This is absolutely untrue and is a common misconception. The PCIII and PCV all operate with full use of the bike's on-board sensors (except O2), including the MAP sensor which adjusts for altitude, humidity, etc. No sensor except the O2 sensors are disabled using the PC, and with optional Auto-Tune you are equipped with wide-band O2 sensors that auto-tune in real time throughout the RPM and TP range. These sensors do a very good job of keeping AFR's in line. If you're worried about it you can always add Auto-Tune to the PCV.

As mentioned before, the stock O2 sensors make only very small changes to AFRs and only in part-throttle conditions, mostly to meet strict EPA requirements. Even if they were a moderate player in adjusting for altitude they couldn't adjust very much and couldn't make any changes above about 50% TP. Most of the adjustments made for altitude originate with the MAP sensor, not the O2 sensors.

It does add another piece of hardware to the mix, but how is this "baggage"? Few PC's fail, and if it does all you need to do is disconnect it and you're quickly running on the bike's original ECM configuration. In the years I've discussed these topics here and other forums I have never heard of one rider who's had to do this on the road, much less been stranded because of a failed PC. Have you? If so, could you link us to a discussion of that failure? I don't suggest that failures have not happened, as I'm sure they have, but have not heard of one example.

The PC does "read the calibration off the ECM." It simply alters the calibration downstream of the ECM, so the end-result is the same as you would have with a flash-based tuner, as neither the injectors nor the ignition-coil know the difference. Adding 15% fuel to a given RPM/TP position with a flash-based tuner is the same as adding 15% with a PCV after the fact.

Problems with the connectors usually involves water intrusion, but that is rare and can be easily prevented by using dielectric grease when assembling the connector as is suggested in the install instructions. Remember, the connector used is the same as in the stock configuration, so this could theoretically happen in a stock bike or one upgraded to a flash-based tuner like TTS or SEST.

I'm tried to understand what you're saying here, so correct me if I am doing a poor job of interpreting it. Why do you think the PC is not robust? How many problems have you seen resulting from its use? Yes, there are a few, but thousands of PCs have been sold and the vast majority of owners are very happy with them, including me. Some ECMs fail, but that too is a rare event.


When you find it, let us all know so we can follow your path!

 

This is all true. One thing that should be mentioned here is that all the flash-based tuners are married to the bike they're installed on. The PCV can be detached in minutes and either transferred to another bike or resold if not compatible.

I'm not bad-mouthing other products by saying this, but am merely stating facts. If I had TTS, SEST, or SERT I would keep it and make the best use of it. I decided to go another direction and am doing the same, which is maximizing that tuners capability. IMO you can get an optimal tune with any of these products, but they just work in different ways and have different feature sets. Which is best for me isn't necessarily best for the next guy.