Engine Management Systems

[Punknoodle]

So I thought I'd start a thread where we can discuss different systems, what we have in our cars, what the pros and cons are of each one, how easy they are to tune etc, beneficial features and the like.

It may also help out anyone looking to upgrade their management system.

I thought about this because soon I will be getting a new computer for my car, and there are so many different options out there, from piggy back type to full blown data recording systems from the likes of Motec.

I was thinking about getting a Haltech installed, but have shied away from that idea in favor of a Link ECU. These are made in New Zealand and the particular model I am going to go with is made to replace the board in your factory ECU so the harness plugs straight back in. There is also a base map installed so tuning time is reduced. The ECU is a G4 Xtreme, has full idle control, features like shift and launch control and anti-lag built in.

I am changing mine for 2 reasons, the first being the engine with it's current modifications is at the limit of what my ECU can control, it has a higher flowing head and different cams, at low rpm it isn't running nicely. I'm also hitting factory boost cut and want to eliminate that without using a Fuel Cut Defender.

The other reason is for future mods - anything I do from here will basically require an aftermarket ECU to make it work properly.

 

[Jay]

I use the Apexi Power FC, stand alone ECU

Advantages:
Plug and play
Fully tunable
Cheap for standalone
Preset factory tune
Handy Commander screen allowing easy viewing/logging/diagnostics of all parameters and real time adjustments
Due to it being model specific adjustments include everything related to that paticular vehicle (cam phasing, multi stage cam profile etc) with ease
Flashes engine light if it detects unacceptable knock levels quick easy warning without watching the display
Ability to also tune with Laptop
Detailed options for part upgrades (injectors, air metering etc)
Pro versions come with launch control options
Ability to tune in anti-lag
Optional boost control unit and adjustability
Well known with good unofficial support
Removes Japanese factory 180km/h speed limit
Easy rev limit lockout (and boost options) so while car getting serviced (mechanic/crash shop etc) with a few button presses the young apprentice can't trash it while you're not around
Also easy to disable engine and lock out ECU with one easy setting so it acts as immobiliser

Disadvantages
Vehicle model specific, Japanese domestic models only
Stock tunes optimised to Japanese fuels
Japan made only (available only as import)
Some adjustments in Japanese making it hard to make sense, manual also in Japanese
Many ECU models no longer made
Laptop adjustment requires a seperate module costing extra
Doesn't pull timing during knock like factory ECU's do (but does warn you clearly)
A little limited in custom air metering options
Detailed tuning a pain on the little screen (laptop so much easier)


There would be more that I can't think of off the top of my head, Had it for a few years, never missed a beat and overall I am very happy with it.

For anyone playing GT5, if you take out the blue RE Amemiya FD3S RX-7 you can see the Apexi Power FC Commander (the screen/controller) on the dashboard.

 

[Keef]

I think the most widely used tuning computer here in the States is Megsquirt, mostly for domestic and some import cars. It's also pretty cheap.

 

[Eric.]

I have Hondata Flashpro. You can adjust pretty much everything with it. I'm sticking to a base tune that matches my mods for the time being.

 

[Zenith]

I know plenty of people see this as sacrilege, but yes that's a GM HEI distributor. Pretty simple installation and not as fiddly as the old points and condenser. Got it after my old distributor's drive shaft snapped.

 

[mafia_boy]

There's a few brands you can go with. Some of the best tuning lately has come from people getting the good old GM Delco ECU and using Kalmaker software to retune it. Eddy Tassone has cars running over 1000KW@wheels using these ECU's. I've liked Haltech's because of the tuning that Hitman can perform on them (met the guy personally, top bloke!). MoTec is the best of the best, but be prepared to pay an arm and a leg for those products but they are second to none. Autronic is up there with MoTec but for about 1/2 the price, and another one out of left field are Wolf which provide awesome ECU's for smaller capacity motors. 👍

 

[niky]

Lot of Aussies on the Mazda boards swear by MicroTech... http://www.microtechefi.com... it's a standalone system, but from what I can gather, up-front price isn't too bad.

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I run the Dastek Unichip. It's a piggyback system that comes with plug and play solutions for a whole lot of cars, and which can be custom wired to cars that don't have harness adaptors available. With the standard unit with the simple spliced in intercepts, you can alter ignition timing and fuel maps, compensate for different-sized injectors and alter throttle sensitivity by tweaking TPS signals.

With some extra wiring, you can:

Add an 02 sensor intercept to alter O2 sensor signals to get around open/closed loop ECU relearning. (biggest issue with piggybacks)

Add thermostat intercepts to adjust timing and ignition maps for cold and hot running.

Wire in nitrous, extra injectors, intercooler spray, methanol spray, etcetera.

Wire in boost control.

Wire in a dashboard switch so you can choose from up to five different maps on the fly. Useful to enable a "valet" mode or "student" mode, as on the diesel race cars that use this chip here.

Add clutch sensor to enable launch control.

Wire in a different MAF/MAP unit to replace your stock one. There's a learning algorithm that allows you to correlate the aftermarket unit's reading with your stock unit or you can manually enter correction factors yourself. Incidentally, this allows you to run individual throttle bodies with open plenums on a MAF-equipped car after swapping to a MAP.

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And that's not including the add ons you can buy... unfortunately, the add-on module for tweaking the rev limiter doesn't work with my car. Been planning to splice in my O2 sensors and thermostat for a while, but I'm pretty lazy.

