EK1Pro Tune - Sixth Element

[Yves998]

Can you explain this? I thought one of the members was running a full sxth ECU/TCU tune? Isn't he on the top 10 list?

He was tuned with delication that you would never get from sxth anymore. His fueling is dialed properly to take both cpi and wmi while all the other sxth tune available for you now can't handle any auxiliary fuel. Literally every single sxth full tune failed after ek1lite released.

 

[See3Pee01971]

He was tuned with delication that you would never get from sxth anymore. His fueling is dialed properly to take both cpi and wmi while all the other sxth tune available for you now can't handle any auxiliary fuel. Literally every single sxth full tune failed after ek1lite released.

Well that's disappointing, but not necessarily a deal breaker for me. I'm happy to work with Terry and his offerings for the ECU via EK1. However, I was hoping to go with a SXTH TCU tune. I only see their stage 1 TCU tune available to me. Is anyone running this with success?

 

[rbf351]

Well that's disappointing, but not necessarily a deal breaker for me. I'm happy to work with Terry and his offerings for the ECU via EK1. However, I was hoping to go with a SXTH TCU tune. I only see their stage 1 TCU tune available to me. Is anyone running this with success?

I had the stage one TCU 1 tune, wasn't happy with it, as it caused issues with launch control.

I'm now using the stage 2, but see he just released a Stage 3 + LRS, but it's in beta

 

[See3Pee01971]

I had the stage one TCU 1 tune, wasn't happy with it, as it caused issues with launch control.

I'm now using the stage 2, but see he just released a Stage 3 + LRS, but it's in beta

I wonder why the stage 2 does not show as available for me. Is it because I’m RWD?

 

[rbf351]

I wonder why the stage 2 does not show as available for me. Is it because I’m RWD?

I'm not sure how his site works either, but there are a ton of tunes not available for mine either that are for other identical models, but im pretty sure it has to do with the ECU ID

 

[See3Pee01971]

I'm not sure how his site works either, but there are a ton of tunes not available for mine either that are for other identical models, but im pretty sure it has to do with the ECU ID

Thanks for all the info. I’ll be installing CPI this weekend. Are you happy with Terry’s BEF option?

 

[rpoffen]

I'm not sure how his site works either, but there are a ton of tunes not available for mine either that are for other identical models, but im pretty sure it has to do with the ECU ID

Tunes must be compatible with your ECU ID. Only tunes that are currently built for your specific ID are displayed. If a tune doesn't show, you will have to contact them to get it made.

 

[rbf351]

Tunes must be compatible with your ECU ID. Only tunes that are currently built for your specific ID are displayed. If a tune doesn't show, you will have to contact them to get it made.

That I get, what I don't get is why don't they just put out each tune for each ECU ID since they are basically the same, just different ID numbers

 

[See3Pee01971]

Tunes must be compatible with your ECU ID. Only tunes that are currently built for your specific ID are displayed. If a tune doesn't show, you will have to contact them to get it made.

Got it. Thanks!

 

[WayneK]

After 2 revisions I allegedly have everything dialed in for my SXTH ECU stage 2 and TCU stage one.

Took a 7 hour road trip and had zero issues. Plenty of pulls along the way. Multiple logs captured and according to SXTH support all the logs were clean.

Very happy with their tunes.

*disclaimer: I don’t track this car nor will I probably ever measure 0-60/60-120 to see how much it’s improved. Going by feeling this is exactly what I wanted. If you’re looking to find out exactly how much their tune improved performance I can’t answer that with numbers.

 

[Seeing_Red]

Hey all,

For your viewing pleasure, both a 1/4mi pull and 60-130 dragy and JB4 CSV.

I'd like to hear your opinions on this as honestly I'm feeling a bit disappointed overall. Almost a full second behind the Lap3 guys yet somehow feels like the motor is getting pushed harder than it needs to be...

I'd like to add, however, that Terry at BMS is an awesome dude. The guy has been great from start to finish in any and all dealings I've had with him as far as customer service and many reviews of my logs from unrelated fueling issues (low pressure pump needed to be replaced) and he was always prompt in his responses with me.

