Fuel controller/ECU

J

J-GTi-R

Guest
Now that I'm doing 200 miles a week commuting, plus probably about 100 a week general arsing about, I'm having my bank account bled dry by Shell Ltd.

I've talked to a few people and read a few posts and it seems a decent fuel map does wonders for economy (up to 50% better in some cases). However I don't want to spend too much sorting it out, because it's primarily for improving economy, any extra boost I may be able to run will just be a happy coincidence (not looking at much over a bar anyway, if at all).

An Apexi PFC would be nice, but it would take ages to make back the money, so what would other people recommend? I've heard good things about the GEMS ecu (but again isn't cheap), there's the Unichip and then there's stand alone fuel controllers like the Apexi S-AFC and HKS S-AFR.

I have also noticed I can get most of the kit from the States for about 1/2 the price, but I know a couple of tuners don't like it when you supply your own kit (they increase the mapping fee). Has anyone had experience with a company that mapped kit supplied by the owner?

Basically I want to do this as cheaply as possible, so any suggestions please?
 
E

Edd

Guest
I wouldnt reccomend the HKS AFR as that just ups the fuel in complete rev range, my mate has one and he was getting 100 miles to a tank, and then he had it tuned, but even so won't be what your looking for.

I think the best option would be a unichip, you get the timing control aswell, but is cheaper than then powerfc.
The safc is a good option, but not sure about mapping it, and getting good mpg.
I think you already know memski gets about 30mpg with the powerFc, i just hope i can get that :lol: :lol:
 
J

J-GTi-R

Guest
Yeah the HKS AFR is just for protection against mild boost increases and isn't any good for sorting out the standard map. There is the HKS S-AFR, which is pretty much like the Apexi S-AFC, but I don't know if it's any good, has enough adjustment points etc.

However Memski only getting 30mph from his PFC should really get it re-mapped as he should be able to go faster than that... :wink: :roll:

Mpg wise, I remeber reading he can get 300 miles to a tank or there abouts, which started me thinking about this.
 
E

Edd

Guest
I don't know what you mean J , it reads 30mpg :lol: :lol:

300 miles :shock: i'm hoping to get 250 running mine in :oops:
but 300 would be unreal on low boost (1.4 bar then) :lol:

oh yeh i got a cheque today :roll:
funny how a well worded email gets a response :wink:
£40 is still an insult when i was offered £100 :evil:
we live and learn :wink:
 
3

323GT-R

Guest
J, the Apexi SAFC I fitted on my car gave about an extra 5mpg on average, so was well worth it. They are also dead easy to fit and lots of places now will tune them.
 
J

J-GTi-R

Guest
An extra 5 mpg is pretty good, especially considering the 323 GT-R is much more economical then the GTi-R to start with. I was wondering if the S-AFC would be that effective, especially compared to a fully mapped ecu or piggyback chip, but it seems it would... 8)

Anyone you'd recommend for S-AFC mapping Kes?
 
D

DodgeT

Guest
will hopefully be having a hks s-afr fitted & set up in a couple of weeks, will let you know if it makes any difference to economy cause im monitoring it quite closely at the minute....

after my 4 wks of ownership, 21.35mpg average so far :D :D

if that goes up by 5mpg ill be well chuffed & might sell the 205 :shock:
thats only getting an average of 33.26mpg :D not bad for a 13yr old motor 8)
 
K

kyepan

New Member
I have an safr manual on pdf i can send to ya, it says how detailed the mapping is, and at what interval between the rpms etc..

if i remember rightly, the s-afr has fueling settings 0-6 which is leaner.. and 6-12 which is richer.. but with a high flow pump mine is set to very lean and only increased a bit at the top end.
 
J

J-GTi-R

Guest
I have an safr manual on pdf i can send to ya, it says how detailed the mapping is, and at what interval between the rpms etc..
Click to expand...
Yeah, please that would be good!

Let me know how you get on Dodge, also how the car drives post mapping too.
 
3

323GT-R

Guest
RC Developements sets up the Apexi gear, a bit of a trek from you though! Where did your bro finally get his set up at?

It's not that hard to do, I mapped mine with a borrowed wideband set up. Even on full throttle, I had something like -20% on some of the settings, as the standard set up is pig rich. I reckon with a bit more time spent on the part throttle, I could have got the car doing over 30mpg for cruising, much better than the 22mpg I used to get... If you're doinf 200 miles a week, it will pay for itself in a few months. I was doing more like 400 miles a week, so it worked out cheaper to run a 2nd car....
 
J

J-GTi-R

Guest
RC Developements sets up the Apexi gear, a bit of a trek from you though!
Click to expand...
It's not too far considering I went to Hiteq for an oil change, lol (I was there for other reasons though).

Where did your bro finally get his set up at?
Click to expand...
At a company I chose not to name... :roll: They mapped it with all the other 'work' they did on his car, and although it has been fine so far I have recommended Chris get the fueling checked once he gets the manifold sorted out.
 
D

DodgeT

Guest
cool 8)

just read that installation guide, so it sounds as tho it will be safe to fit it, set it to self learn mode & use it like that until i can get it setup properly in the next couple of weeks.

:D
 
J

Jonny H

Guest
Where abouts are you? Ive heard that Torque Developments in Barkingside do descent unichips for Jap cars. you could try there :)
www.tdi-plc.com
 
J

J-GTi-R

Guest
I'm in Reading, so they're just as far away really (plus they list the HKS FCD as needed for boost upgrades on the 'R, which always puts me off).
 
D

DodgeT

Guest
well, fitted my hks s-afr last weekend, set it to self learn....

car feels better, certainly sounds better :twisted:

dunno yet about mpg wise, been getin about 20-21mpg, but last week got 18, probably has something to do with me blasting everywhere tho, inducing those bangs & flames :twisted:

once ive done the rest of me mods, it'll be going up to hiteq to be set up properly.

end of the day, we dont have these cars for economy do we, thats what me pug's for :)
 
J

JamesB

Guest
I dont know if many of you guys have heard of Wolf engine management - they use to sell ignition & fuel management with loom etc (awsome once tuned apparently). They now do a ecu that replaces factory unit (al la power fc). Over here Power fc is AUS $2300 where as wolf comes with specific map for only AUS $1300 !! I will be goin for this soon (will be my first power mod as I cover a few kays too). If you can get it, it sounds like a goer.
 
J

J-GTi-R

Guest
I don;t like the idea of pre-programmed maps though, there's no way it can be optimised for your car and with 'Rs and the plethora of tuning part combinations, it's a bit of a gamble writing a map to suit all cars.
 
J

JamesB

Guest
These wolf ones are fully tunable and they have ones for all types of sr20's so I'd assume they'd be specifically tuned - I wont be buying one untill i have a good chat with their rep. Another good thing is the hand controler (while not lookin as sick as the power fc) is only a couple hundred bucks providing all engine vitals!
 
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