Deciding Between EK1 or CPI

[zdunkle7]

Hi everyone! I have a question for those of you that have both EK1 Lite & CPI/WMI, and which one you would recommend adding into my build first! My current mods are JB4, PNP Fuel Wires, EWG Connectors, HKS M45iL Spark Plugs, BMS BOV Adapter & Tial BOV, K&N Typhoon CAI, and I’ve been using IAT Spoofing as well. I currently use a mix of 93/E30, and I’ve tested the E85 near me, it’s E80.

Also, I just got my BMS Intercooler in the mail today, I’ll be installing it either tomorrow or this weekend. I know the benefits of both options, but I feel as if I should probably go for the EK1 before CPI, but I just want to hear some opinions, as I’m really open to do anything.

The main reason I’d like to go with the EK1 over LAP3/Lozic is because it’s much less expensive, and I’ll be able to flash both the ECU & TCU with the EK1. The other big reason is because I use different fuels for different occasions, and if i’m not able to get E85 for whatever reason, I’d like to be able to run 93 without problems, which is possible with the EK1 since you can flash whatever tune you want whenever you want.

Also, I’m thinking of possibly doing EK1 first instead of CPI because I’d like to test out some race gas soon, and I’d definitely benefit more from race gas w/ a compatible BEF than I would with race gas and CPI. I’ve already bought 5 gallons of 260 GT Plus, i’m just waiting for the right time and place, like a track day.

One other question I’d have regarding EK1 is exactly how developed the TCU tunes are currently, and how do they compare to something like a Lozic/LAP3 TCU. Like would there be a tune thats as aggressive as the Lozic Pressure 3, -8% Pattern, w/ Sport Plus Pattern? Another question I have is if the ECU tunes can raise the RPM Limit like the Lozic ones do, up to like 6750-7000RPM.

Thanks for reading everyone! I’m excited to hear everyone’s opinions on what I should do!

 

[Nick2Quiick]

I have the EK1 and have been using the stage 2 tune from them for a few years now.
Love it, And have had no issues ( So Far )
Very good power increase and if you want the pops & Bangs you get that as well!

 

[zdunkle7]

I have the EK1 and have been using the stage 2 tune from them for a few years now.
Love it, And have had no issues ( So Far )
Very good power increase and if you want the pops & Bangs you get that as well!

That’s great to hear! Are you able to raise max RPM up to like 6,750RPM like you can with other ECU tunes? Have you tried any of the newer TCU tunes?

 

[Nick2Quiick]

Man I think it can... IT also disabled the top speed with the governor. So it goes past 167. I've been 175 mph before in it.. But after that it gets very squirrely!!! LOL
I recommend the EK1 for sure.

 

[zdunkle7]

Man I think it can... IT also disabled the top speed with the governor. So it goes past 167. I've been 175 mph before in it.. But after that it gets very squirrely!!! LOL
I recommend the EK1 for sure.

Really! Jesus christ that’s insane . That statement alone sold me . I’d probably add Mando ESC10 + Cup2’s and Rims before I tried going past the factory limiter though.

 

[Nick2Quiick]

Really! Jesus christ that’s insane . That statement alone sold me . I’d probably add Mando ESC10 + Cup2’s and Rims before I tried going past the factory limiter though.

Yes sir. And the mando kit looks cool for sure. And super smart with the tires! Lol
Where are you located? I'm in Florida!

 

[zdunkle7]

Yes sir. And the mando kit looks cool for sure. And super smart with the tires! Lol
Where are you located? I'm in Florida!

For sure! It basically lets you do what the car should’ve let you do from the factory, as all it’s adding is the ability to customize dampening to a greater extent. And yep, since i’m RWD, tires are going to be a huge factor in times, as I can add all the power I want currently, but that doesn’t mean i’ll be able to put that power down. And that’s crazy! I’m from FL too! SW Florida to be exact!

 

[Nick2Quiick]

Yes That's awesome! I want to hear how it is for you when you do get it!

South West Florida is where I reside too ironically!
Sarasota, Fl here!!

 

[zdunkle7]

Yes That's awesome! I want to hear how it is for you when you do get it!

South West Florida is where I reside too ironically!
Sarasota, Fl here!!

I’ll definitely let you know! I’m in Naples! I just got my BMS FMIC in, CPI is coming in monday, and after I get those installed I’ll be going for the EK1 next, and then the Mando. So it might be awhile, but i’ll definitely let you know!!!

 

[dollah]

I dont understand ek1. Do i buy the ek1 pro calibration for 600, then buy a tune from the website? if so whats the best option for ek1 tunes if your staying on 93 octane? maybe e85 .

