Boogienoseface

Hi all, I have a newly rebuilt 13b bridgeported s4 n/a engine in my 1986 rx7 which was rebuilt and ported before I bought it. It has the stock ecu which racing beat told me will not correctly run on (idles and revs fine in neutral but as soon as I let the clutch out in gear wants to stall even if slipping the clutch at around 4k rpm acts like it has no power and dips to stalling point if I don't push clutch back in). I have a used haltech e8 that came with the car but is not wired in yet. So my question is.... Is this standalone worth putting in being so old? I've read it works best on Windows 98... serial port connection... I will be tuning this car myself as I haven't found a reliable tuner in the western massachusetts area, and would honestly like to learn anyways. does anyone have any experience with the haltech e8? Any diy more newbie friendly standalone for a beginner? I'm not super rich but will save if I need to for a good one. I've also considered switching to a carb setup just for ease of tuning (but seems like that wouldn't be so ideal for a future turbo). From reading around sounds like my options are haltech, microtech, apexi pfc and megasquirt if I go new. I guess building a base map scares me the most. I'm anyways wrenching on vehicles just new to tuning. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks -seth

diabolical1

iTrader: (3)

Welcome to the board, Seth.

Well, I have no experience with the E8, so I leave that part of your question alone. Seems to have been one of the complete systems - meaning fuel and ignition (Haltech E8 product info). You could give it a shot since you already have it. Of course, you're giving up modern support, resolution, inputs and a few other things, but you will have something you can tune.

What I will say for sure are the following:
- it makes no sense going carburetor if you plan to go back to EFI for future turbo. I know you want the car running right, but the hassle (and expense) to tune the carb only to abandon it again is wasted resources.

- even though you have the E8, it might not be a terrible idea to start planning for something new. I agonized over the decision when my time came. You should map out what matters to you and try to find the most affordable system that fits your list.

- I've never dealt with Microtech or Apex-i, but I do have a Haltech and a Megasquirt and I can vouch that they have support out there. Wiring is pretty easy, though depending on which Megasquirt you get, there can be some misinformation out there on the wiring (I have a MS2). However, they are modern systems.

- Don't worry about base maps. You can get maps from others more than willing to share. There is a section of this board dedicated solely to EFI systems and they are separated by brand. It will be fine.

Boogienoseface

Thank you very much for your reply. I have actually been looking into the megasquirt due to affordability lately. And racing beat pretty much told me the same thing about switching to a carb, but that's ok, your response makes me feel a lot more comfortable about taking this step in tuning. Always wanted to be that guy with the laptop in the car anyways haha. Thanks again. Cheers