HOT ROD THE VROD - 345 hp Verado Flash Tune - Sea trial

Time to crank up the boost pressure on my Verado 250 hp. 

Just got the interface cable and flash tune from Simon Motorsport in California, complete with a 300 hp tune for use on 91 RON (USA 87 Octane) standard unleaded, and a HOTROD 345 hp tune for use on 95 RON (I think I will be feeding it 98 on this tune). 

I have started with 300 hp with the current prop, will see how it goes and then prop it up and crank it to 345 hp!!!!

 

YEAH BOY!!!!!!

 

Interface cable from the States. Expensive but can be used for other Verado tune ups, just need to buy the map specific to your ECU serial number.

 

Hooked up with laptop ready to go. Choose your power. 250 hp, 300 hp or 345 hp! 5 minutes to reflash as many times as you want. 

 

Reflash in progress, more boost please! -------- VRods are electronically boost controlled and all 225-300 hp Gen2 motors are identical excpet for the boost setting and fule/ignition maps. A remap from 250 hp to 300 hp is still "stock standard", I guess a tune up to 345 hp  eats into the design contingency a bit......

 

Would you trust your VROD with this dodgy looking bloke....

____________________________________________________________________________

Boston Whaler 235 Conquest......getting the flogging it was built for.


Ryan C's picture

Posts: 1575

Date Joined: 08/07/10

boosting the Verado

Tue, 2018-06-19 06:35

 well time is money John, so the quicker you can get out there the better! 

Posts: 5800

Date Joined: 18/01/12

Can’t see photos?

Tue, 2018-06-19 08:49

 Interesting- but id think unless you change props you will gain little except it’ll give the impression of being under propped?

ie it’ll go straight to the rev limiter?

A given prop spinning 6000rpm will give same speed whether it has 250 or 300hp behind it.

Unless of course you aren’t reaching full rpm now...

____________________________________________________________________________

 Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...

 

 

The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.

Everyone's just winging it.

 

JohnF's picture

Posts: 2836

Date Joined: 07/07/10

Rob Yep, you are spot on. I

Tue, 2018-06-19 09:27

Rob

 

Yep, you are spot on. I am a little overpropped right now, so am gonna give the 300 hp tune a crack with the current prop and see if I can get max rpm, then will flash it up to 345 hp and try a 2 inch larger prop which I already have sorted out.  

____________________________________________________________________________

Boston Whaler 235 Conquest......getting the flogging it was built for.

Posts: 5800

Date Joined: 18/01/12

.

Tue, 2018-06-19 12:20

 Yeah just saw your ad for a prop.
Will be fascinated to know how it progresses!

____________________________________________________________________________

 Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...

 

 

The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.

Everyone's just winging it.

 

snuffs's picture

Posts: 140

Date Joined: 06/08/12

Interested to see how this

Wed, 2018-06-20 11:25

Interested to see how this goes. What's the estimated cost John?
Would it be beneficial/feasible on my boat?

JohnF's picture

Posts: 2836

Date Joined: 07/07/10

 John, cost for the flash

Wed, 2018-06-20 12:05

 John, cost for the flash tune (which is emailed to you once you provide them the details of your ECU serial number) is US$875 or about $1200. You can use my flash connector kit. However, the flash commector kit cost me $1000, so I would look to recoup say $200 per person who uses it to cover some of my cost. 

 

Takes all of 5 minutes to flash the ECU. 

 

I am putting on a larger 17  pitch prop tonite and will give it a run over the weekend and will report. Then you can decide if you think its worth it. 

 

Pretty bloody cheap hp if it works!

____________________________________________________________________________

Boston Whaler 235 Conquest......getting the flogging it was built for.

snuffs's picture

Posts: 140

Date Joined: 06/08/12

Thanks John, looking forward

Wed, 2018-06-20 12:43

Thanks John, looking forward to your feedback with interest.

snuffs's picture

Posts: 140

Date Joined: 06/08/12

Any idea what grade the fuel

Wed, 2018-06-20 12:51

Any idea what grade the fuel in the bowser at Hillarys marina is?

