VRTuned IS350 Auto Flash: Convo with Vivid Racing Owner
11-12-14, 02:54 AM
#32
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If it was proven to work I'd definitely purchase but sounds like Vivid doesn't really care about making a few more bucks (or a lot more) from all the sales they'd get from Clublexus members and others. I appreciate you took the time to contact them Stew, we'll see what comes of all this.
11-12-14, 04:06 AM
#33
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That was unprofessional conduct by the owner. It read like you were having a conversation in the youtube comment section. I will get the unit i ordered tomorrow and will debunk this "unicorn" chip , even if somehow all the stars align and it works i wont recommend any business from vivid racing after a poor display of respect of a fellow consumer.
11-12-14, 06:39 AM
#35
Yea, he is also dyno'ing the car at vivd. Who has gotten wacky dynos already, and does it in 3rd gear, and can do damage control if it doesn't work as well as planned 
I am with you 100%
1) He said if I follow the protocol and see NO gains. I have no doubt that you will see gains from this thing, otherwise they wouldn't have released it. What I doubt is that the gains will stick. For the same reason that our ECUs handle boost so well, they learn on the fly, and continue to learn once that unit is off the car, the car will continue to learn. At 80mi, I bet you'll have great gains. He'd make the argument that I did something wrong. This isn't the first time I've delt with Vivid.
2) My setup right now is intake and exhaust, and the ECU has been reset. It has no idea what was on the car since the last time it woke up. Also, that's why you have baseline dynos, for variability between cars.
3) I approached him with genuine concern, I put those things aside, and didn't even mention them until after the fact. At the end of the day, a lot of people have had bad experiences with vivid.
4) None of those seemed to be his concern, I appreciate that those could've been concerns, but it was quite clear from his responses what his concern was: It's not worth it to him.
Stew, playing devils advocate here but he did say if the tune doesn't work you can return it for a refund. Also you could put it on a CC and file a claim if it turns ugly.. you do have the conversation saved as proof that he would take it back. Also maybe the owner would more inclined to take your offer if it was a stock non modified car that hasn't been tampered with. Not to say for certain your car wouldn't be a good candidate but it does have a lot of stuff done to it, installed and removed. Since it was boosted at one time and now back to stock, there might be a lot of variables that could potentially effect the results since they/we do not know if everything was put back correctly. Maybe some incorrectly installed parts, wiring issues ect. I'm just guessing here because If I was the owner with a potential viable product, I would be a little wary also about the test car. Another thing is it does seem like you hold a certain animosity to VR from your past dealings with them, that could possibly be another black mark on why he passed the offer.
I too have access to a dynojet and my IS-F is pretty much stock except for an exhaust, I just want a definite confirmation that it's even possible with the IS-F and then it's game on. I will pay for the unit myself plus all baselines and follow-up dyno sessions.
I already baseline'd 348whp stock and 377whp with exhaust. Would be a dream if I could hit 400whp with just exhaust and a simple plug in flash. I really don't want to lose my primary cats to hit that yummy 400 mark, I enjoy hugging my kids and kissing my wife after work without smelling like gasoline. =)
I too have access to a dynojet and my IS-F is pretty much stock except for an exhaust, I just want a definite confirmation that it's even possible with the IS-F and then it's game on. I will pay for the unit myself plus all baselines and follow-up dyno sessions.
I already baseline'd 348whp stock and 377whp with exhaust. Would be a dream if I could hit 400whp with just exhaust and a simple plug in flash. I really don't want to lose my primary cats to hit that yummy 400 mark, I enjoy hugging my kids and kissing my wife after work without smelling like gasoline. =)
I am with you 100%
1) He said if I follow the protocol and see NO gains. I have no doubt that you will see gains from this thing, otherwise they wouldn't have released it. What I doubt is that the gains will stick. For the same reason that our ECUs handle boost so well, they learn on the fly, and continue to learn once that unit is off the car, the car will continue to learn. At 80mi, I bet you'll have great gains. He'd make the argument that I did something wrong. This isn't the first time I've delt with Vivid.
