No maf cal tuning instructions in there. Versatune is load based tuning & it breaks down what's supposed to be what in the tune & what fine tweaking you should do

Would you mind linking it? I can only find the maf calibration guide. I just want to compare tables to ATR. A MAF cal will be required regardless of load based or boost based tuning.

[lildisco]

No link, it's built into VT

EDIT:

Re-glanced over the VT Tuning Guide & it does go over MAF Cal

[lildisco]

Originally Posted by Project_dog But versatune lets you change things manually? If you or know someone that tunes. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

Here's a screenshot of some of the tables & stuff you can adjust.

[Project_dog]

Thanks for the screen shot.

[usafjames]

hey man im new at this so people please be nice lol. i have an 07 fwd 2.3t cx-7 and im thinking about getting the versa. only problem is i have no idea what else i need to get, i have a good laptop but have no idea what else or where to get it...can someone help me please? not sure if your supposed to but my # is 325-864-5two7two id like if someone could text or call me even to help with this asap before my wife spends all the tax $ lol

[sidekick]

Originally Posted by usafjames hey man im new at this so people please be nice lol. i have an 07 fwd 2.3t cx-7 and im thinking about getting the versa. only problem is i have no idea what else i need to get, i have a good laptop but have no idea what else or where to get it...can someone help me please? not sure if your supposed to but my # is 325-864-5two7two id like if someone could text or call me even to help with this asap before my wife spends all the tax $ lol

First, I'd start off by deleting your phone number from that post... Lol. Finding out how to get Versatuner is as simple as googling it... This is going to be your only freebie as a brownie on this forum:

Let me google that for you

[usafjames]

I know how to order a versatune i just dont know what else i need. laptop...tactrix...cable?

[lildisco]

VersaTuner - Ordering

Laptop & the cable you can purchase from VersaTune