Unfortunately I haven't had the same experience with Nathan, although, I will say I didn't give him much of a chance due to dismissive vibes I received from him during my initial purchase and tuning decisions.

@Yves998 sorry to tag you but I know you have been one of the more critical members on the forum with these tunes but also seem to have the knowledge to back it up. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts.

MODS LIST:
BMS Intakes
BMS Intercooler
Fuel It! CPI Kit
EK1 Lite
- SXTH Stage 1 TCU with LC
- E85 BEF from Terry @ BMS

Logs were taken on Map 5 with ~E62

Only other mods that would have any effect on performance as far as Dragy times are lightweight (compared to factory) Enkei wheels.

 

[Yves998]

Hey all,

For your viewing pleasure, both a 1/4mi pull and 60-130 dragy and JB4 CSV.

I'd like to hear your opinions on this as honestly I'm feeling a bit disappointed overall. Almost a full second behind the Lap3 guys yet somehow feels like the motor is getting pushed harder than it needs to be...

I'd like to add, however, that Terry at BMS is an awesome dude. The guy has been great from start to finish in any and all dealings I've had with him as far as customer service and many reviews of my logs from unrelated fueling issues (low pressure pump needed to be replaced) and he was always prompt in his responses with me.

Unfortunately I haven't had the same experience with Nathan, although, I will say I didn't give him much of a chance due to dismissive vibes I received from him during my initial purchase and tuning decisions.

@Yves998 sorry to tag you but I know you have been one of the more critical members on the forum with these tunes but also seem to have the knowledge to back it up. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts.

MODS LIST:
BMS Intakes
BMS Intercooler
Fuel It! CPI Kit
EK1 Lite
- SXTH Stage 1 TCU with LC
- E85 BEF from Terry @ BMS

Logs were taken on Map 5 with ~E62

Only other mods that would have any effect on performance as far as Dragy times are lightweight (compared to factory) Enkei wheels.

Everything looks fine within the log so you have nothing to worry about mechanically. Here is some answers for you dragy result and log.

First of all your TCU shift point is killing your overall time. For the quarter mile log you can see your first two gears shifts at 6100 plus which leads to that boost crash for the second gear cuz the engine RPM sits too high and MAP5 would not add that much boost at that range. It's a MAP6's job to pump boost up in that area but covering up the problem is not a real fix. For the 60-130 it early shifted the 5th gear to the 6th right before you hit 130mph, this can kill about 0.2-0.4s of time for you 60-130 easily. BMS TCU has perfect 1st and 2nd gear shiftpoint and it would't short shift the 5th gear for you 60-130, which can solve this problem here once for all.

Then let's talk about why you are not making as much power as others with same BEF and map5. You are just simply running lower boost than most of people. For a 9s 60-130 you'll need a map6 that peaks at 21psi tapers to 20-19psi with this much of timing. For example a tyical map5 pull at your shiftpoint and this ambient temp, I would see my 4th gear spike at 21.5psi and taper to 18psi till shift, you are only doing 19psi to 17.2 psi. Huge overall torque differece here if we are on the same ign table. Our wastegate spec is all over the place out of the factory and it seems like you are the under boosted one. This needs to be confirmed by read your wastegate when engine is off but car is on as when it's ready to flash the BEF. You'll need your EK1's firmware to be at that version which is able to clear the adaptation values to read both bank of your wastegates. And you want both of them as close as Zero as possible when the engine is off. It can be adjusted but most kia/hyundai techs have zero idea about how to do so. You can consult Christian Tucker from the EK1 FB group for exactly how to do it, if you confirmed wastegate spec is the problem. I'm just lucky that my tech would check how they did it on 2.0s and figured out how to do it for mine for each side.

The last problem here is the launch. You should be able to see 3.6s 0-60 easily with a 1.7s, which should make you 11.5s -11.6s with that trapspeed of 118mph. The dragy pull you are showing is only 1.82s 60ft which is considered a fairly slow start off the line. I don't know if traction is you enemy or you are just simply not launching hard enough (I assume you are using part throttle boost building method). If you are trying to launch harder but sxth TCU wouldn't allow you, brake snip harness would be handy since it allows you to brake, floor the gas till 2000-2200 rpm and then release the brake. This can gurantee you a powerful launch without throttle close problem.

