Haltech E6X: Worth Using Or Paper Weight?
10-22-16, 03:23 PM
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E6X: Worth Using Or Paper Weight?
I have a Haltech E6X that I used about 10 years ago and a brand new harness for it that I am looking to use in a project FD. I really am not looking forward to offloading a decade old ECU to buy a newer one if it isn't worth it.
I can read spec sheets for the new features, better processing, better map resolution etc and understand what things are doing but given my very dated tuning experience, I have a few questions that I would appreciate someone with more experience weighing in on:
1. Are the new ECUs significantly easier to tune? I am getting the impression that the closed loop doesn't eliminate the need for a good tuner to do the basic setup but it cuts down on the tuning time. Is that accurate?
2. From an engine safety standpoint, is there a lot of benefits here? I see the EGT map correction options and what not but I am curious if there has been a big shift in engine reliability over the last decade with better ECUs.
3. I can save a lot of time using the existing wiring with certain ECUs like an Adaptronic. I am a little worried about a 22 year old wiring harness and will be adding in enough extra stuff (SMIC fan, water injection, EV14s for injectors, etc) so I might just go for rewiring it anyway.
If I end up saving a few hundred bucks on my tuning bill with a newer ECU and they are much better at protecting the engine (I'm going to be getting a rebuild for this project) I see it as a worth while investment. I just don't want to spend $1,500 for more features that really don't pay off in the end.
I am aware a huge factor will be if i can find someone who is actually willing to tune the damn thing but for now, I want to focus on what I'd get from spending more money. If I can't find a good rotary tuner that will tune on an E6X, I might just have to upgrade anyway but I'd like to know if it is pointless to keep such an old ECU.
For what its worth, this is what I'm doing with the car:
BW EFR 8374
Medium street port
SMIC
3" exhaust w/ Bonez cat and GM air pump added when emissions testing is required
Stock ignition (for now)
Planned to run on pump gas
I'm hoping to get 400 RWHP and keep the boost somewhere close to 12-15psi. The car will probably see less 1,000 miles a year and isn't intended to be tuned to the razor's edge.
Any help would be very much appreciated.
I can read spec sheets for the new features, better processing, better map resolution etc and understand what things are doing but given my very dated tuning experience, I have a few questions that I would appreciate someone with more experience weighing in on:
1. Are the new ECUs significantly easier to tune? I am getting the impression that the closed loop doesn't eliminate the need for a good tuner to do the basic setup but it cuts down on the tuning time. Is that accurate?
2. From an engine safety standpoint, is there a lot of benefits here? I see the EGT map correction options and what not but I am curious if there has been a big shift in engine reliability over the last decade with better ECUs.
3. I can save a lot of time using the existing wiring with certain ECUs like an Adaptronic. I am a little worried about a 22 year old wiring harness and will be adding in enough extra stuff (SMIC fan, water injection, EV14s for injectors, etc) so I might just go for rewiring it anyway.
If I end up saving a few hundred bucks on my tuning bill with a newer ECU and they are much better at protecting the engine (I'm going to be getting a rebuild for this project) I see it as a worth while investment. I just don't want to spend $1,500 for more features that really don't pay off in the end.
I am aware a huge factor will be if i can find someone who is actually willing to tune the damn thing but for now, I want to focus on what I'd get from spending more money. If I can't find a good rotary tuner that will tune on an E6X, I might just have to upgrade anyway but I'd like to know if it is pointless to keep such an old ECU.
For what its worth, this is what I'm doing with the car:
BW EFR 8374
Medium street port
SMIC
3" exhaust w/ Bonez cat and GM air pump added when emissions testing is required
Stock ignition (for now)
Planned to run on pump gas
I'm hoping to get 400 RWHP and keep the boost somewhere close to 12-15psi. The car will probably see less 1,000 miles a year and isn't intended to be tuned to the razor's edge.
Any help would be very much appreciated.
10-23-16, 06:26 AM
#2
1) Yes, for the most part. New functions like Haltech quicktune feature cut down on tuning time quite a bit. But don't expect to save hundreds, or anything, if you're taking it to someone to have it tuned. A tuner is charging you mainly for the dyno time and his experience. If he owns the dyno he has to pay for it and up keep. If he's renting the time then he's passing that on to you. In general, cost will be the same regardless of the system.
2) Yes. The E6X is know for its poor performance. Newer systems will not just have faster processors but more trouble free firmware. The firmware is really where the quality of performance lies. Along with that you'll also get some new and helpful features with the newer stuff.
