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Comparison of Power Commander 5 to Monster ECU stage 1 or stage 2 flash

Two (approx 1") holes drilled in your air box air filter lid. Just send it in with the ECU. Oxygen is the powerhouse. So, more Oxy in, more burnt Oxy out = more HP. Remember the comments about the throttle plates opening 100%? Currently, you're carb compliant. If you go stage 2 you will no longer pass smog. That's the only downside. However Wick-it. can put you back to OEM specs if needed. You'll have to contact them for more info regarding reset to OEM. (One week turnaround.) As for 91 grade fuel. I carry two small bottles of Boostane and the mix ratio is approx 1/2oz to 1, very very small.

That may be the way I have to go, since the Commander V seems to be out of stock.

Great info. Thanks.
 
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Peter Aawen, I'm thoroughly enjoying your comments and trashing of my excuses. Just what I need to stop dithering...almost.

What are the air box mods required of the Stage 2?

I like the idea of being able to select 'modes' as with the Dynojet, and being able to use lower octane fuels when the 91 isn't available00 (which is often the case in the rural areas of the West). Control is good, to my way of thinking.

So, any thoughts on Stage 2 vs Dynojet?

My ECU Upgrade from Rotax Racing did entail removing the restrictive air box & swapping in a better air filter too, plus a cat delete, and improving the secondary muffler, but then it isn't necessarily as limited as Monster's Stages 1 or 2, and yet I can still use lower octane fuel if that's all that's available - and there's vast areas of this Country where I frequently go traveling that are so afflicted! :lecturef_smilie:

The engine still runs fine on the lower octane juice, but I was briefed about it and so am very aware that it truly IS a high compression, high performance motor that behaves at its best when fed on higher octane gas.... so if I have no choice but to use it I simply don't push it as hard when running on the lesser stuff here, 91 RON, as I can & do on our 95 RON (which is my usual choice over the lower 91 or higher 98 RON - the high stuff I really only ever run on the track, it's that much more expensive & just not such a big enough improvement as to warrant running it anywhere else! :rolleyes: ) So yeah, outright performance does take a little hit & I don't get quite the best fuel economy either, cos it too takes a hit as the octane drops, but those hits really only bring it back closer towards into line with the stock motor's performance & fuel economy anyway, so I haven't really 'lost' too much, especially considering that those wide open spaces aren't really all that conducive to exploring the limits of engine performance, Spyder handling, & Ryder skill anyway! :banghead:

As for the control you think a DynoJet will bring you, I've got all that & then some courtesy of my brain and my right hand & wrist, despite the numerous surgeries on both... :p . I can be happily tooling along achieving the best that Economy can offer, then at the merest whim I can switch to full on Sport Plus mode or anywhere in between, all far faster than anyone can fumble around changing their settings on a control or via an app! And there's never any need to turn it off or disconnect & remove it for servicing or anything either! It's virtually indetectable, even to people searching for it; it's never going to be accidentally lost or over-written; and even the most discerning of Spyder Techs have been unable to find &/or say anything but that my Spyder is far & away the best performing Spyder they've ever seen/worked on, and that's even with the raised Red Line/Rev Limit! All within the 'known safe parameters' of this engine as run in other platforms too! :ohyea:

Why anyone would bother with anything less than this, like with a Power Commander of a DynoJet is really beyond me - my ECU Upgrade has made my Spyder the bike it SHOULD have been from the outset, and it's an absolute joy to ryde at any time, whatever the conditions! It does what I want when I want it to, and it's got the legs for touring Oz without breaking the bank, even if I do decide to enjoy punting it thru the twisties every now & then, scaring all the mortals on their puny machines when I do! :roflblack:

Go on, Get the Damn ECU Upgrade! :p . You know you're going to eventually, or you'll be asking yourself why you bloody well didn't until you eventually shuffle off this mortal coil, a disappointed & bitter shadow of the man you could have been but for the will to commit to something you clearly want!! ! :opps:
 
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Peter Aawen, I'm thoroughly enjoying your comments and trashing of my excuses. Just what I need to stop dithering...almost.

What are the air box mods required of the Stage 2?

