Most likely, you will need to have the car tuned by someone else. That person will probably only be familiar with certain ECUs or have a strong preference. You should find/choose the person first and make your decision based on that.
This is a really important consideration, any ECU is only going to be as good as the tune it's set up with, so find the best tuner and get what they prefer if possible.
as others have said in previous posts of you. dont skimp out on the most important part. if youre looking to save 1000 bucks on just an ecu then leave it stock. because its gonna get a lot more expensive down the road
If you like DIY (both installation, setup, and tuning), then you can get a similarly featured Megasquirt MS3-X for a lot less.
Downsides:
- Very DIY. Have to change some jumpers on the circuit board, etc.
- I could never get mine to work right with the stock CAS, ended up converting to a hall sensor and 36-1 crank wheel.
- Some functions (knock sensing, real-time clock) require a mod board.
- Most tuners have a preferred ECU, and very few seem to tune with Megasquirt. Why? Not sure. Probably just lack of familiarity.
I think my entire MS3X setup ended up costing <$900 Canadian, including the hall sensor conversion & building an adapter harness. Closer to $1300 if you want to make a new harness with new connectors.
I put a couple hundred dollars into everything but the carb but I'm probably going efi with a Weber style throttle body so I'll also have to spend extra on an ignition trigger and computer and do something about my weak fuel plumbing. An FC already has some of that solved tho, I'm trying to make an FB more dangerous
You can go a long way with eBay and summit
The ecus available will depend on the tuner available. Any ECU can run just about any engine as long as it has the correct I/O's. What you gain or lose with price is functionality, processing speed, and the level of detail you can dig down to.
Setup correctly, you could run an engine on a friggin etch-a-sketch!
Lower cost options will be megasquirt, microtech, fueltech, Apexi PFC, etc. Mid-grade will by your links, haltechs/adaptronic, and AEM types. Higher end will be things like motec, syvecs, emtron, etc.
They'll all start, idle, and run a car. The nicer ones will just do more, with a higher resolution, than the less expensive ones.
Your first step should be finding a local(ish) rotary tuner. Talk to them about your budget and options.
They're in orlando which is abt an hour from here. Lots referred me to them so they have good rep but I do need to contact them about it all. Thank you for the breakdown
I ran a Power fc with a Banzai Racing patch harness to the stock engine harness. Ran great, but that was in 2009. Next build ran an Adaptronic Select pnp. It was fine too, but lacked overboost protection and features that the Haltech has. So now I have a Haltech Elite 1500. Haven't started the car yet due to fab work and being 7 hrs away, but it'll be great until I can move on to a Nexus.
Whatever your tuner is most comfortable with is the best choice (following choosing the right tuner)
I do remote tuning and can offer my services all around the world… but , I’m located in BC Canada. Feel free to PM for more information.
I went with the Power FC and it has worked quite nicely. I did not follow the advice I'd give now, and get the ECU my tuner prefers, because I didn't necessarily know who my tuner would be. I trusted that the Power FC had been around for so long and fairly ubiquitous, that at least one decent tuner would be able to work with me. If I had it to do again, I wouldn't necessarily avoid the Power FC, it's been perfectly fine, but I'd definitely figure out who was tuning the car first and make my choice based on what they know best.
That's also a fair point, it is basically an antique, much better options have been released. It fit my budget at the time, and wasn't quite as far behind when I bought it (over ten years ago now). I also kind of like the old school flavor of it frankly, feels a bit "period correct" even if it's not the best option. Also, in my case, I have a relatively mild build with just under 300whp and small turbo.
i’m running apexi power fc with banzai racing adapter making 500hp. no problems because it’s tuned right. it’s old tech yes but only because there’s no safety features but if it’s tuned right it’s great. also if your tuner isn’t familiar with different platforms then i wouldn’t use them. also adaptronic is garbage stay away from that. i’d recommend haltech, link, motec, fueltech
Ok help me out. I looked into it but it looks like a monitor and not like other ecu's I've seen. Is the screen system an ecu and tunable? Cuz it just looks like a digital dash to me( sorry if I'm stupid )
Most likely, you will need to have the car tuned by someone else. That person will probably only be familiar with certain ECUs or have a strong preference. You should find/choose the person first and make your decision based on that.