3) Our business is wire harnesses, so of course we'll recommend ditching the old OE harness and the benefits of doing that are pretty obvious. But, if you don't know what you're doing, you can create as many issues as you solve in building your own wiring. Haltech has a patch loom for the Sport and Elite ECUs for the FD. We can also produce custom patch looms for any system on the market, like AEM and Syvecs. So don't limit yourself to a lower end box just because that's the one plug-in option you know of.
2) Yes. The E6X is know for its poor performance. Newer systems will not just have faster processors but more trouble free firmware. The firmware is really where the quality of performance lies. Along with that you'll also get some new and helpful features with the newer stuff.
3) Our business is wire harnesses, so of course we'll recommend ditching the old OE harness and the benefits of doing that are pretty obvious. But, if you don't know what you're doing, you can create as many issues as you solve in building your own wiring. Haltech has a patch loom for the Sport and Elite ECUs for the FD. We can also produce custom patch looms for any system on the market, like AEM and Syvecs. So don't limit yourself to a lower end box just because that's the one plug-in option you know of.
10-23-16, 09:17 AM
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I used C Ludwig's Services for my Haltech PS1000 and got Chris to make me a wiring harness for my application.
It was the easiest damn thing that went on the car!Plugged it into sensors and injectors,fuel,etc..DONE!I swear I had it routed and setup in an hour..
Now,I decided to modify my ignition setup and Chris was right there with me(well me here and him way over there..lol!) and he was able to reconfigure a new patch harness that slipped right into the existing new harness for Another painless install.
The thing that bothers me most about someone getting a NEW ECU is that they want to use the OLD Harness on the car...WHY?
That is like wiping your butt before you poop.It doesn't make sense!
You can get your harness configured any way you want and IF you want to add stuff later then you CAN...just inform Chris and he can do whatever your heart desires.
I may be ranting but this Guy did a GOOD job and frankly I hate Hacks..BUT I love good workmanship!..and that my friend is worth talking about!
It was the easiest damn thing that went on the car!Plugged it into sensors and injectors,fuel,etc..DONE!I swear I had it routed and setup in an hour..
Now,I decided to modify my ignition setup and Chris was right there with me(well me here and him way over there..lol!) and he was able to reconfigure a new patch harness that slipped right into the existing new harness for Another painless install.
The thing that bothers me most about someone getting a NEW ECU is that they want to use the OLD Harness on the car...WHY?
That is like wiping your butt before you poop.It doesn't make sense!
You can get your harness configured any way you want and IF you want to add stuff later then you CAN...just inform Chris and he can do whatever your heart desires.
I may be ranting but this Guy did a GOOD job and frankly I hate Hacks..BUT I love good workmanship!..and that my friend is worth talking about!
10-23-16, 12:20 PM
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Rotodeus
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Thanks for the reply guys.
C. Ludwig,
Like I said, its more the fact that I have the ECU already and it is free to install vs buying something new and getting a couple hundred for the E6X and harness if I'm lucky. I appreciate the input though and it looks like that is the right course of action despite it sucking financially. :-(
C. Ludwig,
Like I said, its more the fact that I have the ECU already and it is free to install vs buying something new and getting a couple hundred for the E6X and harness if I'm lucky. I appreciate the input though and it looks like that is the right course of action despite it sucking financially. :-(
10-24-16, 07:22 AM
#5
the e6x was notorious for trigger pickup problems. i briefly had an stock turbo FC with an e6x and it would break up at high rpm, and it always had a really weird loping idle (stock ports) that im pretty sure was trigger related and e6x-induced that i never figured out
iirc the e6x only lets you play with trigger gain and filter. the newer ecus let you set threshold voltage, as well as gain, filter, which really let you dial in the trigger signals. the newest ecus have added running-average type filter, which is even better
iirc the e6x only lets you play with trigger gain and filter. the newer ecus let you set threshold voltage, as well as gain, filter, which really let you dial in the trigger signals. the newest ecus have added running-average type filter, which is even better
10-28-16, 11:43 AM
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ve run all the older haltechs and for two reasons i would never use one again.
the first is that the platinum and newer software is just so much easier to use. i am amazed we had those old ecu cars running as well as we did.
the second is that the newer stuff has better hardware, they are much more consistent day to day.
also the other stuff is much better, like sequential injection, and all of the other things like boost control, and closed loop etc etc etc.
so in short, i would never ever use the E6X on a rotary ever again. i would use it on something that had a hall effect trigger, like a miata, but that is about it.
the first is that the platinum and newer software is just so much easier to use. i am amazed we had those old ecu cars running as well as we did.
the second is that the newer stuff has better hardware, they are much more consistent day to day.
also the other stuff is much better, like sequential injection, and all of the other things like boost control, and closed loop etc etc etc.
so in short, i would never ever use the E6X on a rotary ever again. i would use it on something that had a hall effect trigger, like a miata, but that is about it.