This is somewhat worthless anecdotal evidence but..

I put on the TII system, Rtek 1.X for FCD, sent the stock injectors to be cleaned, replaced vac hoses and gaskets associated with removing injectors; and the difference was huge. From 7 psi ish to 14, Breaking loose new 225 KDW tires
on hard second gear shifts where it did not come close previously. I'm not saying that the RB system is somehow better that other competitors' systems, but the mod itself was the biggest increase per single part of any car I have owned. (I've never dabbled with NOS, big turbo setups, etc though)



"You need supporting mods" Hmm, not really besides an Rtek 1.5 for $100 and a S5. Running strong for two years with no explosions.


"separate FCD is much more simpler to install and work with from a stock standing point" - Removing your ECU and sending it off for a couple days takes about 20 minutes, and for the same price as a brand name FCD you get faster secondaries, timing retardation over stock boost levels, optional OMP removal, no warm up revving, and FCD built in. I don't think there could be more simple and cost effective option than the Rtek 1.5

 

i've got an HKS system on my car, it was bought new in the early 90's so its not quite as old as the article. its pretty simple, its just mild steel although it does have nice thick flanges. the car it came from (and will go back to) has 200,000miles on it, so it has lasted long enough i guess.

the wye (Y?!) pipe did split, and has been fixed, and i did give it a fresh coat of paint, but other than that it seems ok.

the old Trust system is similar (its actually pre GReddy), also mild steel, this is the best sounding one IMO, but its really hard to find cause its not made as well as the HKS, which isn't as robust as the RB...

 

Be honest with yourself, how often is whats easy been whats best..... That being said, its really not that hard to unplug the ECU and plug it back in, which is about the level of difficulty of an Rtek insall.

An FCD is a hackjob workaround, that is a holdover from an era when people did not have the understanding, ability, or technology to create comprehensive tuning solutions. If you want to jack up your fuel pressure, toss in some large secondaries, and roll the dice with stock timing every time you mash the gas, be my guest. But don't say we didn't try to warn you.

 

That is a supporting mod... Hence my statement.

Like I said: For bare minimum to keep te car running you will need a FCD. If RB mention this on their site; please excuse me. Anyways. a FCD does not add fuel or correct ignition, so a RB exhasut and a FCD is a terrible upgrade if you ask me. Make sure your car supports the increase in power, before you do so.

I'm not saying I always do everything as I should. I replaced my rotten mufflers with a eBay catback as a cheap and quick way to get through MOT. It was actualy a turbo back system, but I kept the cats in place to fight the boost increase... Needless to say I ran into fuel cut, so I installed a FCD. This didn't feel right, so I quickly replaced my ECU with a generic mapped Knights Sports unit, which had no FC, higher rev limiter, and changed feul and ignition maps for cars running 80mm catbacks and upgraded intake/intercooler.

It was a quick cheap fix, ran fin for a while, but I want more. So I'll goi standalone.

Riz.

 

The thread has gotten a little off track, but if one wants to be cheap, why even consider a RB system. Get a FC pump, MBC, Rtek and you'll be good to go.
As an example, many years ago installed a FC pump $35(used), G-Force ECU 12lbs $150 (used), stock intake, stock exhaust minus precat, but can't remember the price of precat delete pipe, and the car ran fine up to the 12lb limit. I only added a Bonez main cat just to obtain a slightly better exhaust note.

Bottom line, one can obtain much better performance for the price of even a used RB system and still have the necessary controls in place to assure proper mixtures, timing, etc. Food for thought.

 

^^^ Make that a FD pump and the MBC was a Hallman remote $140.

 

part of the problem is that these cars are old. the engines are tired, the charging systems get weak, and combine the two, and the engine fails.

read this, http://2ndgenrx7.freeservers.com/grassrootsproject.html and just compare how different their tuning approach is to the forum now. would you do 240hp on a STOCK ecu and STOCK fuel system? they did.

not saying you're wrong, better safe than sorry after all...