[Mk2] [Turbo] Best ecu?

[37831999]

Looking at ecu's and there seem to be so many! What is the best one to get? Is there one that is superior over the rest or are most of them the same just different brands?

[Steve-O 2007]

Power FC is a very popular ECU but getting old now and somehow still costs alot to buy considering its age

Also people seem to be going with the Link ECU's eg the Link G3

They are the 2 main aftermarket ECU's used I would say

[37831999]

I did look at the link, they got a new one the G4 extreme which they say is the best but is that them just advertising there own product?

Was also looking at the HKS vpro gold? A bit expensive but if it better then don't mind paying the extra?

Has anyone got any views on the hydra nemesis??? Is it tunable in the uk?

[ashley]

Power FC does the trick, but as said- old school technology now. Link stuff has a really good rep for not much £££, if you have more to spend and are after something more comprehensive then...

MoTeC- expensive, the add on's cost a lot, but a very well respected and proven ecu. M4 is old school now, the M400/600/800 is getting on a bit as well but is far better than the M4...they have a new ecu, but is yet to be released to the general market

AEM- still expensive, but you get more features included with the base unit. Absolutely loads of options in the s/w which almost seems to be it's downfall...it is very powerful, but so so easy to c*ck up if you don't know exactly what you are doing!

A newcomer, and by all accounts a serious contender at a reasonable price would by the Solaris (rebranded Syvecs) is well worth a look...you get a lot of the capabilities of the top budget ecu's but for less cash.


Also worth checking that your mapper can map the ecu you choose, not all mappers can map all ecu's.


I'd have a serious look at the Syvecs stuff if I was you....I went MoTeC but was lucky with price, otherwise I probably would have gone down that route


Really depends how far you want to take it, and how deep your pockets are!

[bolton]

power fc! Proved time and time again!

[ashley]

Well it's certainly bin around long enough to have been proven a few times

The question was which one is best though, and the power fc is certainly not the best...not by a long way...

[Steve-O 2007]

power fc! Proved time and time again!

the Power FC doesnt have active knock control or what ever it is does it (where as the link etc does)

[RyanRs]

Ryan.G seems to like the solaris a lot. I have been considering selling my LinkPlus G3 XLEM and upgrading to a solaris... not sure when that will happen tho.

Btw, from what i have come to understand, the G4 extreme is basically the same as the G4 Atom but is designed for 8 Cyl + engines hence the extra injector drivers etc, theres not many extra functions over the G4 Atom.

[37831999]

Ok so you'd choose the solaris over the g4 atom? How much is the solaris and how easy is it to tune? Meaning how many people tune them? Do I have to go to a certain place?

[ashley]

Ryan can certainly map the Syvecs for you.

Worth visiting their website buddy, and maybe a search on the Supra forum- I think it's a popular option

[greeny]

A good tuner can/will tune any ecu!

Tuners should me good at "tuning", rather than just knowing there way around a certain ecu/'s.

You should pick the ECU thats right for you

It all depends what level you're wanting to use it at?

[Century Motorsport]

power fc! Proved time and time again!

If you drove a car with a different ECU on it as opposed to a PFC you'd retract that statement.... PFC's are horse poo!

A link is a far better bet, not only for tuning parameters & resolution... but also for drivability - the difference really is night and day!

[37831999]

Do you a link ecu on yours at century motorsport??? I'm wanting an ecu for power purposes only really, as it will heardly be used on the road.

[RyanRs]

I think Nathan was using a Linkplus G3 XLEM on the 9 sec mr2, dont take my word for it tho.

[mark239]

AEM doesn't have to be dear.

Try this chap, he usually has the stuff at sterling for dollar prices, delivered

http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/xenonlv/

[Century Motorsport]

Yeah ran a link g3 xlem - fantastic ecu for the money.

The bottom line is you get what you pay for. A power fc would be able to be mapped to the same power as a Motec but the running, drivability and safety controls wouldn't be a patch on thr Motec.

[tubby_tony]

I agree the link and others may have better safety features over pfc but driveability etc is all down to the mapping. Pfc with a good mapping session for me if you are doing bolt on mods aiming for 300-320ish

[greeny]

AEM doesn't have to be dear.

Try this chap, he usually has the stuff at sterling for dollar prices, delivered

http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/xenonlv/

Aem is very hit and miss with quality though. They seem to have alot of problems with randomly dropping out injector drivers. Some seem to be ok and alot seem to have problems.

[ryan]

Out of interest, which of these other aftermarket ECUs can you just plug in like the PFC? I hate the thought of having wires chopped to death

[mark239]

AEM doesn't have to be dear.

Try this chap, he usually has the stuff at sterling for dollar prices, delivered

http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/xenonlv/

Aem is very hit and miss with quality though. They seem to have alot of problems with randomly dropping out injector drivers. Some seem to be ok and alot seem to have problems.

The problem is actually pretty simple to fix, the EPROM chip isnt fixed in them very well, and causes all sorts of weird problems.

Bit of superglue has fixed 3 for me! AEM wanted $500 to fix them, claiming they were fried.