The ORIGINAL VR4 Clone™ ECU!!!

[99 vr4]

The ORIGINAL VR4 Clone™ ECU!!!

I am proud to offer the VR4 Clone™ ECU!!!!

This was started way back in late 2009 when we first discovered that there are flashable ECUs out there.

With lots of work from the likes of Gatecrasher and Ceddy from the EVO community, the reverse engineering began. Since then I have been modifying and testing ECUs in the hopes to offer a SOLID VR4 Replacement ECU. And others such as Monochrome (aka Greg E) have taken up the task of completing a viable ROM to replace the stock ROM.

After a long time in testing to ensure that this is a 100% COMPLETE VR4 ECU, I am proud to offer the VR4 Clone™ ECU!

These are professionally remanufactured ECUs that have gone through an extensive process:

• First every incoming ECU is tested to ensure that it is working.
  
  
  
  
  
• Then the ECU has the conformal coating completely stripped with an approved conformal coating stripper, not brake cleaner, acetone, or alcohol.
  
  The proper selection of a conformal coating stripper is CRITICAL to prevent damage to the printed wiring board substrates or other components.
  
  
• Then the ECU is examined under 10x power for surface contaminations, corrosion, and dendrites! Far too often on Mitsubishi ECUs, I have encountered extensive corrosion, dendrite growth & flux residues from flux that is not fully activated. Additionally, extensive flux residue can be found on almost ALL Mitsubishi ECUs. This can and will cause problems over time if not properly removed and reworked.
  
  Here is an example of flux residue that has crept under the conformal coating and caused massive amounts of corrosion:
  
  
  
  
  Here is a close up of corrosion on an injector driver final drive circuit. This is all sorts of bad!
  
  
  
  
  And even more corrosion pictures:
  
  Corrosion 02
  Corrosion 03
  Corrosion 05
  
  Typically corrosion looks as if there is a discoloration in the conformal coating, sometimes white, sometimes rust colored. Additionally, the conformal coating can have particles trapped in it along with the flux residue. This is because of improper washing at the factory.
  
  Dendrites are caused by the moisture trapped in the flux and wicking under the conformal coating. The moisture dissolves small particles of metal into a solution of metal ions which then are redistributed by electro migration in the presence of an electromagnetic field, i.e. electric current. After time, these small dendrites can and sometimes do turn into full blown corrosion.
  
  For more information on dendrites and corrosion, you can check out the Foresite website.
  
  
• After the ECU is examined and any rework that is required is performed, the ECU is converted to the VR4 Specification. During this process, parts are removed and parts are inserted depending on the circuit.
  
  Only BRAND NEW parts are used!
  
  We do not use parts that are scrapped off of other ECUs for this process.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The one and only capacitor, which is WAY beyond its design life of 2000 hours, is replaced BEFORE it can leak and damage the ECU. If you drove your car 1 hour a day, five days a week, 50 weeks a year (assuming you park it for vacation two weeks a year) your engine is running 250 hours a year. Considering that the 1999 is now 13 years old, thats 3250 hours! For most daily drivers, this is very underestimated!
  
  Correction 05/25/2012
  Mitsubishi used a Nichicon General Purpose 47 µF 50 V (180mA Ripple) Surface Mount Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor. This part has a design life of 2000 hours continuous use at 105°C. This temperature can easily be obtained internally to the capacitor by a continuous ripple current greater than 180mA. This results in "soft doming" or "bulging" of the top of the capacitor which is an indicator of a pending failure. For more information on capacitor failures, you can check out the Consoles5 Wiki.
  
  
• Additionally, an additional capacitor is added to help protect against voltage and current ripple. This additional capacitor normally exists only on the DOHC SL ECU to help combat the extra current draw of the variable intake plenum actuators.
  
  
• The finished product goes through even more electrical testing and is certified to be a 100%VR4 ECU!
  
  
  
  
  
• Once final testing is done, the ECU is cleaned of all flux residues and re-conformal coated. The ECU is the re-packaged in an appropriate case and labeled with a part number and a warranty seal.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Lastly the stock Mitsubishi ROM is flashed to the ECU before delivery.

All ECUs are covered by our extensive 1 yr Clone Warranty.

The VR4 Clone™ ECU FAQ can be found here:
VR4 Clone ECU FAQ v1.0.pdf

The VR4 Clone™ ECU Conversion FAQ can be found here:
VR4 Clone ECU Conversion FAQ v1.1.pdf

PRICING

For pricing and ordering information, please go to Ordering

[99 vr4]

FAQ

• What do I need to flash tune?
  
  • You need a harness adapter.
  • You will need an appropriate ECU.
  • You will need a Tactrix 2.0 cable. Version 1.3 WILL NOT WORK.
  • You will need a copy of ECUFlash.
  • You will need a copy of EVOScan.
  • You will need a laptop (or other car computer) to run the software on and flash your ECU from.
  
