im looking to go stage 2 and no further at all. unichip = $200 plus spare ECU and utec is $600.

if i got a utec i would probly just run the base map for quite a while, until i had the funding to get custom tune. isnt unichip just flash once like ecutek?

Are you trying to say that Unichip gives you a spare ECU? or rather piggybacks onto your stock ecu and changes perameters? Because Unichip is an add on, UTEC is a complete user tunable ECU and has many more features. Unichips require reflashing everytime you change mods, but I feel their power is compromised. I had a friend who ran an early vishnu unichip and was not very happy with the results, but it may have been the way it was tuned

I would just research both and decide what is really most important to you, versatility and potential or money saving and time saving. I think most people would agree that UTECs will be a better option, though Unichip is not to be ruled out. I am going to buy a UTEC and run the STG 2 basemap soon as well