Posts: 563

Date Joined: 27/08/09

 Standard unleaded at

Wed, 2018-06-20 13:45

 Standard unleaded at Hillarys

 

Mindarie has Premium unleaded

snuffs's picture

Posts: 140

Date Joined: 06/08/12

Typical ... Hillary's Marina

Wed, 2018-06-20 13:51

Typical ... Hillary's Marina is the most expensive harbour fuel in the State and its only standard unleaded ... bugger

JohnF's picture

Posts: 2836

Date Joined: 07/07/10

 300 hp tune is fine on

Wed, 2018-06-20 17:23

 300 hp tune is fine on standard, 345hp neeed premium 95. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Boston Whaler 235 Conquest......getting the flogging it was built for.

JohnF's picture

Posts: 2836

Date Joined: 07/07/10

Ran the Verado at 300 hp on

Mon, 2018-06-25 08:50

Ran the Verado at 300 hp on Friday arvo with a larger 17 pitch prop. Mid range was better, much better economy and cruise speed up a bit, but a bit soft out of the hole. 

 

Cranked up the tune to 345 hp on Saturday. Big mid range improvement where it matters, comfortable and economic cruise increased from 23 knots to 28 knots, fuel burn noticably better. Top speed increased by 3 knots without trimming and a big fuel laod, I think I will get an another two knots when fully trimmed in flat water. 

 

We ended up running home at 30-32 knots, motor just purred along at 4800-5000 rpm, much less stressed than the standard 250 tune and 15 pitch prop. 

 

I think it was worth while. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Boston Whaler 235 Conquest......getting the flogging it was built for.

Posts: 4578

Date Joined: 01/02/10

 What does the 235 weigh

Mon, 2018-06-25 09:02

 What does the 235 weigh John? 

____________________________________________________________________________

Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?

gruntre69's picture

Posts: 533

Date Joined: 15/10/16

 That's interesting. Changing

Mon, 2018-06-25 11:34

 That's interesting. Changing mine down from 17P to the 15P and I notice it's much snappier out of the hole with a slight tendancy tfor the prop to slip partway through the launch. I actually think my cruise speed is similar but top speed down maybe 2 kn. WOT up from 5250 to 5700ish. Haven't had time to check out my fuel figures across RPM and trim range yet but will add it to the 17P spreadsheet and compare soon.

Seems the smaller prop give more grunt at launch and slightly less top speed. Top speed isn't that important to me. 

____________________________________________________________________________

 Marine trimmer NOR (available for clears, tops, carpet, upholstery, custom equipment covers)

JohnF's picture

Posts: 2836

Date Joined: 07/07/10

 235 is chubby and its 25.2

Mon, 2018-06-25 12:27

 235 is chubby and its 25.2 ft overall length, so a big 23.5 fter.....hull motor and a bit of fuel is 2.5 t, up near 3.5 t with trailer and full fuel. It also has 3 fairing based transducers hanging below the hull which does not help top speed.......but helps catch fish!

____________________________________________________________________________

Boston Whaler 235 Conquest......getting the flogging it was built for.

Posts: 4578

Date Joined: 01/02/10

 Sounds like a good result.

Mon, 2018-06-25 13:08

 Sounds like a good result. Might be an option for my new rig. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?

snuffs's picture

Posts: 140

Date Joined: 06/08/12

Hi Guys, thought I would

Tue, 2018-07-10 11:43

Hi Guys, thought I would provide an update for those interested.

Following on from John's update on increased performance on his Boston 235 Conquest post flash tune, I got in touch with Simon MotorSports in California to see what they could do for my Boston 255 Conquest.

My boat had twin 150HP Verado motors, which to date I have been pretty happy with, but some extra guts on acceleration would not have gone astray. So I went forward with ordering the flash tunes. My twin 150'HP had the option of being flashed to either twin 200Hp's or twin 225HP's. Due to Hillary's Marina only stocking standard unleaded (not premium) I was limited to the twin 200HP setup.

After a shaky start where the software on my laptop wouldn't copy into the Verado ECU's without error's (minor panic at this stage), the guys at Simon MotorSports talked me through it, and a change of laptop and re-install resolved the issue. End result, 5 minutes later, TWIN 200HP installed!!!

