Do I Go Microtech Or E-manage Ultimate?

[DaveO74]

Hi Everyone,

I havent made many posts on these forums but have been reading them for a long time now so please be gentle.

I am the proud owner of a 1998(Yes Really)S2 R33 which I bought in 2000 and have kept dead stock until recently. After the usual mods(FMIC,APEXi Super Suction Kit, Custom Air Box W/CAI, Split Dump Pipe, High Flow Cat & HKS Exhaust....Clutch Kit on the way) I am ready to look at getting an aftermarket ECU.

I was going to get the usual PFC but as we all know they are now very difficult to get and are getting pricey so I have been doing searches on what other engine management you guys use. I think I have narrowed it down to the Microtech LT-12 or the GReddy E-Manage Ultimate.

What I would like to know is what do you people think would be the best option for me with tuners in the Sydney area and reliability of these two units. Most of the searches I have done are quite old threads so I thought someone who has had these units for a while could help in my choice.

I am not some young Boy Racer and have a Genuine passion for these cars as all my life I had only had V8's and have found Turbo cars to be amazing machines.

Thanks in advance and I look forward to meeting some of you guys at SAU events and track days etc.

Dave

[STATUS]

depends i can garauntee the emanage will be nicer to live with day to day and produce the same top end power as a standalone computer comparison (bottom post), but if your going to go extreme with your mods then go the microtech, even then i would prefer to use a haltech over a microtech everday of the week.

Edited April 26, 2007 by URAS

[DaveO74]

What is the problem with the Microtech?? What makes the E-Manage a better choice??

Im not planning on going too extreme with mods but will one day like to put a HKS GTRS turbo on it. But that will have to wait a bit cause if I do it all in one hit the wife will FREAK!!!! LOL

[RBwhatever]

correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't microtech use map sensors? Hence why the emanage would be easier to live with. Less things to change/install, easier to tune, more daily driver friendly.

[STATUS]

i find the Microtech a little coarse, it is great value but lacks finese and i gather from your first post you take great pride in your car and the minor details. The microtech tends to "overlook" the minor details to produce a no frills basic stand alone ECU to a specific price bracket.

Edited April 26, 2007 by URAS

[DaveO74]

Sorry guys Ill post back shortly I just have to go feed all the animals

[DaveO74]

Sorry people-Hungry animals wait for no man!

So the E-Manage is a better all round package then?? What is its tunability like and are many tuners willing to have a crack at it because its a new thing??

Does anyone know of tuners in Sydney with experience with the E-manage or will people that have tuned the PFC find it ok to work with?

[timma]

hmmm im interested in the anwser to actually as im just about to buy an ltx12s. ive had good experience with microtech in my last car.a rotar

[SLYLNE]

better to save up and get your self a wolf 3d. thats my opinion..wait a bit longer, save up and get the wolf

[SECURITY]

better to save up and get your self a wolf 3d. thats my opinion..wait a bit longer, save up and get the wolf

why?

[timma]

yeah ive heard lots of bad shit bout the wolf comps.

[R31Nismoid]

Its more idiot tuners not knowing what they are doing with them, and that applies to everything, not just the wolf.

I've seen many many examples of cars that run like bags of shit on cold start, general use, stop/start driving.

Which IMO is more important than outright full throttle power for a daily.

I couldnt handle a car that didnt fire up in the mornings, was crap in the city etc.

Fair enough if your car is track only, these things dont matter 'so' much.

Daveo, Best to see what your tuner knows, and reccomends.

You have a number of good workshops in SYD, even if you have to drive 2 hours to get somewhere. Do it as having a poorly tuned car is the pits

[discopotato03]

OT but I'd hold out for a PFC . I'm beginning to think the problem with PFC's is that they make it too easy and don't paint you into corners . Everything else in my narrow opinion takes you down the road of frustration and grief .

The Path : Buy/plug/play .

1) Buy They are still out there .

2) Plug Self expanitary .

3) Play Follow the idle learn proceedure and it drives well on a reasonably std car .

4) Need larger injectors and MAF ? Plug/set/play .

The way of frustration and grief .

1) Buy Hope it runs 6 injectors and 6 coils sequentially and can make the idle system work as factory .

2) Fit Hope you know of someone thats good at wiring and setting crank trigers etc .

3) Play Hope the tuner has something in the way of maps to make it run or it won't even start .

