actually, James at PCS had worked out a special price for me but right now the timing is off due to current budgetary constraints (twin boys in college). one more month then i will be able to get my own unit.
chuck

 

james is great. he's helped a lot on the forum. everything is at least as functional as it was with the stock tranny ecu, EXCEPT NO FLASHING HOLD LIGHT! The engine braking problem is solved. next stop paddle shifter. looks like i'll be going for a sparco wheel, and adding these... http://www.sparcousa.com/psteering_acc.asp?id=335 . In a manner of speaking you could still use the hold function. The button is programmable and you can run two sets of maps using the hold button to switch between say "sport" and "economy" on the fly. In my case it'll be "sport" and "manual". You can do either true manual or "smart" manual which puts you back in first from a stop. There is even a "dyno" mode, and a programmable "snow" mode. All of the maps for the different stock shifting modes are in the service manual, so it wouldn't be too hard to duplicate. PCS ships the unit with a base configuration similar to the stock "power" mode. It has required some minor "tweaking", certainly no more than the PFC. all told, i'm pleased. one drawback-this thing is huge! the harness and cable are gargantuan as well. haven't figured out where i'll stuff it all in. won't fit behind the kick panel with the pfc. the cable won't bend easily. right now it's under the floormat. you can't see it, but it'll get trampled. not enough room under the seat, cable's too short to reach behind the seat. looks like i need to just remove the seat and install a roll bar.

 

So the benefits are smoother shifting and less transmission heat.

What did you mean by this?
Does your new tcu enhance off the line acceleration?

I take it that having to use the brakes a lot means that the car performed better in the higher RPMs resulting in your having to tap the brakes? (forgive my ignorance if I have the wrong impression)

Smoother shifting, less transmission heat, and programmablility are wonderful benefits but what I am mostly concerned with is off the line acceleration gains. If this tcu can provide at least moderate improvement over current off the line acceleration then it would be worth it to me to spend that kind of money.

 

I would think that changing how and when the tranny shifts will make a little difference. But I believe that you would get more of what youre looking for by changing the rear end ratio to the 4.33 rear end gear set.
chuck

 

regarding the engine braking-the provided calibration had one of the solenoid behaviors reversed. the effect was that if I lifted off the throttle then the revs would fall back to near idle and it was like I was "coasting" in every gear off throttle. I was having to use the brakes a lot, instead of coasting to a stop like I normally do.

regarding off the line performance. I don't think the TCU offers a great advantage. They do hint at tweaking the settings to optimize things, but i wouldn't expect a miracle. all autos suffer off the line. it's why they invented the trans brake. it's analagous to dumping the clutch in a manual. add turbo lag and well....

smoother shifting....seems like it, could be placebo. the temp factor is a big unexpected plus. the rear rotor in all rx7s has several things working against it. not having extra tranny heat to deal with is a huge plus. it's heat that shortens life. both engine and tranny. i now suspect that the TC was never locking up and that's why the tranny was running so hot. Of course I never had a trans temp guage before either. But a drop of 8-10C on engine coolant temps is significant in my book, and the only thing that has changed is the TCU.

i guess the main benefits are if you run a standalone engine ecu. I don't think the benefits warrant the cost if you are mostly stock. i have a pfc (with no flashing hold light). I always wondered about the functionality of the "orphaned" tranny.

the software, though, is the best part for me. When my Sparco wheel and button control kit arrive I'll be running in manual mode, shifting from the steering wheel. A flick of the hold switch and I'm back in full auto. flick again, back in manual mode. I can change the line pressure for firm quick shifts in manual mode or softer shifts in auto mode. you can run two maps at once and change between them on the fly. Pretty cool.

 

Thanks for the info a3dcadman, I'll look into the gear set.
Less heat coming from the transmission sounds great. I notice an ungodly amount of heat coming from underneath the transmission. Sometimes the selection lever gets warm. The capability to use paddle shifters is also a nice feature. Pls keep us posted on your progress weaklink.

 

MAy be the answer to the Auto dreams. Has anyone installed this unit AND run a Power FC or E6K sucessfully ? Is the stock ECU completely ripped out now ? OMP gone too ?

Tell me about it.

tom

 

yeah, I have both. works great, but is not the 100% solution we had hoped for. however, it has opened up some other avenues-like possible paddle style shifting. the unit is great, but a bit expensive. totally controllable and customizable.

 

oh yeah stock ecus-both tranny and engine completely gone. I run a PFC. supposedly retains OMP, however, I run premix around 2 out of every three tanks.