hicost

This post is to try and gauge the interest that there may be in a new ECU I am testing. I am not selling it so it’s not an advert, my car is the test mule and I am not even going to say whose rollers it’s on and the name of the ECU manufacturer.
For me the selling point is it plugs straight onto your existing loom brush, so no expensive new engine loom or cutting into the loom to mod it in some way. The other thing is you can simply plug your old ECU straight back on as a backup or if you are selling the car.
As well as the normal functions, it has free channels to run other gismos. I run water injection ALS/Launch control and I have added a knock sensor and fuel pressure sensor also. It is live mapable via USB lead directly to the laptop and the software is really good according to my man.
Its all going to be compatible with the full range of ECU’s, I don’t run a dizzy on my current P8 system and I use a phase sensor with two arms, unlike the single arms on the rest of the range. It will work with them all.
One of the other features is, as well as storing your map in the ECU and Laptop it also has a chip and pin card slot in it, you get a few cards with the ECU and you can get more and you simply insert the card in the slot and it automatically remaps the ECU with the cards map. Great for circuits and stages etc. We have done my install by putting the new ECU directly inside an old ECU case and modified that case so the card reader is accessible through the side of the case, as well as the USB plug hole.
I am involved in the negotiations with the manufacturer this week at the Autosport show and we are just looking to find out what you think this is worth as a package. Say for instance does £1000. Seem about okay as a retail price, would you pay that for a fully mappable plug and play kit.
Thanks
James

GARETH T

sounds like a SECS S8
nothing new,,,, and one of the reasons why cossies have issues is old wiring looms

hicost

Not a Secs ECU and it is very new!

bad boy rs

iTrader: (7)

sounds good to me mate, id say most cozzy owners have spent out on a new loom anyway it was the first thing i bought for mine

Chip

iTrader: (3)

Dozens of ecu's out there that can easily be used with an adaptor on existing loom if you wish, doesnt really sound like anything new TBH

Id want to see how well made it is and what the mappin software is like etc long before I decided how much I would want to pay for one.

Thats nearly twice the price of a Mtech V4 for example, and that will run a cosworth engine just fine and has nice to use software etc

hicost

Thats a good call, its more like the F88 than the entry level stuff though and they cost twice the price + loom.

Chip

iTrader: (3)

More like it in what way?

hicost

Software and features

Chip

iTrader: (3)

In what way?

You seem to be being incredibally vague, almost like you dont actually have any clue what you are talking about?

hicost

I will leave it at that for now, I stated in my post at the start I am not mentioning the name at the moment, if I wanted grief I would go and talk to my wife!!

Chip

iTrader: (3)

You arent mentioning anything of any use to anyone.

You've posted half an advert, then when asked questions have chosen not (or been unable) to answer them.

What exactly is the point of this thread?

It appears to be to attempt to drum up interest in a product, in which case surely it is trade?

GARETH T

ok well i write what you wanted to hear!

wawwwwwwwwwwwww,,, i would buy one right now! its sounds amazing!

rich123

iTrader: (3)

i think 1 of the biggest issues would be who could mapp it?
what sort of processor is it running 64bit? or more
and whats the software like

hicost

Agree mapping it is very important. Also the support from the manufacturer is excellent so far.
Gareth I’m not interested in if you think it’s great or not, that was not what my post was about. I am not selling it. I am trying it out and I am genuinely keen to improve what I currently have. Just swapping my greys to Siemens was a massive step forward with a good map.
I endurance rally the car and I am always looking for ways of improving performance on and off boost. I am aware there are lots of ECU’s out there but finding a good one can be difficult. Up to now I have been waiting for the cut down version of the Life Racing F88 to come out, but that seems stuck somewhere.
Mine should be mapped this week and I hope it is worthwhile.
Some features.

