Standalone ECU Adaptronic ECU

[cribbj]

i want to buy adaptronic but i dont want it to be a waste if i dont understand how to tune it.

Armed, not trying to be sarcastic, but I think you've answered your own question.

You're opening up a real can of worms when you go standalone, and people who don't know how to tune them can ruin engines.

Even professionals who are supposed to know how to tune them can ruin engines.

 

[Armed_N'_Hammered]

i know but i want to run a m112 super charger which has alot of boost but it will be pointless with the crappy stock ecu. i know i dont have any where near as much experiance as you guys do but im just getting started im only 18 and im taking on big tasks. Im going to be pulling the engine/trans out (possibly swaping to r154) and redoing everything this summer and i need to do as much as i can while i have it all apart so i gotta get some tuning knowledge and hopefully not fcuk up my engine in the process. If im correct in saying this the adaptronic adapts to whatever air/fuel mix u throw at it so wouldnt tuning be alot simpler??

 

[morris]

Have you considered a piggy back, while they are not optimal, they do work with a minimum of expense and you dont have to have an engineering degree to make it work properly.

I have been running a piggy back at 500HP without any issues for several years. While I would like to do a standalone, it really has a lot of issues that I am not prepared to deal with at this point.

 

[Armed_N'_Hammered]

i havent really looked into piggy back ecu's because im pretty sure you have to tune it in your car, which is not a problem for someone with a laptop. from what i read on the adaptronic groupbuy page you can tune it on your pc and then go put it in your car, i may be wrong. but that would be the best choise for me cause i dont want to spend 2000 on a laptop im only gonna use for tuning my car.

 

[Damien]

Tuning any ECU without being in the car isn't really possible. You can load a base map into the ECU but that's about it so whether you have an Adaptronic or a piggyback you need to tune either on the road or on a dyno.

If you want to keep it simple get a piggyback, especially if you don't want to spend much time tuning it.

 

[morris]

i havent really looked into piggy back ecu's because im pretty sure you have to tune it in your car, which is not a problem for someone with a laptop. from what i read on the adaptronic groupbuy page you can tune it on your pc and then go put it in your car, i may be wrong. but that would be the best choise for me cause i dont want to spend 2000 on a laptop im only gonna use for tuning my car.

All piggy backs do not require a computer to tune. But you can get a new name brand laptop for 500-600 USD every day where I am. Not sure about where you are.

 

[Armed_N'_Hammered]

Damn 600 bucks, here a sony vaio is like 1200+ and how do you tune without a laptop? and im not too worried about time as much as f*ing up my engine, but im getting an aristo so i can hopefully start pulling the engine out of my celsior this month. is there any presets out there for a ECU that you can buy or dl just to tweek with and kinda get experiance?

 

[speedsex]

what aristo motor are you going to use ? if its the 2jz you only need a safc /bbc and larger injectors to make 500 plus hp.

from the questions you are asking you shouldnt buy a stand alone cause you wont be able to figure the wiring along with tuning it.

if you are set on getting a stand alone contact your local tuner and see what they can install/tune

 

[morris]

Damn 600 bucks, here a sony vaio is like 1200+ and how do you tune without a laptop? and im not too worried about time as much as f*ing up my engine, but im getting an aristo so i can hopefully start pulling the engine out of my celsior this month. is there any presets out there for a ECU that you can buy or dl just to tweek with and kinda get experiance?

Check best buy and circuit city, I bought my last laptop for 500 at best buy.

You can check there website also

 

[Armed_N'_Hammered]

Ya there is a 2jz in the aristo it will be my daily driver untill i rebuild my 1uz from the celsior. I would take it to a shop but i hate not being there while they are working on my car because i dont learn anything that way and i dont want someone i dont know farting with my car, so i do everything myself. Circuit city has ok prices, what type of laptop do you use for tuning?

 

[sideshow]

if you cannot afford to pay a proffessional to tune yr car then y do u want to waste your money on an aftermarket ecu

tuning yr own car sound sooo bloody easy on paper

but it actually costs alot if u make a mistake

u need a very good air fuel ratio meter

anything over 500 bucks

then u need a laptop

then u have to find a quiet and long street so u can try tuning yr car

then u might need a couple hundred for speeding fines if u get caught
you say u want alot of power

well alot of power is not cheap

to learn to use a dyno and tune cars properly is not a weekend learning job

spend money get it tuned properly

at end of day the money u save on petrol with a good tune over a year

will pay for a tune

i do custom auto electrical wiring and its amazing how many sh i t jobs i see

cause someone has started the job but got stuck

trust me tuning on the street is not really easy it will take ages

 

[Smitherz]

Another thing to note is that you must have a very high level of composure and patience while working on this sort of thing. =] Hooking up an after market ECU on anything besides a simple Ford of Chevy engine could drive you insane if you let it. I watched a friend of mechanic friend of mine lose his better judgment while wiring a turbo diesel VW he used in an engine swap. And he was experienced.

