If you have a 98 you have a "flashable" ECU that can be edited with the system you are talking about without physical changes to the ECU itself. I'm not faliliar with Evo Scan or flashing 98-99 ECU's so hopefully someone else chimes in.

However, EPROM is a different story. EPROM stand for Electronically Programmable Read-Only Memory. In order to tune an EPROM ECU, usually a chip must be installed in place of the factory EPROM chip. There are two kinds of chips that you can put in. One is a chip that you must program before putting into the ECU. This is a "burned" chip and must be removed to change the tune of the car. It's old school to say the least. The second and most common is a chip that lets you edit the ECU using software on your computer, usually a program called DSMLink made by ECM Tuning.

If you have an EPROM ECU in your car, someone swapped your ECU with one from an early '95. To find out you have to pull out the ECU (which is super easy), and then remove the top case to look for the EPROM chip. If your ECU is in a black plastic case, you have a flashable ECU.

How to determine if you have EPROM:
socketid [ECMTuning - wiki]

Thanks so much for that post man! That had a ton of information in it that I needed. Actually from what I just read from one of his texts is that it has an EPROM ECU in it. So what would be the easiest/most cost effective way to tune it? I know DSMLink is the best but I think it is kind of unnecessary for what we are looking to do. The standard evoscan would be the best option for us if that is still possible.

Welcome to the board! First thing's first; you need to find out what type of ECU is in the car. Seeing as it's a '98 it should have a flashable ECU (not typically called EPROM), but before flashing became a reality a few years back it was common to swap the '95 EPROM ECU into the car for tuning. The '95 ECU is an EPROM that requires DSMlink, it is not the same as a flashable '98/'99 ECU.

You can confirm what you have by looking at the ECU. It's located under the center console, just pop the kick-panel off to see it. The flashable ECU's are a black plastic case, older units are metal/somewhat brass-colored unit.

Seeing as the previous owner said it was "flashable" I'll assume it's a '98/'99 ECU. To work with the flashable units you'll require the Openport 2.0 cable, the Mitsubishi flash adaptor, a laptop, EvoScan (datalogger), and ECUflash (flashing utility).

The flashable ECU holds a ROM file that you can download via ECUflash. The file is editable via ECUflash to adjust the tune outside of the car at your leisure (Timing/Fuel). After configuring the tune, you then reconnect to the car and flash the new ROM into the ECU to have all your changes take effect. The flashing process is simple, the tuning process is grueling...

The first step in learning to tune is to read about tuning, the second step is to continue reading, followed shortly by even more reading. Only once you feel 110% comfortable from swelling your brain with information should you even attempt to begin tuning. There are plenty of resources to learn from, though most are from the Evo world. The Evo ECU is very similar to our flashable units, but are not exactly the same. The general idea on how to tune remains the same, so all Evo sources are at least mostly useful; be sure to read/watch all of them.

First and foremost you need Ceddymods; your car should already be using it if its been flashed. The safety features of CEL flash on knock, and stock Boost Gauge showing knock count alone make it a must-have. You can read about it here: Ceddymods and download it here: Ceddy's Store.

Next watch the first video of this set on Evom: ECUflash Training Videos. The first video will give you a good general idea of how flashing works to begin with. The rest of the videos will go too in-depth for your skill level at this point, so return to them later.

Now that you know the basics of how the ECU flashing process works move on to our forums on how to use Ceddymods, and the flashable ECU in general via these threads: http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/tuning-engine-management/338754-first-flashed-dsm-ecu-98-99-flashing-faq.html and http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/tuning-engine-management/347070-ceddymod-v1-ecuflash.html

Ceddy's website is packed with information on general tuning, from setting injector scaling, to fine-tuning the MAF. Read everything you can from here: Ceddy US

To finally get in-depth and learn the basics to actually begin tuning head back to the Evo forums and read every word of: How To Tune an Evo - evolutionm.net. The part about variable valve timing and such does not apply to us, and they use minorly different injector scaling, ignore those parts and use Ceddy's guides instead.

Now return to the Evo Training Videos and watch them all. Some of it will still be over your head, but you should know enough by now to actually begin some tuning.

That should be enough to get you started. the members here can help if you have any questions, and the Evo crowd still has some respect for their DSM ancestors and are often willing to help. Never be afraid to ask any questions, and do not mess with anything you do not understand. Your engine is not fragile, but it will not stand up to unending abuse from a bad tune. Be conservative with your tuning, and always ask for help if you're unsure; that's what this community was built for!

Should you in turn have a '95 EPROM ECU, all of the above is not overly useful. The '95 ECU requires DSMlink, (or ECMlink, whatever they're calling themselves these days, ). They have their own forum and FAQS to get you started after you purchase their software/hardware package. All of their information can be found here: ECMTuning, Inc. as well as their forums. As is typical, be ready to read until your eyes bleed, it's the only way to start out and learn the basics.

Good luck with your car, it holds a lot of potential! I hope some of this helps you out, happy tuning!

Thanks a ton for the help guys!! I haven't had a chance to look at it myself yet because I have pneumonia and its freezing out. But the previous owner told me it is a black box that when opened up has a socketed chip in it. So does this mean it is the stock ecu? I am thoroughly confused!

Remove your driver side center console panel. Disconnect your battery remove the ecu there a few phillips screw driver bolts that hold it in the ecu unplug it and open the ecu then post pics it will save alot of time. We dont want to guess what you have and give you the wrong info

A black box would lead me to believe it is a flashable ECU... NOT an EPROM. Just search for "Ceddymods" and you'll find a lot of info on flashable ECU's.

It has to be a flashable ECU. It's likely the guy simply doesn't know the difference. 98's come with a flashable (the black box) ecu from the factory. I haven't seen too many change overs on 98's or 99's to an eprom ecu since Ceddy cracked the black boxes years ago. My 97 has a 98 ECU in it and I use Evoscan to datalog and ECU flash with Ceddy mods for tuning. Works well. Reliant on community support though.

good info guys thanks