Lex mate this would be a good topic to add a poll in to it so everyone can add there comment as well as put down a vote for there recommendation.
Great idea! Done.
I think this is going to be a real popular thread......
BTW, I cast my vote for the AEM for the following reasons:
1. Support - there are hundreds (maybe thousands?) of these things in use in the USA now, particularly in Toyota products. There are support forums on AEM's website dedicated to every configuration, and there are many other support forums online for AEM owners and tuners.
2. Cost - Initial cost is only around $1400 USD and sometimes you can find them used for less
3. PnP - With an SC300 or 400, this ECU will replace the OEM ECU and plug directly into the car's harness. Once our resident tuner (see below) gets his setup sorted, a Lexus SC owner should be able to unplug his OEM ECU, plug in the AEM with a preloaded configuration, and get the car started in less than 30 minutes. There will still be fine tuning to do, but the misery of hacking a harness, installing special sensors, then finding out there aren't enough I/O to run the "whole" car, the way the OEM ECU did, won't exist.
4. Resident Tuner - Mitch Pederson, one of our members, was formerly an AEM factory engineer, and is running the AEM in his own SC400. He's currently working the bugs out, but according to him, the installation in the SC was very straightforward, and I don't think he's had to refit any sensors.
5. Familiarity - OK, I have one in my Supra, and Mitch will be reconfiguring it to run my 1UZ when we dyno next time.
Note, I don't believe for a minute that this is the absolute "best" ECU out there, but IMO it's
one of the best for David.
I think with ECU's if we get hung up on buying one based on the technical specs only, we're going to miss the bigger issues of support, user friendliness, etc. To me, these things are like buying a high end home theatre system. Do I want to buy a collection of components based on their specifications alone, or should I buy a system recommended by my local home theatre expert installer, and get him to help configure it for me?
If I go it alone, and wade through the 500 pages of documentation that comes with all these components, and finally figure out how to get everything configured and working the first time, am I going to remember how to reprogram a channel on that do-it-all remote, six months down the road? Of course not.
So do you buy an EMS based only on its technical specs, or do you buy the one your local tuner recommends, knowing that he knows that EMS inside and out and can be there for you when the thing quits and you have to have the car towed (which does happen occasionally with standalones and DIY installations!)
I think any of the ECU's listed would probably work fine technically, but for David's case, I believe the AEM is tops.
