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PC?? are they worth it? how much power do they add?


Jcroz91

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k so i understand a power comander is to a bike kinda like an SCT tuner is to a car. But do they help a lot? will i feel a difference? i dont have a lot of mods to my bike and dont plan on modding it much. but is it a good thing to have?

i have a two brothers exhaust. not sure what filter i have just bought it friday

Edited by Jcroz91
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I have to dissagree with E and most others will too . like yota said even stock should have one , my bike is totally stock air fiters and all but Im running a power commander and theres a deffinate noticeable difference ! did it add power to the stock bike ? dunno maybe 1 or 2 hp if lucky but that is not the point behind a PC its not to add power like you were comparing it to a SCT for cars its to tune what you have and get the most out of what you have stock or modded . it smooths out the entire power range and makes what you have more usuable and SMOOTH thats the big plus every fuel injected bike should have a PC "that is tuned properly"

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would they help with gas milage? what kinda gas milage would a 07 GSXR 750 get? any ideas?

no youll prolly get worse milage with it bikes are tuned lean from the factory to meet epa guidlines in most cases tuning will richen it that will lower your milage prolly not noticably though

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EVERY Fuel injected bike should have a PC. Even if its stock in my opinion. You can tune it better than the factory setup. No jokes.

:plus1:If for no other reason, it smoothes out the throttle response without retarding it. Once you get it on, get it tuned. (I am still needing to do mine, so that probably means waiting until spring now.) You will be glad you did.

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PowerCommander is a great tool, but only as good as your tune.

a PC on its own won't add a ton of power, but it can help you make the power you haev more useful.

...or you can do the exact opposite and just go for balls-out most power for least money tuning, and ignore the fact that your torque curve looks like total shit now.

But at least the PC lets you choose, and adjust quickly if you want. I have seen some guys who have a 'street' map and a 'track' map. The street map is a compromise of torque, fuel economy, and set up for 87 octane. the track map made the bike a slug until 10,000 RPM, was set up for 94 octane, and made at least 17 more hp than the street map. I don't think they ever measured mileage, but that wasn't the point...

I think a compromise is more practical, as most of us won't change the map that often... but it opens up options for sure.

if you jsut want the bike to accelerate quicker though, gearing down will be cheaper...

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PowerCommander is a great tool, but only as good as your tune.

a PC on its own won't add a ton of power, but it can help you make the power you haev more useful.

...or you can do the exact opposite and just go for balls-out most power for least money tuning, and ignore the fact that your torque curve looks like total shit now.

But at least the PC lets you choose, and adjust quickly if you want. I have seen some guys who have a 'street' map and a 'track' map. The street map is a compromise of torque, fuel economy, and set up for 87 octane. the track map made the bike a slug until 10,000 RPM, was set up for 94 octane, and made at least 17 more hp than the street map. I don't think they ever measured mileage, but that wasn't the point...

I think a compromise is more practical, as most of us won't change the map that often... but it opens up options for sure.

if you jsut want the bike to accelerate quicker though, gearing down will be cheaper...

whaT? the guy that i bought my bike off told me my bike only takes premium gas!! WTF? so i can use unleaded.

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Is the exhaust full or a slip on? The PC is worth it but you need an exhaust and filter to get the most benefit. Don't think of it as HP gain only. Your motor makes plenty stock if it's tuned well, ie, fresh plugs, etc. The engine is an air pump. Within reason you goal is to move air through that pump (intake/exhaust) as efficiently as possible, Hence the re-map,PC, pipe, etc. It's still a compromise though. If you're looking for mileage, might try a moped. But mapped and efficient, you should still get 40 mpg roughly depends on your riding style.

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Is the exhaust full or a slip on? The PC is worth it but you need an exhaust and filter to get the most benefit. Don't think of it as HP gain only. Your motor makes plenty stock if it's tuned well, ie, fresh plugs, etc. The engine is an air pump. Within reason you goal is to move air through that pump (intake/exhaust) as efficiently as possible, Hence the re-map,PC, pipe, etc. It's still a compromise though. If you're looking for mileage, might try a moped. But mapped and efficient, you should still get 40 mpg roughly depends on your riding style.

yeah yeah i know all that. im not sure if its an exhaust or a slip on. dont know the difference yet.

40 MPG is better than my mustang so that works. what kinda plugs should i get? im prob going to just give it a mild lil tune up over winter.

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lol damnit... lol well thats good to know.

Keep in mind. The bike was tuned for premium from the factory. Putting lower than premium in it will result in a decrease in power from the different burn rate and knocking. These motors are very high compression high revving pieces. Be nice to your engine and run premium. It costs, what, $1.00 more at most to fill up with premium vs regular. Don't be a cheap ass.

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Ok, so to sum up this thread.

