TBasS

Hey guys just wondering what ecu is perfect to use and why?

silverrotor

iTrader: (1)

Dude, you have to be more elaborate than that. For what year car are you talking about? Turbo? NA? Aftermarket? I think that you should be posing questions rather than us. Details.

TBasS

sorry didn't though of that - my car is a turbo ii 1990 - i have just ugraded my intake to a 3" pipe and i've done my exhaust, there's going to be more mods to follow. like injectors and modified turbo, etc i'm not even sure if power fc will work on a s5 engine? what brands are there? which is a good one and which is a bad one? i want to get a full engine management because i want to leave room in the engine to grow - if you catch my drift so yeah...can anyone help?

Tec

Something besides the stock unit! tuning a stock computer with piggybacks is like your GF kicking you in the *****!

wdwflash

I'm not real knowlegeable on ECUs, but I've spent three years putting a '87 TurboII into my kitcar and I really like the Haltech E6k that runs everything. There was good backup on their web site and help on the RX7 web sites.
I looked at ECUs for about a year and the haltech was the most bang for the buck! I got mine from Rotary performance in Texas, but you should go to the "Hitmans" web site. He has get write ups on the haltech and you can download "Maps" from there for you computer.

TBasS

That a dirty car man aye! started to look into the ecu, soon it can be hooked up to your pc ! it's quite expensive though but sounds like you will have full control of your car.

yeah...the stock unit is probably sweet for now until i go above 8.2psi i think it supports!?!

any other suggestion?

Evil Aviator

The perfect ECU: Whichever ECU your local rotary engine performance tuning shop tells you they can install and tune to meet your performance requirements.

Why: Because you are going to blow up your engine if you try to piece something together and tune it yourself.

wdwflash

Evil Aviator: If you read all the manuals, think the project out real well and plan, you shouldn't just "blow engines up." It looks like your piecing some projects togather, have you blown anything up? If you have, you learned from it.(That which doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.)
I'm new to rotary engines and haven't blown anything up yet, although there is always that chance, and it probable helps that I work on marine diesels to 5000hp everyday.
My point is I encourage everyone to work on their own cars, boats, engines, etc. Do it to the level you feel comfortable and then ask the experts(Isn't that what this forum is made for?) Planning and reseach are a big factor in a successful project (or anything else!) I've never installed an ECU(Haltech), before, but I took my time and reseached, and got all the help off of the internet I could get(haven't blown my engine up yet.)
When I go to repair an engine or piece of equipment I haven't worked on in a while, I always read the manual first, before doing anything.

Evil Aviator

Oh, I agree, but that doesn't change my recommendation. At this time, an EMS is just too difficult to tune by simply reading the manual. It is much better to have a professional install it, and then the user can work on fine-tuning later if they have the desire to learn the system. The next best option to a professional install is to at least buy an EMS with local support in case you get in a bind with the do-it-yourself install. I just hate to see people buy an EMS, and then either blow up the engine, or have the car sit around for years because they don't know how to work the EMS. All of the leading brands of EMS do basically the same thing, so I think it's up to what is available in local support, and the local support folks will know if the EMS is up to the user's requirements better than some nameless internet geeks who haven't even seen the car in question.

No, I haven't blown up any of my rotary engines yet in the 14+ years that I have owned them, but the plan is to drive my 1Gen 12A to destruction, so that will change shortly.

