Microtech for fd street/track days
03-29-13, 09:09 AM
#1
Rotarymadness
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Microtech for fd street/track days
I have a 93rx7 that I am putting back together after 7yrs of sitting in my garage without a motor. I ordered a v-mount intercooler from rotary extreme and will be going with a single turbo set up. I currently have two ecu. One is a power fc and the other is a microtech. My car will be driven on my days off mostly and it will see some track days. Kilo Racing is currently my mechanic. He is a good mechanic but most of his experience is in drag racing. My question is has anyone used a microtech lt10 on a fd on a roadcourse and what has been the experience good or bad?
03-29-13, 11:31 PM
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Rotarymadness
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Any help please this car is going to be put back together in a few short months and I need help trying to decide if the ecu will be a power fc or a microtech.
03-30-13, 12:16 AM
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You could always try the Microtech sub-forum section.
You should have sufficient posts for that section now.
Oh,there is also a Power Fc sub-forum too.
You should have sufficient posts for that section now.
Oh,there is also a Power Fc sub-forum too.
03-30-13, 08:50 AM
#5
Generally speaking I think if you're going to tune it yourself, go with whatever one YOU feel comfortable with. If you're going to have someone tune it, use the one THEY are most familiar/comfortable with.
I'm not a tuner and can't comment about the Microtech. But the largest FD user knowledge-base, especially here on the forum, will likely be the PFC.
I'm not a tuner and can't comment about the Microtech. But the largest FD user knowledge-base, especially here on the forum, will likely be the PFC.
03-30-13, 01:01 PM
#6
Rotarymadness
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I will not be tunning because that would be a crazy I just dont have the knowledge nor the experience to tune it. Kilo works with Microtech and that is why I bought it. I have just heard some rumors that microtech is only good for drag racig due to the fact it works great at high rpms but does not work good at low rpms. At a road course you will sometimes find yourself in the lower rpms comming out of some corners. I just want to know if the person who told me this is just talking things he knows nothing about or if there is any truth to what he says. My motor went when I had my power fc and since Kilo stands by Microtech I just wanted to get more info before wires get cut on my fd. I am in no way questioning Kilos tunning but the microtech as far as what it can do for my driving needs.
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03-30-13, 01:24 PM
#8
Stock twins I would recommend using power fc the plug and play is just so much more simpler. If your going single turbo and want to make more then 450 hp then ditch the power fc and use a microtech. kilo is one of the best tuners in florida and has lots of respectable cars that been tuned for street applications. Microtech is as good as the tuner and kilo is one of the best. Ive bought ecu's from him and did my own installations. Hope this helps...
03-30-13, 01:46 PM
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Rotarymadness
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I will not have twin turbos it I think I am going to the rx7 store 35r turbo kit. I like I said before I trust Kilo I know him for over 14 years when in 1999 he fixed my FD when it caught an engine fire and toasted my injectors, rats nest and my computer harness. He is a great engine builder and tuner. I also know that he usaully tunes for street application and is genius when it comes to drag racing. I was just trying to see if anyone was using microtech for roadracing or track days with no issues. Drag racing you or on the throttle from the start and only get off the accelerator at the end of the run. On a road course you are on and off the throttle a lot. This is where I dont know if the microtech is designed for this without issues.
03-30-13, 05:20 PM
#10
Road course is a little like daily driving a rx-7 in some aspects. When you daily drive a rx7 your constantly driving in demand traffic, stop, and go. At times we all step on it to feel the power of the rotary. Now I dont know anything about road racing just drag and street. But when you compare street with road racing with using a microtech. Its very similar and microtech has enough features to tune it accordingly. Now real world opinion microtech is a little finicky with low/ intermediate speeds sometimes needs tweek or two. Thats probably why you hear people say oh microtech is better for drag racing racing instead of anything else. I think if you had the knowledge to tune in matrix mode and use everything microtech has to offer for perfection. That would give microtech a better reputation. Last time I spoke with kilo I believe he doesnt use the matrix funtion. The ecu works good but there are better ecus with better resolution out their but they do cost more.
03-30-13, 09:35 PM
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Samito thank you for your input. I will ask kilo if he uses the matrix function. The only reason I went with microtech is because Kilo uses it and tunes it. I have a power fc but once again Kilo will be doing the work. I hope it works well for my application. If it does not I will return to the power fc that I still own or look for another tuner and ecu. Hopefully I will get some positive info from some of the other forum members with experience with the microtech on the roadcourse. I will love to be able to keep the microtech since that is what my mechanic uses. Someone out there has to be as crazy as I am.LOL
03-31-13, 08:33 AM
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Samito did you have to rewire your car to put in the microtech and if so I am imaging that you will rewire to put the fc. The fc seems to work well I have no complaints but my tuner tunes microtech so this is why I bought another ecu. I thought of selling the power fc with the commander but when it comes to the rotary world you I tend to never sell anything because things are for ever changing. Things have changed a lot from when my car went into storage in 2005. It was beating up my wallet and it wasnt some much the car fault it was a crapy mechanic who did the engine rebuild. Well it was not Kilo. I should have taken it too him but my mechanic at the time was doing well with the tunning and running of my car until a joy ride from an auto body shop killed my motor. Found out two lessons never leave the keys of an fd at any shop and listen to people when they say that a certain individual is a good with fd but does not know how to rebuild engines. Everyone said bring it to Kilo. I was just trying to stay loyal. Lesson learned.
