Mines Ecu's

[Zebbie]

A few quick questions, if anyone knows about Mines ECU's (SK & Co?)

i) IIRC, the mines ECU's are proms? (Aka program once, read only from that point?)

Also, the PROM isn't just a standard PROM, it's a CPU & PROM? (I could easily be wrong)

ii) How long has mines been building the VX ROM? (aka the mapping can be changed by whatever method) - Anyone know any model numbers, so I can check mine...

iii) How can you change the settings in the VX ROM?

Quote from the ProSpec's UK Webby :

Mine's VX-ROM is the best seller in the aftermarket ECU products in Japan, and Mine's programmed those ECU to suit UK fuel octane of 98 RON.

.......

Programming can be continuously updated as more tuning is carried out. (for the fisrt owner of the ECU and subject to upgrade fee.)

Link : http://www.prospec-ms.co.uk/parts/mines/vxrom.html

iv) Is there anyone in aussie that can sell/upgrade the mines kit? ( Looking at the prices, it's more expensive than the PFC, but if I can put a new map on my ECU, that would be nice.... )

Any help would be appreciated....

- Zebbie

[paulr33]

you need the mines software to edit / tune / alter then maps and settings. best to sell it and switch to a locally supported ecu. the mines chip is probably tuned on jap ron fuel and their climate

[midnight]

Mines ECUs are just standard remaps.

The chips are EPROMs, and can be edited with normal software, but are usually glued down and therefore making it virtually impossible to remove the chip without destroying the chip and the ecus board.

They are pretty much useless for Australian cars, as pretty much all the ones we see here came from jap imports so they are tuned for jap fuel, and you often don't know what mods they have been tuned for.

you will make better power with a remap dyno tune to your car with its specific mods running Aussie fuel.

Edited November 13, 2005 by midnight

[paulr33]

thanks for clearing up, i thought that you had to have the mines software to be able to edit / change / view. i through they encoded the map in some form of protection. thanks

[rob82]

I read and modified my r32 GTR program that had an impul Chip in it. They had glued the EPROM onto the board. Nothing a heat gun and acetone and some time cant lift. The beauty of EPROM's is that they are the external memory source and its very easy to emulate the data. R33's use a micro that have onboard memory which means that you must lift it and read it which can destroy either the board or the micro. It also means that it is very hard to emulate though not impossible. Also the micro that they use is write once only. If the CPU has been socketed half the battle is won, PM me if you want me to have a look at the program.

And as for protecting their data - thats a load of BS they just use a standard EPROM.

[Beer Baron]

ok you are talking about 2 different things but so far people are just giving you 1 answer.

mines ECUs are just a chipped re-manufactured nissan ecu. mines puts a new eprom in and writes their map to it. they are not usually tuned 'in car'.

mines VX rom is a programmable type and can be tuned. but considering that no-one in australia supports them i can't see why you would want to go down this road?

[paulr33]

ah my bad, thanks for cleaing beer baron.

[Zebbie]

BeerB,

I was looking at is, as I already have a Mines ECU, 98 RON maps are available from the mob in the UK etc....

I know tuning would be a big issue, but going by their prices, a PFC might be a better (read cheaper) way...

I'm reading into your comments that there are two types of Mines, a fixed modded Nissan ECU, and a VXROM version, that can be tuned?

If so, I assume I have the fixed version then.... :-/

[Beer Baron]

yep, 90% of the mines ecu are just a fixed, pre-programmed ecu. they are not bad on a stock car, but often they have been tuned very rich, and very advanced in the timing which is great on a stock boost car and is quite responsive, but with more boost detonation can be a problem.

it's not really worth trying to get it re-tuned, if you want ability to tune, and re-tune then a PFC is pretty hard to go past. very reasonable price, and the hand controller is quite handy to have (no pun intended!).

[Beer Baron]

actually i think i might me wrong. I was confusing the VX rom with the new tomei ecu that are programmable, i think even the VX rom is not programmable/upgradeable it's just a new term for what used to be called the mines tuned rom.

[Beer Baron]

no i was right!

"Mine's VX-ROM Performance ECU

Basic VX-ROM is applicable from standard cars to stage one tuned cars with uprated inductions, exhausts and boost controllers.

Programming can be continuously updated as more tuning is carried out. (for the fisrt owner of the ECU and subject to upgrade fee.)"

[Zebbie]

Update to this, the chaps returned my email.... I think i'll be going PFC.....

From the Mines distributor in the UK............

