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General Stand alone ECU for a 1G?

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Steve92talon

Proven Member
156
21
Jul 3, 2019
Fernie, BC_Canada
Has anyone tested out a stand alone like Holley or ecu master and how easy was the install and tuning?
 
I doubt many, if any, have tried any ecus such as those due to cost, features and availability. Since we have ecmlink, ecuflash and megasquirt, there's not much reason to use something like a Holley setup that costs the same or more and has almost zero support or info on our platform.

Do you have a link to the exact system your curious about? Is there a reason you want to use them over what is normally used?
 
Main reason I went on ecm link and the socketed ecu are not around anymore and I have 0 previous knowledge and I do not own a lap top or any computer of any kind. I just have a cell and a tablet. I watch a YouTube channel called motion auto and he has used the ecu master black in 2 supra builds and it works really well. They are a blank ecu u just pin all the inputs and out puts and ready to go. It has a built in map sensor and it's only about $1000 ready to go in the box. I watch cletus McFarland as well and he uses the Holley system in a 7 sec Corvette and his burn out crown vic called neighbour. The Holley comes with it's own dash board screen to update the gauges to a cool customized tablet screen. Just seems much more modern then a laptop and cables talking to a 20+ yr old computer.
 
That looks really tempting but is there any self tuning or self learning. The Holley system requires nothing it has it's own screen and is hands free self learning. I like the idea of no computers or a dyno needed to get your car running properly after a few miles of driving. I'm not a tuner and I have no dyno within a 4hr drive. No one else using this ecu yet?
 
Ive played with most of the systems out there, until youre well versed and familiar with ecu's hiw they interperit the behicles sensor signals and what types of signals a cars/engines particular sensors output and where the cam and crank sensors put out their useful part of the aognal in relation to engine posistion it will all be basically akin to learning tussiqn or japanese using a school book from 1910 with every other page missing. Ecu tuning and intalls are what i set out to specialize in over 22years ago when i opened my first "shop" , i read for 4+hours daily through both literature from the manufacturers of ecus as well as ingormation about vehicle sensorsand how oem ecus would read and make use of the various signals, and it wasasteep learn in ng curve for me. But, back then NO ONE in the business was really open about what they had learned becaue most of it really came from trual anderrorandthe error parts of this learning curve can be very expensive.

One of the best things that really taught me a lot was getting an old ACCEL DFI forst generation (as in first accel box not 1st gen dsm) and hooking that thing up to anything i had the chance to hook it to and readi g the data in the ecu software and seeing if i co uld make the injectors click or the coils fire. Even if i was just at home hooking up coolant and air sensors using an old PC power supply and a volt meter to hook everything up. Now days i can hook about any ecu to any engine and woth use of an oscilloscope amd a service manual for the car the engine is from i can get a vehicle running same day withthe occasional exception, todays am/crank sensors can be.wildly complex as well as understanding which edge of the sensors signals need to be used to correctly fire correctly. Variable valve timing can be another huge headache in ECU setup.

I could go on and on, but honestly the best way to put it, is pay someone who does this shit fir a living and save yourself ther headache unless you're fairly intelligent and are someone wjo insists on knowing how every aspect of your car operates so that you can repair it and won't let anyone else touch your car woth tools. (Which is how i first became exposed to standalones) but overall for the regularcar enthusiast, i think it's more trouble to learn hows it all works and is easier and safer for your high dollar engine to just pay a professional. The third standalone install i ever did was on my 97 gst within a few months of it coming off the dealer floor new, this was a scary thing to do But hating the 2g ecu behaviour and k owing that i had to learn every aspect of these ecus was ky morivation so with a butane soldering iron, a 2g service manual, and the barely informative haltech e6k manual i sat out a d had a running and no where near "drivable" car which became my classroom for the next 18 years, within a year of doing that to my car i learned heaps, kept learning about other ecus and became a haltech dealer. I wasdetermined and suceeded. I freely share most of my knowledge with thosethat want tolearn, those who want to have it dine right usually just pay me to takecare of it and those who think they can ask a few queations and do it themselves justbecause "it cant be that hard" they usually come back to have the ecu done as well as the replacement of whatever else they caught fire botching the install or blew on the engine from not having a clue aboit tuni g before they made boost.

Hopefully that gives you some idea of what u wanted to know or at leastwhere to look for the info u do want
 
It's definitely not a high dollar build for me. The guy before me supposedly did all the motor work bored it 20 over and did all the usual engine mods and arp head studs. Still a smic like stock but a pacesetter header and a usual mitsu turbo bolt on upgrade for a turbo. I am totally ok with using it as a learning car for teach me some stuff about tuning. The ECU master has been used on just about anything with a motor from watching YouTube stuff. But yes expensive almost 1300 Canadian vs maybe 500 for a dsmlink modded ecu maybe? I'm not too up to date with computer stuff I dont even own a laptop or have a internet connection at home. The car will run fine as a stock DSM on 12lbs of boost forever but I know it has so much more potential to unlock with a better faster computer.
 
My car came with so many spare parts all I need is a cam sensor and I can set up on the bench a complete harness with intake and coil and plugs and a cam sensor on a drill to simulate rpm and I can get all the injectors firing and spark sparking before even touching my actual car. Even a spare fuel rail with injectors.
 
This looks like a very interesting stand alone option as well.
 

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You don't have access to a dyno or a professional tuner. You want to keep the build within a reasonable budget. You want a tuning software that you, as a total beginner, can learn.

Sounds like ECMlink is probably your best option. Don't complicate it.
 
Socketed ecu are not available though on there website u have to schedule mailing in your current ecu. I have 3 of them one I think is a na one cause no boost gauge on the dash and no fuel when it hits over 5psi. My current computer wont do over 15psi without fuel cut. The third one is unknown but only 2 have the knock board the third dose not. So for ecmlink I need to buy a laptop basically
 
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