Took it for a test run on the weekend ... end result is a completely different boat (really pleased). Very noticeable increase in acceleration and mid range speed. Not a huge change in top end speed, maybe another 3 knots to 37 knots (but will test again in a few weeks time once I get the boat anti-fouled as there is some growth on it at present).

Was warming myself up on having to outlay cash to upgrade both prop's, but was pleasantly surprised (mainly due to being over propped before) that my existing prop's are suitable for the job post flash tune. WOT RPM's sitting about circa 5950-6000 RPM's pre antifoul (Verado recommended 5800-6400 RPM range).

Thanks John F for the help on the install and use of the flash tool.

Cheers

JohnF's picture

Posts: 2836

Date Joined: 07/07/10

 Good outcome John.  Thanks

Wed, 2018-07-11 08:27

 Good outcome John. 

 

Thanks for the little bonus in the envelope! I owe you a beer at the MAAC!

____________________________________________________________________________

Boston Whaler 235 Conquest......getting the flogging it was built for.

Posts: 5800

Date Joined: 18/01/12

 One thing I'm curious about,

Wed, 2018-07-11 12:13

 One thing I'm curious about, is why don't Merc (and many other manufacturers) lock their ECUs like Toyota does on some engines,preventing remaps? 

It's great that they don't but I'm not sure why they wouldn't?

____________________________________________________________________________

 Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...

 

 

The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.

Everyone's just winging it.

 

JohnF's picture

Posts: 2836

Date Joined: 07/07/10

 They all lock their ECUs 

Wed, 2018-07-11 12:57

 They all lock their ECUs  Its just that there are smarter guys out their bith a big set of skelton keys......

 

BMW have way more financial clout than Mercury and they lock all their ECU's, but they have all been able to be broken and their turbo 6 engines (N54/N55/S55) are a tuners delite. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Boston Whaler 235 Conquest......getting the flogging it was built for.

Posts: 5800

Date Joined: 18/01/12

 Yes, surprising though that

Wed, 2018-07-11 16:00

 Yes, surprising though that as far as I know Toyotas 1HD-FTE ECU has been unable to be remapped and it probably receives more attention for performance than most 4WD diesels over a much longer period?
Given its an 18yr old engine at least, I expected the encryption would have long been commonly available?

Also why, if Toyota have what appears to be secure etchnology, they dont use it on ALL their ECU's?
I stress that I dont have any experience on this side of tuning but am quite curious about this aspect of it

____________________________________________________________________________

 Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...

 

 

The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.

Everyone's just winging it.

 

JohnF's picture

Posts: 2836

Date Joined: 07/07/10

I have recently flashed my

Thu, 2018-07-12 17:03

I have recently flashed my Landrover Disco from 140 to 168 kW, huge difference. Tows the fat arse Whaler much better and even the missus recons its heaps better to pick up the kids from soccer training.....  

 

Flashed the Verado from 250 to 345 hp...happy days!!!! 

 

About to flash a Beemer 3L twin turbo from 320 to 400 hp at the wheels.....yeah boi. 

 

Will I have a garage floor full of broken conrods and piston bits soon...maybe, but I am having much more fun while it lasts!  

 

____________________________________________________________________________

Boston Whaler 235 Conquest......getting the flogging it was built for.

JohnF's picture

Posts: 2836

Date Joined: 07/07/10

Looks like the 200 series can be done.....

Thu, 2018-07-12 17:07

 ECUWest, first again to communicate with the 200 series Toyota Twin Turbo Land Cruiser using Alientechs Tuning gear. Then first again collaborating with our expert dealers (Brett West – APE Adelaide) over the phone, whatsapp, Skype and Teamviwer, 100’s oof hours developing the best tuning options utilizing the state of the art Mainline 4WD Dyno. Sounding a bit repetitive lately do we? We we don’t care!

We know all you torque fiends out there would love another 200 Nm of torque to tow your Christmas armada around the best country on Earth – check out the results below. This is a stock vehicle and would drive just like your stock vehicle does now – just twice as good whilst using less fuel. Gains would obviously improve with 3″ TBE etc

$1200.00 for flash only or $1550 – $1600 for flash and dyno time.

