Mace VY V6 PCM Tune Review

[VY03]

Hi all

Just recently had my 2003 acclaim tuned by Mace Engineering

Mods done

Mace bored out 69mm throttle body
Mace cold air intake
Geni extractors
2 and half inch catback manta system with rear only straight through muffler

Noticable improvement in the low down torque range say from 2000 to 4000rpm and the auto shift points
quicker and firmer.

Engine thermo fan comes on earlier as well I noticed

Basically the fuel and ignition maps are recalibrated but keep in mind that you must run 98 octane fuel due
to being tuned for it.

Good thing is that the new PCM is a outright purchase so you don't need to send in the stock one to get
reprogrammed. You just need your VIN number and modifcations details to suit the tune a new PCM gets
posted out via express post.

Kudos to Steve and the team at mace engineering for the professional customer service

Any questions people and I'll answer them

[MACE]

Hi all

Just recently had my 2003 acclaim tuned by Mace Engineering

Mods done

Mace bored out 69mm throttle body
Mace cold air intake
Geni extractors
2 and half inch catback manta system with rear only straight through muffler

Noticable improvement in the low down torque range say from 2000 to 4000rpm and the auto shift points
quicker and firmer.

Engine thermo fan comes on earlier as well I noticed

Basically the fuel and ignition maps are recalibrated but keep in mind that you must run 98 octane fuel due
to being tuned for it.

Good thing is that the new PCM is a outright purchase so you don't need to send in the stock one to get
reprogrammed. You just need your VIN number and modifcations details to suit the tune a new PCM gets
posted out via express post.

Kudos to Steve and the team at mace engineering for the professional customer service

Any questions people and I'll answer them

Ah excellent to hear it's all sorted Glenn

If you have any questions/concerns please don't hesitate to ask them

Cheers,
Steve

[VY03]

Just wouldering what else was changed in the tune apart from the fuel,ignition, thermo fans, and auto shift
points

[MACE]

Just wouldering what else was changed in the tune apart from the fuel,ignition, thermo fans, and auto shift
points

From my understanding these were the main changes undertaken with the tune.

If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to ask.

Cheers,
Steve

[vsv6dude]

What about fuel use ? Improved or use more fuel ?

I thought with the MACE chips you can still run 91 unleaded, as some of the factory tuning was retained ?

[VY03]

What about fuel use ? Improved or use more fuel ?

I thought with the MACE chips you can still run 91 unleaded, as some of the factory tuning was retanined ?

Improved fuel economy as now my average is 8.2lt/100km give or take on highway driving...around town it didn't use that much more.

Mace memcal chips can still run on 91 or 98 octane

For some reason when I got new the PCM it clearly stated in the custom tune form it said "please note you must use 98 octane fuel.

[vxcp]

if it tells u to use 98 and u use 91 what happens tho i use 98 all the time because at the end of the day its only a couple bucks more but just wondering what would happen if u used 91 instead of 98??

[The1]

will retard, possible pinging/knock if it's really bad fuel and loose power.

[MACE]

As above ^^^

[vsv6dude]

As above ^^^

So with MACE memcals use must 98 ron then.

I am assuming the PCM stated in this thread is supplied by MACE.

The advertising for the memcals states power increase is available from even using 91 Ron , see below
"Each MEMCAL is recalibrated to suit your specific engine and gearbox type, as well as the model of Commodore you own.

Horsepower gains vary beteen different models and the condition of your particular engine. Our estimate is
a gain of about 8 to 12kW using standard 91-RON fuel, with an extra 2% using premium fuel."
There is no room for compensation for lower quality fuels ?
I infer from the comments in RED its a multi use memcal for all fuel types.

MACE you need to make the website clearer.

Do you mean you when state "recalibrated to suit your specific engine...." each memcal can be customised to your selected preference for fuel.
And once programmed to your fuel preference you must use that fuel whilst the reprogrammed memcal is in the computer.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

No, that's not what was said.

The PCM will retard the timing if it detects knock/ping, which can happen on a tune that has the timing advanced for 98. The result of retarding the timing is a loss of some acceleration (power).

[nathanVY]

How much did the PCM tune set ya back? Did MACE do it for ya in melbourne? Keen for my VY.

