The more I look at everyone's cars, the more I want FI. Everyone seems to be going that route, whether it be a 13bt swap all the way with 20b's. The one common factor is fuel injection, at least in most cases. I know it's not cost effective to go the FI route on the 12a, which leads me into 13B territory. I would like either a 13b-rew, or a 13b-re. I would like to go with a 60-1 turbo eventually.

Standalone is the only way to go IMHO, so which one would you guys choose? Base your answers on easy of install, programability, price, and overall performance. I've never messed with a system like this before, and only know the extreme basics of how fuel injection works. I would be absolutely lost trying to install something like a Microtech or Haltech by myself without extensive reading and a person to explain things to me.

It seems like my carb days will be over eventually. If I can find a decent 13B, a rebuild will be more than likely.

 

if it were me and i was lost when it came to stuff like this i probably wouldn't installing and programming a microtech system my self.
just get a pro, they can tune it correctly and make sure everything is set up well.

 

How about the 'simple' way and just grab and engine, EFI system, and ECU (+harness) out of an SE?

That would give you a 13b, EFI, and you wouldn't have to program anything to get it to run.

A lot of people slam the EFI systems that Mazda designed, but they're based on the Bosch-L-Jetronic EFI systems of the day, and except for that restrictive 'air door' AFM, they do a very good job of running a correct A/F mixture MOST of the time. They were one of the first systems to use a feedback loop system (the O2 sensor) to run a 'closed loop' fuel map and accounted for the good fuel economy of the 13b's compared to the carb'ed 12a engines.

For the cost (pick-a-part + time), I don't see how you could go wrong with a stock Mazda system to get you off the ground - plus, you'd learn something along the way that may come in hand when you upgrade to turbo. HTH,

 

carb nah if i HAD to choose stand alone i would completely suggest HALTECH!!!! it's what all my fc friends are using on their high horsepower setups. it's what bdc will be tuning when he comes here... it's THE JAM!