I like the idea of being able to select 'modes' as with the Dynojet, and being able to use lower octane fuels when the 91 isn't available (which is often the case in the rural areas of the West). Control is good, to my way of thinking.

So, any thoughts on Stage 2 vs Dynojet?

Thread killer when I comment, but here it goes. I was a primary tester for both the stage 1&2 Monster flashes. Stage 2 has more of everything good over stage 1. The Dyno shows about a 22% increase across the board from idle to redline over stock. So if the nanny did kick in it was hard to notice as you have 22% more power going on. There is a hand held programmer from Monster Fuel that mates to just one spyder. You can scroll between stock, stage 1 and stage 2.

There is much more to the monster flash than just power and torque adjustment. No need for a pedal commander as the flash lets you choose how much quick throttle kick you want. Trust me, this feature alone is worth the ticket. And the annoying screen delay that requires you to push the ECO button before start up is gone. Turn the key and press start just like it should be. And, much more wheel spin is allowed by the nanny with the stage 2 flash.
I could smoke the rear tire at will in 1st and often 2nd gear.
 
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Two things Dennis if I may? 1. Why, if it's not working as intended, does Monster want to open up the airbox? 2. Why does Monster recommend NOT using any fuel less than 91? They say to not exceed 30MPH if you are unable to get 91 or not able to add an octane boost to the fuel.
 
I'll have to ask Monster, but I was thinking of opening up the air box a little more if it would help. As far as 91 vs 87 goes, it's the pinging that you don't hear which causes the damage. It occurs over time.
 
Hi Dennis,
Curious as to where you were able to get your Spyder dyno'd ?
 
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I've decided on the Stage 2 ecu flash from Wick-It. I sent off my ecu 5 days ago and just got word it's on the way back. With Stage 2 I understand from various sources that for best performance there needs to be greater cold air flow into the engine air box and freer flowing exhaust. For the latter I'll be removing the cat converter and installing a straight pipe.

For more cold air intake, Wick-It will be drilling 2 holes in the air filter cap. This works because that cap is near where ambient air is drawn into the bike via the air vent below the mirror on my 2014 RT. Since I previously installed the 2013 air scoop kit, there should now be plenty of cool air flow through the filter cap, the air filter and directly to the intake manifold, as seen in the attached photos.

In the first photo, we're looking straight down. The airbox snorkel can be seen slightly poking out from the left frunk panel at the center left. The opening for the air filter is in the bottom right of the photo.
 

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Now with some 1/16" plastic sheeting, a pair of sheet metal snips, and a heat gun you could configure a baffle to capture and direct all the incoming air into the filter area.

:yes: :yes:
 
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Hi Pete,
Put the air filter under the cap and see how much air flow space there is???

Lew L
 
Hi Pete,
Put the air filter under the cap and see how much air flow space there is???

Lew L

It might not be much improvement Lew, or maybe just not as much as you'd expect from just looking at the size/placement of the holes in the lid, but those Stage II type ECU Upgrades sure don't work as well without an inlet air flow improvement, and that one seems to do it! :dontknow: :shocked:
 
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Hi Pete, Put the air filter under the cap and see how much air flow space there is??? Lew L

Quite a bit, Lew, since the lid isn't completely square to the cylinder.

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Drill a hole in the sides of the longer hold-down support and you should get more air. Don't make them too big or it will weaken the hold-down support. Or design a new cover out of metal that's not as restrictive? It would be interesting to know what the CFM intake is on that 1330 at various RPMs. Maybe that's why they recommend K&N.
 
Drill a hole in the sides of the longer hold-down support and you should get more air. Don't make them too big or it will weaken the hold-down support. Or design a new cover out of metal that's not as restrictive? It would be interesting to know what the CFM intake is on that 1330 at various RPMs. Maybe that's why they recommend K&N.

I'll consider that if needed. First, I want to check it out as is.
 
I can tell you that the holes make a difference. I don't have a Stage II flash, but I have a DJ PV3 with custom mapping. My first mapping was done with the stock air filter cover with a K&N filter. After awhile, I removed the lid cover and drilled out the (2) 1" holes. When riding like this, my bike farted/popped on decel. It stopped when I taped over the holes. I data logged/mapped for a second tune with the open cover/Two Bros exhaust. All popping/farting stopped.
 
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