2) My setup right now is intake and exhaust, and the ECU has been reset. It has no idea what was on the car since the last time it woke up. Also, that's why you have baseline dynos, for variability between cars.
3) I approached him with genuine concern, I put those things aside, and didn't even mention them until after the fact. At the end of the day, a lot of people have had bad experiences with vivid.
4) None of those seemed to be his concern, I appreciate that those could've been concerns, but it was quite clear from his responses what his concern was: It's not worth it to him.
Last edited by stewb10; 11-12-14 at 06:47 AM.
, the guy is doing dyno's in Cali for before/after. He isnt local to VR. 
11-12-14, 08:35 AM
#37
Thats correct about the ISF. Dyno being done in Cali. I told him to do a redyno 200,300 or 500 miles later. Yes Its possible for gains to be seen right away...maybe even 80 miles later but people have to understand what Stew is also saying.Our ecu will relearn and reject it. If this tune was that easy....it would have been proven already. But again...your money.
11-12-14, 09:50 AM
#38
Who knows. Hopefully it works. People said you'd never get more than 40whp on a supercharger kit too. I got 105 and Mike Lucci got 112. Here soon I'll have more than that.
My mistake. Dan told me yesterday on the phone that he had a guy with an F that was paying full price AND coming back to dyno. I assumed it was the same guy.
My mistake. Dan told me yesterday on the phone that he had a guy with an F that was paying full price AND coming back to dyno. I assumed it was the same guy.
11-12-14, 10:02 AM
#39
Damn, I'm shocked by how the owner communicated with you Stew. I think he misunderstood your intention big time as if you were trying to get a free item. It is very likely that he did not read your initial email carefully. Also, it seems like he doesn't understand the IS market.
Anyways, I am still following this development. If it works out, I would definitely buy it, not 1 but 2 for IS250 and IS350
. I think this question has not been brought up yet. How does the chip affect the fuel economy?
Anyways, I am still following this development. If it works out, I would definitely buy it, not 1 but 2 for IS250 and IS350
. I think this question has not been brought up yet. How does the chip affect the fuel economy?
11-13-14, 09:59 AM
#43
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My brother-in-law warned me that this would quickly become a nasty Subaru thread. Geesh, maybe if we wanted a tuner car with similar looks/characteristics we should've kicked 5k more for a 335i. I'm just over 400 miles now and on one of my posts I noted I 'didn't hear that giving up', but it was better described by another member "heavy flywheel feeling". Maybe it's the torque converter that is working at it's full potential. Again, I'm no expert. In defense of VR and Dan they have only been good to me. He is not my friend but when doing business face to face it's always enjoyable. I could understand his reply of "I'm fine" after hearing/seeing all the skepticism. It might be more trouble than it's worth, especially since they are backing up the product. If I get it D'ed again in a week or two I bet it still wouldn't be sufficient to put this to rest. All I know is I'm still having fun with a 6+ year old car. It's like she just got a new 'rack'.
11-13-14, 11:00 AM
#44
Lexus Champion
My brother-in-law warned me that this would quickly become a nasty Subaru thread. Geesh, maybe if we wanted a tuner car with similar looks/characteristics we should've kicked 5k more for a 335i. I'm just over 400 miles now and on one of my posts I noted I 'didn't hear that giving up', but it was better described by another member "heavy flywheel feeling". Maybe it's the torque converter that is working at it's full potential. Again, I'm no expert. In defense of VR and Dan they have only been good to me. He is not my friend but when doing business face to face it's always enjoyable. I could understand his reply of "I'm fine" after hearing/seeing all the skepticism. It might be more trouble than it's worth, especially since they are backing up the product. If I get it D'ed again in a week or two I bet it still wouldn't be sufficient to put this to rest. All I know is I'm still having fun with a 6+ year old car. It's like she just got a new 'rack'.
11-13-14, 11:13 AM
#45
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