 

[Seeing_Red]

Everything looks fine within the log so you have nothing to worry about mechanically. Here is some answers for you dragy result and log.

First of all your TCU shift point is killing your overall time. For the quarter mile log you can see your first two gears shifts at 6100 plus which leads to that boost crash for the second gear cuz the engine RPM sits too high and MAP5 would not add that much boost at that range. It's a MAP6's job to pump boost up in that area but covering up the problem is not a real fix. For the 60-130 it early shifted the 5th gear to the 6th right before you hit 130mph, this can kill about 0.2-0.4s of time for you 60-130 easily. BMS TCU has perfect 1st and 2nd gear shiftpoint and it would't short shift the 5th gear for you 60-130, which can solve this problem here once for all.

Then let's talk about why you are not making as much power as others with same BEF and map5. You are just simply running lower boost than most of people. For a 9s 60-130 you'll need a map6 that peaks at 21psi tapers to 20-19psi with this much of timing. For example a tyical map5 pull at your shiftpoint and this ambient temp, I would see my 4th gear spike at 21.5psi and taper to 18psi till shift, you are only doing 19psi to 17.2 psi. Huge overall torque differece here if we are on the same ign table. Our wastegate spec is all over the place out of the factory and it seems like you are the under boosted one. This needs to be confirmed by read your wastegate when engine is off but car is on as when it's ready to flash the BEF. You'll need your EK1's firmware to be at that version which is able to clear the adaptation values to read both bank of your wastegates. And you want both of them as close as Zero as possible when the engine is off. It can be adjusted but most kia/hyundai techs have zero idea about how to do so. You can consult Christian Tucker from the EK1 FB group for exactly how to do it, if you confirmed wastegate spec is the problem. I'm just lucky that my tech would check how they did it on 2.0s and figured out how to do it for mine for each side.

The last problem here is the launch. You should be able to see 3.6s 0-60 easily with a 1.7s, which should make you 11.5s -11.6s with that trapspeed of 118mph. The dragy pull you are showing is only 1.82s 60ft which is considered a fairly slow start off the line. I don't know if traction is you enemy or you are just simply not launching hard enough (I assume you are using part throttle boost building method). If you are trying to launch harder but sxth TCU wouldn't allow you, brake snip harness would be handy since it allows you to brake, floor the gas till 2000-2200 rpm and then release the brake. This can gurantee you a powerful launch without throttle close problem.

Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a comprehensive response. I know Terry actually mentioned from the moment that I got the SXTH TCU tune that he didn't think the shift points were in the right spot.

Did you say there is actually a BMS TCU mod now? He got the tables to make his own tune finally? I'd much rather switch to anything Terry made over anything else.

Interesting to hear as far as the wastegate positioning. Terry had me play around with Map 6 once to try and get a couple more pounds out of the turbos but it didn't make much of a difference (this was before the BMS intake install which Terry thought may have been a limited factor with the factory parts) but I haven't tried it again. I'm also not on the newest version of the JB4 firmware which I know also fixed some boost issues.

I will say, the driveability has always been awesome and it feels great. Just not getting the numbers with it.. I don't need 10s but I'd like to be in the low 11s in the 1/4.

And to clarify, I absolutely am baby launching it... lol. Didn't think there was much point in beating up on the Trans until I knew everything else was dialed in!

Again Yves, I really appreciate you taking the time to respond. I'll get the TCU figured out and work on the boost and come back with some new logs/dragys!

Edit: Almost forgot to ask you opinion on E content. Should I stick around the 60 number or is there a benefit to going higher? I know Terry has shared that there's no real power gains past E60.

 

[Yves998]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a comprehensive response. I know Terry actually mentioned from the moment that I got the SXTH TCU tune that he didn't think the shift points were in the right spot.

Did you say there is actually a BMS TCU mod now? He got the tables to make his own tune finally? I'd much rather switch to anything Terry made over anything else.

