I've been told that with running these mods I should replace the stock ecu because I'm getting over stock boost. Would an apexi or hks fuel controller for around $300-$350 do the trick or do I need an upgraded ecu for upwards of $1,000?
What differences are there between the two?

mods:
PF intercooler
PF exhaust
Greddy BOV
Greddy Elbow
midpipe
downpipe

Thanks for the help.

 

Do you have a BOOST Guage?
w/ the MIDPIPE you ar probably getting BOOST creep and need to PORT your wastegate regardles of weather you get a full Stand Alone ems or just a piggy-back Fuel Computer,
The FC Wont help w/ TIMING or BOOST Control issues - a Stand Alone EMS gives you FULL control of Fuel, Timing, Boost, and also functions like cooling fan control etc.

 

i am in a similar situation.... personally i am goin with a Aepxi Power FC... this will give me the greatest reliabilty and flexibility with regards to proper fuel/boost/tuning parameters... plus it will give me the room to mod further without worrying about further fuel or boost concerns when i mod my car further... just spend the extra bills and do it right the first time

 

if your not looking to spend alot of money, you could always pick up a used pettit or m2 ecu. you can find them for 400-450 in the parts for sale section or look on www.thepartstrader.com. i bought mine for 450 and it's great. nick

 

If you can control boost at 10psi (some can and some can't with a midpipe), then you can get away with just a boost controller and a fuel computer, and possibly with JUST a boost controller (get it dyno'd to be sure), but the advantage of a standalone computer like the PFC is you can control just about every parameter of the car, including obscure stuff like when the fans come on, when the turbos switchover, etc. Plus a PFC has optional datalogging capability (Datalogit) and also controls boost on its own.

 

damn nick, you should have asked me. just got rid of one, and have another guy getting rid of his now also...he's making room for a haltech too.

 

When you have over 3 mods on the stock ECU it needs to be replaced. A fuel controller would not work the same way that the ECU does because it works similar, but only the ECU can control the FUEL TIMING.

ECU it is.

 

Not to diss Pettit or M2 (I bought a *lot* from Pettit)
but everyone I know that has their ECU's have either blown their engines after subsequent mods or gone Haltech or PowerFC.

I would just start PowerFC and skip the modified, non programmable ECU step. It's not a big price difference.
There is much to be said about being able to tweak your ECU for your mods.

 

i know there is a big gain to having a power fc over the pettit or m2. but even if you get the pfc for $1000, that's still a $550-600 price difference. and alot of people don't have that extra money. so for the simple mods i have now i/dp/cb and running 12 lbs this ecu is excellent. i'm not sure how having the pettit/m2 would blow your motor. there's alot of other factors that need to be considered besides it just being the ecu.

thanks anyway keith, but i got the ecu in july. but from now on i'll be coming to you first to see if you know anyone that has what i need. thanks again.
nick

 

Interesting. The only person I know who blew an apex seal running a Pettit ECU on the forum (for the short time I've been here) spiked well over 17 PSI because of a boost control problem. Nothing would have helped him there...

Take a look at this thread:
https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...hreadid=116858

The guy's car I posted a picture of "RTS3GEN" ran 11.77@116.77mph using a Pettit ECU. His car is 357.2 rwhp 15psi and been going strong for years.

Not saying that everyone should run Pettit ECU's, but I've never seen one to be the cause of someone blowing a seal.

 

Again, I'm not trying to diss Pettit as I use tons of their stuff. But I now know of 3 people who after rebuilds had Pettit ECU's had their car detonate. I'm sure that could be a lot of things but it doesn't exactly inspire me either.

I actually had ordered and received their ECU and after a tuner's recommendation that had bad experiences asked them to please take it back (never unsealed) and I'd buy a PowerFC through them (they don't normally sell them).

Yeah $500 is $500 but I think its a small price to pay or wait for to be able to have a programmable ECU to tune to your car specifics. And I've seen many posts here where people with the M2 ditched it for the PowerFC and were happy they did.

No direct experience with either other than as stated, but I would think the extra cost for a PowerFC justifies spending it or saving up for it.

 

Not really. Improper tuning of the PowerFC has cause more seals to go than any Pettit or M2 ECU on the forum.

Even the base maps of the PowerFC are leaner than the stock ECU. Yes, if someone takes the time to get a programmable ECU properly tuned, it's a better investment. However, if they don't get it "properly" tuned, they are just asking for rebuild (or a terrible running FD).

 

I completely agree on that. I still think the PowerFC is a better choice though for the relative money.

 

just get the POWER FC. I have it and have used the FC Dataloggit program on my labtop. Its AWESOME, so much easier than using the silly little commander :P

 

NO IT DOESN'T

If you keep your boost to 10 psi, you can run all the bolt-ons with the stock ecu. However, I would not run a midpipe with the stock ecu as a safety precaution.

If you guys want a cheap fix, just install a boost controller, manual or electronic. Limit your boost to 10 psi until you can afford an aftermarket ecu.

 

I agree to some extent. What do you want to do with the car? I suggest a PFC if you plan on continuing to mod it. I went with a pettit as a cheaper route and it ended up costing me in the end. It is hard to limit boost with a midpipe and boost controllers do not provide all that much safety IMO.

 

Just curious, how did it cost you in the end?