[Sarasota]

I have gone through several generations of software upgrade in my 2002 and currently have the version that was available in March, 2004. It feels like the car has lost some power in exchange for smoother shifts. It also appears to max out at roughly 7,400 RPM but earlier versions went higher. In theory, this should be OK as HP supposedly peaks at 7,000 RPM but it was nice having a few extra hundred RPM before the shift.

Any comments? Are there any tuners working on software to get more power. I heard of a company in New Jersey that has a cold air package and claims to get significantly more power.

 

[Brad]

I just got my 2002 Spyder back from the dealer. After the updates, it seems like the engine quits pulling at about 7000 RPM. Until seeing your post, I thought I was imagining the change.

On the other hand, it seems to pull harder at the low end, breaking the tires free almost too easily in first gear all the way up to 4,000 RPM.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Perhaps Maser chased a more 'usable' RPM range.

I'll be taking the car to a dyno soon and comparing it to the graph produced last year before any updates.

 

[Sarasota]

You are probably correct but I still miss the extra high end power and RPM. There is no reason for the loss above 7,000 and the software should be corrected to get it back. I am interested in seeing your graphs.

 

[Frankie P]

Power Loss w/Software Upgrade

Dear Brad,

I'm a relatively new '02 Coupe owner but have been absorbing all the information I can relative to service campaigns and upgrades for our car. My service tech initially advised against the upgrade, knowing that I am very sports-oriented and have no problem with the way the initial software performs. He seemed to think that it slowed the car down on initial acceleration. Elsewhere, I've read a few times that engine power is purposefully down with the software upgrade. I believe I read that on a FerrariChat site where the owner had actually dynoed the car before and after the upgrade. Of course, there are purported benefits to the upgrade, which may be more important to you than absolute power and acceleration.

There is a company called PowerChip that has a product for our car. It is rather pricey, at $2k, but claims a 20hp increase, I think. You can go to PowerChip.com to read all about it. I'm interested in knowing whether any of our membership has tried the product as well. The sales staff at PowerChip claim that the 4.2 V8 is significantly undertuned on purpose by Maserati for better long term durability. Putting their sales incentive aside, they may be correct, as our engine is apparently being put to use by Ferrari in the next 360, with only a modest bump in displacement, and is expected to produce 500 hp.

Just some thoughts on info I've accumulated doing exactly what I'm doing at the moment. Good Luck.

Frankie P

 

[BusDriver]

DON'T DO IT.

If you have a 2002 car, and are at all interested in driving a sporty car, do *not* upgrade to the latest software. I have spent the last 3 months chasing this down - and am still awaiting a resolution.

My last post on this
http://www.maseratiforum.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=178

Also, there is no way to "undo" the upgrade

Will post further detail as I expect to chat with my dealer and Maserati NA later in the week. Will let everyone know what I find out.

- Jon

 

[Andrew]

Re: Power Loss w/Software Upgrade

There is a company called PowerChip that has a product for our car. It is rather pricey, at $2k, but claims a 20hp increase, I think. You can go to PowerChip.com to read all about it. I'm interested in knowing whether any of our membership has tried the product as well. The sales staff at PowerChip claim that the 4.2 V8 is significantly undertuned on purpose by Maserati for better long term durability. Putting their sales incentive aside, they may be correct, as our engine is apparently being put to use by Ferrari in the next 360, with only a modest bump in displacement, and is expected to produce 500 hp.

Frankie,

Welcome to the site, I'm looking forward to hearing about your experience with your Maserati.

I wanted to add a few things. Powerchip is a site sponsor and their chip remaps the ECU. I believe the upgrade Jon is talking about deals with the cars internal computer for shifting which is written by Ferrari and upgraded at the dealer. What Jon had done by the dealer and what Powerchip does are two different things.

Regards,
Andrew

 

[shifter]

Ditto on the "do not do it" for a quicker ride. Also, once you do it, it cannot be undone, as mentioned.

My dealer suggested that I did not upgrade the software on my 2003 since the older calibration had less "feathering" which meant quicker shifts and better performance. The software upgrade smoothes out the shifts by slowing down the engagement. They told me I can always get it done, over the life of the car, should I want slightly smoother shifts. A friend has a 2004 which had the software upgrade from the factory, and you can tell the difference when driving our cars back to back. Slight difference, but noticeable.

While on the subject, I have been trying to find someone who can reprogram the EEC/ECM so that 'MSP' defaults to OFF, and 'Sport" mode defaults to ON, when starting up. I always have MSP off and Sport on, and I'm getting tired of hitting the buttons every time I start up the car. If anyone knows of how to get this done, I'm all ears. I tried with Powerchip, but they indicated they could only effect air/fuel ratios and timing, not start-up defaults.

 

[Brad]

DON'T DO IT.

If you have a 2002 car, and are at all interested in driving a sporty car, do *not* upgrade to the latest software. I have spent the last 3 months chasing this down - and am still awaiting a resolution.

Also, there is no way to "undo" the upgrade

Will post further detail as I expect to chat with my dealer and Maserati NA later in the week. Will let everyone know what I find out.

