what engine management to go with???
 

I had to go through hell to get this car. and i wanna treat it right. what is the best engine management for a daily driver 94 twin turbo 13B REW HKS 75MM exhaust with a fat 120MM tip, HKS intakes with AEM filters.
i wanted haltech, but my buddy at UTI said that its not as good as the microtech system. and i think he said motech was great too. can i have some help on this one?
Thanks!
Mitch

95% of the folks on here recommend a PFC. There can be found used in the for sale section.

Figure out what you have for local support. If people around you know the Haltech, go with that. Don't pick something which no one around knows anything about. If you do, you'll be stuck waiting for people to post in your threads for help (and hoping you get actual decent replies).

amen to that, go with what is known in the area whether its haltech or microtech. getting something that they dont know will cost you time, money, and pain.

i agree w both of the above posts.

the Power FC is plug and play. that means you don't have to screw around removing Mazdas very well engineered crank fired ignition... it also uses the Mazda knock sensor which is essential for proper tuning.

not saying the others don't work... just saying that a Power FC w a Datalogit will allow you to tune any part of your engine. for example i digitally log fuel pressure, exhaust back pressure, front and rear EGTs as well as all the usual stuff. all on my laptop w graphs etc.

i own the 15th FD Power FC in the US (2000) and it runs perfectly.

you can buy a used PFC off the classifieds for around $700 and combine it w a Datalogit for $300 and you are ready to roll.

howard

I ran the PFC for a number of years and it works, but its dated. While you can log knock with it you cant have the computer react to the knock... IMO whats the point if you cant adjust the PFC to pull timing based off a knock reading then once the car is tuned its just another graph. Same with EGT, and anything that wasnt a stock mazda sensor. Im not going to plug any particular ECU but there are ones out there that will adjust timing and/or fuel or cut boost if the EGT is to high, or go into limp mode if you overboost. I know I lost one motor while running the PFC because I used cheap hose on my wastegate line and cooked through it during a season of racing....

As others have said I would first use what your tuner recomends (provided he knows rotary and is good) After that I would evaluate your needs and go from there. PFC is a GREAT basic EMS and probably meets the needs of 90% of people that need anything more than a stock EMS and its really simple to install and learn the datalogit software. I will admit my shift away from the PFC was driven by wants and not needs.

What Mahjik And Mr. Coleman said, don't pick up a ECU no one around you knows how to tune (and tune well). There seems to be more PFC tuners around, and its a very affordable, and a great ECU. You can pick up the FC+commander+datalogit for about $1000 used, they pop of fairly often.

not only does the op need to know what his local tuners use but he needs to know what his local ROTARY tuners use. A local haltech piston tuner is one thing but we're not talking pistons here and unless he's got experience tuning a haltech on a ROTARY engine, I wouldn't let him near my car.

EDIT: or her

^Agreed!

Hell yeah it's dated. But the fact that he's making this thread means that he'd probably never take advantage of all the little things that other EMS's can do. Otherwise he would've wired one up himself. For example, I'd love for the PFC to have very fine adjustment over the warm up timing curve so I can smooth out the idle even more. Most people here wouldn't use that capability if they had it. The only features that most people may miss having with a PFC are switchable outputs (nitrous etc) and maybe 2 step. Knock control and working closed loop control can take a really long time to set up properly so that they don't over correct. Few people actually pay to have those features used.

The PFC is reliable though. Crank angle sensor related problems are very common on other systems.

alright so i called my favorite tuning company in kansas and they said big stuff is vary user friendly. i lot easier for me to tune than haltech. dose that sound right to anyone? thanks for all your help so far!

hhmmm, Im not a tuner or anything.. but ive seen the big stuff in action, and also the haltech/aem/PFC/Motec... hell most systems are somewhat the same once you know what your looking for, it comes down to options....... I would question the statement of easier to tune stand alone... it also warrants the statement "they are alot of cars easier to tune than a rotary" too. I would stay with what the general census is using, than try and stray from the picture.

Look for someone more in tune with rotarys to do your tuning. No offense to your favorite tuning company, but I've read of alot of people who went to "generic" shops and leaving very disappointing and broke.


Just my .02, take it for what its worth... for all we know the big stuff will work great on our motors.

ya i talked to the owner of the shop and he has owned and tuned 4 94 FDs he really knew what he was doing. so thats good! so he was telling me that for what im looking for i should just go with a wide band and a piggy back system. because im wanting to stick with the H12s i really want to learn those turbos. i dont know to much about the fd yet or much of any tuning. i wanted to know NA first. but now its time to learn forced induction. so can anyone point me in the right direction? should i just go to the HKS web site and read everything. just loook around like this? thanks again guys!

Does it run yet, Mitch-man? What management did you decide to go with? And tell Miles to gimme back my AFM and gas money before I have to come get it from him.