best ecu/tuning options for rb25

[mattysaidso]

hey guys/gals

i have recently puchased a r33 and i am looking to do a few upgrades. and

at current the only mods the car has is: 3" zosrt inc dump pipe and high flow cat, pod filter, blitz atmo bov, turbosmart single stage boost controller, apexi aif flow meter corrector(i think thats what it is???). before i bother doing any ecu changes i will be fitting a 600x300 fmic though.

now my question is once i have the cooler combined with my other mods (listed) what is the best way to go about tuning my car to get the most from the setup? am i better off with a complete aftermarket computer? a piggy back style computer or am i just able to have the std ecu remapped to suit? what ever i choost i want to be able to use for future upgrades as well so i was thinking about going to the path of either a piggy back or aftermarket ecu.

i have noticed that the apexi range is used very common amoungst rb owners, jus wondering if any of their products would be suitable for my aplication? if so which specific ones? as i have seen many mild and wild rb's using apexi electrical products.

another alternative which was suggested to me by a local tuning workshop was a 'uni chip' piggy back style computer, can anyone comment on the performance and tunability of these products? i was informed that these were completely retuneable yet keep all the factory ecu settings like cold start, air con, idle etc.

thanx in advance, and sorry for the long rant!

cheers1

[bmxwrx]

if you can afford it, go the power fc.

unichips do work, but they are far from the best alternative.

[mattysaidso]

is the power fc a full stand alone comp or a piggy back? and is it able to remove fuel and speed cut?

cheers!

[paulr33]

power fc is full stand alone replacement ecu. removes speed cut, boost cut and fuel cut, adjustable rev limit, fuel and ignition maps (20x20) and access to some other features that i cant remember

[mattysaidso]

sounds pretty good, is it worth looking into some of the more basic products in the apexi range? not to sure what is what. is there a model that will allow adjustment of air/fuel, timing etc?

[fane]

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/search.php?

[paulr33]

sounds pretty good, is it worth looking into some of the more basic products in the apexi range? not to sure what is what. is there a model that will allow adjustment of air/fuel, timing etc?

apexi safc II

www.apexi-usa.com

[mattysaidso]

how good is the safcII? can anyone who has used or is using one with a mild list of mods (exhause, fmic, boostcontroller, pod) shed some info or recomendations?

would i need a full stand alone comp like a power fc, or would something like a safc II be quite adequate for my needs? and still be good enough to support a future turbo upgrade?

[paulr33]

safc II is generally good for very mild tune of the rb25

front mount, boost controller, pod/cai box, exhaust and thats probably about it

once you wanna run bigger injectors, diff turbo, air flow meter youll want the power fc

you will get more benefits from stand alone like powerfc of course but its not always needed. the safc can be a cheap alternative, but remember you have to get the safc fitted and tuned. buy is around $450 then fit and tune prolly $250

the powerfc is $1100 delivered gives you all the features of safc plus stacks more

[mattysaidso]

thanx for the info paul,

i guess i need to look at how far i plan to take the mods. sounds like the safc II would be fine for now though.

does the power fc plug straight in to my existing harness?

[R33Steve]

I had an SAFC in my car after i turned up the boost. Didnt really help much just saved me some money on fuel. I was getting pretty bad detonation. Then upgraded to a Wolf3d version 4. Have not had any probs since.

And yes there is a PFC that is plug and play but you will still need to have it tuned.

Steve

[mattysaidso]

r33steve, did you have the safc tuned? if so you didn see any benifits?

[paulr33]

yeah you basically unplug stock ecu, put in power fc and car will start

it comes with a base tune but it does *need* to be tuned for your cars mods

[wsln33]

Go the power FC, easy to fit and tune, Never headr a bad report

When you fit your cooler, I suggest getting a plenum made up to,

If you plumb your intercooler up to standard intake manifold, piping is like 3.2mteres long!

With the plenum its under two meters and a hell of alot more responsive and torqey!

Have fun

[paulr33]

id suggest against changing the stock plenum. there has been numerous threads and its been aruged over and over. the stock plenum is good for over 500hp and doesnt need changing.

the cost to change plenum to save a short amount of pipework is not worth it, its like .0023psi pressure drop from the extra pipework. you wont loose torque just a bit more lag in the system from the piping, the plenum will cost you $1000 odd, you can spend that money on much better suited products instead, likes cams, ecu, injectors, clutch

[mattysaidso]

Go the power FC, easy to fit and tune, Never headr a bad report

When you fit your cooler, I suggest getting a plenum made up to,  

If you plumb your intercooler up to standard intake manifold, piping is like 3.2mteres long!

With the plenum its under two meters and a hell of alot more responsive and torqey!

Have fun

when you say get a new plenum made up do you mean a completely new, larger flowing item, or modifying the stock plenum so the the throttle body is facing forward instead of towards the passenger side of the car???? as i have seen this done before and looks quite effective.

[Sydneykid]

Go the power FC, easy to fit and tune, Never headr a bad report

When you fit your cooler, I suggest getting a plenum made up to,  

If you plumb your intercooler up to standard intake manifold, piping is like 3.2mteres long!

With the plenum its under two meters and a hell of alot more responsive and torqey!

Have fun

Sorry wsln33, I gotta dissagree, the intercooler pipework length makes no diference to torque.

Using a 120 degree bend at the throttle body reduces the difference by more than 50%, to a bit less than 1 litre using 75 mm pipework.

To work out the throttle response difference the calculations are easy;

2500 cc X 5000 rpm / 2 (4 stroke) at 1.3 bar = 135 litres per second

So a saving of 1 litre represents less than 0.005 of a second

That's not a lot of lag to save with reduced pipework.

Not a good idea in my opinion, especially when you consider the potential to loose throttle response due to poor airflow distribution is far greater than that.

[blind_elk]

I'm running a Wolf 3D 4+ on the RB25DET I fitted to my GTS4. On crappy 95 octane and 10psi, pumping 180 kW thru ALL 4 wheels (probably 210 rwkW).

There is a straight plug-in replacement (like PFC) available for the R33.

[R33Steve]

r33steve, did you have the safc tuned? if so you didn see any benifits?

The only benefit i got was saving a little money on fuel and slighty reducing the detonation i was getting. My standard computer was running ridiculously rich. I wouldnt buy another one, Id go straight for a stand alone.

Steve

[mickr33]

I have had an SAFC2 installed about 2 months ago and i must say it's the best money i have spent. Yes the standard ecu when boosted made it run hell rich and produced 160 rwkw with a nasty flat spot and then after the install and tune of the SAFC it was a healthy 189rwkw and no flat spot. Sorry to hear your results Steve but i must say im very impressed with my end result. Stock cooler stock turbo, 3 inch from dump, EBC set at 12 PSI.