dsm link or aem ems

[starscreem]

ok i have the single channel aem wideband(not gauge style)and need a ems system. to you how really no there stuff please tell me what i should get and what is better for me. dsmlink or aem ems im thinking dsmlink for now cuase i can aford it right now. and i have a eprom ecu in my car.

 

[Colossus]

I have had no experience with a DSM-Link, but others in this area have one and say they'd of chosen the EMS if they had the money. I have an AEM EMS, with the AEM wideband and an EMS Boost controller. It's insane, really. You need to play around with the EMS a LOT more than the Link. It's more advanced than the link and more complex from the look of the two. Most Link users tune theirs themselves, I had mine tuned by a local shop who uses it on their shop civic. Every little piece of your motor can be adjusted and tuned with the EMS, there's fewer options in the Link, but still plenty to work with. You could use either really, but I'll just say the EMS is more exspensive and for a bit more advanced users.

 

[dsm-onster]

DSMLink...

1. price (especially in your case)
2. ease of use (personal experience)
3. product support (personal experience)
4. DSMLink accepts AEM WB input and logs it with a click of the mouse pad (good for your case)
5. I mean! How much do you rally want. 1600cc injsectors idle like a charm w/ DSMLink.

I DONOT have any experience w/ AEM EMS. but they are reputable and most decent dynoshops can tune well with it. But IMHO, EMS is harder to use for first timers AND is more expensive WTF .

Who ever uses AEM has my hat off to them

 

[moliver]

I use AEM and it is the shiz nit

 

[kalla]

People are in the 10s and 9s with the dsmlink, draw your own conclusions ...

 

[iwantawd]

maybe others with the EMS are in the 9's and 10's with better gas milage

and people are in the 10's with less than the Link to tune so draw your own conclusions

 

[dsm-onster]

maybe others with the EMS are in the 9's and 10's with better gas milage

So 10s and 9s with either DSMLink or with AEM. DSMLink is a bit less expensive. Especially for him. And i personally get 27.5 or so mpg w/ DSMLink. Get dsmlink and spend the rest on an intercooler. or get EMS and say "i'm going to tune out hot air" . No offense. It's jsut that most people probably want to streatch their dollar.

AEM is a great company w/ great products. But i would go to a stand alone only with an automobile that doesn't have a decent aftermarket for engine management. There's SAFC, MAFt, ECU+, AEM EMS, Megasquirt, all of which have been proven to work decent so far. It's jsut that dsmlink is relatively inexpensive and works really well.

 

[dsm4lifebeoch]

i was getting 25-26 mpg be for my turbo blew and that was with 880 tuned with the link.

as for the aem i just don't have the money or brain power to tune it.

 

[dsm-onster]

i was getting 25-26 mpg be for my turbo blew and that was with 880 tuned with the link.

as for the aem i just don't have the money or brain power to tune it.

I hear yu man. that is the exact reason why i didn't use it.

To the original poster... i've tuned other cars, not just a dsm. It really depends on what you think you area capable of. I'll be honest i'm not capable of tackling AEM EMS. because i have a wife and two kids. too much time for me to learn everything and to get it to run as good as dsmlink. but the catch is: i don't have as much versitility as one with ems would have. So really, you have to ask your self this one question: what do i really want and what would get me there (financially, mentally, & with the patience that i am willing to display)? remember, if our goal is 400 whp and you achieve it spending more money than the next guy SO WHAT! ou learned. AND i will say if you learn AEM EMS you can make anything fast as hell. becasue a stand-alone gives you the opportunity to "blow" anything.

I still say get DSMLink for your particular application, but I will also say that I will be getting AEM EMS for when i turbo my wife's 5fse camry .

 

[Irrational]

EMS!!!!

dsmlink chip---------------------600
maf translator-------------------200
maf-------------------------------130
electronic boost controler---- -250
turbo timer----------------------100
total------------------------------1,280
for a sweet none the less "piggy back" set up

AEM EMS with all sensors to do all the above and somuch more--- 2,000

MAP based tuneing -----------Priceless

 

[Lunch_Box]

EMS!!!!

dsmlink chip---------------------600
maf translator-------------------200
maf-------------------------------130
electronic boost controler---- -250
turbo timer----------------------100
total------------------------------1,280
for a sweet none the less "piggy back" set up

AEM EMS with all sensors to do all the above and somuch more--- 2,000

MAP based tuneing -----------Priceless

Your prices are way off.

DSMlink $550
Maf can be had any where from $40
dont need an electronic boost controller
turbo timer is a luxury

So the price of a DSMlink is still at least half the cost of a EMS. Granted it can't do the same amount to your car but for most of us it is more than we will ever need.

 

[dsm-onster]

for a sweet none the less "piggy back" set up

What's your definition of piggyback?

anyway, i would pay 1300 for that and be happy (ebc and turbotimer: they're nice). if i had the 2000 bones to blow i'd get all that for 1300 and the other 700 would go to a nice frontmount or bigger injectors AND a NICE water/alky kit.

 

[dsm-onster]

What's your definition of piggyback?

anyway, i would pay 1300 for that and be happy (ebc and turbotimer: they're nice). if i had the 2000 bones to blow i'd get all that for 1300 and the other 700 would go to a nice frontmount or bigger injectors AND a NICE water/alky kit.

P.S. the original poster does not need MAFT. his generation maf has been proven time and time again. he'll max out his particular turbo first.

 

[exiletalon]

DSMLink or megasquirt, if you want a standalone, plus cheap alternative, just invest some time and you will have a standalone for a fraction of either, plus MAP tuning, spark, and fuel control.