jmseven

MICROTECH

wdwflash

Yes, I've seen a lot of do-it-yourself projects sitting around(I have a few myself), but I disagree about installing your own EMS. With this age of the internet, all of the info is out there.(an engine is just a hot air pump and like engines are, well alike. Thats why they make manuals.) True, you do need good mechanical skills, but with through planning, reading of the manuals and help from people on the internet, I don't see any reason for not working on or installing any piece of equipment.
Case in point. I installed my Haltech, but couldn't get the car to start. While I havent seen a engine or piece of machinery I couldn't repair(with the right manual, time and parts), I am new to computers. I got on one of the RX7 web sites and asked for help. Arturo of Santago, Chile got hold of me and told me my starting maps from Rotary Performance were wrong. He downloaded one of the "Hitman's" maps, redid the starting maps, I downloaded it from him and downloaded it into my Haltech. Well, the engine started right up and has run good every since. I have tweked it a little for better performance.
By the way, the Haltech manual is well thought out and one of the better ones I have ever seen. Although the addition of pictures would be helpful, but there are a lot of those on the internet.(many, many on the TurboII/Haltech install) I don't know about anyone else, but half the fun of owning a fast car is installing the stuff that makes it go fast myself. I also don't like paying a shop to install something that I know that I can do just as good or better.(with the manual, time and the internet.)
I lived in Alaska for 20 years and a lot of the time there were no parts stores right next door, so you had to improvise. A wise old machanic up there once told me " anything built by man can be repaired by man." I think of that everytime I start a really difficult repair job(such as changing the injectors on a 5000hp, 16 cyl diesel and its got to be done in 6 hours so the ship can leave port.)

Rs4Racer

wdwflash.

what kind of kitcar is that?
who makes it?
how much does it cost?

im in bremerton btw.

oh yah very cool car.

was the e6k very hard to put in?
with the rotary you got rid of all the emissions right?

wdwflash

Its called a Kelmark GT and it was made in 1978 by kelmark in Michgan. I had it over at Bremerton for the Blackberry car show(1st place in class)
I've got about $17,000 in it so far, but I have plans for more stuff so that will go up.
Since I'm new to computers(yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks!), it probable took me longer than most, that plus I wasn't putting it in a RX7(all the stuff on the internet is based on a RX7 install.) I've gotten rid of all of the emissions. I bought one of the plates and made the rest. Boeing Aircraft Surplus is a great place to get the alum. for this.
I looked at stand alone EMS's for about a year and as I said before, the Haltech E6K is the most bang for the buck. If you want to install one, you should have good mechanical knowledge and read the manual, and download everything you can get off of the internet before starting. Its not a one day(night) install. To do it right you have to take your time and expect your car to be down for a while.
By the way, I just had to take the engine out of my Kelmark to get at the transaxle. I spent around $2000. for the transaxle and axles and it went bad in under 200 miles(I haven't even taken the car to half throttle.)
Well, the builder in Calif. has a good reputation and he said he's good for it(I hope!) Its just not much fun taking all of the wiring, hoses, exaust etc. off after I just got it running this summer.
I figure I've got around 250hp and the car weighs around 1800lb.
btw: My Kelmark originally came with a 6cyl turbo Corvair engine. There is a guy in north Bremerton that has a Kelmark with the turbo Corvair(Its not running right now, but I told him I would come help him get it on the road.
For good info on the Haltech go to the "Hitman" web site, he is the Haltech tuning god!

Evil Aviator

This month's Kit Car magazine has a write-up on a classic Kelmark racer. Yes, it is a very cool car.

wdwflash

I haven't gotten that issue yet, but I think I know which car it is. The guy goes to run n' gun every year. He's got it decked out like a race car, even though its got a VW engine(I believe its hopped up to some extent.)
Yes, Kelmarks are one nice looking car, I fell in love with mine the first time I saw it.
I was restoring a '64 Corvair spyder conv , but didn't really care for it. I had it at a car show in our town which goes on every wed. in the summer. A guy shows up and tells me all about my car. Turns out he is a big time Corvair collector and doesn't have a '64 spyder. He asks me if I'd like to trade for a kitcar(I think, No Way!), but he invites me to look at his collection. What his collection turns out to be something else, not just Corvairs, but all sorts of other cars. He shows me the most beautiful red car I had ever seen(the Kelmark.) He had owned it for around 20 years and it was stored inside for all of that time. Well, the first thing I thought was Turbo rotary engine, and three years later here it is.
To my knowledge this is the first Kelmark with a TurboII rotary. It really didn't want to fit in there!

Fatty_FC3S

Go with stand alone management like other people are talking about. The 2 best kinds are the Haltech and the WOLF 4.0. I personally like the wolf better because i feel its easier to tune. Regardless of which one you choose, its worthless if you dont get it tuned right. There is no fooling around with stand alone managment, you can easily blow something up if you dont know what you are doing. Get it installed and tuned professionaly, you will be happy you did. Good tuning is cheaper and faster than a blown motor.

Graham