 

[zdunkle7]

I dont understand ek1. Do i buy the ek1 pro calibration for 600, then buy a tune from the website? if so whats the best option for ek1 tunes if your staying on 93 octane? maybe e85 .

EK1 would be beneficial if you’re already running JB4, as it basically fills in the holes that the JB4 can’t itself, such as timing, transmission tuning, etc. In my opinion, unless you’re running FBO w/ HPFP/CPI/WMI, I can’t see the EK1 being very beneficial. The only reasons I purchased it was so I can run higher E85 mixes with CPI, run higher timing, and as a TCU tune as well. If you’d like to run it though you’d probably benefit the most from using the JB4 RACE_IGN BEF ECU tune + Stage 1 TCU w/ LRS + LC. In my case, I’m going to be running the JB4 E85 BEF ECU Tune + Stage 2 TCU w/ LRS + LC, or a custom ECU/TCU BEF from either Terry or Sxth. I’d go for the latter if there were things I’d like to change after running the E85 BEF + Stg2 TCU for awhile.

 

[zdunkle7]

I dont understand ek1. Do i buy the ek1 pro calibration for 600, then buy a tune from the website? if so whats the best option for ek1 tunes if your staying on 93 octane? maybe e85 .

Oh and also, I forgot to answer your other question. So what I think you mean by the ek1 calibration is the ek1 device itself, which if that’s true, then yes, it’s $600 for the EK1 Lite device itself. In my opinion, I wouldn’t splurge on the $1,000 EK1 Pro myself, because the only difference between them is that the Pro shows logging parameters live for you to see while driving, but since the JB4 already does that, why pay $400 more lol. To answer the second part of that question, the tunes are purchased seperately ala cart on sxthnktuning.com, once you get your device and are able to find your calibration id, you’ll be able to view the tunes compatible for your vehicle and purchase them, though the stock tune is free in case you ever need to flash your car back to stock. The JB4 Race_Ign tune is $75 and the Stg1 TCU Low-RPM Shifting + Launch Control is $250. All the JB4 tunes are $75 in general, the Sxth tunes range from $150-550.

 

[dollah]

Oh and also, I forgot to answer your other question. So what I think you mean by the ek1 calibration is the ek1 device itself, which if that’s true, then yes, it’s $600 for the EK1 Lite device itself. In my opinion, I wouldn’t splurge on the $1,000 EK1 Pro myself, because the only difference between them is that the Pro shows logging parameters live for you to see while driving, but since the JB4 already does that, why pay $400 more lol. To answer the second part of that question, the tunes are purchased seperately ala cart on sxthnktuning.com, once you get your device and are able to find your calibration id, you’ll be able to view the tunes compatible for your vehicle and purchase them, though the stock tune is free in case you ever need to flash your car back to stock. The JB4 Race_Ign tune is $75 and the Stg1 TCU Low-RPM Shifting + Launch Control is $250. All the JB4 tunes are $75 in general, the Sxth tunes range from $150-550.

Man that all sounds so complicated. i understand it all but the ek1 device sounds like too much of a tune to go for. i dont even have jb4 rn. im only fbo pushing 370whp. I recently added a little racechip just to get to that 400whp, but i want to remove it and buy a lozic ecu tune. But idk what options to put on it, im only gona be 93 octane. And im curious would that lozic bring me up to 420-440 whp

 

[zdunkle7]

Man that all sounds so complicated. i understand it all but the ek1 device sounds like too much of a tune to go for. i dont even have jb4 rn. im only fbo pushing 370whp. I recently added a little racechip just to get to that 400whp, but i want to remove it and buy a lozic ecu tune. But idk what options to put on it, im only gona be 93 octane. And im curious would that lozic bring me up to 420-440 whp

So yes, there’s a good chance that the Lozic would bring you to 420-440hp. The only thing I personally don’t like about dedicated ECU tunes is that if you need a revision, you have to send your ECU back to Lozic, making it so you can’t use your car for a few days. I also feel like JB4 is safer because you can use it as a logging tool as well, and Terry is really great at checking logs and letting you know if anything is going wrong, whenever you send him one to check. That’s why I went JB4 Map7 + EK1 (whenever it gets in the mail lol). Either way, using pump gas is always a risk, no matter the tune, as the more power you want out of the engine, the more need for higher octane fuels.

 

[dollah]

So yes, there’s a good chance that the Lozic would bring you to 420-440hp. The only thing I personally don’t like about dedicated ECU tunes is that if you need a revision, you have to send your ECU back to Lozic, making it so you can’t use your car for a few days. I also feel like JB4 is safer because you can use it as a logging tool as well, and Terry is really great at checking logs and letting you know if anything is going wrong, whenever you send him one to check. That’s why I went JB4 Map7 + EK1 (whenever it gets in the mail lol). Either way, using pump gas is always a risk, no matter the tune, as the more power you want out of the engine, the more need for higher octane fuels.

