I recently purchased a B16A head which came with an ECU... I figured it was a stock PR3 ECU, but decided to crack it open and find out... I found something interesting inside the ECU... As it turns out, it is chipped! But inside the socket resides what I believe to be a real Mugen chip... I say this, only because it has a serial number, and appears to be legit... Can anyone confirm this for me? I'm honestly not even sure if there *IS* a real Mugen chip for this ECU... I did some searching the other night and couldn't come to a conclusion one way or the other... I don't plan to use it since I am staying OBD1, but still would be nice to know so I can have an idea what its worth...

 

Appears to be legit? There's several things that jump out as not legit, but the most noticeable is that it has crossed off numbers.

 

Probably due to customer request... The crossed out numbers appear to be edited values... Instead of the stock Mugen 9500 rev limit, it was probably burned with 9700 instead, aswell as the VTEC cross over being changed... But I dont know... As I said, I still cannot find out whether or not there ever WAS a PR3 Mugen chip...

But what else stands out as not being legit?

 

I'm pretty sure if it was legit Mugen could afford to print a new sticker for their customer's custom order that specified correct settings. That would also mean they printed the sticker before they even burnt the program, which means the serial number would be bull ish anyway. Does this story seem to be getting more or less legit?

 

I dunno... Still not convinced one way or the other... Being as I used to do computer repairs, Ive seen chip marker all the time mark out numbers with changed specifications and custom settings for end users... Granted your s/n theory does bring up an interesting point... But I've seen the cheap eBay chips, and they just look fake... If it is fake, someone sure went through alot to try and cover it up... Anyone else want to take a stab at it? Is there even a Mugen chip for the PR3? I guess thats my main question...


It could be plausible they already have the stickers printed up, in order by S/N and just revise as needed... Then it could be argued why not just put a line there, well if they burn 90% of their chips with a specific setting, and only 10% with custom settings, it would be feasible to just create the labels with the standard setting and mark them out as needed... Just a thought... Hope you dont think I am trying to argue, really just trying to get to the bottom of this logically...

 

I used to make custom labels (With correct values for settings mind you) for every single ECU I sold using Microsoft Word and label printing. Adding a graphic to it is super simple to do.

Mugen wouldn't use a socket so you could easily remove their chip and read it in or change to a different one.

No argument here. If you're still not seeing the logic by now, there's nothing I can say to sway you and I'm just wasting my time continuing to label things.

 

I would think it would be in Japanese if it really were mugen. Anyway, why does it matter? Even if it is from mugen, its not doing you any good like a real tune will do.

 

Specially since I wont be using it... Im mainly just curious...

 

i'd be interested in seeing screen shots of the map if you are able to pull it off.

 

if its a obd0 pr3 ecu im pretty sure its not a real mugen only caz mine looks pretty different and my ecu has the mugen sign painted on the outside. Hard to tell, my sticker is completely different.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 98vtec &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I would think it would be in Japanese if it really were mugen. Anyway, why does it matter? Even if it is from mugen, its not doing you any good like a real tune will do.</TD></TR></TABLE>
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 98vtec &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i'd be interested in seeing screen shots of the map if you are able to pull it off.</TD></TR></TABLE>
agreed.

the serial number also throws a serious red flag in my book. Tracking is important with maps, especially to the Japanese who are super **** about that sort of thing.
I'd also be suspicious if the engine and fuel pressure isn't written on the outside of the ECU as well. (serial may be there also) -- again in Japanese.