-Power Commander. If you have the money, get one. You can use it to smooth your bikes power curve and to properly tune for the correct air/fuel ratio. On most bikes, there's no monitoring equipment to tell the ECU exactly how much air the engine is getting. So if you go and put a new exhaust and intake/filter on it, you've now got more air going in/out than normal. This will lead to a lean condition. The PC is there to correct for this lean condition and to remove any drop in your power curve due to emissions regulations. It's a nice piece, it's smoothes stuff out, and there's really no downsides to it.

-Spark plugs. Your bike isn't a race bike. There's no need for anything other than what the factory recommends. However, if the factory does recommend a platinum plug and you want to save a few bucks, you can usually run a standard tip plug. I run NGK V-power. Standard plugs, and they work. At $2 a pop can't beat it.

-Fuel. Your bike was tuned from the factory to run on premium unleaded. These bikes are usually high compression motors, like 12.5:1. That means a high risk for detonation (or pre-ignition as it's sometimes called) if you use a lower grade fuel. The lower the octane, the higher the risk of detonation. Your bike is equipped with knock sensors. These sense detonation in the motor and will pull timing to save you from the "big-bang". While these are nice, don't rely on them. You will get the power expected out of your engine by putting in the correct grade of fuel and there's less risk involved.

Regular - $2.68/gallon x 3.9 gal = $10.45

Premium - $2.88/gallon x 3.9 gal = $11.23

Difference of $.78, so put in the good juice. ;)

-Tires. Shinkos are shit. Race-takeoffs = not for you. Buy a good high-performance skreet tire and be happy.

-Finally, if you don't have gear. Ya know, helmet, gloves, jacket, boots, etc. Then forget about spending any money on anything else and buy some damn gear. It does not make you "un-cool" to wear it. You may not live long enough to enjoy those extra items if/when you go down without gear.

And remember, shiny side up and have fun. :)

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Ok, so to sum up this thread.

-Power Commander. If you have the money, get one. You can use it to smooth your bikes power curve and to properly tune for the correct air/fuel ratio. On most bikes, there's no monitoring equipment to tell the ECU exactly how much air the engine is getting. So if you go and put a new exhaust and intake/filter on it, you've now got more air going in/out than normal. This will lead to a lean condition. The PC is there to correct for this lean condition and to remove any drop in your power curve due to emissions regulations. It's a nice piece, it's smoothes stuff out, and there's really no downsides to it.

-Spark plugs. Your bike isn't a race bike. There's no need for anything other than what the factory recommends. However, if the factory does recommend a platinum plug and you want to save a few bucks, you can usually run a standard tip plug. I run NGK V-power. Standard plugs, and they work. At $2 a pop can't beat it.

-Fuel. Your bike was tuned from the factory to run on premium unleaded. These bikes are usually high compression motors, like 12.5:1. That means a high risk for detonation (or pre-ignition as it's sometimes called) if you use a lower grade fuel. The lower the octane, the higher the risk of detonation. Your bike is equipped with knock sensors. These sense detonation in the motor and will pull timing to save you from the "big-bang". While these are nice, don't rely on them. You will get the power expected out of your engine by putting in the correct grade of fuel and there's less risk involved.

Regular - $2.68/gallon x 3.9 gal = $10.45

Premium - $2.88/gallon x 3.9 gal = $11.23

Difference of $.78, so put in the good juice. ;)

-Tires. Shinkos are shit. Race-takeoffs = not for you. Buy a good high-performance skreet tire and be happy.

-Finally, if you don't have gear. Ya know, helmet, gloves, jacket, boots, etc. Then forget about spending any money on anything else and buy some damn gear. It does not make you "un-cool" to wear it. You may not live long enough to enjoy those extra items if/when you go down without gear.

And remember, shiny side up and have fun. :)

i have a helmet and some leather gloves i wear. i just wear a black wind breaker jacket with a hoodie under. keeps me warm enough. ill get a jacket in spring.

i need tires first. my rear is showing a tiny bit of wire

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i have a helmet and some leather gloves i wear. i just wear a black wind breaker jacket with a hoodie under. keeps me warm enough. ill get a jacket in spring.

i need tires first. my rear is showing a tiny bit of wire

Helmet and gloves is a start. Good job.

As for the tire, if you're showing cord, get it replaced and get it done soon. If you really really don't have money for tires, get a take off from someone to tide you over. I'd offer up my rear, but I'm not sure about my tire situation for next spring yet.

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Depends on how hardcore you are and how long your gear allows you to go. I'm packing it in for the year, but we probably have like 2 weeks left?

exactly. 2 weeks and thats like riding maybe 2 or 3 days a week. so with only like 4 or 5 days left im not going to bust ass to find a tire and all that.

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