My thing is, if im pushing 370 Whp with no tune, and i added the race chip gts so im assuming im at like 400-410 right now to the wheels, would buying a jb4 be worth it if im just staying on 93 octane? Because i think on the Jb4 im only limited to like map 2 on 93 octane, and map 2 would probably just put me at the same WHP i have now with the racechip.

 

[zdunkle7]

My thing is, if im pushing 370 Whp with no tune, and i added the race chip gts so im assuming im at like 400-410 right now to the wheels, would buying a jb4 be worth it if im just staying on 93 octane? Because i think on the Jb4 im only limited to like map 2 on 93 octane, and map 2 would probably just put me at the same WHP i have now with the racechip.

I’d say yes to that, I do feel like the JB4 would be worth it on Map2, since you’ll have more safety settings in place, and most importantly, the ability to log. Also, since JB4 allows you to use the EK1, whenever you do want more power you could get an EK1, and get the 20-30whp boost from timing increases alone. At the end of the day, the Lozic tune will do the same thing as JB4 + EK1, but without the ability to log. Also, while with the EK1 you can just request a new tune when you make changes, with the Lozic you’d be without your car for a few days, even for just an intake upgrade, which tbh, i just wouldn’t want to deal with.

 

[dollah]

I’d say yes to that, I do feel like the JB4 would be worth it on Map2, since you’ll have more safety settings in place, and most importantly, the ability to log. Also, since JB4 allows you to use the EK1, whenever you do want more power you could get an EK1, and get the 20-30whp boost from timing increases alone. At the end of the day, the Lozic tune will do the same thing as JB4 + EK1, but without the ability to log. Also, while with the EK1 you can just request a new tune when you make changes, with the Lozic you’d be without your car for a few days, even for just an intake upgrade, which tbh, i just wouldn’t want to deal with.

Yeah I see . The ECU tune is what I really wanted but the whole being carless thing is making it not what I want lol . I think I’ll just get the JB4, stick with map 2 . And maybe in the future do e85 but that’s it . I appreciate your help and knowledge brother !

 

[dollah]

I’d say yes to that, I do feel like the JB4 would be worth it on Map2, since you’ll have more safety settings in place, and most importantly, the ability to log. Also, since JB4 allows you to use the EK1, whenever you do want more power you could get an EK1, and get the 20-30whp boost from timing increases alone. At the end of the day, the Lozic tune will do the same thing as JB4 + EK1, but without the ability to log. Also, while with the EK1 you can just request a new tune when you make changes, with the Lozic you’d be without your car for a few days, even for just an intake upgrade, which tbh, i just wouldn’t want to deal with.

Last thing now , if I get the JB4 and stick with map 2, do I need the EWG fuel wires ??

 

[zdunkle7]

Last thing now , if I get the JB4 and stick with map 2, do I need the EWG fuel wires ??

^^ That sounds like a good plan! I hope you enjoy the JB4, I damn sure know I do! As for the EWG wires, I don’t see a need for them in your case, but if you decide to go for the EK1/E85 route in the future, or go for a catless setup, I’d recommend them! As for the PNP Fuel Adapters, those are so you don’t have to use posi-taps on your stock fuel wires. In your situation I’d recommend them solely because it seems you’d like to have a very easy, carefree install, and the PNP Fuel Adapters make the install easier! The EWG adapters suck to install, and I’d recommend holding off on them until you really need them, as those damn wastegates are pretty much on the bottom of the engine, and if you don’t take your intakes off (like me lmfao), you’ll spend a long ass time trying to unplug/reconnect them haha.

 

[zdunkle7]

^^ That sounds like a good plan! I hope you enjoy the JB4, I damn sure know I do! As for the EWG wires, I don’t see a need for them in your case, but if you decide to go for the EK1/E85 route in the future, or go for a catless setup, I’d recommend them! As for the PNP Fuel Adapters, those are so you don’t have to use posi-taps on your stock fuel wires. In your situation I’d recommend them solely because it seems you’d like to have a very easy, carefree install, and the PNP Fuel Adapters make the install easier! The EWG adapters suck to install, and I’d recommend holding off on them until you really need them, as those damn wastegates are pretty much on the bottom of the engine, and if you don’t take your intakes off (like me lmfao), you’ll spend a long ass time trying to unplug/reconnect them haha.

The one thing you’d need is spark plugs though if you don’t have them already, I’d recommend the HKS M45iL’s gapped to 0.22.