The Emerald K3 is lacking in some features, and true you don't have to pay extra for features you don't want.
Let's just say some can talk the talk, others can walk the walk, and have been for years extremely successfully.
One thing I like is the whole approach, designed in house, built in house, mapped in house, any problems dealt with in house.
I would say probably 99% of "ecu problems" are not ecu at all but bad build of engine etc.
A certain mk 1 or 2 tina comes to mind recently, a V6 cossie lump, tuned, PRO built at considerable cost, just would not make the power, but ran seemingly perfect, came in as a virtual non runner.
Long story short this pro engine builder was paid I think £1.5K, to build this engine, and managed to get all four cams timing out, and not by a little bit either, we were amazed it didn't clout some valves.
I can tell you that Emerald go out of their way to help out, they are always mapping cars that are driven or trailered from other countries, a few weeks ago a Lotus Exige drove from Norway to be mapped, this is a fairly regular occurence.
Other people don't have a problem with Emerald, even this time of year the books are full, dave has even let people stay at his house that came from afar for mapping.
One particular engine built by someone famous took from 9am to 11pm to fix all the problems along the way that were NOTHING to do with the mapping, before the mapping could commence, another had a loom underneath that dropped onto a hot exhaust and blew the ecu, this was from Scandinavia somewhere, to be trailered back that night, so ecu fixed FOC loom fixed FOC, I can't see many offering this level of commitment, Emerald did not fit the loom or the plastic clip that melted being right next to a hot exhaust allowing the problem, but still helped out, as that is the way of the company.
Emerald have a little wait for the ecu's when ordered, but as they build more and more this is getting shorter, seems like not everybody sticks their head up chip's/or others arses and does what he says.
He is of course entitled to his opinion, and so are others.
tabetha