Haltech or Link ECU into auto stagea? pro's/con's?

[oxford1327]

has anybody heard anymore about whether Haltech have done any more development on their ECU for auto Stags? there was rumours it was in final stages of development and was almost market ready, but then the trail has gone dead as a maggot......

so now I am looking at possibly having to go Link ECU as the nistune has seemingly ran out of range and wont stop knocking above 16psi  on 98octane, timing is having to be hella retarded to make it safe, and without need of putting in a second flex sensor so can run a guage for ethanol content so i can know when to jam more boost in safely its been recommended to go to a stand alone ECU for engine protection etc, and leave the std ecu do the basics.

now before I get hounded down I just wanna say I'm only going off what has been suggested by the tuners, so I thought that should maybe consult the brains trust and filter through the no doubt multiple  and often loud opinions that will be put forward.

I welcome this debate of benefits and detractions of each  system/provider, and hope that it may come to a general consensus of a reliable ECU that can deliver engine protections as well as ease of tuning while retaining the creature comforts and driveability of the standard ecu features.

as a side note here's a list of the current mods to the engine/trans etc. as I can already hear the questions regarding what has it got blah blah blah...

RB25det NEO with forged Wiseco piston lower , arp head studs ,standard cams, apparently flowed head with std sized valves, everything else head wise is stock as far as am aware, audi R8 coils,R35 MAF sensor in 4inch sensor tube, 4inch steel inlet pipe, hypergear atr43ss2 turbo (supposedly same as garret 3076) internally gated, GFB twin port atmo BOV, GFB G-force 2 boost controller, 3inch exhaust front to rear with 100cell cat and magnaflow muffler 3inch in 2x2.5 inch outlets, ecu has Nistune 5 board and software updated feb 2020, flex fuel sensor and fuel-lab adjustable reg, deutschwerks in tank 480 pump, 725cc bosch injectors on std fuel rail, 10mm plenum spacer, water to air intercooler rated to 750hp running glycol alcohol mix in its own separate radiator, auto is stage 2 shift kitted from MV Automatics with standard stall converter.

I think that about covers it.

[joshuaho96]

Haltech seems to have automatic transmission support now, it's noted for the Y60/Y61 Elite adapter harness: https://www.haltech.com/overview-plugnplay-adaptor-nissan-patrol-y6061-tb4245/

They have online documentation here: https://support.haltech.com/portal/en/kb/articles/transmission-control

[zoomzoom]

In terms of the auto, what specifically are you looking for in the ECU that makes it different from any other aftermarket ECU for a manual vehicle?

[oxford1327]

33 minutes ago, zoomzoom said:

In terms of the auto, what specifically are you looking for in the ECU that makes it different from any other aftermarket ECU for a manual vehicle?

Because it is a tiptronic box I think is what the problem is with the ECU control, but I honestly don't know. 

So I am unaware why it doesn't cover auto vs manual with say a haltech etc, but they all say manual trans only

 

[GTSBoy]

1 hour ago, zoomzoom said:

In terms of the auto, what specifically are you looking for in the ECU that makes it different from any other aftermarket ECU for a manual vehicle?

The TCUs like to talk to the (factory) ECU, so they know what is going on. Take the factory ECU away from them and they pack a sulk. If you want to do that, you need an aftermarket ECU that can pretend (to the TCU) to be the factory ECU, to keep it happy.

[Ben C34]

Get auto built fully manualised 

Use any ecu. 

 

[oxford1327]

3 hours ago, GTSBoy said:

The TCUs like to talk to the (factory) ECU, so they know what is going on. Take the factory ECU away from them and they pack a sulk. If you want to do that, you need an aftermarket ECU that can pretend (to the TCU) to be the factory ECU, to keep it happy.

RS4 auto AWD doesn't have traction control unit though 

[GTSBoy]

T stands for Transmission, not Traction. It's a standard acronym* used when talking about controlling autos.

 

*although it does not meet the definition of an acronym, which is an abbreviation that can be pronounced as if it was a word.

[oxford1327]

24 minutes ago, Ben C34 said:

Get auto built fully manualised 

Use any ecu. 

 

But is it really that easy?? Surely not hahahaha, nothing else ever is... 

[oxford1327]

Just now, GTSBoy said:

T stands for Transmission, not Traction. It's a standard acronym* used when talking about controlling autos.

 

*although it does not meet the definition of an acronym, which is an abbreviation that can be pronounced as if it was a word.