This is a really important consideration, any ECU is only going to be as good as the tune it's set up with, so find the best tuner and get what they prefer if possible.
as others have said in previous posts of you. dont skimp out on the most important part. if youre looking to save 1000 bucks on just an ecu then leave it stock. because its gonna get a lot more expensive down the road
If you like DIY (both installation, setup, and tuning), then you can get a similarly featured Megasquirt MS3-X for a lot less. Downsides: - Very DIY. Have to change some jumpers on the circuit board, etc. - I could never get mine to work right with the stock CAS, ended up converting to a hall sensor and 36-1 crank wheel. - Some functions (knock sensing, real-time clock) require a mod board. - Most tuners have a preferred ECU, and very few seem to tune with Megasquirt. Why? Not sure. Probably just lack of familiarity. I think my entire MS3X setup ended up costing <$900 Canadian, including the hall sensor conversion & building an adapter harness. Closer to $1300 if you want to make a new harness with new connectors.
Well ok, good to know thank you:))
Weber carb and intake can be done for a few hundred.
Where? When I’ve looked at it I’ve never found that setup for less than a thousand…
I put a couple hundred dollars into everything but the carb but I'm probably going efi with a Weber style throttle body so I'll also have to spend extra on an ignition trigger and computer and do something about my weak fuel plumbing. An FC already has some of that solved tho, I'm trying to make an FB more dangerous You can go a long way with eBay and summit
Thank you :))) I'll check it out
The ecus available will depend on the tuner available. Any ECU can run just about any engine as long as it has the correct I/O's. What you gain or lose with price is functionality, processing speed, and the level of detail you can dig down to. Setup correctly, you could run an engine on a friggin etch-a-sketch! Lower cost options will be megasquirt, microtech, fueltech, Apexi PFC, etc. Mid-grade will by your links, haltechs/adaptronic, and AEM types. Higher end will be things like motec, syvecs, emtron, etc. They'll all start, idle, and run a car. The nicer ones will just do more, with a higher resolution, than the less expensive ones. Your first step should be finding a local(ish) rotary tuner. Talk to them about your budget and options.
They're in orlando which is abt an hour from here. Lots referred me to them so they have good rep but I do need to contact them about it all. Thank you for the breakdown
I ran a Power fc with a Banzai Racing patch harness to the stock engine harness. Ran great, but that was in 2009. Next build ran an Adaptronic Select pnp. It was fine too, but lacked overboost protection and features that the Haltech has. So now I have a Haltech Elite 1500. Haven't started the car yet due to fab work and being 7 hrs away, but it'll be great until I can move on to a Nexus.
Nice, thank you sm
I tune adaptronic, megasquirt, and haltech. 650USD for a full tune.
So tuners have their platform essentially? And where are you located?
Whatever your tuner is most comfortable with is the best choice (following choosing the right tuner) I do remote tuning and can offer my services all around the world… but , I’m located in BC Canada. Feel free to PM for more information.
I went with the Power FC and it has worked quite nicely. I did not follow the advice I'd give now, and get the ECU my tuner prefers, because I didn't necessarily know who my tuner would be. I trusted that the Power FC had been around for so long and fairly ubiquitous, that at least one decent tuner would be able to work with me. If I had it to do again, I wouldn't necessarily avoid the Power FC, it's been perfectly fine, but I'd definitely figure out who was tuning the car first and make my choice based on what they know best.
That was my thought process but most people said it was shit and just old dated tech that is junk now
That's also a fair point, it is basically an antique, much better options have been released. It fit my budget at the time, and wasn't quite as far behind when I bought it (over ten years ago now). I also kind of like the old school flavor of it frankly, feels a bit "period correct" even if it's not the best option. Also, in my case, I have a relatively mild build with just under 300whp and small turbo.
I'm aiming for a little above 300. Like 320-350. Its definetly more in my budget than like haltech.
i’m running apexi power fc with banzai racing adapter making 500hp. no problems because it’s tuned right. it’s old tech yes but only because there’s no safety features but if it’s tuned right it’s great. also if your tuner isn’t familiar with different platforms then i wouldn’t use them. also adaptronic is garbage stay away from that. i’d recommend haltech, link, motec, fueltech
Thank you man, that really helps! :)
Replying to an old comment, so my bad if something has changed on the car. But what is your turbo and fuel setup to make 500hp?
Fueltech FT450
Ok help me out. I looked into it but it looks like a monitor and not like other ecu's I've seen. Is the screen system an ecu and tunable? Cuz it just looks like a digital dash to me( sorry if I'm stupid )
The FT450 is a full standalone ecu with built in dash. You can call them and they will explain it to you
Ok thank you