C-Murder

I've heard basicly only good things about everything out there in terms of standalon ECU's, but I know there must be some draw backs with some of them. Down the road I want to get one for my engine and I was wondering which one(s) are basicly the best; taking into account easy intalling, rotary compliancy, general quality, ease of tuning, and pretty much anything else. I want this from a Canadian perspective too. Can anyone help me out?
Basicly I am not too worried about cost, and I will probably eventually go from NA to Turbo.

eViLRotor

iTrader: (2)

There is no 'best'. (Ok, there is MoTec, but we are talking about $10k+. And of course Magnetti Marelli. If it's good enough for Ferrari F1, should be good enough for us )

Most EMS generally all do the same thing, control Fuel and Ignition. What separates them from each other are price, tuning resolution, correction maps, the interface, software, ability to use stock ignition components, and features.

Basically, most of the 'budget' EMS like Wolf, Haltech and Microtech, will run your car well. It will be up to you to determine what features you want. Or better yet, get the EMS that your local tuner is familar with.

I had a Wolf V3 before. It ran my car well enough, but had some quirks which hurt driveability. Basically, my car outgrew the capabilities of the EMS.

I was planning on upgrading to a V4 Wolf, but did not like the fact that I could not use the stock trailing ignitor, among a few other minor issues.

So, I went with the Haltech E6X this time around because it was an improvement over the the V3 Wolf, I liked the software, needed no modifications to the stock systems, good price, and I have two friends that use it...

C-Murder

Ya, I was thinking that Haltech would be pretty sweet. Has anyone had any experiences with Mircotech, especially the LT-8? It looks pretty good other than the fact that you have to buy new coils for it to work.
Also, what are common prices for these?

smnc

I'm thinking Wolf V4 myself...

1sicsol

The Canadian prospective is simple. Before you buy an ECU, find a tuner. Then buy the ecu he can tune. He probably has the most experence with one kind..so buy whatever your tuner is comfortable with.

Theres no good or bad ecus if you have a tuner to tune it properly, and most of them will be over kill unless your making a race car.

Hope this helps.

soloracer951

The thing I don't like about the Microtech is if you want certain features (like control of the BAC valve) you have to send it back to them in Australia. I think the same is true if you want to use the unit on a different engine type. Seems ludicris to me that an engine management system can only be configured by the manufacturer. Additionally, I believe there has been some discussion about the resolution of the unit.

I'm a believer that for a 2 rotor engine you need to look no further than the Haltech E6K or E6X. It's proven, is priced well and gives a lot of bang for your buck.

For more money you could go with an Autronic or Motec but compared to the Haltech I don't know if the extra cost is justified.

soloracer951

I just noticed that you were in Calgary. Definately go Haltech as there are people here who can help w/advice for the tuning. To the best of my knowledge there are no local cars running a Microtech.

C-Murder

Ya, sweet, I've wanted a Haltech for a while, I've never really looked into them. And since my friend want to get a mircotech, I figure I'll out do him with a Haltech.

Cheers!

tec3R?

C-Murder

This is a bit off topic, but does anyone know where I can get an EGR valve? I need one for my car, looking for a cheap working one in either Calgary or Vancouver. Thanks

krew

SDS. & it's Canadian http://www.sdsefi.com/

Gizmo

Moosetec

eViLRotor

iTrader: (2)

SDS is more expensive than Haltech, Wolf or MicroTech. Has anyone used it with a rotary powered car? Does it do split timing? Can it use stock rotary ignition components? It's late, their site is a mess, so I stopped searching....

jreynish

iTrader: (2)

SDS told me in person that they would not recommend for my car because I planned on going with more than 300hp... they guided me toward Motec...
mind you though that was three years ago... so maybe they have improve their system on rotaries.. and very well may be better now than ever.

soloracer951

SDS are good guys and very helpful but they really don't make a system that is comparable to the Haltech or Motec options. Bang for the buck I still say you should look no further than a Haltech E6K.

Claudio RX-7

iTrader: (1)

Well, i dont know if this post has been reasonably answered, but ill add my 2 cents to the mix.

Im a Haltech dealer, have been so for about 6 years, i have looked at most of the systems out there in detail, i have personally worked with MoTec, Electromotive, AEM, and some other systems. Never had a chance to wokr directly with a Microtech, but have the software and have tinkered with it a little bit and also downloaded all there is to know about their systems.

My conclussion after years of looking at all these things is basically that Motec is trully king of the aftermarket EMS world, Microtech has a low initial purchase price but you need to upgrade and spend more money to get additional features, Haltech has the best systems for the money bar none, easy to tune and install, and loaded with additional features from the get go, then there's the AEM EMS, even though there has been some trouble along the rotary engine's way with this one, its features rival those of any Motec, with their many inputs and outputs and datalogging capabilities make this system very very good, and the price is somewhat decent, the Haltech's E11v2 comes close to these standards and is decently priced. There are other systems, like the Power FC, or the HKS F-Con, but these systems are more of a pain to tune since you have to rely on a professional/dealer authorized tuner. The Electromotives are a bit more expensive than what we'd all like to fork over for a stand alone.

I hope this sheds more light on the "which EMS is best for me" question.

Later,

classicauto

iTrader: (3)

Id like to add to this topic-
ive been trying to get a microtech since january 04 from rx7store.com
i understand it that it would take a while, so i waited paintently finally when i called yesterday he told me he was having trouble getting it and i should go directly to microtechusa.com - so i did.

only once i got on the site i found that you can't order it from the site, all they have is product info., so i sent an email to their link to ask if i could buy one............get this - the email i got back says = sorry for the confusion but we have been having trouble getting orders filled and as a result are behind on production. = thats it, no real explanation, nothing saying yeah we can get you one but it'll take x amount of time to do it, just stupid excuses.

so i ordered a haltech from Magnus Motorsports, it'll be in next week

nothing really against mircotech but i run my own business and i honestly have to say if thats how i took care of my customers id be drowning in debt by now.
neways - thats just my 2cents

Claudio RX-7

iTrader: (1)

I have to agree with you on that 'classicauto', recently Microtech has gained popularity in the US due to the fact that Haltech had to pull out their US distributor offices in texas. As a result, orders had to be done through the australian home office, shipping cost increased dramatically, and the lack of support sent customers and long time dealers running for cover, grabbing the next system that would give them good pricing and support, hense microtech took advantage of this. And to top things off Haltech was sold to a new parent company.

But now, Haltech has reopened a distribution office in california and is already tending orders nation wide. They are still organizing, and they only distribute, unlike how the US office handled things, where they built harnesses and also did repair work on the systems sent for repair, so pretty soon Haltech will be top name again, and with the introduction of the new E8, hopefully, haltech will be a strong contender again in the aftermarket EMS industry.

I know i stand behind them 100%, and offer my services to any who want it.