PFS purple box vs. stock ecu - which one should I use?
 

Current engine mods:

M2 intake, hi-flo cat, JIC exhaust, rx7store.net downpipe, Greddy SMIC.

When I bought the car earlier this year, it came with PFS piggyback and a laptop with different map settings. I guess the PFS are also preloaded with default map setting as there is a knob indicating Low, Medium, High. I hooked up the PFS and turned the knob on the Low setting. The car runs good (it ran good with stock ECU but the boost was very choppy) and my boost gauge indicates a really smooth boost curve, nice turbo transition and peaks at 0.8bar. I understand that's a little high but still safe.

Now, I know the PFS is a really old system and I don't have a wideband O2 sensor to fully tune it so I want to know is my car better off with the stock ECU or with the system in? I plan on taking the car to trackdays.

Also, since the PFS came with a laptop and a software to play with all the settings, are there different maps out there where I can download maps to better fit my mods?

Sorry for the long post and thanks for any tips.

You probably aren't going to find maps or anything for the PFS unit anymore. Wade's site had about the most information on the PFS unit but it has been retired. Wade still logs on here every now and then so you might PM him and ask him if he still has any of it.

As for as which to run, the real question is do you want to run higher than 10 PSI? If the answer is yes, you'll need to use the PFS ECU. If 10 PSI is fine for you, keep the stock ECU in the car.

0.8 bar is too high for the stock ECU. Turn the boost down to 10psi if you want to run the stock ECU.

It's a bit weird with stock ECU...according to my boost gauge, the boost curve is very erratic and choppy but I do still get a close 10-8-10 pattern. With the PFS, for some reason, the boost curve is very smooth. With stock ecu, i do get boost spike from time to time to 1bar!

For the reasons above, PFS > stock ecu? One thing about the PFS, I think my car is running super rich...the exhaust smell is stronger than ever.

.7 is just a tad bit above 10PSI i believe. it should be something close to about 10.6PSI or something like that...

regardless if your running at .8 PSI and the car is set to it, then keep the PFS. I just ran an APEX Power FC cause its just easier to manage with the dataloggit.

I haven't been around long enough to know who Wade is. Do you have his website address bookmarked somewhere? I can try the internet archive to dig up some info

His username is Wade. :)

https://www.rx7club.com/members/wade-164/

His site is not up anymore, or at least not at the old address. He probably still has all the information so you might bug him and see if he can/will send all his information on the PFS unit.

For your application, run the PFS box. You should have no problem with the mid setting and 0.8 bar boost. The maps, especially the later ones (i.e., pink 8, etc.) are okay, and it will run better all around than a stock ECU. The PFS boost control also works well--better than many dedicated boost controllers.

There are many naysayers on this forum that will tell you to dump it because it's old tech and that your car can't possibly run without a PFC. Don't listen to them. The purple box can be dialed in for excellent all around performance, especially if you are willing to spend some time learning to use it.

I have most of the info from Wades site saved in an html format. Pm me with your email and I will send it!

Terry7