ECU opinions

[Timmy]

Thinking about getting a pre programmed stage 1 ecu.
Like the knightsports, ReA, Mines.
Whats people opinons on these and expireance?
What kind of figures (bhp ftlbs) can you expect on v-power with basic breathing mods?
Any imput would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Tim

[Red and Single]

May I be the first of many who will tell you not to waste your money.

They are not mapped for uk fuel.

Get an Apexi PFC & Commander, they aint great ecu\'s but lots  better than those you mention.

Good prices are around these days.

[elford_tim]

... and I\'d be the second to point out that this is a bad idea. You have no control over the map, it\'s most likely mapped for 100 octane fuel and if you want to change anything it may or may not work.

Get an ECU that\'s mappable in the UK or wherever in the world you are.

[Timmy]

Has anyone got af graphs and dyno results to back up there not suitable for uk fuel. Rumours about these ecu\'s not being suitable for other vehicles such as starlets on uk fuel has more or less been disproved. Largleydue to the fact they are generaly mapped with several map and take on board input from all the stock sensors to decide which map to you. I want to hear hard fact and not just hear say have either of you two run one of these ecu\'s?

[Red and Single]

No, I havent run one, the reason for this is that at between 1 and 3K a shot  with a rotary, mistakes are fdukin expensive.

Get an ECU that can be mapped for YOUR CAR !!!

:cheers

[Timmy]

thats why i am a bit worried about trying. But someone must have run an one of these types of ecu and no ones heard of a failure because of it. Jap fuel is only 1 octane level higher. Also the fact these ecu\'s are based on stock i should imagine that once it sets off the knock sensor it steps the map down a bit. Infact may even be dafer than a pfc. And to be honest not a fan of the pfc i think it is a very poor after market ecu than not to mention the cost of tuning it.

[Carl]

Hi Timmy,
We have had quite a number of failures arrive at our workshop with the type of ecu that you mention.
The usual secenario is that the car just come in from Japan,goes like stink,but then after a couple of weeks the engine popped.
By an aftermarket ecu is the best idea.
Regards
Carl

[Timmy]

Hey Carl.
What issues were these ecu causing? Were they running lean and leaving to det? I would doubt that as normaly they run rich. Or were giving too much timing advance?
Unfortunatly standalones cost alot of money what do you recommend other than pfc?

[kev-yorks]

The ecu\'s you mentioned are all mapped in japan on there fuel which is of much better quality than ours. The side effect of this is they can run higher boost and or timing. Unless your going to run a race fuel and that would soon cost more than a stand alone then these settings are pushing the limits of uk fuel. Hence Carls comment they run well for a week or two then go pop.
Regards Kevin

[CraigWWW]

Ask David Lennon who recently posted here as a newbie...his car is currently at Pips getting a rebuild....cause?  Jap ECU not mapped for Uk Fuel. ouch.. expensive!

[elford_tim]

Hey Carl.
What issues were these ecu causing? Were they running lean and leaving to det? I would doubt that as normaly they run rich. Or were giving too much timing advance?
Unfortunatly standalones cost alot of money what do you recommend other than pfc?

The PFC is the most cost effective alternative as far as I know, most of the other alternatives that seem to be discussed on here and places like rx7club.com seem to be more expensive and/or can\'t be mapped in the UK.

[ashc]

i totally agree with the above recommendations; but i was very lucky myself with my first FD, as mentioned, i imported it, it went like stink, i always put optimax in it and i drove it 9000 miles for 8 months before crashing it. At the breakers, i found out it had a knightsports ecu mapped to 0.9bar, a small logo i hadn\'t noticed before on the ecu. So i was just lucky i guess.
i\'m saving for a PFC mapping session for my current FD.

[arrouk]

i ran one of these ecu\'s for a while, it was as rich as hell at idle and cruse but open her up and it leaned out a bit.

you can get an f-con pro off ebay cheap, but there is only reworx that i know of that can map them.


matt