I have been using the AEM for over a year now and did a lot of tweaking and tuning to get the car to run just the way I like, learned a LOT in the process (some trough trial and error). I know there is a lack of user base with the right knowledge but hopefully I can help to change that. If anyone has questions about the ems (setup, tuning etc.) feel free to ask and I'll try to answer as much as I can. Hopefully I can pass on what I've learned and help reduce some of the fraustration of new users.

 

is there anyone in atlanta that tunes on the rx7 with the aem?

 

what were some of the challenges that you ran into. specifically, hooking up devices or inputs / difficulty with tech support / trouble with software/interface ??

 

There is, but you'll be paying around 350-400 for a tuning session.

 

From the hardware perspective it is what AEM says it is, plug and play. There were issues with earlier versions of the ems. Here is a list of those problems:
1. A/C control on the FD is not a simple on/off switch type
2. Vehicle speed sensor use Hall effect sensor and is not common to other cars
3. TPS output was incorrect in the Mazda service manual
4. Check engine lamp did not function

These items have been fixed in the latest update (earlier ems can be sent beck the AEM to get the update done for free)

The s/w interface is actually much more user friendly and powerful than most of the stand alone ecus on the market. The biggest challenge is properly setting up starting, idle and drivability.

 

who would have the most knowloge with the aem and the rx7 in the atlanta area i need to get my car tured

 

Trexthe3rd, was there anything that was especially troublesome for you? I spent quite a bit of time on cold starts (still not quite as consistent as stock), idle, staged injection, and acceleration compensation. I had basically no tuning experience, but have a couple of friends who have been using the AEM for a while.

Have you adjusted injector phasing settings?

 

No one in atl would really have any extensive RX7 tuning knowledge with the AEM (there's so few of us around). Tuning the fuel map and ignition is actually the easy part and anyone who has worked with AEM can do it on a dyno (just have to be conservative when it comes to AFR under boost, other than that it is really no different than tuning any other car). If you have wideband O2 installed (I believe it is absolutely necessary) you can street tune using the data logging function.

 

I have done all of it except for boost comp (I don't really believe in using boost comp, it is just adding another variable into an already complex system).
I had cold start from the get go, starts right up with single crank. It's the warm start that took me awhile to get right. Idle wasn't too bad, staged injection is a simple calculation to allow both primary and secondary injectors to run the same duty cycle throughout the rpm and load range (it's nothing more than making both injectors do the same amount of work). Injector phasing is no used at all as long as you have a good ignition map setup. Ignition difference map do need to be setup properly to optimize combustion.

In general, given the same engine (porting) the same ignition map can be used interchangeably. This is regardless of injector size, fuel pump, fuel pressure etc.

Accel and Decel pump setup is tricky and the type of drive train can effect the setup. Drivability is the most difficult area to setup, this is were tuners not familiar with the RX-7 falls short. Setting up fuel and ignition under boost is easy, making the car drive well in stop and go traffic is hard.

 

we might need to get together i have a 3rd gen with a gt42 1600 and 1000 injectors with the aem ecu and the aem afg with the hks ing amp and a few other things . having a hard time getting it to idle right it is really rich all the time and at idle if i lean it out it starts to pop . i live in columbus ga about 100 miles south of you . cant wait till the track opens up last time i took it to the track it ran 12.63 at 125 mph with a 2.63 60ft time then broke lose really bad.
under full throtle it stays at 10's on the afg. dan at batle ground try to tune it but i was and still not happy with the final out come. i need a shop where i can take it to them and let them tune it so i can get the most out of it

 

Are you using the car just for racing? It will be difficult to tune idle with 1000 primaries, when the inj duty cycle dips below 5 the resolution of the ecu will cause fuel delivery to be choppy (what you are doing is similar to trying to slow fill a shot glass with a fire hose). It is for this reason I would not use anything more than the 850s for the primary, the proper way to increase fuel beyond the 850/1600 combo would be adding another injector to the intake elbow.
Feel free to come up to Atl on a weekend and I'll see what I can do to help out.

 

i dont know if you have aol if so you can instant message me through michaelcrmg@aol.com

 

+ for the 42R and 850/1600 combo...I had a aem trained tuner work his magic on mine...only problem he ran into was leaning out on secondary injectors...held them wide open and the a/fs would still creep. One new fuel pump o-ring (actually a whole new ford gt pump) and she drives much better than on the pfc. Started right up after over a week a under 10 degrees...

 

400+hp cars must be loads of fun on ice and snow :-)

 

Im switching to the AEM this year and going for 800rwhp.

 

AEM will be pulling the plug on some of their ecu's.

RX-7 is one of them...

 

Glad I got mine! lol...

 

Yeah but their pulling the plug because of the support nightmare of those products..

Otherwords they have some issues...

 

Ray hasn't had any issues with it. He's used it on many RX7's. Im not too worried.

 

Where did you hear that?

 

A little birdie told me...

 

In case you didn't know about this already, the ecu is the same wether it's used in a Viper or a RX-7. The difference is in the plug and play interface (the connectors and pinout). As far as support goes, it wouldn't be any different from one vehicle to another as long as the PnP interface is correct, everything else is in the software.

 

They did have some problems with the PnP interface (mostly due to mistakes on the part of Mazda and the quirkiness of the RX-7). Those issues have been addressed in the latest H/W update which AEM will do for free.

 

AEM has all free updates. My car has it and its great.

 

ernieT
i like to see you going witht the AEM setup although im supprised you went with the PnP and not the full stand alone race box '1900u' im curious what you will be using for ignition? stock coils w/twin power or the like or will you be running somethging abit differently? your setup is pretty intense and im actually looking into building an engine close to yours although i want to do some changes to what iv seen and im hopefully going to be running it on e85. which brings me to another question you are running non pri-sec fuel system correct your just running a excessive manifold w/ 4 1680's. how do you like the idle was it hard to tune for? ive seen your dyno video 750ish nice and it looked to idle just fine.
thanks for any input on these
z