AFX Street Strip

alaskaneon · Post by **alaskaneon** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 9:38 pm

after waiting forever I finally got my afx s/s from howell (no surprise to anyone) but I've got a few concerns and I'm hoping those of you who have purchased from howell can help me out before I call gary.

Got the box in the mail. Opened it and all that was there was a wrapped up pcm. No invoice, no literature from afx, no markings on the pcm saying that it had been reflashed. Took it out for a run and cant tell a difference over my stock pcm. Here's my Q's:

Should there have been literature from afx describing what they did?

Should there be markings on the pcm saying it was reflashed (a sticker or something?)

What differences should the butt-dyno be able to tell?

Help.

I'm driving a 2001 MTX

Performance Mods: AEM Cold Air Intake; K&N Air Filter; MPX Long Tube Header (not installed yet), High Flow Cat, Borla 2.25 Catback Muffler, Gripforce F1 Racing Clutch, JDM Short Throw Shifter, Booger Bushings, AF/X Street-Strip PCM, MPX Underdrive Pulley; Prothane Motor Mount Inserts; & 8.5 Accell Wires.

nalm · Post by **nalm** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 9:42 pm

hi, i dont have one butthe picutre i seen on here awile ago did have a sticker saying howell on it ,
you could see if it will rev higher then stock to tell , im sure soemone else with one can give you some adivce

BlackRoseRacing · Post by **BlackRoseRacing** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 6:30 am

For starters it should have a decal on it static wich pcm it is and your vin...
Second, depending on the mods you have done to your ca you probably wont see to much of a gain at first.
Remember this pcm has to learn and adjust like your stock pcm does...
Also if you blurp the throttle to redline, it should cutout @ 7800-8k rpm. But I HIGHLY dont recomend doing this unless you got the magnum valvetrain or better...
When I had the AF/X R my mods were....
Flowmaster exhaust
60mm TB
UDP
Magnum intake manifold with no butterflies
Power band was much more linear Vs stock

kc2005ptgt · Post by **kc2005ptgt** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 9:12 am

yeah, best bet is to check out how high your rev limiter is, if you can get it up to 7k, that is a good sign it has been reflashed... I would still call and let him know they put nothing on the ecu stating what it was, so he knows whats up --- on a side note, one more reason NOT to use howell.

alaskaneon · Post by **alaskaneon** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 1:39 pm

Black rose wrote:

Second, depending on the mods you have done to your ca you probably wont see to much of a gain at first.

I posted my mods so you guys could give me a better idea of what to expect. I've done almost all the bolt-on mods, except my long tube isn't installed yet and I'm still running a 49mm throttle body.

Black rose & kc2002acr wrote:

Also if you blurp the throttle to redline, it should cutout @ 7800-8k rpm. But I HIGHLY dont recomend doing this unless you got the magnum valvetrain or better...

yeah, best bet is to check out how high your rev limiter is, if you can get it up to 7k, that is a good sign it has been reflashed

That was the first thing I did, after the engine was warmed up. Not sure how accurate the tach is cause I slowly took it to 8k (never done that before and probably wont again, like playing russian roullete) and let off on the gas because it didn't shut off.
Couldn't get past 110 on road test. I've been to the govener shut-off when it was stock before mods...something isn't right.

kc2005ptgt · Post by **kc2005ptgt** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 11:06 am

Did ya call em up yet?

alaskaneon · Post by **alaskaneon** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:11 pm

nope, not yet. I'm in alaska so their office closes by 1 or 2pm our time. I keep remembering to call when it's too late. Not sure what to ask...hey gary....why doesn't my computer have a sticker on it?

I was hoping after someone looked at my mods they could tell me what to realistically expect from a re-programed computer, based on their experience. i've read the write up from howell, and can't say i'm seeing noticable differences.

anyone?

anomalous0 · Post by **anomalous0** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:36 am

I haven't used an A/FX PCM but I've done an ECU upgrade on a 2.0L Jetta, which is a slower car, but the HP gain is supposed to be about the same. You can DEFINITELY tell there's a difference, equivalent to a cam upgrade or so.

BlackRoseRacing · Post by **BlackRoseRacing** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 8:57 am

Sorry, I did not see your mod list...my bad....
You are not going to notice major power like bolting on a turbo and adding 50hp...
The pcm is recalibrated to aid in more power with bolt ons like you have. You should have noticed a much smoother accel Vs stock and around 4k-4500rpm you should notice the car pulling harder than it did stock. The stock tach is pretty close at reading the rpm's, According to the DRB at 8k rpm the engine is right around 7950rpm, so its pretty accurate.
As for revving that high, dont do it without proper valvetrain upgrades or your going to have issues...
And speed limited to 110mph, thats not right since the howell pcms have no speedlimiter. Did your car make it to 110mph and just start taking forever to accel past that? or did it hit a speedlimiter causing the engine to cutout?

alaskaneon · Post by **alaskaneon** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 6:15 pm

hit 110 and stayed there. no cut out. been to 118 before with car close to stock then pcm shut er down. A couple of things could have happened. 1. I took it out for a spin no more than 20 minutes after installing it, maybe the computer hadn't had time to learn my upgrades yet? 2. I didn't really have a good place to run it through the gears to a top speed. I had a clear spot on a side road with no traffic and i took off from doing 60. We just got our first snow so I'm not sure if I'm going to get another opportunity at dry pavement until spring. Baaaaahhhh!!! Oh well. I'll install the long tube and get a 60mm tb on her over the winter. Head work is coming very soon, gotta change out the timing belt soon and while in there might as well p&p with cam, valvetrain, and deck it 30k. A Q for you guys, can a box intake be bought? and where if so?

MXer · Post by **MXer** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 7:41 am

Make sure you are running premium pump fuel. Detonation may be the reason your not noticing any gains if you are running poor fuel.
I noticed the change as soon as I installen my AFX Street/Strip PCM.

Post by **occasional demons** » Sat Oct 20, 2007 9:27 pm

MXer wrote:Make sure you are running premium pump fuel. Detonation may be the reason your not noticing any gains if you are running poor fuel.
I noticed the change as soon as I installen my AFX Street/Strip PCM.

True, If there is a more agressive spark curve, the knock sensor will prevent it fom happening if the fuel won't support it.

alaskaneon · Post by **alaskaneon** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 12:34 pm

been running premium with a botle of octane boost (+5 points) even before the new pcm...car runs so much better...

I have seen some improvements, shifting through 5k is like shifting through 3.5k before, very smooth.

Engine does sound a bit different. I'm going to get the lt header and tb installed this winter and we'll see how she runs in the spring on dry pavement. thanks guys.

kc2005ptgt · Post by **kc2005ptgt** » Sun Oct 21, 2007 1:28 pm

I box style manifold intake can be gotten from - AMM, all motor mike, PM - he is ont his board, and does monstrous work to intake mani's

I heard he is one fo the best.