The VX-ROM is not remappable. The cost of "re-mapping" it is the same as purchasing a whole new chip, which is GBP600.00 + VAT on a part exchange basis.

Mine's do not entertain inquiries regarding the contents of the map unless it's from the original purchaser himself ie. you would need an original receipt. This is to protect their intellectual rights.

OUCH!!!!! PFC it is then...... oh, the 'Part Exchange' includes your old Mines ECU....

So, that means it'll be AUD $1678, before shipping, duties etc.......

[RedDrifter]

Ok all a mines ecu is is a remapp of the standard unit.

If you wanna read the map u can use consult with the appropriate software and it can download the chips data to the laptop or pc.

I did this with my mates GTR which had a mines ecu.

As for then retuning it you better off getting your hands on another

ecu and socketing that one as the mines ecus have the eprom glued in as mentioned earlier.

[timmy94]

How is the OEM ECU to drive in Europe? Is it more safe to drive with the standard ecu than mine's?

[joshuaho96]

On 7/19/2022 at 2:03 PM, timmy94 said:

How is the OEM ECU to drive in Europe? Is it more safe to drive with the standard ecu than mine's?

Most Mine's ECUs require 100 RON. OEM ECU is a very safe tune that will be fine even with 96 RON. All bets are off if you have modified the engine substantially though.

[GTSBoy]

On 7/20/2022 at 5:03 AM, timmy94 said:

How is the OEM ECU to drive in Europe? Is it more safe to drive with the standard ecu than mine's?

I thought I would come back to this. No-one with more than 0.5 functioning brain cells has ever thought it was a good idea to use a Mine's ECU in anything at any time. They are a fool's errand.

[joshuaho96]

On 8/17/2022 at 11:55 PM, GTSBoy said:

I thought I would come back to this. No-one with more than 0.5 functioning brain cells has ever thought it was a good idea to use a Mine's ECU in anything at any time. They are a fool's errand.

There have been more than a few GTRs imported to the US where people blew up their engines running 91 AKI with a Mine's or similar Japanese chip tune. I suppose that proves the point though.

[r32-25t]

Mines ECUs: blowing up engines since 2002 

[Guilt-Toy]

Basically a mines ECU is a stock ecu remapped to suit the car it was intended for that they built in Japan for their fuel.

I am able to modify the eprom on the mines ecu and custom tune it on the Dyno to suit your application for Australian Fuel or the car you put the ECU in.

I can only do the r32 gtr and GTST & Z32 ecu with the hardware I invested in,  to do the R33 RB25 it would have cost me more money then it is worth and you should contact TOSHI to retune it for you.

At the end of the day if you have imported a Skyline from Japan with a mines ECU then it would probably be OK because the knock sensor strategy on the ecu SHOULD keep the motor alive with the different octane however performance will be compromised,  however if you have installed a mines ECU into your car to gain performance then it is only going to end up in tears or you are so lucky you probably should have bought a lottery ticket.

Think about it like this,  you buy a Haltech from a 9 second R33 gtst then put it in your near bone stock car and expect it to work and run your setup then you are really in for a bad time and a big rebuild bill.

 

www.facebook.com/tunedbyanthony 

 

 

[joshuaho96]

On 9/9/2022 at 3:48 PM, Guilt-Toy said:

Basically a mines ECU is a stock ecu remapped to suit the car it was intended for that they built in Japan for their fuel.

I am able to modify the eprom on the mines ecu and custom tune it on the Dyno to suit your application for Australian Fuel or the car you put the ECU in.

I can only do the r32 gtr and GTST & Z32 ecu with the hardware I invested in,  to do the R33 RB25 it would have cost me more money then it is worth and you should contact TOSHI to retune it for you.

At the end of the day if you have imported a Skyline from Japan with a mines ECU then it would probably be OK because the knock sensor strategy on the ecu SHOULD keep the motor alive with the different octane however performance will be compromised,  however if you have installed a mines ECU into your car to gain performance then it is only going to end up in tears or you are so lucky you probably should have bought a lottery ticket.

Think about it like this,  you buy a Haltech from a 9 second R33 gtst then put it in your near bone stock car and expect it to work and run your setup then you are really in for a bad time and a big rebuild bill.

 

www.facebook.com/tunedbyanthony 

 

 

I would not trust Mine's knock control strategies. It is a commonly known issue in the US that the Mine's ECUs, even when used correctly with the intended modifications will knock horribly on lower octane fuel and won't pull enough timing fast enough to save the engine. Many parts of the US only get ~96 RON fuel for "premium" unleaded.