 

[Siral3x]

WHy pay those big amount of money on them??
THEY do the same exact thing...DSMlink and EMS.
Why not grab an eprom ecu and do some tuning yourself? logger+ eprom ecu+ map setup will let you do basicaly the same thing for a fraction of the EMS cost! Not only you save money, you actualy learn tuning the hard way (programing the eprom) and that is priceless.

 

[Steve93Talon]

Is your flux capacitor fluxing?

 

[MMM]

WHy pay those big amount of money on them??
THEY do the same exact thing...DSMlink and EMS.

No they do NOT do the same exact thing. AEM EMS has sequential injection control which means you can tune out the rich condition in the 1st two cylinders (or the lean condition in the back 2, which ever way to think about it). Also you have customizable inputs/out puts so you can have nitrous control, meth injection or WHATEVER else completely controlled by any variable in the ECU. You can also pull timing differently on each cylinder, and pull timing directly related to boost. AEM EMS is much better than DSMLink if you know how to use it (for drag racing at least). With AEM, you can tear down your motor, see where the problems lie (per cylinder) and tune to prevent damage in the future.

Also, as far as I know, you have to have the laptop actively plugged in to the DLC to get data. That kind of sucks when you are tearing down the track. Its much better to have the ECU store the data aquasition(sp?) and pull it off when you are in the pits.

 

[Kevin Jewer]

The EMS is so friggin slow at downloading the internal log though that I never use it.

I posted a comparison in the other thread that is basically the samea s this one last week, since I have both, but in short, the AEM does much more than DSMlink does. The question is do you really need the extra features the AEM has to offer. For 99% of the poeple here, that's a negative. DSMlink does an incredible job of making 600+ whp cars run as close to stock as can be expected. AEM requires a lot more assing around with to get the car to run well. There are also a lot more ways to ruin your day with the AEM, the DSMlink is much safer for the average tuner.

Edit> DSMlink is certainly NOT a piggy back!

To the original poster, since you have an eprom ECU, DSMlink is a no brainer. Add a GM3.3 bar deisel MAP sensor and a 300 dollar wideband if you're feeling frisky and DSMlink becomes 10 times more powerful. If at some point you decide that the AEM would have been the better choice (no idea why, but you never know), there is no shortage of poeple that will line up to buy the DSMlink used for 100 bucks off

 

[illeffekt vr-4]

EMS!!!!

dsmlink chip---------------------550
maf translator-------------------dont need it
maf-------------------------------free for 2g guys, $50 for 1g guys
electronic boost controler---- -dont need it, a $15 manual one will do
turbo timer----------------------dont need it
total------------------------------ ~$615
for a sweet none the less "stand alone" set up

AEM EMS with all sensors to do all the above and somuch more for $1400 more

fixed it for you!!

 

[Hal]

AEM requires a laptop, DSMLink can be adjusted with a $50 palm pilot.

DSMLink = plug'n'play, AEM = plug'n'pray it starts

Hal

 

[RavenX]

AEM requires a laptop, DSMLink can be adjusted with a $50 palm pilot.

DSMLink = plug'n'play, AEM = plug'n'pray it starts

Hal

So true Hal! We just installed a AEM in a celica alltrac and let me tell you what a god damn pain in the ass it was. They should really take out that "Plug and Play" slogan.

 

[Kevin Jewer]

Well, even AEM admits that it's only plug and play because you don't have to wire it in, it does plug and play. The software is another thing, and needs to be tuned from scratch, unlike DSMlink which with no corrections is basically a stock ECU at least.

 

[PSI NRG]

I have AEM in my car and let me tell you... I had a professional tune my car and it purs like a kitten and runs stronger then almost any car Ive seen. The hardest thing with the AEM is tuning the idle and getting the fuel map set up. Once you establish the idle and a good fuel map its basically smooth sailing after that. AEM has boost comp so when you turn the boost up it compinsates the fuel the only thing you have to adjust is timing.

The guy who tuned my car took about an hour and a half setting up the fuel map and idle and about 30 minutes to raise the boost to where i wanted it. Its very sensitive to the adjustments you make though which can be irritating sometimes. Like for example My car doesnt like to run very smooth until it reaches operating temp. Since thats what it was tuned at. But once its warmed up it's fine. at idle my a/f ratio is at 12.5-7 and when in boost it stays right at 11.3 and doesnt move.

 

[DSM90AWD]

I had the opportunity to pick up an EMS at cost a few years ago but reading all the setup options, tuning involved just to get it to work (my buddy spent a total of $600 on two visits to the Dyno to get it setup), I opted for DSMLink and have not questioned that decision once.

Then again, my old Technics reciever with a single bass and treble knob always sounded better than my DTS Sony (KISS)

 

[daren_p]

EMS!!!!

dsmlink chip---------------------600
maf translator-------------------200
maf-------------------------------130
electronic boost controler---- -250
turbo timer----------------------100
total------------------------------1,280
for a sweet none the less "piggy back" set up

AEM EMS with all sensors to do all the above and somuch more--- 2,000

MAP based tuneing -----------Priceless

You really shouldn't post about things that you don't know about, as according to this post you know nothing about DSMLink. To the origional poster I think the rest have given very good info on the 2 choices, I guess the main concern would be the amount you want to spend & the ease of use.

I think 95GSXRacer sums it up well: the AEM does much more than DSMlink does. The question is do you really need the extra features the AEM has to offer. For 99% of the people here, that's a negative.

Go check out www.dsmlink.com as they have all the answers to FAQ's and the manual & client software is there to download and play around with. DSMLink isn't a piggyback & offers alot of nice/neat features that a piggyback system such as the SAFC doesn't. About running a 2g MAF, it is good till around 450-500hp & even then there is a feature in DSMLink to FAKE the MAF after a certain Hz setpoint to allow you to still run past the MAF airflow signal limit.