tuning question
 

what are some nice systems?
all of the fuel management systems are so expensive
i wanted to go with safc but everyone says stay away from tuning with that and i also wanted to look into megasquirt but it seems like a lot of trouble to set it up
what is a good system without the 1.2k pricetag

haltech is real nice. spend some cheddar on the platinum sport.

what part of ga you in? i have an e6x if you need to ask questions.

northeast ga near athens

o well that sucks. get a haltech. easy to learn, and a wealth of knowledge.

go cheap and wind up with a brick. save your money and buy the EMS or sell the car to someone who will.

/the end

cheapest that works is apexi power fc, its about what system your tuner works with anyways, not what is cheapest

just throwing it out there you can go with Rtek. Send in your ECU then they send it back fully adjustible.
Depending on the mods u expect to put in it might be good enough.

rtek is a step up from a safc(which imo is easier to tune than the rtek). better off spending 200 more and get a power fc or used haltech/microtech or something that will allow you to move up as you wish instead of only 1 step up, sideways or down.

i hear alot of good things for rtek i guess ill try that

grats

everyone who owns a RX7 and starts modding it ALWAYS wants more, 'til Rtek gets it together and builds something that is adaptable for more than lightly modded then you will wind up wanting something bigger and better a year or 2 down the road. clicking all those boxes on a palm pilot isn't my idea of a fun time, nor is the limitations still built into it.

For me it's the simplicity. With the rTek I don't have to rewire EVERYTHING, I don't have to get new coil packs... Eventually I'll build some monster turbocharged PP 26B with a nice EMS, but I'm content with working my way up slowly. Rather, my finances are more content with that... but that's how it is. You gotta eat. And the rTek is not fully adjustable, but the 2.x line offers MUCH more features than the SAFC units. I had an SAFC and didn't even care to tune with it, I sold it and got my rTek. I'll have my Zeitronix wideband install finished within a few weeks, then the REAL fun starts :egrin:

i use rtek 1.8 in addition to an S-AFC and a wideband. was able to make 273whp on the stock turbo with this setup.

it's not difficult to cut 5 connectors off an OEM harness and solder them onto a pre-built pigtail harness. if it wasn't for my meticulous habits of neatly wrapping and weather sealing harnesses i could build one and do an aftermarket EMS install in about 3-4 hours. for the benefits a real EMS gives i still don't see the drawbacks of doing it. Rtek is fine for light mods, for serious builds or to adapt to going to a medium, large or massive turbo i would never bother tuning an Rtek because of it's limitations and pita factor.

for a real engine management you can swap injectors to whatever size you want, install the biggest turbo you can get your hands on, do a PP or full bridge and roll with it. Rtek can't say the same at this current time. it is quick, cheap and easy to install but you know you pay for what you get, adaptability isn't in it. i am grateful for what they are trying to do but unfortunately i know how people are with their cars and the Rtek just doesn't suit people's desire for more. i generally tell people straight up, you may as well save for something that can give you the adaptability that they will need for the long run, not the short term.

Link please to this 650 dollar powerfc with adapter board or haltech that is an e8/e11 complete with harness or better. If you count megasquirt (bit more learning curve) you can do one for like 550 bucks depending on what parts you already have.

The rtek is great for what it does. It provides the user with a large range of adjustment over the stock fuel and timing maps. You can completely redo the timing and datalog to your hearts content.

Granted the rtek won't run stupid combos like 550/1600 but you can go pretty easily up to 1000/1000 with good tuning and not have any drive-ability issues. And you are limited to 14.7 psi of boost (well not really but it doesn't read anything past that).

The big plus with the rtek is that if you are running more boost on a slightly bigger than stock turbo you are only going to need to tune the boost portion of the map and all of the low end drive-ability tuning is already done.

one question... is a 60/1 turbo "slightly bigger than stock" turbo????

sigh.... realy?

if you guys wanna use old hardware and crappy harnesses such as the stock 20 year old stuff, go for it.

buying an ems isnt something that needs to be upgraded again. upgrading the ecu with new code is.

You can usually do it for considerably less. I've got maybe $200 into my MS-II 2.2PCB.


Cheapest that works, would be a megasquirt.

believe it or not, one advantage of the stock ECU (chipped with RTEK) and the Power FC is a very high tolerance for 20 year old harnesses. Despite the Rtek and Power FC's limitations, I've never had any crank trigger issues or electrical noise problems with either. And I am rocking a 23 year old harness.

and brand new OEM harnesses are still available. FD owners replace their factory harness all the time with a brand new one.

compared to the Rtek that would be true. compared to anyone posting anything remotely over 300WHP dyno slips. haven't seen it yet. if there is any they are very few.

That's not exactly discrediting that they work. If the rotary community using them were larger I imagine there would be a lot more dyno results with higher numbers. As it stands there really isn't a whole lot of MS rotary powered activity. The forum's like a ghost town most of the time.

why do you think that is? i have seen many people build it, start using it and completely switch to another EMS. do those guys still even make the plug n play kits for em? yes i know they work, but can they work flawlessly for years on a turbo car? that's the question i would like to see someone prove.

I think it's that way because people are quite scared of their ability to solder, or assemble electronic components without the aid of someone telling them exactly what to do. It's really not that difficult, and the only reason I could think of anyone switching is either they had no idea what they were doing (with regard to the MS), or couldn't find anybody close who would tune it. I've been using them for over 5 years without any problems. This reminds me a lot of those corn syrup commercials... a lot of bad rep but no real reasoning as to why.

Thats the reason I havent bought one. I can solder some wires here n there nut alot of wires n chips on a lil motherboard im a lil scared:scratch::scratch:. Plus with the RTEK it should start right up. Th e OP never said exactly what his setup would be.

if you want you can buy my setup i have a 1.7 that im selling

this is just my opinion if you cant afford to get a haltech or the apexi power fc then the rtek is the best thing to get for the money...im running the rtek on my car and i dont have any issues with it i like yes i am going haltech but not because of the rtek or what its limited to but because of what im doing with the car...if you have the money to get a haltech and get it tuned then sure go for it...if you dont and you need something thats plug up and go then there is nothing wrong with getting a rtek...lets be real some of us have things to do and if we are trying to get our car running quick then the rtek is the best way to go if you are building a drift car like myself and you have the time to put into it then get an haltech and no you dont need to change anything like your coils or anything like that the haltech will plug up to your stock equipment...as a matter of fact im running the new sprint re 500 (designed for the rotary) on my car and im not changing anything but my turbo to a stage 3 but my injectors setup is 550 primarys and 720 secondaries so my point is this what ever your budget allow you to get then go for it you build your car to your preference not to anyone elses

The MS is a good ECU, but the DIY part of it scares a lot of people (or should scare them!). Quality writeups help control this but most people don't have the electronics skills necessary. In a way, this is good because it stops people from creating disasters of a MS install when they should go off the shelf and get a Haltech/Microtech/etc. But there is nothing inherently wrong with the Megasquirt.

Just this summer I tuned a Megasquirted 2nd gen with a 13B RE and a GT35R. Put down 380 RWHP and 320 FT-LBS of torque.