I have a few mods on my 95 FD and was thinking about going with a computer upgrade before i damage anything. After doing some research it seems that getting a stock ECU reprogramed and getting a Apexi Power FC are very close to the same price. I'm wondering what others opinions are on the Power FC vs ECU mods.

Mitch

 

PowerFC would be the better of the 2 options but you need to have it tunned although it will work fine even if you don't tune it but you shouldn't push the car hard on an untunned PowerFC. A bolt on ECU like the Petit ECU is basically plug and play.

thewird

 

yeah power fc with the commander seems to be very popular...in my opinion its the most versitile option, but for just a few mods you ould prob be good with just a piggy-back ecu..

adam

 

Pfc Ftw!

 

who tunes stock ecu?!? Did I miss something?


PFC is the most popular and therefore will probably be the easiest to have tuned FOR A ROTARY. Even with the base map the car will run rich and you'll be ok until you get it tuned.

After the PFC you will want to focuse on your fuel. It's 2nd in line when you're getting upgrades.

 

get the pfc. Talk to Chris at rx7.com and he has map for stock twins.

 

I think he meant the reflashes you can get from places like Petit, RE-Amemiya, M2 and Knightsports.

 

Mitch,

It depends on what your plans are for your car. The re-chipped ECU's will get your car to 320-335rwhp on stock ports without any issues. Porting can push the car up to around 340-355rwhp using the re-chipped ECU's, but that's about the limit.

If your goal is something higher than that, you will need to go with a programmable ECU like the PFC, Haltech, AEM, etc.

 

A used rechipped ECU for $250 or so is not a bad buy - but I would not pay much more than that since PFCs are now in the $600 range. I think a PFC with Commander is worth it for its monitoring capabilities alone - and it will usually make the engine run more smoothly than the stock ECU.

Despite what some will tell you, there is no immediate need to get a PFC tuned for your car when you buy one if it only has bolt ons. The base mod map in the later PFCs run quite rich even with all the bolt ons. You can certainly have it tuned for more power, but it is not required.

 

And it has many options for readings like, water temp, knock, charge temps, and boost. Pretty important stuff

 

Just curious, can you still pass emissions with a pfc?

 

It's just like any other ECU: it depends on the tune and what you have done to the car.

 

One comment: I feel that PFC or any other "tunable" engine management system is best for someone who has time/energy/patience/desire to learn about what the system can do for your engine, it's limitations, and how to keep tabs (and what it all means) on all the good stuff that it tells you (real time sensor readings). That kind of FD owner should also be aware that whatever "tune" is loaded into the ECU was likely tuned under specific conditions, and that there really is no end to the tweaking and fiddling that goes along with having a tunable EMS. Next thing you know, you need a wideband O2 and datalogging capabilitly... that is unless you want to pay someone else $300+ to retune your car every year or so.

But like what the others said... a "rechip" is the best solution for the FD owner who isn't hands-on. Good luck with your decision.

 

I appreciate all the info, currently i only have a few mods but i plan on doing more things in the future and am not too hip on sending my chipped ECU away every-time i change something. That is why i was leaning toward the Power FC. On my old FD i used a PFS PMS and had very bad luck. Tried to get Tri-Point to tune it and I'll just say that engine only lasted 5000 miles (it even had ceramic apex seals). The main problem was no one here knew how to tune it, it was also a piggy back which i'm no longer fond of. I'm doing my due diligence before spending 800+

 

That will be the problem with any tune-able standalone type ECU like the Power FC or PFS etc - Finding someone to tune the ECU.

I am also of the opinion that a reprogrammed stock ECU or something similar is an excellent option. Especially when you start considering things like idle control and part throttle drive-ability. There are very few tuners that have the time to get that stuff right and that makes a huge difference in day to day driving pleasure.

 

Dont buy the Power FC just spend the extra money and get an Electramotive Tech-3r or Tech GT. Your car will thank you with longer life, far superior hp, and precision tunning.

 

Do you have anything to back that up with?

 

Ignoring the bogus claims of longer life, etc., who is going to do that precision tunning [sic]? There is a lot of PFC expertise available in the US - and very little for the ECU you mention.

 

I have to say the tuning nightmare associated with the Electramotive units far out weighs any gains I might get. I have personal experience trying to tune a Tech 3 on my friends civic and that didn't even have forced induction. Defiantly not going with the Tech 3, i just don't have the money to replace motors while myself or others try to get it right.

 

get a haltech.
the PFC is only really useful with the Datalogit box and software.


i've had haltech e6k on cars (both FC turboII's) and i have PFC on my FD. the powerFC/datalogit is pretty powerful, but once you've spend the money to purchase both of those ( a little under 1100 bucks new), you'd have been better off getting a haltech e8



if you're upgrading to simply make your setup reliable with bolt-on mods, (and if you want to keep it relatively cheap), get one of the pettit upgraded stock ECU's. these seem to work great and get you well over 300whp, as mahjik said

 

Ill back up the claim because my FD has an electramotive Tech-GT. Logan tuned my car from Defined Autoworks. I can tell you that alot of the Power FC owners I know right now are letting there cars sit around due to blown motors. I auto-x the **** out of my car(like last weekend) and it's still running strong. Im making 330rwh and 290flb. I have stock twins, and stock porting. The only mods so far is a 310 stainless exhaust designed by Defined Autoworks, and a v-mount setup. The motor is a 50,000k all stock reman. The Electramotive's coils are also some of the best coils you can get. Like I said just spend the extra money and get the best parts. I know an FD with a Power-FC and the normal mods+tunning can still make high numbers. The key is how smooth the power curve is, and how long your motor lives.

 

It might be a tunning nightmare if you dont know what your doing. I had Defined Autoworks tune mine because they have a dyno and know what there doing. I dont know what you did but my car runs like a champ.

 

Same old question. The best engine management is the one that you can get tuned properly. G

 

+1

thewird

 

i cant really speak for any other product than the PFC since thats all I had on my car with dataloggit. Definitely worth the money IMO.

the pfc also has a "learning" curve in case you change anything minor.