Autronic Ecu - Info Wanted

[Nosmo]

G'day,

I'm looking for some info from others that have installed Autronics on their cars. I am in the process of building an RB30DE and will be running an Autronic SM4 (most likely).

I would like to hear from anyone who has had success or troubles with the fitting of an Autronic, what to look out for and how much it costs to have one supplied and tuned (I'll be wiring it myself). - If you don't want to post up the prices a PM would be great!

Cheers all!

[Angus Smart]

I have herd nothing buy the goods about them!

If my fcon is an anus i will be switching to one for sure.

i was quoted under 2k i think for one installed. (i think) it was a while back.

[2BNVS]

i use an sm4 on my rb25/30 with also the CDi...this is by far the best computer ive ever seen... i used to previously have the pwoer fc, and for the usual bolt on stuff was fantastic, but after getting custom plenum etc and more custom stuff the power fc was way out of its league and within seconds of bolting the autronic up and starting it, was a hell of alot different, after being tuned was just unbelievably different

so many features, (launch control, anti lag, flat shift, auto tune) and so many more tuning points, to get it absolutley spot on...

definatley well worth their money thats for sure

ill pm u my prices...for supply fit and tune together as 1 package price, coz Lincoln from Newcastle drove down to tune it, as he is an Autronic Guru

ben...

[paulr33]

logic assumption... it was at least double the price to buy and tune vs the powerfc? or 66% more ?

[FATGTS-R]

If you do purchase one, join the autronic forum as you will find it an invaluable tool for tuning/install tips and general info on the product.

[Nosmo]

logic assumption... it was at least double the price to buy and tune vs the powerfc? or 66% more ?

I'm hoping with the 'Auto-tune' feature of the Autronic I can significantly reduce the costs of tuning. Possibly even do most of it myself and once the engine is run in have a final tune performed on the dyno...

[JVP]

info @ www.beninca.com.au

its a workshop that is supply parts to

i need to ask them a few Q's also

hope that helps mate.

[paulr33]

my understanding with auto tune is youll need a wideband sensor

and then you still need to ignition timing and check it on the dyno

so its not like you will just negate the $500 odd tune cost

only some of it

[Sydneykid]

I'm hoping with the 'Auto-tune' feature of the Autronic I can significantly reduce the costs of tuning. Possibly even do most of it myself and once the engine is run in have a final tune performed on the dyno...

Then factor in another $1K to the price for the fast and wide lambda sensor and the controller. You get a lot of dyno tuning for $1K. For road (and track) tuning I use a Tech Edge WAO, best ~$500 I ever spent. Plus it transfers from car to car, regardless of ECU.

Self tune is good, but it's not the best value for money.

cheers

[RB20/30Det_VL]

mate the autronic is just a motec but easier to use, tune and cheaper to buy, its australian made and the bloke that started autronic use to design and engineer for motec, autronics are great for there money ive had one for years which has been in 2 different engine setups.

depending on what u get smc sm4 etc it will be between $2000-$4000, there not to bad to wire up as the harness is fairly simple on the smc models unsure about the new sm4 u can also put in 2 stage boost control, anti-lag, data logging, injector drivers etc, and u will still need to fine tune even though u have run the autotune

also the support on the autronic forum is tops

cheers

brad

[ovabooster]

ive been quoted $2400 for the sm4!!!! Does any1 know if i can get it cheaper?

cheers

[Adriano]

ive been quoted $2400 for the sm4!!!! Does any1 know if i can get it cheaper?

cheers

Depending on what features you want, thats about right, is that with the knock control board and the ignition expander?

[r33_racer]

fark me drunk...is the knock board finished and out now is it?

when we got ours it wasnt finished yet.

Also heard that autronic is out plug n play now? Anyone else heard that.

[2BNVS]

yeh the autotune wont eliminate majority or tuning as mentioned, its more a starting point to perfect the tune in more detail. yeh it is more expensive than a power fc as stated, but its far superior. i think off memory i paid 2200 for my ecu about a year ago, now im running a new rebuilt motor with gtr head going for the 600rwhp and add some nos to it as well... the Autronic CDi modual is an extra cost. not cheap but i fitted mine at around 350rwkw (splitfires previously) and it helped dramatically...

oh and my tuner only had to do very very slight wiring into the standard loom... it took bugger all time to do so its almost plug n play

ben...

Edited August 23, 2007 by 2BNVS

[rob82]

You'd be better off replacing the whole harness as most skylines pre r34 are pretty f**ked anyways. Make sure you know exactly what you want to do with it before you start as you have to assign certain pins to certain functions so its not just as easy as getting a wiring diagram - thats if you choose the SM4 anyways. The SM4 has so many features - I'm currently trying to hook up a wideband sensor to flash the check engine light when the AFR adaption is +5% - ie if its leaning out.

[T04GTR]

really depends what you want. smc is 1900 sm4 is 2350. worth the extra money i think. i personaly have a smc. and have had for well.. about 5 years now. it hasnt missed a beat. its been rained on,welded unprotected,had smoke come out of it(my fault) and still going strong. so robust its just not funny.

ony drawback on smc is limited options for crank triggering and axillary outputs.you also have to choose hi or low curent injector drivers. i have the autotune feature and a wideband. but i leave that to my tuner. it takes around 30 mins to map the fuel from scratch and its dead acurate. futher to its reliability is being able to clock up 240000km (120k over 300rwkw) on a standard r32 gtr enging. i ended up changing it just cos i was bored with it.. no detonation at all.

summing up its a very good ecu, very easy to use and tune. so for a tune dont expect more than $450 not 1k on a pos power fc with airflow meters that f**k out etc etc.

[ovabooster]

Depending on what features you want, thats about right, is that with the knock control board and the ignition expander?

it doesn't include them in the price...what exactly do they do anyways?

[r33_racer]

im pretty sure the knock board let you monitor detonation and you can tune it so it can pull timing or add fuel if it detects it as a safety feature. Apparently it can do it for each cylinder, or so it seemed from the last time i read about it on the autronic website.

The ignition expander i thought was basically a replacement so you dont need the CDI module.

[2rismo]

I don't believe either are available as yet.

[Leewah]

I've been running a SMC and CDI in my car for the last 5 years and it's been great (when it's running)! The only problem I would say it has in regards to tuning is that the cold start tuning on it sucks the big one and for some reason, the Motec handles cold start a lot better.

Last year, the CDI decided to die on me though for no apparent reason and after being quoted $850 to fix it by Richard Aubert, I just bit the bullet and bought a new one from Autronic instead.

Most recently though, the car died (Tues) and there's no power going to the Autronic for some reason. It just suddenly stopped. Hope I don't have to buy a new Autronic ECU now