To S-AFC or not?

[silver33]

I have a 1996 R33 Skyline GTS-T Series 2 with very mild mods - TurboXS High Performance Boost controller set to 10psi and a 3" dump leading into a stock cat-back exhaust system.

I've read various threads indicating that an Apexi S-AFC makes a good improvement even on a stock vehicle. But upon speaking with some performance shops in Sydney, they've indicated that I may not gain anything.

Can I please get some comments from fellow members who are using an Apexi S-AFC and the mods on their vehicles.

I was looking at getting an S-AFC II but now I'm thinking twice.

[GTS-t VSPEC]

I'd be very surprised if it didn't give you an imporvement. The only real way to tell is to have a dyno run which shows the AFR's, and depending on how far it deviates from the desired level (about 12:1) then you can determine whether it will have a major impact.

If your considering full management down the track then save for either the PowerFC or Wolf.

[CS_180]

go for a power fc instead

my bother go a 40rwkw gain just from that

[GTS-t VSPEC]

Full management will give you more gains due to the fact it can control the timing aswell as the fuel, but really depends on how far you want to push the modifications. If your sticking with the stock turbo then get an SAFC, if your planning on doing a turbo upgrade then go full management.

[GZ R33]

Definately go the Power FC, the real benefit of an SAFC is that it displays what the car is doing in regards to Air/Fuel/Throttle. The Power Fc handcontroller does the same. Forget SAFC.:talk2hand

[JimX]

Depends on your budget and what you want to do. I got +30rwkw out of my S-AFC, but at higher boost experienced boost cut.

[Busky2k]

It really depends on what future plans you have for your car. If your just gonna get a full exhaust later and maybe a tad more boost than a SAFC will serve you very well. If your planning on getting a bigger turbo etc later on, then get a PFC first.

[09ONE_32]

These are all valid points that have been raised However I have a SAFC on my R32 and it works like a charm. I wouldn't bother running an SAFC or any other management with those mods, because in my opinion it wouldn't be worth your while. I have a bigger turbo, FMIC, BOV, 550hp pump and SAFC and am making 320hp at the wheels. I don't think that I really need a Microtech or anything like that, and consider that SAFC's are going cheap on ebay for like $250 you cant really go wrong. You can do all the fuel related tuning with the SAFC and max out the duty cycle on your fuel system, and it removes your boost cut fuel cut and speed cut. I think thats all you basically need unless you are after really big power an SAFC will do fine. Sure you don't have the fine tuning as others might but then again you don't have the problems such as rough idle, stalling, hard to start because your std ECU runs everything else like it was a standard unmodified car. hope this helps.

[Guest Robo's]

Well depends how your car is running now. Mine was running like a dog with full exhaust and extra boost. Turn the boost up and it was terrible. Not once i could rev it out cleanly. Turn the boost down and it was better put still missing. It turned out too be, too much fuel. Put the SAFC in and with some tuning and some extra boosting, the power curve went from 120rwkw to 178 rwkw. If i was running standard boost it may have been more than 120rwkw without the SAFC but not much more. Now it revs out cleanly in any gear and i love it.

[«Cyph3r»]

Don't forget though to check how much it will cost you to get the safc installed as it needs to be spliced in the stock ecu whereas anyone can plug in the powerfc and select the base fuel map, i would recommend powerfc over safc if you can afford it plus with fc commander you can check all the duty cycles/knock sensor/temps and everything.

Jamie

[JimX]

I think ANYONE would recommend the PowerFC over the S-AFC if they could afford it. The real question is it worth going without any ECU modification at all until you save up the required $1100+ for the PowerFC?

My answer would be definitely not. If you are strapped for cash then get a 2nd hand S-AFC then sell it for what you paid for it and buy a PowerFC after you've saved up the rest.

But if you are sick of shovelling money into the bottomless pit that cars are, be happy with the S-AFC. It's better than nothing and a good place to stop at for ECU mods.

My S-AFC was installed for free. By me

[silver33]

Thanks guys for all your input.

I don't plan to do much more to my car. At the most, maybe replace the stock cat back exhaust system. Based on this, i don't think I will ever need to go to a PowerFC.

The only reason why I'm considering the S-AFC is because a friend of mine is going to Japan.

He has already done some shopping around and could potentially pick up a 2nd-hand S-AFC II for less than AUS$150.

I figure, if I don't gain much from it, I could just re-sell it.

[Jeff C]

Originally posted by GTS-t VSPEC

Full management will give you more gains due to the fact it can control the timing aswell as the fuel

Well, couldn't you use an aftermarket ignition with "boost retard" to pull the timing while in boost? I know MSD has the BTM which will do this for distributor cars, but is there one for distributorless cars?

Also, what kind of power is the SAFC setup capable of handling?

[JimX]

Originally posted by silver33

He has already done some shopping around and could potentially pick up a 2nd-hand S-AFC II for less than AUS$150.

You're only paying $150 and you're asking if you should bother or not?! Dude, even if you bought it and never installed it, you could immediately sell it for $200-300 profit easy. Just get it, no question needs to be asked! But yeah I think you should install it once you get it rather than immediately selling it