what is the best all around ECU for the money? all opinions welcome......what should one look for in an ECU?

 

I'm looking into Mircotech for b/w $500-600. It may lack the fine tuning (fuel points, 270 vs. 700/800) that you would expect from the haltech/motech, but it should be good enough for me if it's good enough for those 7sec rotaries. The only thing I worry about is streetablility, ie too lean or rich b/w idle and under 3000rpm where it spends most of the time.

 

how about the S-AFC what do you guy's think about that one? i am thinking baout getting it tell me the pros and cons!

 

Overall the Halteck E6K. The new Greddy E-Manage is pretty good as well, but is more limited than a Haltech. Neither of them are CARB approved or smog legal unless you just have to pass a sniffer. Visual would burn you at the stake

The S-AFC isn't an ECU, but rather an AFM adjuster. I have a write-up and installation How-To on my site if you want some more info

www.fc3s.org -> How-To's -> Electrical -> A'PEXi S-AFC

Enjoy.

 

It’s a common misconception that the ECU chosen to run a sub-10sec drag car must be awesome for a streetcar. All that car does is WOT for less than 10 seconds, and that’s about the easiest thing to tune for. Hell, even a carb’s good for that. But a car that is driven on the street also has to idle well, have good throttle transition, good light load running, etc, and that’s something that requires high tuning resolution. Not saying the Microtech won’t work well, just don’t relate it’s performance on a drag car to how ell it would work on a street car.

 

well how about the s-afc
i have a t04 and i hit feul cut! barely stepping on it! so yeah! i need something! i am looking to do some mid to hight 12's by the time i am done! would the s-afc allow me to do this i knew it was not a replacement ecu! but i am wonderin what would be best!

 

1) How are you going to drive the car (street, drag strip, autocross, speedway, etc.)?
2) What mods do you need to control (turbo, wastegate, electric fan, nitrous/water injection, extra fuel injectors, etc.)?
3) Do you know how to tune, or will you need to take it to a shop?
4) If you like to tune yourself, how do you like to tune (dyno, on-track, O2, Wideband O2, EGT, etc.)?
5) Do you have, or are you willing to get a laptop? What kind of OS do you have/prefer (DOS, Win3.x, Win95, Win98, etc.)?
6) How important are the "extra" functions, such as datalogging, turbo timer, theft protection, etc.?

If you have trouble answering these questions, as most people do, then I recommend that you just talk to your local rotary performance shop and see what they recommend for you. Ask them for a package deal for purchase/installation/tuning of the EMS.

 

Think you should have covered the fuel/ecu before you put the turbo on Well if your hitting fuel cut you need a fcd anyways and prolly some 720cc injectors with something to control them with.

 

well i got the bigger turbo cause my stock one got busted all to hell and i got this one brand new installed for 1000 cnd and that was steal! so i did it i just don't step on it! is all!
to keep from hitting feul cut! but now i am tryin to figure out the best way to go!

 

LOL, yes, he should have got the ECU and fuel upgrade first. The FCD is only a band-aid, not a fix, and is not required if an aftermarket EMS is used.

 

well i am currious how is the s-afc does anybody have one will it meet my needs? and if so where is the best place to get one! and i went for the beffy turbo cause i could not drive my car until i fixed it and i have not hit fuel cut for a little while! And i am doing the feul system soon secondaries high flow feul pump and all that good stuff and right after that will be the ECU and i need to know whether or not to order one now or what!
i need your opinion! or your suggestion not telling me what i should have done! and had i had mroe $ i would have done it but i didn't so i am doing it now!
suggestions please!!!!

 

Damn NZ, thought I mentioned in there of streetablility issues b/w idle and under 3000rpm. Maybe you didn't get the gist of my concern towards the end of the paragraph.
Yup, John force runs his 4sec top fuel on carb, doesn't make it streetable, right?

 

Yeah, I read it. I sorta contradicted what you'd just said though, that's why I said it. Plus it was aimed at a lot of people who are convinced by the "drag car" marketing of those systems. That ain't no carb baby!

 

NZ is very right (as usual) on several points. That which is best on the dragstrip is rarely optimal for street use. The high-pressure mechanical injection (controlled fuel leak) on a Top Fuel or Fuel Funny Car motor is fine for tuning mixture for WOT, but would be pretty miserable in any other environment. Hell, if you try to open and close the throttle more than once or twice, the motors blow up....

 

Well do you have about $1400 or so to run a good EMS? If so get one. If not order a FCD ASAP. That will give you more of a cushion. Then get a fuel pump and s-afc and larger secondaries and you should be good to go if you tune it right.

 

Contradiction, yes and no. I'm kinda of under the impression that since their champsion titles are on the line, they had to be careful choosing a particular EMS. It appears to me most of them had success using it. I mean would they risk even 1/10 sec if it wasn't accurate enough to do the job. If at any rpm it lean out /richen too much, that would cause them their race and possibly the motor. So with that it mine, it was good enough in my book. But at the same time, it weakness was also pointed out in the ECU forum where the resolution was a consideration in the lower rpm range. Since it's only $200 more than the s-afc, I rather go with this unit unless you think it's a waste of money.

 

4/5 posts I previously read by NZ, he disagrees with other people. Just like that overweight computer nerd in my class. LOL!

Just very funny...... I can't stop laughing.

But no, NZ, I am not saying you are like that fatass nerd, but you remind me of him!

 

Where can I read up on & purchase the "Microtech"? Thanks.

 

If that's what you think, you haven't read all my posts. Remember, if you don't agree with something I say, feel free to reply... Is that because he knew more than you too...?

 

You're absolutely right, but this is not the Microtech's weakness. I'm sure with the right tuning, they work great in drag applications and are perfectly reliable, otherwise they wouldn't be used. It's just that for street car use, that extra resolution of the likes of Haltech is much more important than for a drag car. Ever wonder why you seldom here of MoTec being used in drag cars? It's the best right? But it doesn't necessarily work any better on a drag car because constant WOT tuning is so simple, so it'd just be expensive overkill.

 

so is the S-AFC good enough for stretability/anihalator! i really want to kick some *** on the amature track and go fast when i want to!

 

http://www.injectionperfection.com/h...microtech.html

 

would a haltech be a good choice for a ECU upgrade?

would there be any need to install the Apexi S-AFC conntroller as well? wouldn't that allow for easier AFM adjustments?

 

Thanks man.

 

It would be an excellent choice! Quite a few FC's on this board are running one. No, because with a Haltech there is no AFM! Load sensing is my manifold pressure instead.