Just doing a rough cost exercise for a possible future project ive in mind as ive a 1972 w114 280ce merc coupe sat in a unit and also been given a 97 Cadillac STS with the Northstar V8 in which are about 300bhp quad cam etc and wondering what sort of management would i need to run it as its coil on plug and efi etc, it will be staying n/a so dont want anything over the top

 

The first thing you need to do if you want to use the original COPs is find out some details about what inputs the northstar COP setup needs, is it a 5v trigger or is it 12v, ie is it "logic level" or "high level", then you need to either find an ecu with the correct number of outputs of the right type, or find a way of retrofitting something like the EDIS setup which can convert between the two.

If you dont mind changing which type of COP you use (ie not mind the cost of buying different ones and potentially having to pay money on machining to make them fit), it will open your options up more.

 

Hi Kev,

how you doing mate? The COP's are easy to sort, it's the cam control which will be the biggest challenge. I don't know the engine, but guessing it will have some kind of variable control on at least 2 of the cams - do some digging and see what you can find out.

Rick

 

Yes thats a good point about the VVT as its not in the original donor anymore, if it was you could just leave the standard ECU to do that bit of course, but not so easy on a transplant.

 

have a look into the vipec v88

 

omex, metc or megasquirt should be up for that

 

Cheers guys I will start looking into prices etc, dont want anything over the top but if its got to have cam control ability like Rick says looks like it could be pricey would of used the standard system but looks like it controls the auto and traction control etc ?? Car is only goin to be a cruiser if it goes a head and already got 2 people interested if it does

 

Does it even have variable cams ? 1997 is quite old for that sort of thing.

Depends how fancy you want it, but it should be easy to find an ecu to run it as a basic V8, group fire injection for well under £1k.

If it has COP with built in ignitors, even easier as you can do it with only 4 ign outputs.

Although if it has conventional coils, you can still do it using external amps to drive the coils via 4 ecu outputs.

VEMS and MS would all be at the cheaper end and are both "DIY" originated, although there will be plenty more than that, and both have come a long way from their original designs.
I see a guy mention recently that the VEMS has some serious spec now for the price
http://shop.vems.hu/catalog/assemble...ller-p-48.html

Adaptronic do a budget ecu that's around £600 and has a decent spec

http://www.efi-parts.co.uk/index.php?productID=248

But really there are dozens of options without spending mega bucks.

Link, Vipec, DTA, Haltech, AEM are a few that offer "cheaper" units too.