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The big issue with the Unichip is fightback if you don't spoof the O2 sensors and tuning has to be done by a dealer. So you'll have to see if there's one in your country. Microtech, on the other hand, should have a retailer near where you are.

 

[Punknoodle]

I was considering MoTeC - I had one priced and while it was fairly expensive I don't mind paying for quality. Apexi don't produce the Power FC for my car any more - I checked that a while ago. I've heard good things about Autronic and I was considering one of them, but from what I've heard from people with Links and reviewers they seem like a really good unit. I'm still researching though.

The Link I'm looking at doesn't seem to have on board knock control unless you go with the G4 Xtreme unit which has individual cylinder knock control - for the one I was looking at there is a add on called a Knockblock which connect to it and you run your factory or aftermarket knock sensor to it and it gives you full closed loop knock control on individual cylinders. I'm just waiting to hear back how much extra that is. It could be worth just getting the G4 Xtreme and splicing the harness, although the ability to just unplug the new ECU and swap in the factory one seems like it could be one of those things you never need but when you do you'd be very grateful Apparently they use a proper engine management specific CPU when building them as opposed to a generic type CPU used in a lot of cheaper stand alone management systems.

The link also has the ability to have duel maps changeable on the fly, as I said before it has anti-lag, flat shifting, launch control, stats logging, boost control, auxilery outs for the likes of intercooler water spray etc,

Another cool thing is the DisplayLink device which plugs in to the ECU and can display all the readings.

 

[Sniffs]

*headtilt* you guys must have plenty of spare money floating around to be able to afford that kind of stuff. it'd cost me at least 100 bucks just to get my ABS reset (and the one guy I know with a scan tool won't do it). heck, to even get ERROR codes when my engines acted up, I had to stick two heavy gague sewing needles in the right holes of a pre-ODB2 interface plug just to get a few simple Check Engine flash codes (or use the Key trick on my Plymouth). wish Ida had something like that for my toyota. it needed a computer tuneup as well as a mechanical one (ditto my S Blazer).

 

[Punknoodle]

Project car = money pit. But it keeps me happy so it's a worthy expense..

 

[Keef]

get my ABS reset

What? On any import I've ever messed with, you can disable ABS by either pulling the hand brake while you're driving, and then to turn it back on you just turn the engine off and on again. Resetting the ABS? Never heard of such a thing.

heck, to even get ERROR codes when my engines acted up, I had to stick two heavy gague sewing needles in the right holes of a pre-ODB2 interface plug just to get a few simple Check Engine flash codes

That's pretty standard-issue. There are some exceptions, but a 5 minute search online taught me how to check my error codes.

 

[CodeRedR51]

What? On any import I've ever messed with, you can disable ABS by either pulling the hand brake while you're driving...

I just pulled the fuse...

 

[Eric.]

What? On any import I've ever messed with, you can disable ABS by either pulling the hand brake while you're driving, and then to turn it back on you just turn the engine off and on again. Resetting the ABS? Never heard of such a thing.

What? Pulling the handbrake once disables ABS until the engine starts again? I've never heard of that and it seems like a major safety issue where people should know that.

 

[Sniffs]

remember, this is an American car I'm talking about. it has a zillion safety nannies in it, and I swear they build them on purpose so that only a certified ASE mechanic can get to pieces.

it's also a Chrysler product.

any brakework on this vehicle that involves the lines automatically disables the ABS. apparently, there's a special procedure involved even when it comes to bleeding the brakes. and I've had a significant proportion of my lines and so on swapped out (both front calipers, exposed portions of the lines, the ABS box itself (!), the proportioning valve, and the Master cylinder (3 TIMES!). most of the damage came from no-one bothering to replace the proportioning valve, which blew out the aforementioned lines, calipers and master, and may have screwed the ABS box. we even went through 2 proportioning valves because every time we bought one from the local junkyard they stripped the brake line threads getting it out! we had to go buy new from a dealership.

keef, you KNOW there's no such thing as a "HAND"brake on any US car except Jeeps

meanwhile, all this tuning crap makes me feel old. I might be able to handle tweaking early computerized cars, but not modern ones.

 

[mafia_boy]

Lot of Aussies on the Mazda boards swear by MicroTech... http://www.microtechefi.com... it's a standalone system, but from what I can gather, up-front price isn't too bad.

There's a reason they're called Micro-guesses niky. The only people who have mastered the ECU around here are PAC Performance (Mazda rotor specialists) and they charge an arm and a leg for a well tuned high hp motor. It's better value to look at the other brands like the ones I suggested. Since punknoodle is in Brissy, I might recommend looking at ChipTorque. They do most vehicles and develop new products all the time. Check them out at http://www.chiptorque.com.au and give them a call and ask if they can develop something for the 3S-GTE. 👍

 

[niky]

I guess it depends on where you are and what local support you can get. At least for my engine, MicroTech is a working choice. Though I went with the Dastek Unichip simply because there's dealer support close by.

Darn few applications for the Mazda FS-DE... though that's not surprising, because it revs like a truck motor, eats itself to death in high-rpm applications, and doesn't like boost all that much.

 

[Jay]

I friend of mine had a Starion Turbo (4G63 SOHC) with a MicroTech, it was pretty ancient but I don't remember him having trouble getting a good tune done with it (in Adelaide).