3D fuel map with selectable number of cells up to 19 cells
2 fuel maps, Which can be combined as preferred.
Fuel Compensation
Extra load sensor
Coolant temp, air temp, Battery voltage
Acceleration enrichment
Ignition map based on 21 RPM cells, and selectable load sensor with 33 cells.
Sequential fuel timing
Over 25 different cam and crank sensor configurations (60-2, 22-2, 24, 36-2, etc.)
Most ignition orders for 4, 6 and 8 cylinders
AFR closed loop
Short and long term adaptive
Launch control for boost, spool up
Tuneable Ignition retard, rev limit and extra fuel
Idle Control
Ignition
Idle Control Valve with 1 or 2 PWw
Boost Control
Open or closed loop
Warning systems and error codes
RPM limiter
Fuel cut at over boost
output to control supply voltage to fuel pump, etc.

Chip

iTrader: (3)

So its a civinco ecu like some of the swedish lads are running?
(i googled your cut and paste spec to see what one it was)

Cool, good ecu from what ive seen of them, although never actually used one myself, not really "new" though, been around for years, but thats no bad thing.
1000 quid sounds like a pretty good deal if thats for a plug and play unit.


I believe Luke at Enhanced Performance does a lot with these, is that who is tuning your car?

GARETH T

sounds to me just like all the aftermarket ecus you can buy!

the thing people overlook with ecus, is that its not the add on bits that make it good, its about how many factors (correction factors) you can tie it, this gives us the tightest control over important outputs (ignition/fuel/boost), the better the thermal management the most efficient the engine control will be!

Chip

iTrader: (3)

Depends what you are using it for, many of the things that are massively important on a production car would be of little interest to a lot of people for a weekend toy.

Like for example I havent got round to sorting the cold start properly on my nova yet, not cause the ecu cant do so, it can, and likewise so can I, ive just not got round to fitting an ICV yet cause it doesnt bother me in the slightest holding the throttle open for a couple of seconds, likewise some people couldnt care less about part throttle economy etc, but would love ALS to show off with down mcdonalds, lol

I do agree with what you are saying by the way, just that it applies more in some circumstances than others.

hicost

That’s a nicer reply Chip! yes it is a Civinco ECU as used by quite allot of people around the world.

They have done some playing with the software to get it to run on the cosworth trigger side and a few other mods for me.

The car is at Luke’s yes.

Price wise as I said earlier I was after a indication of what you all may think it is worth. Subject to discussions there could be various setups available across a varied pricing structure.

Ultimately the UK dealer will have the final say on price I guess. It looks good though from what I have seen.

James

Chip

iTrader: (3)

Well its easier to make a nice reply about a good product when you acutally know that it IS a good product, rather than guessing from some vague description

hicost

Agreed

GARETH T

i just cant see the advantage UNLESS you want to make a Yb yourself!

1000 pound on a ecu plus 500 quid to map
or just 500 quid on a mapping session

ummmm

paul simmons

Your a negative person.

Good luck guys i think a new ecu to with my new loom would be good.

Keep us informed..

GARETH T

realist i call it LOL

rich123

iTrader: (3)

ummm just reading the spec of that ecu and i must say it sounds just like the megasquirt v2 that has all the specs that you have put up there plus other options money wise not sure on that i might be inclined to go with the m/s 2 as it runs a 64bit processor and thats for about 350 quid or 600 fitted and mapped roughly

Toe Knee

iTrader: (2)

The biggest problem your going to have is if anyone going to enhanced performance then they will obviously want to push it to customers, but most people will go and buy whatever ECU the person who is going to work on their car reccomends!!!!

Eg the gf works at sussex dyno tuning in horsham and the guy i would use to map it there has told me he prefers to use DTA so obviously that would be who's best to go with, unless obvoiusly i chose to go to stu at MSD to have a closed loop live map, or MAD for whatever he reccomends etc etc.

Obvoiusly new stuff is good but theres so many ECUs out there now you'd be better getting onto the companys who do the mapping etc as their the ones people turn too when it comes to specs etc!!

paul simmons

I have just been looking at the softwere i down loaded and it looks good ( not that i no what im looking at lol )

P s rich one thing i do no being a softwere engineer myself its not so much about the processor but the softwere writen to be used with the processor,and the mega squirt tuner studio is like a bbc computer compared to some of the windows based stuff on the market.

