redwards

iTrader: (6)

I thought I'd do a search on here to help me decide on what (if any) aftermarket ECU to buy. After reading posts for an hour I am now confuzzed

I have a 04 Sti & sports cat. I will be fitting a walbro fuel pump, hi-flow air filter & 3 port boost solenoid. I'll be looking for 340-350Bhp with just as much torque. I will also want 2-3 different maps.

So the million dollar question is want ECU to get? I was thinking of getting Bon Rawle to map it (no offence to the other excellent mappers on here). I am torn between Ecutek and Simtek at the moment, but have also read that the standard ECU can be rempped? Can anyone offer any advice?

Thanks, Rich.

powerwrx

iTrader: (11)

www.jollygreenmonster.co.uk

chrisdicko

iTrader: (21)

The standard ECU is the ECUtek.....just remapped.

If your paying for the Simtek, I think I'd be inclined to pay that bit more and get the Syvecs (solaris).

For the Syvecs, I believe Pat Herborne and Simon (jollygreenmonster) are the main mappers for this. Although Bob may also do it now......

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

Your OEM ECU that left the factory with the rest of your car is a very capable bit of kit and can handle most of the mods that you can throw at it

looking at the fairly simple mods you have I'd think about an open source mapper like Dynamix

My car has been Mapped by Bob Rawle and he is one of the "guru's" of mapping but I'm not sure you need a change of ECU or a "complicated" map

All IMHO


Shaun

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

SN playing up again

scoobiewrx555

+1 for Open Source. 04 Sti with the VF35 and std ECU is very capable of making a solid 350bhp all day long. No need for very expensive aftermarket ECU's and you can have Launch Control and Switchable Boost and Wastegate control if you like but will cost a bit extra to add and set up. Open Source should cost betwen £350-£400+vat for a straightforward remap. I'm sure the extra's wouldn't be a lot more on top.

Decat turbo back exhaust, high flow flat panel air filter and a walbro255lph fuel pump + Open Source remap and you're away. Remember it's not the remapping tools that give you a great tune, it's the tuner that's doing the remap regardless of EcuTek or Open Source tools.

HTH

dynamix

iTrader: (3)

The main question is why do you need 2-3 maps ? If it is just for different boost levels then I would say that if it is mapped nicely it will be easy and smooth to drive in the highest boost level (as well as very quick) and you wont use the lower boost settings.

A remap of the standard ecu is all that is needed at that level, an aftermarket ecu would be complete overkill.

The aftermarket ecu's are very good but I dont think you will gain any extra power for the extra £1000+ you will pay out.

dynamix

iTrader: (3)

The main question is why do you need 2-3 maps ? If it is just for different boost levels then I would say that if it is mapped nicely it will be easy and smooth to drive in the highest boost level (as well as very quick) and you wont use the lower boost settings.

A remap of the standard ecu is all that is needed at that level, an aftermarket ecu would be complete overkill.

The aftermarket ecu's are very good but I dont think you will gain any extra power for the extra £1000+ you will pay out.

scoobiewrx555

As far as a road car is concerned the only time i would bother having two maps is if i'm running a methanol mix and when i'm not.

My car is mapped for 20% mix which is fine while i'm local or not going very far that i can do it in a couple of tank fulls, but on a trip to Scotland i won't carry extra Methanol with me as there is no room in the car with the dogs and all the other crap we take so i'll just use 99RON only. Then switching to a a low boost map is perfect and it still moves along very nicely.

Perhaps if you have a car in a country that gets very hot and very cold it might be worth having a high boost map for the winter and a lower boost map in the summer but you will rarely get a very hot summer in the UK so as Duncan says, a good quality remap will see you right all year through.

aXeL

Actually the standard ECU is made by Denso for Subaru. Only the Prodrive config is from ECUTek - at least that's what Prodrive told me about my 04 STI PPP.

+2 Opensource. It's soo much easier. I've been out since 8 this morning and have remapped mine 7 times....

Cannon Fodder

iTrader: (100)

I am considering go for a Simtek or similar aftermarket ECU, at present my car is 'fairly' standard with the addition of a 3" exhaust system with a sports cat, TSL Green Hybrid air filter element and an Ecutek remap by Bob Rawle.