Interesting to hear as far as the wastegate positioning. Terry had me play around with Map 6 once to try and get a couple more pounds out of the turbos but it didn't make much of a difference (this was before the BMS intake install which Terry thought may have been a limited factor with the factory parts) but I haven't tried it again. I'm also not on the newest version of the JB4 firmware which I know also fixed some boost issues.

I will say, the driveability has always been awesome and it feels great. Just not getting the numbers with it.. I don't need 10s but I'd like to be in the low 11s in the 1/4.

And to clarify, I absolutely am baby launching it... lol. Didn't think there was much point in beating up on the Trans until I knew everything else was dialed in!

Again Yves, I really appreciate you taking the time to respond. I'll get the TCU figured out and work on the boost and come back with some new logs/dragys!

Edit: Almost forgot to ask you opinion on E content. Should I stick around the 60 number or is there a benefit to going higher? I know Terry has shared that there's no real power gains past E60.

Your trims are fairly close to zero(JB4 25) for now which indicates that you have lots of room for adding extra boost. Also you'd better dial the map6 after getting the BMS TCU since shifting points will play a major part when it comes to map6 fine tuning. Trap speed wise you should be targeting at least 121 for guaranteed low 11s. 118mph can be as low as 11.5s with an absolutely perfect launch with 1.6s 60ft.

Here is a screenshot of BMS TCU and you can see the shift points are quite spot on.

 

[Seeing_Red]

Your trims are fairly close to zero(JB4 25) for now which indicates that you have lots of room for adding extra boost. Also you'd better dial the map6 after getting the BMS TCU since shifting points will play a major part when it comes to map6 fine tuning. Trap speed wise you should be targeting at least 121 for guaranteed low 11s. 118mph can be as low as 11.5s with an absolutely perfect launch with 1.6s 60ft.

Here is a screenshot of BMS TCU and you can see the shift points are quite spot on.

Wow, looking at this just goes to show how misplaced the shift points are on the Stage 1 SXTH TCU tune.. it's almost the exact opposite, too long for the first 2 shifts and a bit too short on the others.. what a shame.

Does Terry's TCU tune do things in addition to shift points? Does it still have launch control ability and does the EK1 have the ability to harden up the shift points as well? I didn't notice any significant change in how the car shifted with the SXTH tune, maybe slightly more crisp but subtle enough it may have just been in my head.

(I attached a screenshot of the graph for same log I posted above to make it easier for those in the thread that wanted to look at the shift point differences back to back BMS vs SXTH)

 

[Yves998]

Wow, looking at this just goes to show how misplaced the shift points are on the Stage 1 SXTH TCU tune.. it's almost the exact opposite, too long for the first 2 shifts and a bit too short on the others.. what a shame.

Does Terry's TCU tune do things in addition to shift points? Does it still have launch control ability and does the EK1 have the ability to harden up the shift points as well? I didn't notice any significant change in how the car shifted with the SXTH tune, maybe slightly more crisp but subtle enough it may have just been in my head.

(I attached a screenshot of the graph for same log I posted above to make it easier for those in the thread that wanted to look at the shift point differences back to back BMS vs SXTH)

BMS tcu shifts super crispy and quick under WOT so there's absolutely nothing to worry about how it shifts. Daily driving in sport mode is smooth too.

For launch it depends on your stock calibrations just as sxth TCU, some have more screwed up limiters and some are just having more fun. Some can do a full WOT and let go the brake launch just like brake snip while most of others can only do half throttle boost without brake snip. Seems like only a few to be lucky enough to be totally able to get rid of brake snip harness.

You don't need to worry about your quarter mile at all. After you get BMS TCU, 2psi on top of the boost you have now beside 3psi more for 5500rpm and 6000rpm can secure a low 11s for you easily. But still I would like to get my wastegate position checked before adding more boost.

 

[WayneK]

After 2 revisions I allegedly have everything dialed in for my SXTH ECU stage 2 and TCU stage one.

Took a 7 hour road trip and had zero issues. Plenty of pulls along the way. Multiple logs captured and according to SXTH support all the logs were clean.

Very happy with their tunes.

*disclaimer: I don’t track this car nor will I probably ever measure 0-60/60-120 to see how much it’s improved. Going by feeling this is exactly what I wanted. If you’re looking to find out exactly how much their tune improved performance I can’t answer that with numbers.