The costs : Its hard to imagine that you could buy aftermarket computers worth having and have it wired in and running virtually like a std car for less than a new or used PFC . I really dislike MAP sensed systems and many of the aftermarket ECU's make you use them . As a last nail in the coffin - you don't just unplug the aftermarket box and refit the std one to aftermarket management . With a PFC it takes as long as to remove the kick panel and unscrew one (1) bolt . Reverse this proceedure and fit the std boxes 2 mounting bolts and its done .

Your call .

[RBwhatever]

Wolf 3D do make a plug and play version of the V500 for the r33 gtst. From memory I think it worth $1900. But in saying that it'll still depend on the tuner to do a good job.

[RBwhatever]

But they also require MAP sensors to be used.........No wait sorry I lied.

Quote from their web page "This ECU is designed to plug into Nissan R32 and R33 model vehicles running the RB25DET engine.

All Wolf V500 ECU Adapter Looms are designed to allow the Mass Air Flow meter to be removed. The Internal MAP Sensor allows boost levels up to 30 PSI. If higher boost levels are required, an external MAP Sensor can be used."

Edited April 26, 2007 by KeyMakeR33

[DaveO74]

Mmmmm, Now you guys have me thinking. John from UAS has mentioned to me that a few people are starting to play around with the GTR PFC D-Jetro units reggiged for a GTST. You guys had any experience with these? Do they work just as simply or can they be a bit of a headache??

[RBwhatever]

They can work very well when tuned properly. And in terms of modifications, there is no combination of mods out of the D-Jetros reach.

Although, tuning is no easy task on the D-Jetro. Expect about twice or more of the amount of tuning time than a normal Power FC.

[STATUS]

They can work very well when tuned properly. And in terms of modifications, there is no combination of mods out of the D-Jetros reach.

Although, tuning is no easy task on the D-Jetro. Expect about twice or more of the amount of tuning time than a normal Power FC.

that is a myth, d-jetro on a gtr is just like d-jetro on anything else.... i fitted/tuned my latest one last night. Access had stock here in melbourne so it was a quick easy fix for my customer who was having AFM issues. the hardest part about D-jetro is the map sensor pick-ups need to be taken from 3 and 4 intake runners which normally requires the plenum to come off..... or risk leaving aluminum swarf in the intake runners after drilling the take-off ports.

tuning is simple and usually takes les time to get a satisfactory idle than equivalent AFm PFC's..... especially on big cammed engines.

i would expect the extra charge comes from the extra fit time, not the tuning.

Edited April 26, 2007 by URAS

[chris davey]

Firstly, this info. is not relating to a nissan engine.

I have had bad experiences with a wolf 3d v4. I had it professionally installed and tuned by a wolf distributor. The car never ran very well. It felt very rough e.g. I would have to pump the throttle a few times to get it started. The idle was a bit iffy etc. Because of this ecu I will not be going to a wolf again.

In the end, I got rid of that and got a MT LT12s and x6 igniter. Wired it up which was very easy and took me and my mate (who have never installed an ecu before) 2 hours. Cranked it over and started first go and idled smooth as.

In the steps above re plug and play. A big advantage the MT has is that it is configured to an engine so you can wire it in and it will start straight away. No need to sort out crank triggers etc. I have found customer support to be very good also as they have a forum to ask questions.

On paper, the wolf is a better ecu with a lot more tuning resolution etc. but in the end it never ran properly and I am very happy I changed.

Re EMU: I know a guy that loves using emanages on soarers. He gets some very good results and part of the reason is that he knows the software inside out. A microtech is pretty easy to tune IMO if you have the correct tools and have a brain I have been tuning my car from day 1 with the MT and it really isn't rocket surgery.

Re wolf v500 plug in: I would wait and see if anyone has had one and if you actually can just plug it in and it runs as per normal. I am a bit doubtful.

Re map sensors: t-piece into a vacuum line (that isn't FPR) and put it to the ecu. Takes all of 2 minutes

Anyway, that is my 2c.

I still think that you should talk to whoever you want to tune your car if you aren't going to do it yourself and go on there recommendations (unless they tell you to get a 10k motec for a basic street car ) or if you are tuning yourself, take a look at the software for different ecus and see which one you like

[DaveO74]

Thanks Chris Ill take that on board. Ill prob get UAS to do my tuning for me as they have worked on my car since the day I got it and have always tried to be helpfull. Guess ill have to rethink my options a little as it seems no matter what ECU you chose they all have their good points and bad points. The only reason I was gonna steer clear of the PFC is availability and the price seem to go up almost daily:(

As you stated in your post I dont see the point in paying 10k or so for an ECU for a midly tweaked street car that will be used on the odd track day. Seems like overkill to me.