It is running 348bhp and 338 lbs ft torque but in the very near future it will be having the below fitted:

VF48 Turbocharger
Fuelabs Fuel Pressure Regulator
Walbro 255lph Fuel Pump
Denso 650cc flow matched Injectors
Parallel Fuel Rail Conversion
RCM Induction Kit
SPT Induction Heat Shield
Harvey's Ported Exhaust Headers
Gruppe S Exhaust Up Pipe
Cold Air Feed through o/s front fog lamp cover
3 Port Boost Solenoid

I hope to achieve around 400bhp but I also want to have switchable maps to suit how I want to drive it at the time (probably with some Ethanol mix on the higher map) with the addition of launch control and anti-lag (again I want to be able to turn it off when required).

To be honest this is all a little last minute and I had really not really taken account of the additional cost of a Simtek or similar, I have occasionally seem some used Simtek's come up for sale on here (I missed out on one on Wednesday night ).

Which ECU offers the best 'bang for my bucks'?

scoobiewrx555

In the hands of the right mapper you could realise upto 450bhp with your standard ECU and it will still drive very factory like when just piddling about in town, and that's still running the MAF sensor. You can also go MAFLESS as well on the std ECU and get the same results power wise but the engine will run more smoothly.

You can still have switchable boost and wastegate maps, and Launch control, but no Flat Foot Shifting (real anti-lag) as you run a 16-bit ECU on your 2Ltr. You need a switch on the clutch for that to let the ECU know when you've engaged the clutch. Only the 2.5's DBW's (2006 onwards newage) can run FFS on the std ECU.

The beauty of all that though is that you still don't have to go to the expense of an aftermarket ECU so long as you can do without FFS. That is still very impressive for the std ECU and you can see from that what a cracking bit of kit Subaru's Denso ECU is.

Aftermarket ECU's are great but there are many scooby owners around that have gone to the expense of all that when they didn't really need to and are still running fairly average power. £1500+ is a lot of dosh to pay when a properly and creatively done remap will suffice.

The std ECU has some limitations but it doesn't sound like you're going to be quite there yet. The money you would save on an aftermarket ECU could be put towards bigger injectors (or get your injectors modified professionally) and a proper turbo like an MD321T/V, or a nice twin plate clutch even.

Midlife......

iTrader: (2)

Didn't know the Denso ECU could run the engine on the MAP sensor only....... Learn something new every day

Shaun

scoobiewrx555

It is limited to just under 24psi of boost and an engine load of 4.0 running MAFLESS but dependent on the turbo that could be 24psi of a lot of air. When you think a 20G at 22-23psi thereabouts and an STi TMIC will make 400bhp, something like an MD321T running 24psi should be making c.450bhp with an fmic, which is probably pretty well perfect. 700-800cc injectors running at std pressure (c.3bar) would make sure you get plenty of fuelling, and what a lively car that would make.

Unless you tell people what the Denso is capable of they'll just keep on spending money on aftermarket ECU's out of ignorance and a tuners desire to make sure they sell you a nice expensive aftermarket ECU they'll not only make money on by selling and fitting for you but add to that a remap and it's not a bad day's earnings!!

Nothing wrong with that at all and they'll do a perfect job for you i have no doubt but it's not always neccessary to make really decent power.

Cannon Fodder

iTrader: (100)

Thanks for the response Scoobiewrx555, but how do switchable boost levels equate to the ability to switch maps? If I were to run on just V power what kind of difference would be possible between both levels plus I am not sure what the ability to control wastegate pressure gives. Does this mean the fitting of an external wastegate controller?

I could have a microswitch fitted to the clutch pedal so would it then be possible to have FFS and would the signal input go straight onto one of the ECU pins?

I would like launch control which I think is operated by the neutral switch if I understand correctly but I am not really after 'false' anti-lag ie just pops and bangs, I would like 'proper' anti-lag but also have the ability to switch it off when driving normally.

Sorry for the numerous questions but I haven't really researched the matter yet and would appreciate your help.

redwards

iTrader: (6)

Sorry for the lack of response guys, I've just spent the last 8 hours machine polishing the car.

Loads of usefull information, so thank you. If I've read the responses correctly, then ECUTek is a remap of the factory ECU?

I wanted a low boost, high boost and perhaps a high octane map (not essential). The reason for the low boost map is to get some extra mileage when I go on my Germant trip with SIDC, I have a heavy right foot so I'm hoping a low boost map will help. I may go for Anti lag (not the true version just pops and bangs), but not sure on Launch Control. I don't need Flat Foot Shifting at the moment, not sure if it's needed when I decide to get my gearbox converted to a sequential one.

I have budget for a new ECU, but as scoobiewrx555 the money could be spent elsewhere if an aftermarket ECU is not required.

I'm also going to stay away for open source for now, I may get another scoob to start playing around with that.

Thanks for the advice so far, it's been educational.
Rich.