For anyone reading this thread and looking for opinions on SXTH tunes, I’d like to revise this previous post and say listen to the others here with their concerns. @Yves998 was spot on.

After I’ve had more time to drive it and feel out the cars characteristics post tune, I can confidently say I wish I went in a different direction.

I’ve had some little hiccups come up the last week or so that I’ve been told by shops locally were tune related, but SXTH seems to be saying it’s not. But the issues only exists with the SXTH tune applied. Stock ECU I don’t experience any of the issues.

Some of the responses by customer support seem like they are annoyed that I need questions answered or logs reviewed.

Which is a surprise considering how much money I’ve spent with them.

In hindsight I wish I went JB4 + BMS BEF. I wish I did more research prior to spending money on their tunes. Probably my next purchase and I’ll consider the SXTH tunes an expensive lesson learned.

 

[Seeing_Red]

For anyone reading this thread and looking for opinions on SXTH tunes, I’d like to revise this previous post and say listen to the others here with their concerns. @Yves998 was spot on.

After I’ve had more time to drive it and feel out the cars characteristics post tune, I can confidently say I wish I went in a different direction.

I’ve had some little hiccups come up the last week or so that I’ve been told by shops locally were tune related, but SXTH seems to be saying it’s not. But the issues only exists with the SXTH tune applied. Stock ECU I don’t experience any of the issues.

Some of the responses by customer support seem like they are annoyed that I need questions answered or logs reviewed.

Which is a surprise considering how much money I’ve spent with them.

In hindsight I wish I went JB4 + BMS BEF. I wish I did more research prior to spending money on their tunes. Probably my next purchase and I’ll consider the SXTH tunes an expensive lesson learned.

Yeah, I alluded to it in my first post here but I found the customer service response lacking when I first bought the EK1 platform and tried to communicate with SXTH. This was back right as the EK1 Lite was released and our platform was just being brought on as tuning capable by their software so you'd think they'd be welcoming of the new business.. I had purchased the SXTH TCU stage 1 and there was a guy on this thread talking about how he was testing Stage 2 and it was incredible. I asked Nathan if he was working on releasing Stage 2 for everyone and at the time because I wanted it and his response was essentially "not really"... (this seems to have changed based on a few people running it in here).

I think Nathan and the members of SXTH are perfectly capable of creating great tunes for these cars, as evidenced by a small handful of original adopters. But, at the end of the day, they already have an established business with a few much more popular platforms out there and servicing us and our relative "niche" vehicles is just simply not worth it to them. It's really a shame it's gotten to this point because the excitement and hype we all had to be brought into a custom tuning software was crazy at the beginning of this thread. I guess they were hoping it would be easy to throw a few canned tunes our way with a few tweaks each for $250 and call it a day but it turns out the 3.3t is a bit more complicated than that lol.

I am however grateful they allowed the EK1 to be used by our cars, as it has allowed Terry at BMS to apply his, dare I say, OG level knowledge of the Stinger/3.3t and help us out. Terry has always given our platform his full attention as well as having pride in his business and the customer service experience he provides. Now that I know he was given the ability to create his own TCU tunes, there's really no reason to use SXTH.

If I'm able to achieve low 11s in the quarter as Yves believes I'm capable of after a few tweaks (I believe him too) the EK1 + BMS combo is the best option out there bar none. $4k+ at LAP3 for a few more tenths may absolutely be worth it to some people but to maintain the ability to switch between maps on road trips and the scenarios where you don't have Ethanol access or.WMI access is absolute gold in my opinion.

 

[rpoffen]

Yeah, I alluded to it in my first post here but I found the customer service response lacking when I first bought the EK1 platform and tried to communicate with SXTH. This was back right as the EK1 Lite was released and our platform was just being brought on as tuning capable by their software so you'd think they'd be welcoming of the new business.. I had purchased the SXTH TCU stage 1 and there was a guy on this thread talking about how he was testing Stage 2 and it was incredible. I asked Nathan if he was working on releasing Stage 2 for everyone and at the time because I wanted it and his response was essentially "not really"... (this seems to have changed based on a few people running it in here).

