ECU Upgrade

[GTStR32]

Its time to do the ECU upgrade.

What do you guys recommend, im leaning towards a Microtech however i have heard people say look at Wofl

what do you guys think? what are the Pros and Cons?

[WazR32GTSt]

Dr Drift, one of the members here, re-tunes the standard ECU if u wanna speak to him it might be a good idea...

[Cool Hand Luke]

I have heard that microtech's are hard on fuel. From what ive read the wolf seems like a great ecu, especially for the money, but alot of people say to steer clear of it. IMHO thats because a lack of knowledge than anything else.

In terms of getting the standard ecu re-tuned, i really cant see any value in doing that. It costs $700 odd and your still stuck with the std AFM ecu

[Roy]

If your not planning later/more mods then getting the ecu re-tuned i a good alternative. (still half the price of basic entry level aftermarket ECUs)

You can get it re-maped to suit a Z32 AFM if the std item is for some reason a concern.

[GTStR32]

I think i might go with the microtech

[Hicks]

Whats the cost diference between wolf and microtech??

[rev210]

The wolf offers closed loop operation out of the box. Means fuel ecconomy is easier to acheive at light throttle. It's also 'plug and play' (no chopping into wires and new harness requirements).

Microtech is a good unit. Mat (whatsisname) has one on his car tuned well , he is adelaide.

[GTStR32]

do you know if you still have to run the AFM with a microtech

[Roy]

You cant run the Microtech off the AFM. Wolf does offer this option but nobody seems to bother with it, they seem to go straight down the MAP sensing path.

With the Microtech, you can leave it in place for leaglities/motor registry inspections etc ,and/ or ease of installation.

But it wont be doing anything except perhaps (Repeat perhaps) cause an inlet restriction.

If you want to get Microect ask your installer if they could arrange a drive for you in a car that they have installed the same computer in.

Be prepared for maybe having to put up with poor idle, cold start, stalling when air con turned on, running rich etc.

Some tuners have the majic touch and can get it right first go, others need a few goes at getting the day to day aspects of an ECU working for you on the street.

[EnricoPalazzo]

Originally posted by rev210

The wolf offers closed loop operation out of the box. Means fuel ecconomy is easier to acheive at light throttle. It's also 'plug and play' (no chopping into wires and new harness requirements).

Microtech is a good unit. Mat (whatsisname) has one on his car tuned well , he is adelaide.

Matt just blew his engine. 5th and 6th cyclinders wer running lean supposedly.

Still Microtech are very good ECU

[rev210]

yes the leanout was possibly due to a partially clogged injector, certainly nothing the ecu had anything to do with.

The V8 supercars blow engines with some regularity yet no one blames the mega buck ecu's for that.

[aybee]

Originally posted by Roy

With the Microtech, you can leave it in place for leaglities/motor registry inspections etc ,and/ or ease of installation.

But it wont be doing anything except perhaps (Repeat perhaps) cause an inlet restriction.

what do you mean legalities? i was under the impression that if you had a microtech and a cop or epa saw it your farked. on the other hand the plug n play ones can come straight out.

[Roy]

If the authorities pop the bonnet and see you dont have an AFM, (provided they are clued in) then theyll know your running some sort of aftermarket Map sensed ECU. MIcrotech will still be illegal, just not as obvious to onlookers.

I understand if you go to the trouble of getting your car emmissions tested with the aftermarket ECU then they are legal. Look at the CSV commodores that run Motec, they are fully epa compliant and legal.

[predator]

You have to get them fully engineered to be able to run aftermarket ECU legally.. a costly operation so not many people do it.

Its all bullshit really, because there is nothing to say an aftermarket ECU can't be equally as efficient as a factory ECU, in fact it is probably more likely to be so as you can better tune for the external mods.

If you ask me the laws need to be changed in this regard, but they're still playing catchup to the fact you can modify a car without pulling the engine apart.