Older Versions Of Aftermarket Ecus

[pp205 17]

Hi all,

 

So I'm at the stage where I'm going to need an aftermarket ecu to run my 1.9 mi. This is because I've had material taken off the block to raise the compression (engine is a dfw) but after taking it to the rolling road we cannot get it to stop pinking. I think the problem may be that the head has also been skimmed quite a lot over its life and hasn't got much more left on it which has shortened the overall engine height even more. Other than that it does seem quite a strong engine!

 

My big problem is that I can nowhere near afford a brand new ECU along with a loom. The question is will all older models of ecus (ie omex, emerald) run this engine ok? I can hopefully find an older 2nd hand model on eBay or the forum but how old can I go?

 

I also have pipe dreams of eventually running throttle bodies so I'll need it to have the capability to do this also.

 

Excuse my ignorance but I have no experience of aftermarket ECUs. I've had a bit of a search around but can't really find anything definitive.

 

Also are there any specific models I should avoid?

 

Any comments/suggestions are welcome!

 

Cheers

 

Simon

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

Any of the older ecu's should be fine, my own car runs on an old DTA e48.

The only ecus I've heard bad press on is the KMS ones and apparently weber ecu's could only be mapped by weber dealers, not sure if this is still the case though.

 

Al

[stu8v 68 1 Cars]

Big big risk buying second hand electronics.

 

You need too know they have a good reputation or you could be buying scrap.

 

From what I've seen your almost better buying new as the prices range from 50-75% of the new price anyway.....

 

And for that you get the latest version with backup.

 

Also most will have crap/bodged looms anyway so budget on a new one, Thats me being an electrician by trade and seeing lots of unskilled attempts at anything electrical.

 

 

Just my thoughts, some may not agree.

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

Big big risk buying second hand electronics.

 

You need too know they have a good reputation or you could be buying scrap.

 

From what I've seen your almost better buying new as the prices range from 50-75% of the new price anyway.....

 

And for that you get the latest version with backup.

 

Also most will have crap/bodged looms anyway so budget on a new one, Thats me being an electrician by trade and seeing lots of unskilled attempts at anything electrical.

 

 

Just my thoughts, some may not agree.

 

Obviously there's some truth in that and you need to be careful who you buy one off. I'm sure there's the odd horror story but I know of loads of people running second hand ecus.

My own ecu cost me £400 and came with a beautifully/professionally made loom that literally went straight in and works a treat. My brothers DTA was around £250 from a trusted seller and again it's fine.

 

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

I think the key thing and this applies to both new and second hand aftermarket ECU's is the level of support from the manufacturer. I've dealt with Emerald and DTA, both very helpful on new and older ECU's.

[Dizzee stuff 33 1 Cars]

Why buy second hand try looking at www.canems.co.uk, I have used this ECU with great success and great after sales support. The ECU retails about £400 and loom is about £150.

[pp205 17]

Thanks for the comments guys. I certainly would have reservations about buying any old loom as I have come across some awful electrics on some 205's before! However I'm not too worried about that as I have a couple of family members who are electricians and will help me out with any wiring. It's mainly the actual ecu, again I'm not too concerned about 2nd hand but would need a guarantee that it works, it's just the initial outlay. In reality anything above £300 just isn't really feasible for me at the moment. I certainly won't get anything new but if I'm in the right place at the right time then a 2nd hand bargain is my way forward!

 

I think I'm going to have to be patient and see if I can sniff out a bargain!

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

I always find megasquirt a strange one as it is some form of open source mapping with no real support apart from the user community and things are a bit trial and error unless you know what you are doing electronics wise.

 

The usual rule of thumb is pick a local rolling road and see what they like and go with that. No point having something you have to travel miles to just to get it mapped if you plan on making a few changes over the years.

[sideways danny 0]

Why buy second hand try looking at www.canems.co.uk, I have used this ECU with great success and great after sales support. The ECU retails about £400 and loom is about £150.

 

I sell and fit these, really good value