Choosing an ecu

[tezza88]

hey guys
i tried to search it, but no luck, if anyone could direct me, that'd be great.
this question pretty much goes to the tuners out there or mechs that have to tune these cars.

Im looking for an ECU thats going to help me in the long run to produce over 100kw (150 is my target, but lets see how it goes)- jdm bigport 16

just want to know whats out there, if anyones used it and tune-ability for under 2k if possible- pretty much bang for your buck

been hearing AUTRONIC is the best way to go.but its damn expensive.
HALTRONIC and MICROTEK have been around for a while and seems to sit nicely in my budget.

any guidance would be great as im just starting this whole computing side of modding

Terry

[FAST EDDIE]

microtech

[Frak]

Depends how much cash you have, I've been running Autronic SM2 since late 80's, as new updates come out, you just replace the processor and use updated software, so basically never becomes obscelete, but like you said quite expensive.

Lately I have set up a few stinger's, they are so easy to set up and run really nicely, bang for buck I really like them. Haltec's are easy to use as well, did a 20v couple of months back on haltec and easy to set up, back in the 90's did quite a number of haltec fuel only on rotary turbo's ran ok.

[Celica RA45]

get a adaptronic is very new on the market .talk to anthony from kaizen garage he seems to be very happy with it and so do a few other guys and i think its only about 1 grand for the set up

[Delazy]

get a adaptronic is very new on the market .talk to anthony from kaizen garage he seems to be very happy with it and so do a few other guys and i think its only about 1 grand for the set up

:thumbup::thumbup:

[R&D Mechanical]

Im very happy with my adaptronic

[fixeruperer]

an ecu is only good by who tunes it, no point having a microtech if no one tunes microtechs around your area. (just using microtech as an example, any one can tune a microtech :) )

ask who your gonna get to tune it what they recommend.
your dyno guy is your cars life line :bones:

[KE70]

I hear microtechs are pretty crap, they will make the power but fine tunning in NA applications really suffer, but for turbo they are ok. One of the pros is the price.

Another ecu that I have been looking at is the EMS stinger that is better then the microtech and not much more expensive, should be buying this soon.

The above info comes from a mate that mostly tunes cars for a living.

Haltech look ok but I haven't heard much bout them.

These are all budget ECUs priced around the $1200 mark, I know there is better but this is what I am currently looking at.

Yeah and what fixeruperer said, lol

[tezza88]

so what you guys are mainly saying on the whole is it all depends how well the tuner is and what they are familiar with?
i'll look into HALTECH and EMS STINGER (i know a bloke from GAS motorsport here in nsw that might be able to get me a good deal)
as for adaptronic..havent heard many guys here use it, not so sure.

I've read abit about UNIGROUP ENGINEERING here in sydney, they seem to be very recommended. does anyone recommend anyone else to tune?

ALSO, what should i be looking for in an ECU? if anyone could link me to some info on these technical issues, it'd be great. and whats recommended for haltech's range, stinger's range, etc etc

info is much appreciated.
THANKS GUYS!!

[DX20VT]

an ecu is only good by who tunes it, no point having a microtech if no one tunes microtechs around your area. (just using microtech as an example, any one can tune a microtech :) )

ask who your gonna get to tune it what they recommend.
your dyno guy is your cars life line :bones:

I'd agree with that.


we had a car with almost 10K worth of motec gear in it,
but it turned out the guy who did the first tune and setup on it all,
did not know all the in's and out's,

so 3 engine's and many $1000's later,
we sent it to someone else that we now deal with all the time.

they had the car for 3 weeks and was on/off the dyno,
and it never broke another engine in the years after till we sold it.


So the tuner is as important as the ECU.
Go to who you are going to get to tun it and ask for their suggestion and make that a part of your decision.

[xero]

as for adaptronic..havent heard many guys here use it, not so sure.

its quite powerful for the price, almost equivilent to an AUTRONIC. the guy who makes the ADAPT's worked for autronic making their boards and CPU's and started his own business instead taking his knowledge with him.
they seem to punch well above their weight, but i dont thing they have really been pushed to their limits yet.
there are many people here that use adaptronic as it is good bang for your buck.



I've read abit about UNIGROUP ENGINEERING here in sydney, they seem to be very recommended. does anyone recommend anyone else to tune?

i HIGHLY recommend UNIgroup. ive had my car tuned their and i know many people who have their car tuned their, and they are all very happy with the work. yavuz (the tuner) is a very smart man and works with you and is very through with his work.



ALSO, what should i be looking for in an ECU? if anyone could link me to some info on these technical issues, it'd be great. and whats recommended for haltech's range, stinger's range, etc etc



look for tuner friendliness, has it been used on your prefered engine before, load points, inputs, the signals it can receive, data logging, user interface (they are all fairly easy nowadays).
price shouldnt be a factor, simply buy the best ECU you can afford. if you've the coin buy a autronic or motec, do it. if you dont go for something like the adapt or stinger ECUs.

[Rice86]

you want 100kw+
get a 100kw 16V or a 20V with slight mods, done

microtech maybe shit (to most people) but most tuners can tune it, which means, you wont have issues with trying to find a tuner for it, and its really is a bang for buck i say

and i dont think there really is much you can tune on a 1.6L NA car compared to a turbo setup,

[ae86]

i think you should start by what tuner you plan on going to and confronting them about what ecu their most familiar with rather than choose something they havnt played with before.