03-31-13, 09:34 AM
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Engine, Not Motor
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IF this car is a street driven car, and not a dedicated track car, then the Microtech isn't an ideal ECU choice. It's an antiquated POS at this point that is only suitable for a track car.
Back in the day, the Microtech LT(s) series was delivered full of promises. Fast CPU, continuous software updates from Microtech, and additional features continually being developed. How many updates have we received since the thing was released 10 years ago? Zippo. So all of us LT8s (and this translates to the higher numbered ECUs as well) are stuck with an ECU that offers:
-poor interpolation between load points
-ridiculous timing model based on a distributor paradigm
-no closed loop O2 control
-extremely limited I/O
-crappy datalogging
-software from the late '90s
I'd highly recommend you go to an ECU that was designed in this century such as the Haltech Platinum series, MegaSquirt 3 (if you like DIY), or similar.
Back in the day, the Microtech LT(s) series was delivered full of promises. Fast CPU, continuous software updates from Microtech, and additional features continually being developed. How many updates have we received since the thing was released 10 years ago? Zippo. So all of us LT8s (and this translates to the higher numbered ECUs as well) are stuck with an ECU that offers:
-poor interpolation between load points
-ridiculous timing model based on a distributor paradigm
-no closed loop O2 control
-extremely limited I/O
-crappy datalogging
-software from the late '90s
I'd highly recommend you go to an ECU that was designed in this century such as the Haltech Platinum series, MegaSquirt 3 (if you like DIY), or similar.
03-31-13, 10:09 AM
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Rotarymadness
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I will not be running any cats or emmissions. I dont know if that makes a difference. Dont know anything about tunning so in simple terms what kind of problems may I run into mechanically by running a microtech?
03-31-13, 10:12 AM
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Rotarymadness
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Aaron a lot of cars run microtech in Florida it is probably the most ran ecu in the Orlando area. Most of those cars are street cars and part time drag cars. I will not be running an O2 sensor.
03-31-13, 11:25 AM
#17
Samito did you have to rewire your car to put in the microtech and if so I am imaging that you will rewire to put the fc. The fc seems to work well I have no complaints but my tuner tunes microtech so this is why I bought another ecu. I thought of selling the power fc with the commander but when it comes to the rotary world you I tend to never sell anything because things are for ever changing. Things have changed a lot from when my car went into storage in 2005. It was beating up my wallet and it wasnt some much the car fault it was a crapy mechanic who did the engine rebuild. Well it was not Kilo. I should have taken it too him but my mechanic at the time was doing well with the tunning and running of my car until a joy ride from an auto body shop killed my motor. Found out two lessons never leave the keys of an fd at any shop and listen to people when they say that a certain individual is a good with fd but does not know how to rebuild engines. Everyone said bring it to Kilo. I was just trying to stay loyal. Lesson learned.
03-31-13, 12:52 PM
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Rotarymadness
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Makes since the power fc worked well for me no complaints but my mechanic uses mircotech and there is not too many honest mechanics around here so microtech it is for now. If things go wrong then I will go to pettit racing in Soufh Florida and run my power fc.
03-31-13, 01:19 PM
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Ya in this area there are a few that know what they are doing but many are good sales people and can have you believing they know rotaries. A lot rotaries have been done wrong in this area.
03-31-13, 02:11 PM
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Not running an O2 sensor?!? Why in the great name of all that may or may not be holy would you do such a thing?! Widebands are a great tuning aid and necessary for good datalogs. And any ECU that doesn't suck (so not Microtech) can use an O2 sensor to continually adjust the mixture to keep the engine at optimal AFRs for both power and economy. The better ECUs can even self tune the AFRs via the O2 sensor.
I have over 10 years tuning Microtechs on everything from a 146HP stock port NA to 500HP bridgeported big turbo cars.
03-31-13, 04:08 PM
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And put me in any of those cars and I'd immediately be complaining that they drive like crap. It is very, very difficult to get a Microtech running smoothly on a street car unless you tune it excessively rich. And by excessively rich, I mean that it's difficult to lean out the light load bins because of the poor resolution and interpolation. Lean those bins out and there is a big hump when the engine moves into the next bin. Terrible.
Not running an O2 sensor?!? Why in the great name of all that may or may not be holy would you do such a thing?! Widebands are a great tuning aid and necessary for good datalogs. And any ECU that doesn't suck (so not Microtech) can use an O2 sensor to continually adjust the mixture to keep the engine at optimal AFRs for both power and economy. The better ECUs can even self tune the AFRs via the O2 sensor.
You won't run into any problems mechanically running a Microtech. It is a reliable ECU that will do the job. However your tune will never be as good as the more modern ECUs. And considering Microtech has not dropped their price, there is zero advantage to buying one over a decent ECU.
I have over 10 years tuning Microtechs on everything from a 146HP stock port NA to 500HP bridgeported big turbo cars.
Not running an O2 sensor?!? Why in the great name of all that may or may not be holy would you do such a thing?! Widebands are a great tuning aid and necessary for good datalogs. And any ECU that doesn't suck (so not Microtech) can use an O2 sensor to continually adjust the mixture to keep the engine at optimal AFRs for both power and economy. The better ECUs can even self tune the AFRs via the O2 sensor.
You won't run into any problems mechanically running a Microtech. It is a reliable ECU that will do the job. However your tune will never be as good as the more modern ECUs. And considering Microtech has not dropped their price, there is zero advantage to buying one over a decent ECU.
I have over 10 years tuning Microtechs on everything from a 146HP stock port NA to 500HP bridgeported big turbo cars.
correct. if you want it to run lean on cruising at some points it will be a rough ride
