Anyone Here Get Their 2.5T Tuned Yet?

MLC LS1

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2017 Mazda CX-9
Hey all,
I just got my 17 GT AWD last week and I love it. Being the gear head that I am, one of the things I looked at before buying was the availability of tuning options for the car once I get towards the end of my warranty. Right now all I can come up with is Orange Virus Tuning, but it seems there aren't any credible reviews out for their tunes on our motor just yet. Add to it the fact that the tune with the handheld tuner is $800, I'd be hesitant to purchase it. So this begs the question, anyone have any tuning options or have their 2.5T motor tuned? Alot of the Ecoboost guys are running tunes on their 3.5s and 2.7s and what not and they're showing good power gains with solid reliability, so I'm wondering if the same options exist for Mazda. Any thoughts are appreciated.

Mike
 
Why mess with something that has been tuned by engineers with vast experience? Get an old "rod", and tweak that. Modern cars are not designed for that.
 
I got a C5 Corvette too, I just thought I'd get a little more juice out of this 2.5T. The factory PCM dials boost way back after 3k RPM, it would be nice to have it pull all the way to redline.
 
Hmmm...That would interesting. Is there a wear and tear issue with that sort of mod on a turbo (i.e. it will break), or just mileage/emission/etc? That would certainly make it more zoomy.
 
It's doubtful these options exists yet. Orange Virus seems to have found a niche in the Skyactiv market but their experience, AFAIK, is predominantly on NA applications, namely the 3 and 6. If somebody offers up their engine for some beta tuning/logging, maybe they'll work up a discount for their services. But they perhaps also have to "crack" the ECU. I haven't paid much attention to the tuning scene though. Check out the 3 and 6 sections of this forum and others to research their credibility and reliabilty. It isn't likely to get anybody else (a la Cobb) to do it until Mazda expands the market a tad by placing that engine into other models.
 
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It's doubtful these options exists yet. Orange Virus seems to have found a niche in the Skyactiv market but their experience, AFAIK, is predominantly on NA applications, namely the 3 and 6. If somebody offers up their engine for some beta tuning/logging, maybe they'll work up a discount for their services. But they perhaps also have to "crack" the ECU. I haven't paid much attention to the tuning scene though. Check out the 3 and 6 sections of this forum and others to research their credibility and reliabilty. It isn't likely to get anybody else (a la Cobb) to do it until Mazda expands the market a tad by placing that engine into other models.

Unless this motor ends up in a more performance oriented vehicle, I don't see aftermarket companies investing their resources into tuning this engine.
 
I got a C5 Corvette too, I just thought I'd get a little more juice out of this 2.5T. The factory PCM dials boost way back after 3k RPM, it would be nice to have it pull all the way to redline.

Not sure if it is the PCM or a physical limitation of the turbo itself. My impression is that the turbo is pretty small which cuts down on the lag and gives great low end torque. But, past 3 or 4k, it is probably out of its peak efficiency range and blowing lots of hot air. I haven't seen the actual CFM specs of the turbo anywhere, but it wouldn't surprise me if it is tiny.
 
It's doubtful these options exists yet. Orange Virus seems to have found a niche in the Skyactiv market but their experience, AFAIK, is predominantly on NA applications, namely the 3 and 6. If somebody offers up their engine for some beta tuning/logging, maybe they'll work up a discount for their services. But they perhaps also have to "crack" the ECU. I haven't paid much attention to the tuning scene though. Check out the 3 and 6 sections of this forum and others to research their credibility and reliabilty. It isn't likely to get anybody else (a la Cobb) to do it until Mazda expands the market a tad by placing that engine into other models.

Well this was announced last year on their Facebook page:

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That Orange place mentioned above has tuning packages but it's pretty pricey if I remember correctly.

Also mail order tunes are hit or miss. You have a Vette so you know dyno tuning is the more accurate way of making power.

I agree the 2.5L Turbo under performs sorta, it has to pull some weight so. Use 93 octane and Mazda claims it makes more power.
 
