Corolla Sportivo - Greddy V Manage Info

[Squalled]

Hey TOCA,

I know this has been covered many times in the past on the forum but I thought it would be worth making a newer thread for those that may be interested in purchasing a V-Manage. The unit is becoming increasingly popular to use as most won't have the funds for stand alone units, or may not be able to source the unit itself due to production age.

This is information I've learnt from a fellow long time Sportivo owner who has had over 3 years experience with using Greddy piggy back systems in Corolla Sportivos and various other cars also.

Most of this information is in my own build thread but I thought to make this separate to make it a little easier to find.

What to Expect

Once the ECU is all wired in, tuned and running without any major hiccups, you can pretty much expect the following if setup correctly:

- Snappier throttle response.

- Less throttle input required to get up to speed.

- Torque hole down low drastically reduced.

- Revving quicker

- Lower lift engagement (Even if lower engagement can't be completed, the benefit with standard engagement is still to be had)

- Different intake sound (Not a benefit of sort but, the lower RPM induction noise is more pronounced and deeper and with lower lift a much deeper tone for the crossover)

The Facts & Warnings

- As the V-Manage is a generic unit which can be shared across multiple cars which use VVT, it may run differently on each car. Some cars such as mine as I'm told luckily are running fine but others experience difficulty running with the V-Manage and aren't able to fully benefit.

- This unit is only able to modify VVT and Lift.

- The E-Manage can also be used in conjunction with the V-Manage to increase the red line, ignition, fuel etc. This essentially gives all the benefits of having a standalone ECU but it retains the standard ECU.

- Due to the lower lift engagement, a specific method is to be used to make sure it is working. Simply revving out slowly in first gear, engaging lift and revving to 7000 RPM then increase throttle more to make sure the car doesn't have a "jolt" (similar to boost cut but not as aggressive) from 7000 onwards. This is due to the fact the V-Manage is a piggyback system and the factory ECU needs time to learn. It will trigger the 7000 RPM limiter (usually when the car is cold for example) which the V-Manage seems to bypass causing the jolting as opposed to a rev limiter. 

 - Jolting generally occurs during the first month or so after the unit has been installed and can occur when not driven long enough. The method above is the best to use to make sure the  lower engagement is working correctly.

- Not every car is able to run a lower lift engagement. Each car is different, some jolting for a month or so which is the best scenario as this will no longer occur at all or as frequent once the ECU learns. Other cars will actually engage lift slowly and begin jerking back and fourth without any power increases from what I have been advised meaning that the lower engagement can't be run as it may not perform normally after the ECU learns.

- Only specific V-Manage units are able to lower lift. From what I'm told you need to open the unit and check a chip on the board, as lift drop units have a slightly larger chip.

- You will also need a V-Manage Dual (best to look for), which is simply a small black box that is a solenoid. The dual unit allows the solenoid to trigger both oil pressure solenoids on the VVT and VVL. You are able to buy 2 separate solenoids to do this but having the dual unit is far simpler.

- The V-Manage unit itself it quite small, similar size to the standard ECU (with the E-Manage unit being a little longer). It can be kept in the glovebox out of the way but the harness is long enough to move to the passenger side floor or possible even the center console if you wanted to use middle storage section.

I'll add any new information to this to keep it up to date. Hope this helps anyone looking into purchasing a V-Manage.

Edited May 22, 2019 by Squalled

[Squalled]

Thought I'd some more information to this thread.

- The unit is a reasonable choice to use with cams and works excellently (have personally been in one with Stage 2 cams and bolt ons with only a v-manage).

- To run the software included to tune, it will run stable on Windows XP and will no work correctly on anything newer. Windows XP is quite old so I would recommend possibly using a virtual machine (running essentially another computer from your current setup) or purchasing a cheap older machine to tune.

- Upon startup, you will notice one light on the ECU will be orange which is completely normal. It will turn green after a short period.

[jeffy]

would you know of any tuners in melbourne ? 

 

ive got some questions on the vvt 

[Squalled]

17 hours ago, jeffy said:

would you know of any tuners in melbourne ? 

 

ive got some questions on the vvt 

I sure do, he's not on the forums but I can ask him for you.

PM me your questions and I can pass them on.

[Squalled]

Just another minor update to the thread.

In relation to lowering the lift point, this will all depend on the setup that you have prior to installing and tuning the V-Manage. One crucial note is that lowering lift to a lower point, may not always work best for your power band. A good example is lowering lift to say 5800 rpm. Although this makes the 1st-2nd shift effortless to keep in power band, you will find that it may not work as well in higher gear e.g. beginning a 3rd gear pull into lift.

This is where VVT tuning comes in and plays and extremely vital role in creating a smooth and linear power curve. This was personally experience with my old and current setup. With the old tune and setup (2.75" CAI, Ported intake manifold, Ported Throttle Body, CES Headers, 100 Cell HFC, 2.5" exhaust) I found in higher gears with 5800 lift that it would flatten out or dip before gaining power again.

When I moved to the new 4-1 setup, the lift engagement point was raised to 6000 and VVT was also re-tuned for the optimal setup. This was due to running and tuning with 5800 lift and getting the power before it dropped and picked up again which isn't great at all if you want a reliable and drive-able setup. Once set to 6000 lift engagement, the power band increases gradually and linearly, something these high revving N/A engines get excellent benefits from.

So in short, a great VVT tune and optimal lift point are required to get the best power band for your setup.

[Squalled]

Alrighty time to update this with some more findings.

Seeing as I've had the V-Manage installed for well over a year and it's coming up to a year since I first started the thread, a lot has definitely changed in not only my setup but also the tune for the setup as it progressed through its changes. Here my additional findings to add on to this list

- Lower Lift causes more dramas than what it's worth: Yes, after almost a year of having low lift, I've honestly not had much luck in it being consistent and reliable without the jolting. Ed did warn me about using lower lift and although it might seem like a good idea, reliability and consistency wise it isn't. I did make quite a childish mistake and I'll soon be removing the lower lift.

- Windows XP needed for tuning: If you have the software to do tuning, you will need to have a Windows XP machine available as it will not work on any newer operating system. It's worth buying a dedicated small laptop with Windows XP or running a virtual machine to run on a newer version as another alternative.

 

[Moudy 05 tivo]

Hey brother do you know anyone who can tune my GReddy Vmanage for me? It’s already all installed and wired up to my 2005 corolla Sportivo I just need it tuned can you help me?

[Squalled]

On 7/30/2023 at 10:07 AM, Moudy 05 tivo said:

Hey brother do you know anyone who can tune my GReddy Vmanage for me? It’s already all installed and wired up to my 2005 corolla Sportivo I just need it tuned can you help me?

Mine was tuned by a mate who doesn't really do it all too much these days so your best bet is calling around to see who could tune it. Could try Toys Garage or similar. Look for places that regularly tune K series engines since our engines are similar enough in how they have VVT and lift.