Gotham 265 and Lotus Warranty

[BatmobileS240]

Assuming you have the Gotham 265 ECU and decide to re-flash it back to stock, would the folks at the Lotus service department be able to tell that you had previous used an aftermarket ECU tune?

[charliex]

physically then can tell via the case being modded if the ecu is removed for inspection.

[apk919]

Originally Posted by charliex

physically then can tell via the case being modded if the ecu is removed for inspection.

If Lotus issues a reflash for the ECU, can it still be performed on a Gotham 265 modified ECU? I'm guessing no...

BTW Charlie, has anyone had their Gotham 265 smog checked?

EDIT: I'm seriously considering your mod... I'm just trying to understand the ramifications...

[Brennon]

Originally Posted by noobified

Assuming you have the Gotham 265 ECU and decide to re-flash it back to stock, would the folks at the Lotus service department be able to tell that you had previous used an aftermarket ECU tune?

You'd also have shot yourself in the foot if you went and got the gotham tune. The folks at Lotus read this forum....frequently.

[FIRME]

Originally Posted by Brennon

You'd also have shot yourself in the foot if you went and got the gotham tune. The folks at Lotus read this forum....frequently.

Ain't that the truth

PM's work best for those types of questions.

[andykeck]

Originally Posted by Brennon

You'd also have shot yourself in the foot if you went and got the gotham tune. The folks at Lotus read this forum....frequently.

He's probably OK as long as his last name isn't "Noobified".

[BatmobileS240]

If you have any warranty workaround issues for this, please feel free to send me a PM

Thanks!

[charliex]

If they reflash the ECU back there are a few outcomes,

A) the car won't start, wrong kernel version which is part of the lotus protection methods, return it to me, i'll update the kernel and make it a gotham at the same time, save yourself the hassle and do it through me anyway, it'll cost $50 which is nearly all shipping anyway, and if the dealer charges you to do it, it'll cost more.

B) it'll work but you'll loose all that tq and hp, in which case you'd have to send it back to me for a re-reflash.

gothams should pass sniffer tests just fine, i did run mine through the test and it did pass.

you don't automatically lose warranty with an ecu mod like this, but it can make it akward depending on your relationship with the dealer and or lotus, lotus made a point of asking me to change the version, cvn and firmware ID in my reflashes so that dealers / carb/ feds etc could tell it wasn't an official lotus reflash.

[carl]

Originally Posted by charliex

If they reflash the ECU back there are a few outcomes,

A) the car won't start, wrong kernel version which is part of the lotus protection methods, return it to me, i'll update the kernel and make it a gotham at the same time, save yourself the hassle and do it through me anyway, it'll cost $50 which is nearly all shipping anyway, and if the dealer charges you to do it, it'll cost more.

B) it'll work but you'll loose all that tq and hp, in which case you'd have to send it back to me for a re-reflash.

gothams should pass sniffer tests just fine, i did run mine through the test and it did pass.

you don't automatically lose warranty with an ecu mod like this, but it can make it akward depending on your relationship with the dealer and or lotus, lotus made a point of asking me to change the version, cvn and firmware ID in my reflashes so that dealers / carb/ feds etc could tell it wasn't an official lotus reflash.

Charlie, is that what happened to mine? I sent it to you to fix after a reflash it didnt start. You sent it back to me unopened with no reply after several requests from me. Please let me know what to do i dont want to louse the $1000.00 i paid for the ecu and would like the gotham flash back. As i said i'm happy to pay to have it fixed. thanks carl

[charliex]

No what happened to yours was you had the dealer deliberately overwrite it with a flash from a different series of car that caused the kernel mismatch, this is to prevent people from putting the wrong flashes on the wrong cars and happens as standard and is nothing to do with the gothams.

I will reflash accidental reflashes,

[carl]

Originally Posted by charliex

No what happened to yours was you had the dealer deliberately overwrite it with a flash from a different series of car that caused the kernel mismatch, this is to prevent people from putting the wrong flashes on the wrong cars and happens as standard and is nothing to do with the gothams.

I will reflash accidental reflashes,

So you wont repair it? carl

[charliex]

It'd cost more to fix than is reasonable to charge for it, since you weren't upfront about what happened to it until after you found out i already knew the real story, i don't really think its fair for me to have to do a whole bunch of extra work on it at further loss, considering it was heavily discounted in the first place as a favour i owed to Jack, i have already packed up the catch cans and sent them on back on their way.

[apk919]

Originally Posted by charliex

If they reflash the ECU back there are a few outcomes,

A) the car won't start, wrong kernel version which is part of the lotus protection methods, return it to me, i'll update the kernel and make it a gotham at the same time, save yourself the hassle and do it through me anyway, it'll cost $50 which is nearly all shipping anyway, and if the dealer charges you to do it, it'll cost more.

B) it'll work but you'll loose all that tq and hp, in which case you'd have to send it back to me for a re-reflash.

gothams should pass sniffer tests just fine, i did run mine through the test and it did pass.

you don't automatically lose warranty with an ecu mod like this, but it can make it akward depending on your relationship with the dealer and or lotus, lotus made a point of asking me to change the version, cvn and firmware ID in my reflashes so that dealers / carb/ feds etc could tell it wasn't an official lotus reflash.

Thanks for the info Charlie...
Just to confirm: if I were to bring the car to the dealer for service after a Gotham flash, I should check to see if they intend to do a reflash and if so, gently talk them out of it, correct? If it's more appropriate to answer via PM, please do.

[FLuXeXigeS]

i thought reflashing the ECU after each service at the dealer was mandatory?

if so id just tell em not to