Nick86

iTrader: (1)

Here's the situation I've found myself in...

I have an 86 GXL with a 13b N/A that's been street ported and is basically a daily driver as well as a weekend toy. I love the car and have owned it for over 12 years.

Over the last few (ok many) months the car has become erratic and basically undrivable. It seems that the insulation of the wires in the 23 year old engine wiring harness has become so brittle and dry that the wires are cracking and shorting. Here's a pic of the kind of thing I've found so far:




Anyway, all this to say that at minimum I need a new harness. That has me thinking of my options, and one of them is to ditch the stock wiring and aging AFM etc in favour of a standalone EMS... so I need advice!

So, it's a 13b streetported NA with no plans of going Turbo.
What EMS would you guys recommend? I need something that will work easily with an NA aplication and come with a wiring loom.

What's overkill?
What's the best bang for buck?
What should I avoid?

Thanks in advance for your opinions, experience and expertise!

Evil Aviator

https://www.rx7club.com/engine-management-forum-37/best-standalone-ecu-street-use-searched-669577/

I can't think of an EMS that is necessarily overkill, but you do not need to buy extra turbo-related accessories like a 3BAR MAP sensor, wastegate control solenoid, etc.

You pretty much get what you pay for. The more expensive EMS products are of a higher quality, but the balance between quality and cost is up to you. Other than that, the best bang for the buck is usually if you buy the EMS through your local tuner so you can get a price break on the tuning. The worst bang for the buck is if you try to go the cheap route and tune it yourself, only to end up with a blown or poorly-tuned engine and a used EMS and rolling chassis for sale on Ebay.

- Any EMS with no local support.
- Any EMS that is not already proven to work well on rotary engines.

Also, you do not necessarily want to avoid this, but be aware that some EMS products are designed primarily for turbocharged engines, and may only offer a few load bands in the vacuum region. For example, the EMS could advertise 16 load bands, but if only 6 of them are in the vacuum range, then that greatly reduces the tuning resolution of an NA engine. Most of the newer EMS software allows the tuner to reset the load band and/or rpm band ranges, so this would not be a factor in these cases.

C. Ludwig

iTrader: (27)

I agree with the above. I also agree with the original poster that it might be a good idea to install a standalone system as a replacement for the worn out factory wiring if you know yourself or the installer is going to do a top notch job. But, frankly, most home installed systems are not an improvement over worn out factory stuff.

That said there are many options for what you want to do. If you'd like to talk Haltech drop me an email. ludwigmotorsports@insightbb.com

Nick86

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the responses guys!

This would be the Microtech then. I've done some digging around here and I am lucky enough to have a few good shops in my area - and they seem to use Microtech and Haltech.


The guy I've been dealing with has said the Microtech LT10 would be his recommendation, so that's the starting off point I've been using. With that in mind, I had wondered what a similar Haltech for example would run price wise and if it would be more/less suited for my application. I am also unsure what comes with each kit, and what sensors etc I can ditch with a standalone. I need to look into the wiring guide for more clarification.


Words to live by. I am proficient at most things automotive but there is a limit to my knowledge and ability - and tuning is part of it. Do it once, do it right.


Good tip. This is really what my concern was about "overkill". I mean, I didn't want to go out and drop a huge amount of cash on an EMS that is said to be the best overall, but have it be ill suited for my application. Maybe I should look at it differently and say "If I were to buy an LT10 for my 13b N/A, would this be a good choice?"


This is a good point. I am confident in my / the shop's ability to properly wire a stanalone. I am quite against ghetto setups which is why I am not going to entertain the idea of patching the existing loom or use an old used harness. I'd love to get a system that has a "plug and play" harness for an S4 N/A, but I think that's doutful from what I understand.


I'll shoot you an email, thanks for the advice!



Nick