Plus if you look at the spec in sure its simmiler to any ecu of the kind.

I dont think ms can pick up off the 4 tooth crank ( which is what these guys are trying) i may be wrong lol

paul simmons

I agree its all about the support you get ..

M-Tech Automotive

Drive your Cosworth to us here at M-Tech, £995 V4 supplied fitted and mapped. Same (if not more) features, includes dyno tuning by someone with experience and known quality....

If your system can make 1bhp more than ours, then fair play, although again its usually the mapper that plays a part here...

PnP is always good for those that wish to setup themselves or are too far from us, so that definately makes it worth while, but if you can have it mapped supplied and tuned for less why pay more for the same result?

GARETH T

why dont you just map the l6-8/p8 which is on a cosworth and save the customer 500 quid?

BTW my cosworth got a pectel T6 in it

ecu's are never about BHP (even though they might be brain washing into thinking it) they are all about thermal management/efficiency

M-Tech Automotive

Indeed, we hpwever dont offer remapping of other ECUs other than our own

Drive ability and transients are also a factor, something which I always spend time mapping.

I often get asked when mapping regards the 50bhp dyno graphs the customers are seeing, onyl to explain I am checking the smoothness of the torque curve at part throttle/load.

Matt

GARETH T

TFC is easy with the correct terms, but i do agree it takes alot of effort to get right

is it sequential fuel injection?

M-Tech Automotive

Our V4 is semi sequential. We will be releasing our new SQ8 i around 9 months, but in terms of difference, sequential was only ever really there for economy and emissions at idle. Above 1300 RPM air velocity is high enough that a ms of fuel 'hang' doesent effect things. (In my experience)

Matt

GARETH T

so whatr about using big injectors? will you be able to pass an mot on HC?

Chip

iTrader: (3)

If you mean a precat test, then given its semi sequential anway, that shouldnt be an issue even on big injectors.

Might struggle on more modern stuff though if you are talking about a set of 1200cc or whatever!

Rick

What kind of software engineer are you out of interest?

I've just had a look at the Civinco software, and it's ok. Tunerstudio for MS (not megatune) is hugely powerful and easy to use, so i'm a little confused about your statement about a bbc computer. Oh, and MS can decode a cossie 4 tooth wheel and single tooth cam no problem.

Looking at the features, there really isn't anything particulatly interesting on this ECU imo. The transient control is very basic for example. I can't see a good reason for going from L8 to this really.

Rick

Chip

iTrader: (3)

Rick, agreed about MS, ive got a software engineering degree, 15 years of commerical probramming experience including realtime, client-server, desktop, and web, plus 10 years of hobby experience before that, and in my professional opinion as a software engineer, and in my opinion as a relatively well experienced mapper the megasquirt mapping software is very well written compared to most ECU's out there.

I think Mr Simmons has probably been smoking a little too much crack

paul simmons

the crack is very nice lol. and yes i have just looked at the two and i was muddled with mega tune ..
ps a cossie is a two tooth phase !

Rick

Lol, glad you enjoyed the crack... 2 tooth phase sesnor it is... I'd goto a 36-1 wheel if i was going to the trouble of changing from L/P8 etc though. Megatune was ok in the early days when MS was just fuel only, but it can't be used for the more recent versions. It's always been rock stable, responsive and had a small foot print - just not that pretty.

Chip - and it just gets better. I'm a beta tester for MS3, and that is something that just about anything else will have trouble surpasing

GARETH T

i havent used the Tunerstudio software,,, im off for a lookie

Char1ie

iTrader: (6)

I think the point about new ECUs is that there will always be a challenge introducing something to the market that isn't universally accepted. Certain ECUs seem to be associated with certain tuners.

Easy mapping and the right features are the key I think.

Hicost, maybe you could tell us the exact cost, did it include mapping? And what are the advantages on your car over what you had before?

And most importantly what was the service like from your tuner?

Charlie