I would say that in order to have a successful ECU install you also must have:

• A strong automotive tinkering background
• Lots of tools, OHM meter, laptop (with computer skills), quality soldering iron with skill to use it
• A couple grand laying around for the ECU unit and good wideband monitoring components
• The brains to troubleshoot electronics and be able to recognize faults
• A backup mechanic or experienced person that can be called in to come give advice/help if needed
• More money on tap when something comes up
• Note taking abilities to record EVERYthing that you do so you know what is going on when you have to go back and make changes or fix something
• You need to be able to HEAR the heartbeat of your engine and be able recognize knocking, lean or rich QUICKLY
• Some more money to get some time on a dyno
• An extra vehicle to drive around while you are trying to get yours running right with the new ECU :rant:

I'm about to start my swap after a work project I have going on right now but I've wired a couple other engines in race cars/ purpose built trucks. It's never an easy thing to do correctly. Even if you get it running good its worthless if you don't know how to make it work optimally. I've seen masters tune 30 more HP out of a 200hp engine in minutes... that's a lot! I remember an episode of Monster Garage when they were swapping a Nissan 350Z engine into an old 70's Datsun (I think) chassis in order to make a overpowered drifting car. http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/monstergarage/episode/season3/episode_50.html

They specifically brought in a master engine electronics master and tuner to handle the engine wiring and operation. Even HE had huge problems and at the end they were just waiting for him to get the car running and it took him a LONG time of swearing and sweating it out. He was sooo stressed out you really felt so bad for him! He absolutely had no idea why the thing wouldn't fire. He had EVERYTHING he could ever need to do the job plus he was in LA where anything else you could even need is a block away on a shelf. His life is wiring imports and others every single day and he was easily the #1 stress case ever to appear on that TV series. The after market ECU wiring is highly complicated custom work from beginning to end and VERY few people can do it. How many cars and trucks do you see driving around with after market ECU's in them? Not that many for obvious reasons! You might see a show car or race/closed course vehicle with one in it but that's about it. Unless you have tons of resources like I mentioned above DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT doing it yourself.

 

[Armed_N'_Hammered]

Thanks for your input, Ill take that into consideration.

 

[Smitherz]

Just throwing out some advice and things you should know before you take the leap into the project. It's one of those projects that you might do for yourself but when someone asks you if you could install one for them... you tell them, "NO WAY!" hehe. :09:

When I wire mine up I'm going to take pictures of everything I did and help describe the process. It will probably end up being write up posted on this website when everything is sorted out. There were a few of us that bought Adaptronic ECU's so there will be more information available on working with them sometime soon I'm sure. I KNOW I'll have $2,500 into my ECU, the wideband monitoring system, other things and the dyno time to tune it once I'm happy with it. I thought I could get away with just the ECU but I realized I would be a fool not to invest in a good fuel monitoring system.

 

[Armed_N'_Hammered]

Oh I know I would'nt do this for anyone else cause I've never done it for myself yet. But I will have more time now cause im done school and ill hopefully have more money too. This wont be until spring anyway so i have time to learn, and i have a an aristo as well so if I ever comletely fucked up my celsior I'd still be able to get around.

 

[Smitherz]

Nice. Yeah having a second vehicle/motorcycle is definitely a must! I recommend saving money until your ready so you'll be comfortable. I'm stashing money away every week for my project =]

 

[The Redline 03]

Sorry for the noobish question but I was reading on the Adaptronic site about the "adaptive mode" it has. I'm curious to know the feedback on the this ecu from people who have it. Once everything is wired up how difficult is it to use? Thanks in advance.

 

[sideshow]

just wired up my first adaptronic on a gtir pulsar

didnt take to long but the tuning side of it is way over my head

im used to the autronic software since ive had 15 years experience on playing on and off with autronic

best thing to do if u want to seeif adatronic is ok for u is to download tuning software and play with it

u dont need an ecu connected to see how the software works

i uess every manufacturer has a diff way to name and do things so if u r not familiar with it it can take u ages to get it right

and sometimes each different ecu has their own fiddly tricks for getting best
performance

i know motec has too many adjustments for yr average joe blow

 

[The Redline 03]

just wired up my first adaptronic on a gtir pulsar

didnt take to long but the tuning side of it is way over my head

im used to the autronic software since ive had 15 years experience on playing on and off with autronic

best thing to do if u want to seeif adatronic is ok for u is to download tuning software and play with it

u dont need an ecu connected to see how the software works

i uess every manufacturer has a diff way to name and do things so if u r not familiar with it it can take u ages to get it right

and sometimes each different ecu has their own fiddly tricks for getting best
performance

i know motec has too many adjustments for yr average joe blow

How about if Adaptronic has the maps for pretty much the exact setup I want in their "ECU Files?" I would assume that I would have to download it and put it in ECU. Then tune according to the mods that happen afterwards. Any advice, help, etc will be great.

 

[Cobber]

I agree with Sideshow the ECU is easy to wire up. I downloaded the instructions printed them off and read them at least 3 times before I started. I had never wired up an after market ECU so the terminology was all new to me anyway.
The engine started first time, I have not had chane to get it onto a dyno yet as the car is not finnished but it idles fairly smooth. Not too sure about the adaptive tuning part, go to the Adaptronic forum there is heaps of info there. For the $'s and my level of build I think it will work well enough for my needs.