- Jon

Jon,

The information provided by one dealer was that an upgrade called SO-FAST involved changing the ECU. That upgrade could not be reversed without replacing the ECU. If I understood him correctly, the SO-FAST update was being applied during late 2003 and early 2004.

The same dealer said a later version of the upgrade did not require this ECU change and could be un-done (and further updated) if so desired. That is the update I had applied to my car in June.

My car's noticeable changes after the upgrade:
- 300-400 RPM boost when throttle is lightly depressed in 1st gear
- Creep Mode is gone (no more beep when you pull Down in 1st)
- Modulated (limited) engine torque and clutch engagement on launch
- Much smoother shifting in Auto mode (now just like an automatic car)
- Not much change in Sport Mode shift speed
- Engine no longer pulls strong past 7,000 RPM
- Seems like it takes longer to reach top RPM range
- Still has the blip on downshifts in Sport Mode
- Dyno showed a drop from 335RWHP to 316RWHP

The final point may be why I had a seat-of-the-pants disappointment in the car's performance following the software update. I'm traveling this week, but should be able to post scans of the dyno runs next week.

Brad

 

[BusDriver]

Hi Brad,

Thanks for all the info.

My dealer has told me that the update is not reversible - so if your information is correct, they must have done the irreversible version of the upgrade to my car.

I drive the car relatively aggressively, I rarely use it commute or to go out to dinner; most of my driving is Sunday drives with the local Ferrari club, and a couple of track events. So, of the items you listed, I really notice two things - missing blips on downshifts, the reduced engine performance.

The dealer has instrumented the car, and their data acquisition reveals that the computer is indeed blipping the throttle on downshifts in Sport mode, but my experience driving the car is that even if the engine is being blipped, it is not enough. The problem is particularly apparent when shifting at high rpm (4 or 5000 rpm) from 3rd to 2nd. On several occasions, the car has momentarily locked its rear wheels when downshifting - once with the Dealer's Tech driving the car with me riding shotgun. Needless to say, this makes the car a poor sports car.

To the extent that this info may help others, here are my comments (your words in lower case, MINE IN CAPS) on the items that you listed :
- 300-400 RPM boost when throttle is lightly depressed in 1st gear. DITTO
- Creep Mode is gone (no more beep when you pull Down in 1st). DITTO
- Modulated (limited) engine torque and clutch engagement on launch. DITTO
- Much smoother shifting in Auto mode (now just like an automatic car). DON'T KNOW, HAVE NOT USED AUTOMATIC MODE YET.
- Not much change in Sport Mode shift speed. DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE FOR ME. SPORT MODE GEAR CHANGES SEEM SLOWER
- Engine no longer pulls strong past 7,000 RPM. DITTO
- Seems like it takes longer to reach top RPM range. DITTO
- Still has the blip on downshifts in Sport Mode. ONLY BELOW 4000 RPM IN MY CASE, FURTHER COMMENTS ABOVE.
- Dyno showed a drop from 335RWHP to 316RWHP. DON'T KNOW, BUT I AM NOT SURPRISED.



My advice to everyone else - DON'T DO IT if you want a sporty car.

My guess is that Maserati engineered the software in common with the Quattroporte, and as a result, ruined the Coupe for sporty driving

This has resulted in 3 months of running around for me, with the car in the shop for half the time - with no resolution yet. The dealer has been very helpful, but I believe that the problem lies with Maserati North America or the Maserati Factory.

So far I am pretty frustrated, but nevertheless optimistic that a solution will be forthcoming from Maserati NA.

- Jon

 

[Sarasota]

SIMPLY DON'T DO IT

I seem to have started this discussion but the more I drive the car, the more I am dissatisfied with the performance of the engine. The upshifts no longer jerk the car but the power appears to be significantly down across the board and above 7,000 RPM, just forget it. If I wanted an SL, I would have purchased one. I believe it is a big mistake by Maserati and will kill future sales.

 

[marcw]

It sounds like the software "upgrade" hasn't helped those who are looking for better performance.

Does anyone know if the ECU mod from the Powerchip guys fixes these "upgrade" problems?

Marc

 

[BusDriver]

Hi Marcw and Sarasota,

Can you guys also post your comments here:
http://www.maseratiforum.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=196

Also, I would like to once again encourage everyone to post to the thread linked above.

The more information that we have organized, the better our chances of getting Maserati to address the diminished performance following the software upgrade.

Thanks Guys!

- Jon

 

[Iggy_Type_R]

Hi guys,
PowerChip is an australian company, if you like I can give them a call tommorow to see if it remaps the shifting (although I doubt it) via the software.
PS. My 4200 Spyder has PowerChip... and 2nd gear onwards it feels quicker! (I haven't dynoed it or anything... in fact, havent picked up the car... just bought it a few days ago)

 

[Andrew]

If anyone is interested I can also forward the contact email for the office in Los Angles.

They also have an office in Europe so I'm sure I can get those details for those guys.

The chips do make a difference and I would recommend them.