[VY03]

Cost me $302.00 and the new PCM was sent by express post to me as the tuning is done on their end.

From 2000-4000rpm range is quite noticeable and the auto shift points are firmer and quicker.

[HERONVY]

How much extra power has it made?

Al

[vyseriesII]

Tune wont give you a whole lot more kw's Al. Maybe 5 to 10kw. It will bring better fuel economy and make the gearshifts more sporty like. It's more about drivability rather than gaining lots more power

[MACE]

As above ^^^

[menace2sobriety]

A tuned PCM arrived this week from MACE for my VY, car now drives how it should have out of the factory, it is much more a pleasure to drive now, gear shifts now have no delay and from about 2000-5/6000rpm the power output is much more noticeable, normally with say quarter throttle 0-60kph would take a few seconds, now it is already there and I am having to brake as it has been catching me out, power delivery is smooth at light throttle, the car now gets a squat going on once it hits 3000rpm at WOT, I have imported the bin file off my old standard VY and matched it to this one to my laptop and after having a quick 15 minute read of the bin file it looks as though the timing has been advance 5 Degrees across the board as well as a few other tweaks for the transmission shifts, everything else has stayed the same but I am yet to look closer into this so I know what to change on my original for my Supercharged tune when needed, although one thing is I did have extreme popping at 5000+ rpm at first, I am running 98 octane plus +10 octane booster, after I changed the plugs to some new platinum's it was mint so make sure your electrical and spark is optimal

Thanks Steve much appreciated

Simon

[HERONVY]

Tune wont give you a whole lot more kw's Al. Maybe 5 to 10kw. It will bring better fuel economy and make the gearshifts more sporty like. It's more about drivability rather than gaining lots more power

All good, got a tune to suit my cam and rollers from mace so hopefully should notice a big difference when i get my car back from my mechanic (hoping monday or late this afternoon)
As for shift points...i drive a manual.. lol

Al

[VY03]

All good, got a tune to suit my cam and rollers from mace so hopefully should notice a big difference when i get my car back from my mechanic (hoping monday or late this afternoon)
As for shift points...i drive a manual.. lol

Al

Which cam did ya get...comp or crow

[HERONVY]

Crow 222 paired up with yt 1.9:1 rockers + pushrods

Al

Sent from my X10i using Tapatalk

[MACE]

A tuned PCM arrived this week from MACE for my VY, car now drives how it should have out of the factory, it is much more a pleasure to drive now, gear shifts now have no delay and from about 2000-5/6000rpm the power output is much more noticeable, normally with say quarter throttle 0-60kph would take a few seconds, now it is already there and I am having to brake as it has been catching me out, power delivery is smooth at light throttle, the car now gets a squat going on once it hits 3000rpm at WOT, I have imported the bin file off my old standard VY and matched it to this one to my laptop and after having a quick 15 minute read of the bin file it looks as though the timing has been advance 5 Degrees across the board as well as a few other tweaks for the transmission shifts, everything else has stayed the same but I am yet to look closer into this so I know what to change on my original for my Supercharged tune when needed, although one thing is I did have extreme popping at 5000+ rpm at first, I am running 98 octane plus +10 octane booster, after I changed the plugs to some new platinum's it was mint so make sure your electrical and spark is optimal

Thanks Steve much appreciated

Simon

Ah excellent Simon glad to hear

All good, got a tune to suit my cam and rollers from mace so hopefully should notice a big difference when i get my car back from my mechanic (hoping monday or late this afternoon)
As for shift points...i drive a manual.. lol

Al

I dare it will go well once the installation is finished and once the you've traveled a number of kilometers

[aza03]

hey steve
Got my tune today very happy car goes great and the shift on the auto is so much better no more lag. Just one question now that it is tuned for my larger throttle body do i need to remove the restrictor in the tube or leave it in.

[VY03]

hey steve
Got my tune today very happy car goes great and the shift on the auto is so much better no more lag. Just one question now that it is tuned for my larger throttle body do i need to remove the restrictor in the tube or leave it in.

You can leave in it or just remove it, i removed mine and still drives fine

[MACE]

You can remove it if you wish

[aza03]

Is there any difference with it in or out