  
  
• I already bought an adapter harness from you. Can I still get the ECU for the package price?
  
  YES YOU CAN! As long as you use the same PayPal account as you did when you bought the harness, I will give you the same package discount. Just PM me and I will shoot you a price!
  
  
• Does this come with the brackets to just bolt in?
  
  Unfortunately, No. Even though this is GUARANTEED TO BE 100% VR4, we are talking about the electronics inside, not the outside case. Even a Ralli Art EVO ECU only comes with the black plastic shell and no metal brackets.
  
  Every METAL housed ECU will come with a bracket-less metal case.
  
  Every PLASTIC housed ECU will come without the metal bracket.
  
  
• Which ECU's do you modify?
  
  The list of ECUs that are modified is really not important. In reality there are 10 or 12 ECUs that are candidates for this process. The only thing that we look for is that the same revision of Printed Circuit Board is used in the ECU. From there the final product is GUARANTEED TO BE 100% VR4!!
  
  
• What are the differences between a 1998 and 1999 ECU?
  
  There are very little differences in the 1998 vs. 1999 version of the ECU. Technically, besides the case (metal vs. plastic), the 1999 ECU is missing some developmental programming circuitry which allows direct access to the CPU independent of the OBDII port. Also the 1999 ECU has additional line level resistors on the inputs to the CPU to help safeguard against someone applying voltage to a signal pin so that you don't burn out the CPU.
  
  
• Can I specify a metal or plastic case or a 1998 or 1999 ECU?
  
  If someone REALLY wants a 1999 plastic case or a 1998 metal cased ECU, then there will be an additional $25 charge.
  
  
• Do you offer options like some others?
  
  No there are no options. In reality, because these are GUARANTEED TO BE 100% VR4, there is no need to offer options.
  
  
• Is there anything that will not work?
  
  Again, since this is GUARANTEED TO BE 100% VR4, everything from the fuel tank pressure differential sensor, to the EVAP Purge and EVAP Vent will work IF you have the sensors and solenoids to support them. This is a 100% ELECTRICAL CLONE of a 1998 or 1999 3000GT VR4 ECU! In fact if you pop open the case, you would not be able to differentiate that this started out as a something other than a VR4 ECU.
  
  
• Will you modify my ECU or can I send in a core?
  
  At this time, we are not taking "cores" nor are we modifying a customer’s ECU. The problem lies in the fact that we cannot guarantee that condition of the ECU before we get it if it is customer supplied. We purchase all of our ECUs from a nationwide core warehouse so that we can guarantee the quality of the ECU.
  
  
• Will you pre-flash another ROM for me?
  
  At this time I am only flashing the stock ROM to the ECU. I do, however, recommend that you talk to Monochrome (aka Greg E) about his Chrome ROM.
  
  
  Chrome your Clone!
  
  
  
• How can you be the original when someone else is already selling these?
  
  The reverse engineering process started back in 2009 when I first met with Ceddy and started working with Gatecrasher on the XML files. Then in Early 2010 I started the process with the ECUs and it was not long after that several of my engineering samples were in vehicles around St Louis being tested. By late 2011 almost all of the components had been identified and by Feb 2012 full VR4 ECUs were being manufactured and stockpiled waiting for this launch date! Just as with any other top notch manufacturer, I refused to release beta units to the public.
  
  
• Out of curiosity, what are the specifications and life expectancy of the newly installed capacitors?
  
  UPDATED 05/25/2012
  Panasonic V Series TG Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor. Rated at 47 µF 50 V (221 mA Ripple) and 2000 hours at 125°C. Life in the operational environment is dictated by the Law of Arrhenius, which dictates that the capacitor life is a function of temperature and DC voltage. As a rule of thumb, the life doubles for each 10°C lower operating temperature.
  
  When deciding on a replacement capacitor, many factors had to be taken into account including the ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance) and the impedance. Additionally there was a limitation on the physical size of the capacitor.

[CoopKill]

I am in, You will have my PayPal by Monday! Tell me you did not ship the cable yet, lol. Save on shipping together!

Thanks for all the work all of you guys have done. This is huge for the platform!

Greg you will be getting some love as well, very soon...

[99 vr4]

LOL . . . I have it your cable ready . . . I thought . . . hmmm he is right . . . so I didn't ship it so I can send it in one box. I will be sending you some other goodies for your extra patience!

[green-lantern]

About time Brett! Congrats, you should sell many.

[chansigril]

thought this might be coming soon, congratulations on getting it out there!

out of curiosity, what are the specifications and life expectancy of the newly installed capacitors?

[Jimvr4]

seriously considering getting this.

[xwire]

bout time

[99 vr4]

thought this might be coming soon, congratulations on getting it out there!

out of curiosity, what are the specifications and life expectancy of the newly installed capacitors?

Added to the FAQ above!

[whitedragon]

These look really nice, good work Brett.