200 Series 4.5DTT ECUWEST Tuning

____________________________________________________________________________

Boston Whaler 235 Conquest......getting the flogging it was built for.

Posts: 4578

Date Joined: 01/02/10

 They have been doing the 200

Thu, 2018-07-12 17:42

 They have been doing the 200 series for a few years. Getting some pretty good numbers out of them.

Few around doing the 100 series fte’s as well. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?

Posts: 5800

Date Joined: 18/01/12

 I stand corrected then!I was

Thu, 2018-07-12 17:57

 I stand corrected then!

I was under the impression (and it doesn't seem common knowledge) that the 1HDFTE could only be done with an add on such as Safari, Unichip

etc

____________________________________________________________________________

 Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...

 

 

The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.

Everyone's just winging it.

 

gruntre69's picture

Posts: 533

Date Joined: 15/10/16

 Interesting, I'll soon be

Thu, 2018-07-12 18:27

 Interesting, I'll soon be towing my boat to QLD and I'm tempted to get my 200 reflashed before I leave. Does anybody know if the transmission mapping is included in the remap. I've heard the tranny and engine are controlled by one ECU on the 200. The tranny control on my 2010 is rubbish and it would be great to kill two birds with one stone..

____________________________________________________________________________

 Marine trimmer NOR (available for clears, tops, carpet, upholstery, custom equipment covers)

Posts: 6265

Date Joined: 26/04/14

 give reaper performance

Thu, 2018-07-12 18:43

 give reaper performance diesel a call, they have all the info you'll ever need.

 

https://www.facebook.com/ReaperPerformanceDiesel/

Posts: 4578

Date Joined: 01/02/10

 Or toyotune. They are a 200

Thu, 2018-07-12 18:50

 Or toyotune. They are a 200 specialist workshop. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?

Stevo81's picture

Posts: 1278

Date Joined: 16/04/12

 +1 for ToyoTune

Thu, 2018-07-12 19:17

 +1 for ToyoTune

____________________________________________________________________________

                                   ••••••••  Electrical Contractor NOR  ••••••••

snuffs's picture

Posts: 140

Date Joined: 06/08/12

I chipped my Nissan Patrol 3

Fri, 2018-07-13 08:18

I chipped my Nissan Patrol 3 litre turbo diesel about 3 years ago. Huge difference in acceleration and overtaking speed. I have never looked back.

Bradg10's picture

Posts: 19

Date Joined: 13/07/14

If anyone is interested in

Mon, 2018-07-16 13:52

If anyone is interested in flashing the ECU on a 4.2l V6 Yamaha this is also possible to do.  I have done my 225 with a ECU tune from Nizpro Marine, they have a few different options for tuning including putting a supercharger on them if you want to go to 450Hp!!!

The process is relatively simple to do and fully reversible as you download and save your current tune before putting on the new one.

I went with the 320hp option which needs to be run on 95 unleaded and am very happy with the results, way more power all round if you want to use it and at my cruise speed of 45kph using about 15% less fuel.  Cost is just under $900 for the tune and $600 for the cable/box, so fairly cheap horsepower.  Cost of a higher pitch prop could also be a factor, I went from a 17" to 19".

I was fairly comfortable doing the upgrade with my 225 as the mechanicals of the 225, 250 and 300 seem the same from my research.

Cable is available for hire for cash or beer if your anywhere near Broome.

Cheers

Brad

 

Posts: 3

Date Joined: 31/01/19

 interesting results . Might

Mon, 2019-02-11 13:55

 interesting results . Might be time to flash the 250 verado's on the conquest 305

 

 

Josh's picture

Posts: 283

Date Joined: 14/09/10

 Has any smaller motors been

Sun, 2019-02-17 16:06

 Has any smaller motors been flashed? I have a Yamaha 115 which could do with a few more horses? 

black gen's picture

Posts: 762

Date Joined: 13/04/11

I’d be keen to hear on the

Tue, 2019-03-12 21:46

I’d be keen to hear on the smaller range too 

have a 130 myself