Hey Everyone,

I'm trying to decide between a few of the more popular ECU's for my car and which one would best suite my fd3s.

I have a JDM FD3S (as in my signature) which is currently still running the stock twin turbos, with a little bit of engine work done - but still pretty close to standard. I'm going to eventually be doing a single turbo upgrade - probably looking for around 500hp.

The ECU's ive been looking at are:
Apexi Power FC
Link G3/G4
Microtech LT10s
Haltech

In New Zealand we have plenty of tuners for all these ECU's, especially for the Microtech & PowerFC in the way of the rx7. Afaik the PFC & Link are both more convenient as they are Plug 'n' Play but the Microtech & Haltech both give more tuneability.

Is there one which would be better to use all around for the fd3s/13b-rew or will it really depend on what setup I intend to run in my modifications?

 

Yes, it can potentially change depending on your power goals and mods and budget and availability of tuners to tune the setup. Having said that, it is hard to beat the plug and play of the Power FC and the low cost. Lots of people use it here.

 

In NZ a PowerFC is around $1700-1800. A Microtech is around $1200 + install, works out to roughly the same price + tuning.

Tuners are widely available for both in New Zealand & Australia so tuning isn't an issue

I guess i'm leaning towards the Microtech & Haltech as i've been told they're more tuneable - but will they support everything I need for a street car? Like the OMP, O2 sensor, etc...which I guess the PFC & Link ECU's do?

When I replace the ECU I will be welding up the turbos and pulling out the crows nest of sequential vacuum lines (I also have an AVC-R to control the boost with) but eventually as I said aiming for about 500hp on a single turbo setup. I don't really have a budget at such but I worked out just the parts for my conversion to around US$8,000

 

AEM has a plug and play as well, and is very tuneable. I prefer the Power FC for it's easy of use and affordability .

 

If the plug n play is not that big of deal for you, i would go with the Microtech LT10s or a Haltech E11v2.

 

Is your pricing for the PFC in US$? If it is then it is insane, the S7 PFC can be found for as little as $500 (used)-$800(new)

look on ebay

 

lol - nah I'm talking NZD. We can get them new for $1600-1700 incl hand controller.

a microtech lt10s is $1300 + install (and about another $300 for a full set of coils)

 

I posed the same question a few months ago... The answer then was go Power FC

Now from experience, the PFC is definitely a solid option with a solid group of users to support/tune.

Tunability on the PFC is perfect for stock twins etc. It really depends how far you plan on taking the car on whether you will actually get to use the extra tunability features on other units.

 

Are you sure about that price for the PFC? That seems odd that it is that much more expensive. Or is that it is getting marked up for some reason? Here in the US, we see them new for well under US$1,000 w/ the hand controller (aka commander).

The Haltechs and Microtechs are nice and are supposed to be 'better' - especially for high power applications. Don't forget the added installation costs and costs required to make a wiring harness (unless they come with one).

 

He's talking New Zealand dollars as he mentioned. So:

1,600 New Zealand Dollar = 883.168 US Dollar (at least today)

 

thanks Mahjik

I accidentally posted this subject in the newbie technical forum as well so heres a post i made in there

Price isn't tooo much of an issue as a one off, im not going for the cheapest option possible or for best 'bang for buck'. I just want to make sure I have the best solution that will support everything I want to run without going overboard and splashing out on something that could run the NASA space station

I've owned the car for over 2 years and have spent about the last year working on it so i'm not in a rush to complete the project. I just plan on doing the ECU & Exhaust system for the next 3 months

 

I've been using a PFC for the past couple years and it handles great!

I'm currently running twins @ 1.3bar and the ECU has been a champ. I think it *really* all depends on who will be doing your mapping...

Also, when you go V-mount, skip the HKS option, right next door to you is PWR, they make a VMIC setup which is INSANE!!! I'd take a trip over to their shop and see if I couldn't convince them to fab one up for me if I were you... I absolutely love mine.

 

If you want the BEST, the BEST is a MoTec or Pectel.

A happy medium for your needs are probably a Power FC. However for my personal cars, i prefer the HKS V-Pro 3.24.

 

I realized that. I was just surprised that the other ECU options were so cheap over there. It is the total opposite here.

Jarsky - For that pricing, I'd also be looking at other ECU options depending on install costs. Spend some time in the subforums for the different engine management options on this forum and try to figure out what would work best for you.

 

most people on this forum use the pfc... so if your looking for a compatible ecu that's proven to work well with the rotary I would go with the pfc or the aem unit as mentioned by banzai racing. (Chris knows his stuff and I would go with his advice). otherwise the more you talk to people the more conflicting info your going to get. narrow down your advice to the top shops and a good decision will be made from the people with the most experience.

Jeff

 

Haltech & Microtech are Australian, as such we pay much less on these in New Zealand as compared to the likes of the US. We can either get these quite easily when in Australia (they are only AU$1200 - US$830ish) or we have a main distributor in New Zealand as well and dont have to take into account expensive shipping, customs tax & then reseller markup when in the country.

On the downside the likes of the Power FC are expensive as they're US/Japan based. Any parts from US/Japan cost us a fortune to bring in especially with the exchange rate how it is at the moment

 

sounds like your decision has been made! but beware cost isn't everything. sometimes a good deal can cost you double the money and happiness in the long run. make your decision on what your needs and expectations are not just price.

Jeff