Stand Alone ECU

[Taz]

Hmmm
After a very vigorous conversation for several hours with my brothers father (my new mechanic) i am now on the market for a stand alone ECU and have to choose between a few that have caught my eye.

The first is the Motec M600. Absolutely fantastic - the list goes on with the features and reputation about both the company and the product. Here is a link:
http://www.motec.com.au/aboutecu/ecucomparison/
But for 4 odd thousand for a new unit its going to be pretty hectic raising said funds before i give up and buy another.

The second is the Haltech Platinum sport 2000.
http://www.haltech.com.au/index.php/pro ... sport-2000
While only 2 thousand dollars, this is definitely reflected in the companies reputation (there is nothing wrong with their reputation dont get me wrong, they just dont have one like motec yet) and the amount of features it has. One of which (which im not sure if they have just forgot to put it in) is MIVEC control - as it has VTEC YO!!!!! control and some other car companies cam control, but doesnt state mivec. Another is that the motec can come optional with traction control (just one of the many handy optional features) and the list really does go on.
The motec also has dual stage injection, nitrous injection, anti lag control, flat shift support etc it can do everything the Haltech can do and more, but again, double the cost at 4k

My question is - does anyone have any of the two mentioned, know anyone who has, or has had my same predicament or has a good opinion on what might be the better option to go for?
I am well aware 90% of answers are going to be along the lines of "pay for what you get" etc, that's true, but at what stage does it become i'm paying for more than what i need, as i know next to nothing about a stand alone in an FTO, and just how much you can get out of one.
At the moment i am veering towards the Motec for the fact that yes it is better, and darer and i will most likely not be able to use half of the features in the FTO, but i can always rip it out and take it to another car if i buy one. So if you have any good advice or opinions - please feel free to post your input is appreciated

P.S. My new goal for my FTO is Torque. Lots n Lots of Torque.

[Bennoz]

Oh dear god, if you want torque, add a turbo. Save yourself the headache. One of those computers will only net you ~20kws.

Those computers are waaaay far & above what you need. The FTO motor in its current guise will only go so far. Spending 4 grand on a computer (and that's not including the 2-3 grand to install and tune it,) for so little power is obsurd.

I have a twin turbo 6A13 with nitrous & not even I need something like that. I just use the Platinum Sport 1000.

Most guys with 6A12s here run the Haltech Interceptors. Best results we have seen are about 15-25kw gain depending on what other modifications have been done to the car. Ie Exhaust & Intakes. There just isnt that much more power to be had with FTO motors without going down the forced induction route.... trust me, I spent thousands trying to find that out the hard way.

[Taz]

Haha for some reason I knew your reaction would be along those lines Ben haha.
The reason I am looking at it now, is the fact that my mechanic is my step father in law. Has his own workshop and would install and map it on a quiet day for a case of beer.
Also keep in mind my 4G conversion will start to happen soon, and this would be the ideal ecu range I would want considering the things I will be doing to it, as its most likely going to end up on the track.
I am well aware that I would not gain 4k worth of power in the engines current state, but it would be nice to get one now, so I can enjoy the benefits of tje nivec controller, traction control to a point, dual stage injection timing etc even if they aren't going to give me why I want now.
I'm basically just doing some research to find out if the motec is actually 2k better than the haltech.
As for interceptors I am personally not a fan at all.

[dstocks]

I agree with Ben. I have a haltech interceptor piggyback. Picked it up for $650 odd new and cost about the same again to tune. Its been brilliant. And as you arent cutting out the stock ECU, probably a damb site more reliable. I would only go standalone if I was doing something like Bennoz's setup where you need it. I believe Aza would also back this up as he has one as well. So, in my opinion, you wont get what you pay for. For the extra $3600 you may gain a KW or 2. Definitely not worth the cash!

[dstocks]

Ahhhh, its an expensive path you are travelling down. Ask Ben........

How much power are you after. Both Aza and I are getting over 130 KW ATW which is 30% above stock. Nothing to sneeze at and hasnt cost the earth. Where you are heading though will require deep pockets. I spent 30K on a 76 galant back in 1995 and got 7.5K 6 months later when I sold it (wouldnt do that again). It only works if you keep it forever ........ Not trying to talk you out of it, but think carefully about where you are going before you make that step. Once you have committed, theres no going back.

[Bennoz]

'Install & map it on a quiet day?'

[Astron_Boy]

Stand-alones are a pain in the ass, and I'm speaking from experience.
They are fine if done 100%, but in this particular case not worth it.

In my situation, there was no OEM to do the job, so I had to go A/M, however, I maybe changing engines and keeping 100% OEM simply for piece of mind.

Best route is an oem ecu with a flash to support whatever mods you have, and 90% of the mitsu ecu can be flashed by someone decent within aus.

Also your projects kind of confuse me, can't figure out a time line, you're going for a standalone with the 6a12?, yet you have the 4g coming shortly there-after?

[Taz]

At this stage, paying for an interceptor and then buying a stand alone a year down the track for the 4G seems like a waste of money for me, and i would rather get a stand alone now and swap it in the fto now and simpl, remap and get the most out of it when I do the swap, as I'm not using an interceptor for the conversion.
Most of you are telling me its a waste of money for the 6a12, once again i state that it will be put it now, yes but I'm not biying it for that reason, I ambuying it for the swap which will be done and will need it. The favt that I will be putting it in sooner is merely a screw around and is not intended for the stock fto.
That brings me back to my question, has anyone used one, or knows someoe who has.and had some advice on which one is worthwhile. I'm going to get one, no amount of posts saying its a waste will stop me, it is simply a matter of which one, as you all dont seem to gwt that I'm not buying it based on my current engine, im thinking ahead..

[Taz]

And dwayne, yea I'm well aware of the path, I plan to sink in about 30k all up for this conversion and I won't be reselling at that point it wont be worth it. Just thinking ahead and getting a bit more out of an ecu I'm going to purxase anyway. and like i said my step father in law said he would happily get his lekky at work and himself to install and map it on a day where they have nothing to do. So cost of mapping isn't a peoblem.

[Dras]

I know this doesn't answer your question and I am sorry for that but I am with Astron_Boy on this.

If you have a budget of 30K for this conversion, can I assume that you are not looking to rework the internals of the 4G motor? (If you are, I am not sure your budget is high enough) If you won't be, why not use a modern 4G ECU which is programmable? You will get a car that is so much more reliable and enjoyable out of it. Even if you get the tuning free, have a look at how many spark plugs and other crap that Bennoz went through while tuning his stand alone setup.

[silverGPX]

he needs the parts to match his shopping list LOL