Ahhhh very good, usually TCU is traction, my bad

[GTSBoy]

nah, that's TCS.

[Ben C34]

1 minute ago, oxford1327 said:

But is it really that easy?? Surely not hahahaha, nothing else ever is... 

Yes it is that easy. The manualised auto doesn't need to have a computer involved.

Full pressure shifts are the downside, if you can call it that, but with a a higher than stock stall not a problem on light throttle and good at full throttle.

[oxford1327]

1 minute ago, Ben C34 said:

Yes it is that easy. The manualised auto doesn't need to have a computer involved.

Full pressure shifts are the downside, if you can call it that, but with a a higher than stock stall not a problem on light throttle and good at full throttle.

I'll look into that,  cheers man. 

My old chev powered LX Torana  hatch had manualised power glide and she was a bit of a pig down low but great fun under load, so definitely know of the up/downsides of manual valve body... 

[zoomzoom]

I'm running a piggyback, which is really the only way to go for an S1. For an S2, if you want to replace the existing ECU then buy the one with the most processing power and inputs/outputs you can get. Something like the adaptronic M6000.

I haven't really kept up with what features are there now, but you will need the ability to program some behavioural logic into the ECU. If you need to outsource behavioural logic to an external microcontroller like I have, you need lots of inputs/outputs on the ECU.

Does the A/T control unit have any serial communications with the ECU? If not, then it shouldn't be too hard to provide the necessary digital or analog signals.

Most importantly, is this some racecar or roadcar? IMO you'll regret manualising an auto for a road car. There are workarounds for all the issues of tuning autos. There's tons of 15 year old outdated threads on SAU with misinfo on the problems.

I've tuned my S1 and still have ignition retarding on gearchanges. Plus I installed the MV shift kit too.  So I know what it's like to have a well set up auto that shifts fast, but still has smooth power delivery on the 1-2 shift without jolting, regardless of whether at part or full throttle. I also know what it's like when the box is operating at full line pressure all the time, and frankly it gets on the nerves real quick.

Oh, you're going from neutral to drive or reverse?

THUNK

[gtst_94]

As far as 8m aware links great ecu but does not accomadate for auto transmission

[oxford1327]

On 12/16/2020 at 2:10 PM, gtst_94 said:

As far as 8m aware links great ecu but does not accomadate for auto transmission

None of them really do cater for auto transmission specifically, but Haltech and Link have add ons in development that can be tweaked apparently, so I'm currently diving down that rabbit hole and chasing up more info. 

At this stage its looking like Link are further along and also has the tuners nod of approval for certain elements, so I reckon that will be where we end up, as for which model Link I dunno yet, there will be some numbers crunched and details sorted over before the booking date in march '21

 

[34fleet]

On 16/12/2020 at 4:38 AM, zoomzoom said:

I'm running a piggyback, which is really the only way to go for an S1. For an S2, if you want to replace the existing ECU then buy the one with the most processing power and inputs/outputs you can get. Something like the adaptronic M6000.

I haven't really kept up with what features are there now, but you will need the ability to program some behavioural logic into the ECU. If you need to outsource behavioural logic to an external microcontroller like I have, you need lots of inputs/outputs on the ECU.

Does the A/T control unit have any serial communications with the ECU? If not, then it shouldn't be too hard to provide the necessary digital or analog signals.

Most importantly, is this some racecar or roadcar? IMO you'll regret manualising an auto for a road car. There are workarounds for all the issues of tuning autos. There's tons of 15 year old outdated threads on SAU with misinfo on the problems.

I've tuned my S1 and still have ignition retarding on gearchanges. Plus I installed the MV shift kit too.  So I know what it's like to have a well set up auto that shifts fast, but still has smooth power delivery on the 1-2 shift without jolting, regardless of whether at part or full throttle. I also know what it's like when the box is operating at full line pressure all the time, and frankly it gets on the nerves real quick.

Oh, you're going from neutral to drive or reverse?

THUNK

ZOOM ZOOM, Im looking at the haltech for the same reason, my tuner has never tuned a auto stagea and asked how many solinoids the auto has, would you happen to know how many solinids the series 1  stagea has and what the transmission actually is 

[Ben C34]

2

Re4r01a

[oxford1327]

Series 1 is a RE401A with 3 solenoids as far as I'm aware, series 2 is RE401B and has 4 solenoids due to it having tiptronic 

 

[Ben C34]

I suppose it depends on what they are actually asking.

Series one has 2 shift solenoids, a line pressure solenoid and a lock up solenoid.