We recently travelled to Brisbane to work with Chris Romano from Romano WorkX on a customer’s Mazda 3.

The car was lightly modified with an air pod and free flowing exhaust however we wanted to make gains in power as well as throttle response and drivability. Prior to the ECU reflash Chris measured the Mazda 3’s power @ 118.6hp. Check out the video;

The final power figure of 128.4hp coupled with increased (flatter) torque curve improved drivability whilst the throttle response was immeasurably improved.

Whilst we where at Romano WorkX we where also able to sample some of Chris’ other creations including his insanely quick Renault Megane. With 200KW at the wheels, track setup and sticky tyres the ride was breath-taking. Check out the gallery below;

Bob Romano’s company profile;

Forget those ‘Flavour of the month’ performance workshops offering ‘fast food’ upgrades that promise the world. Bob Romano Performance Motors is the ‘REAL DEAL’ and we won’t do a thing to your car unless we know it’s going to work!

Pioneering dyno-tuning back in the early 1970’s, we’ve been getting maximum performance and reliability out of vehicles longer than anyone else in the business.

The one thing that has always set Bob Romano Performance Motors apart from the crowd is the genuine integrity with which we perform our work, always insisting that performance must never come at the expense of reliability.

And when it comes to state-of the-art workshop facilities and tuning equipment, we don’t just have latest and the greatest – we also know how to use it to its full potential, ensuring we get the job done right… first time, every time!

Our good mate Scott Wiggins contested the last round of the Improved Production Championship last weekend. Scott’s Ford Escort is powered by a late model Mazda MX5 engine running our latest ECU reflashed tune. Scott’s Race Report can be found HERE!

Well done & congratulations to Brian Anderson on a magnificent 3rd place in the Improved Production Championship. Brian missed a full round of the 2012 championship and battled hard in the last round to secure this brilliant results. Checkout Brian’s charge through the field @ Wakefield Park;

Our partners at TDR MX5 Tuning helped the Blue Meany with their latest ECU tune. This article is a brilliant endorsement of TDR’s capabilities as well as their willingness to ‘go-above-and-beyond’ to help a customer.

Published @ the miatenet Forum as well as the Blue Meany blog:

Over the years I have flashed an NC MX-5 probably 200 times. This would include my car (the Blue Meany) as well as numerous customer cars that have gone forced induction and had me do the installation.

The tuning part of the installation has always been the part that I have dreaded the most. It is amazing how time consuming driving, logging, emailing the log along with driving impressions, downloading a new tune, loading it onto the interface box, flashing the ECU and repeating the process at least a half dozen times (usually it takes at least a dozen times) can be.

What made the above process most frustrating was that when the customer picked up the car I was never really happy with how the car ran. It always seemed to be an interim tune that the customer could drive safely but if they wanted refinement (and power) they’d have to spend more time on the tune themselves. That day has ended now my friends.

I recently sold and installed my previously loved Cosworth supercharger. I did not include the Sniper interface box as I was still using it to dial in my new Begi turbo setup, so the customer had to source the tuning on his own. He chose to go with TDR and the EcuTek interface.

Once the SC was installed I emailed Jay at TDR the relevant ECU dump info and he had a tune ready for me in a jiffy and said that he’d be standing by ready to make revisions. I flashed the ECU and got my DashDaq setup and ready for a few days of the “normal” tuning process. Once the car was warmed up and I confirmed that the car and SC were not leaking any vital fluids I took the car out for an easy shake down run. Immediately I noticed that the cars ignition was missing and shortly the car threw a CEL confirming what I was feeling. I called Jay and let him know what I found and that I’d be taking the car back to the shop to fix the plague of the 06 NC, a broken #3 coil wire. Jay said he’d be standing by. I repaired the broken wire and quickly got back to logging amidst the corn fields of West Michigan.

I did my usual first tune type driving, setting the trims then gradually loading the car up more until KR showed up or AFRs got lean. However this time I found my self getting farther and farther from my shop. The car was not knocking and AFRs were near ideal. I began pushing the car harder, giving the brakes a real workout as I’d quickly decel from inappropriate speeds then back up again with grin inducing quickness all the while keeping an eye on the data logger. All systems were within spec and the car was amazingly quick. Could it be possible that this car is tuned perfectly on the first tune? Well, not quite perfect as AFRs were 11.1 from 5k on but otherwise this tune was perfect. Driveability was exemplary, AFRs were completely stable and predictable, power was what I’d expect at 10psi with a stock exhaust, and there was absolutely zero KR anywhere. I had to lug the motor to prove to myself that the knock sensor was still working.

After a long and delightful drive I called Jay to thank him for making my life as an installer easier and to commend him on the quality of this tune. Jay told me that he was sending a tune to get those 11.1 AFRs a bit leaner, which it did, and now after 2 tunes this car is ready to deliver to the customer. I am fully confident in the stability and safety of this tune and am amazed at the power we are getting out of a comparatively mild setup. It’s just a total blast to drive.

I am still flabbergasted that the first tune was as good as or better than any tune I have ever experienced on any NC, regardless of the time put in to refine it. The day we have all been longing for where we can add boost to our cars and with little effort get it tuned with stable, predictable AFRs, no KR, stock like smoothness, and obscene acceleration is finally here.

We met Sidd @ Wakefield Park earlier this month and his amazing Nissan Cube. Apparently these cars are lovingly known as “toasters” and we’ve become BIG fans. Have a look at Sidd’s CUBE on track;