I saw Orange Virus' tune on their FB page. As for dyno tuning, I am aware that it is the best way to go. The handheld tuners also allow owners to datalog their cars and report back to the tuners so they can alter as needed if they see the A/F is off or timing needs to be adjusted, etc. I'm pretty sure Orange Virus has that capability. Just wasn't sure if anybody else had an alternative tune. I'll run this car stock until I get near the end of the warranty, maybe by then there will be some viable options with proven reviews.
 
That Orange place mentioned above has tuning packages but it's pretty pricey if I remember correctly.

Also mail order tunes are hit or miss. You have a Vette so you know dyno tuning is the more accurate way of making power.

I agree the 2.5L Turbo under performs sorta, it has to pull some weight so. Use 93 octane and Mazda claims it makes more power.

As they said it was designed for everyday driving hence most of its power is in the lower half of the rev range. Still does alright
 
I wonder why the boost is limited to the lower RPM range, maybe heat soak? Or fuel economy? Or not enough spring pressure for the intake valves? Its actually more stressful on pistons/rods/crank to make hp at lower rpm..
 
I wonder why the boost is limited to the lower RPM range, maybe heat soak? Or fuel economy? Or not enough spring pressure for the intake valves? Its actually more stressful on pistons/rods/crank to make hp at lower rpm..

because this engine is designed around daily driving. Mazda researched that the average driver never goes past 4500RPM, so they focused on making lots of torque in the low-end which in terms improves efficiency since you do not have the rev the engine so hard.

turbo engines purposely run rich at high RPM which dulls power delivery in the top end in order to cool the motor and protect it from the heat of the turbo. they don't like making power at high RPM unless you're running a massive turbo, which is not what mazda was going for by using small turbos to emphasize on the mid-range.
 
I wonder why the boost is limited to the lower RPM range, maybe heat soak? Or fuel economy? Or not enough spring pressure for the intake valves? Its actually more stressful on pistons/rods/crank to make hp at lower rpm..

Because they said most driving is done at low speeds hence better to give boost there rather than much higher up in the rpm range
 
The cx9 isn't a sports car and isn't designed to give that kind of performance, although the way it is designed the cx9 excels in the way it behaves in the city, highway and ur favourite mountain road, just don't rev it over 4500, ... now.. a tunning chip will be amazing, I'm sure the engine can handle the stress and the extra hp over the 4500 mark will make a whole difference .. but .. what about the transmission? 380lb of torque isn't an easy thing to handle ..
 
Don't know the figures regarding maximum torque the 6 speed can handle but could be a factor
 
The cx9 isn't a sports car and isn't designed to give that kind of performance, although the way it is designed the cx9 excels in the way it behaves in the city, highway and ur favourite mountain road, just don't rev it over 4500, ... now.. a tunning chip will be amazing, I'm sure the engine can handle the stress and the extra hp over the 4500 mark will make a whole difference .. but .. what about the transmission? 380lb of torque isn't an easy thing to handle ..

We would need to see some figures. I believe it is an Aisin transmission but Im not sure. Mazda tunes their new units well which plays a big factor in how much torque it can accept.

Now if the internals of the transmission can handle the added power, all you would need is to find a transmission remap which is very important whenever you are pushing big power with an ECU tune.

A good transmission remap will completely alter the responsiveness of an already good transmission and quicken up shifts especially at full throttle.

Now an ECU tune, with a transmission remap and a shorter final drive ratio (lets just pretend you can change that on an AWD car) and it would be properly quick..
 
It's not an Aisin transmission. It's a SKYACTIV-Drive 6-speed.

Correct, in house transmission

The unit itself is most likely sourced from a brand that makes Transmissions which was then modified and tuned by Mazda. Im not saying thats the case, it may not be, but Im willing to bet that the units external casing looks identical to the 6 speed that was used in the first generation V6 Mazda 6.

Manufacturers rarely ever build anything from scratch unless they really need to and Mazda is particularly proud of that. They have excellent tech on their cars inside and out which started off with a future proofed design like the L engine. All thats needed is an occasional evolution of their existing products in order to stay competitive.

The SKYACTIV nomenclature is essentially mazdas older technology thoroughly modified from the ground up, and the result is impressive.
 
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