I know this will cause a lot of debate but I was wondering what the best ecu upgrade like an aem stand alone ecu or apexi power fc or any of the other ones what do you think is the best and why. Im asking cuz I want to know what the best upgrade will be.
Thanks in advance

 

Best is a vary vague word to use. I think if you rephrased your question by saying "what is the best ecu for my particular application being....street, drag strip, track etc"

As someone once said to me, "buy an ecu that someone you TRUST to tune your car is familiar with". No point buying an AEM when your most trusted mechanic is an expert at tuning Haltech or Apexi.

 

I have the power FC and i like it. Simple plug and play and my tuner has no problem with it what so ever.

 

Haltech all the way.. Contact me for the best price on the net..

 

It really all comes down to what you want to do with the car. If you feel as if you'll never get more than the basic bolt-ons (14psi, fuel pump, downpipe, high-flow cat, cat-back, intake, IC, pulleys, etc.), then a reprogrammed ECU from M2 or Pettit is more than suitable. Heck, some people even support decent sized streetports along with the said bolt-ons on these reprogrammed "stock" ECUs. A used unit can be had for ~$300 and is a direct replacement with no cutting, programming, nor tuning necessary.

Though, if you have bigger plans, such as an upgraded fuel system, boost pressures above 14psi, replacement of the stock twins, larger ports, etc., then you should go with a standalone. Each standalone has its own ups and downs, but as it was said before, the ECU is only as good as the person who tunes it. It all really comes down to who you will have tuning it. Some standalones have more features than others, such as the ability to control auxiliary modules.

So, what exactly do you plan on doing with your car?

 

yea it all really comes down to who you can trust to tune the vehicle. In my opinion, the best ecu would be microtech.

 

pfc

 

Power FC. They are everywhere and alot of people have them. I live in iowa and there are 2 tunning shops 80 miles in seperate directions that can tune them really good, im pretty sure FLORIDA has someone that knows how to tune the Power FC.

 

exactly the answer i was looking for. reliability mods, IC, and 13-14 psi. I read somewhere that pettit only supports up to 13psi. how much whp can FD put down with this setup?

what about microtech and others? are they better than pettit?

 

I can't give you exact numbers, as that is based on what kinda setup you have, but these reprogrammed stock ECUs run very rich, as to be on the safe side. With that said, I recall a member putting down ~350RWHP with all bolt-ons + a streetport. I don't recall how much boost he was running, though, but it was at least 14psi. Besides, anywhere near the 14psi range and above is pushing the efficiency of the stock twins.

With statistics, you should always negate extreme outliers. In this high RWHP case, I would consider it untypical, but not impossible. Typically, with all the bolt-ons and 12/13 PSI, it should net you somewhere in the neighborhood of 300RWHP with that Pettit/M2 ECU.

As far as Microtech it's difficult to say whether they are better or not. They do have a load of monitoring, data recording, fuel management, auxiliary device support, programability, overall scalability, etc., but that is only useful if you plan on using those features. It really comes down to if you want something incredibly simple and reliable, or something more complicated and scalable.

 

thanks for the answer. I guess safety and reliability is the only way to go wit FD

 

I think that the PFC is the best way to go if you know you need an ECU but aren't really or willing to commit to ONE tuner or HOURS and HOURS of research into how your standalone works. You can install the PFC in twenty minutes and have it running a base map within an hour. From there, you're an Internet connection and Datalogit away from tuning your own fuel maps to your liking. The support for the unit is HUGE, and, as rx73rotorj already stated, there are pros who can handle them EVERYWHERE.

 

I like PFC as well but
there is nobody in the whole country who can tune PFC so thats why i thought Pettit ECU is a better choice.

 

ok well i would tell you your better off with a power fc ...as it is capable of controling all your factory option eg idle up oil metering pump and the likes also can be more useable for a range of engines mild to WILD my car runs power fc and i make in excess of 700hp plus it gives you so many great features as in engine readouts and vital statiatics .......and boost control ......

definately more bang for your buck

 

Motec - hands down IMO is the most capable ECU

 

you will need to also consider that to put a motec microtech or any of these other ecu's into your car you will have to hack into your factory loom where as power fc will plug straight in .........now compare the differences in price and ease of use i think you will see there is no real need to go to something like a motec or microtech and there is no real need either unless you decide to run 4 banks of injectors and nos and all this other stuff that you think you might need to make power

 

I have heard great things about the Wolf 3D unit and from my understanding it is very popular overseas.