I think Nathan and the members of SXTH are perfectly capable of creating great tunes for these cars, as evidenced by a small handful of original adopters. But, at the end of the day, they already have an established business with a few much more popular platforms out there and servicing us and our relative "niche" vehicles is just simply not worth it to them. It's really a shame it's gotten to this point because the excitement and hype we all had to be brought into a custom tuning software was crazy at the beginning of this thread. I guess they were hoping it would be easy to throw a few canned tunes our way with a few tweaks each for $250 and call it a day but it turns out the 3.3t is a bit more complicated than that lol.

I am however grateful they allowed the EK1 to be used by our cars, as it has allowed Terry at BMS to apply his, dare I say, OG level knowledge of the Stinger/3.3t and help us out. Terry has always given our platform his full attention as well as having pride in his business and the customer service experience he provides. Now that I know he was given the ability to create his own TCU tunes, there's really no reason to use SXTH.

If I'm able to achieve low 11s in the quarter as Yves believes I'm capable of after a few tweaks (I believe him too) the EK1 + BMS combo is the best option out there bar none. $4k+ at LAP3 for a few more tenths may absolutely be worth it to some people but to maintain the ability to switch between maps on road trips and the scenarios where you don't have Ethanol access or.WMI access is absolute gold in my opinion.

I too have the Ek1, but have been a little disappointed with some of the comments here about the SXTH response and support. I have yet to purchase any of his tunes. I can tell you that you can definitely reach 11's with just a jb4, I have a strip verified 11.701 running a jb4, E30 and WMI along with a Lozic TCU for launch control. I had hoped to eventually be able to get into low 11's with a true ECU tune, hence the Ek1. However, the strip I used to go to (Sacramento Raceway Park) is now closed permanently, and the next nearest track is hours away, so I have not pursued any further improvements.

 

[WayneK]

Yeah, I alluded to it in my first post here but I found the customer service response lacking when I first bought the EK1 platform and tried to communicate with SXTH. This was back right as the EK1 Lite was released and our platform was just being brought on as tuning capable by their software so you'd think they'd be welcoming of the new business.. I had purchased the SXTH TCU stage 1 and there was a guy on this thread talking about how he was testing Stage 2 and it was incredible. I asked Nathan if he was working on releasing Stage 2 for everyone and at the time because I wanted it and his response was essentially "not really"... (this seems to have changed based on a few people running it in here).

I think Nathan and the members of SXTH are perfectly capable of creating great tunes for these cars, as evidenced by a small handful of original adopters. But, at the end of the day, they already have an established business with a few much more popular platforms out there and servicing us and our relative "niche" vehicles is just simply not worth it to them. It's really a shame it's gotten to this point because the excitement and hype we all had to be brought into a custom tuning software was crazy at the beginning of this thread. I guess they were hoping it would be easy to throw a few canned tunes our way with a few tweaks each for $250 and call it a day but it turns out the 3.3t is a bit more complicated than that lol.

I am however grateful they allowed the EK1 to be used by our cars, as it has allowed Terry at BMS to apply his, dare I say, OG level knowledge of the Stinger/3.3t and help us out. Terry has always given our platform his full attention as well as having pride in his business and the customer service experience he provides. Now that I know he was given the ability to create his own TCU tunes, there's really no reason to use SXTH.

If I'm able to achieve low 11s in the quarter as Yves believes I'm capable of after a few tweaks (I believe him too) the EK1 + BMS combo is the best option out there bar none. $4k+ at LAP3 for a few more tenths may absolutely be worth it to some people but to maintain the ability to switch between maps on road trips and the scenarios where you don't have Ethanol access or.WMI access is absolute gold in my opinion.

Fully agree with everything stated here. I bought an OTS tune, didn't choose the custom option. And with OTS you figure it would be reliable, "safe", but not squeezing every possible HP out of your platform. I understand if you want every possible gain, go SXTH custom and pay extra.

But the off the shelf tune should at least be issue free imo. My experience hasn't been that.

If they sell Stinger tunes but they don't want to have to dial it in a bit to be "safe", they should offer a refund if it doesn't work reliably for you.

Just my opinion anyway.