Whos using ECU+

[Itlooksfast]

i was reading the thread and page from Mach V page. Im very interested but it seems like its not that popular as DSMLink. Well i have a 2g gsx so this would be a great solution for me. But anyone using this so far and how is it? is it worth it? The reason why im asking about is that im getting a good deal on a new ECU+ Plug 'N Play package...much less then DSMLink and Socketed eprom ECU. I read the thread but that was in 2004 and its 2006 and i was wondering if they've improve on the problem or not.

 

[DGajre777]

The reason it is not as popular as DSMLink is because ECUPlus is still a piggyback computer, as in it lies to the ECU and makes it run further away from fuel maps when using bigger injectors, just like the SAFC.

Yes the ECUPlus has MAFT, but version 3 of DSMLink is supposed to have MAFT in it when it comes out this summer. You won't need an E-Prom ECU, but it is like having a logger, MAFT and SAFC in one unit. You could go with the new MAFT Gen II, which is like the MAFT and SAFC in one unit (with more settings) and then all you'll need is a logger.

And no, I don't have one or know anyone who has ECU Plus, but DSMLink is a far better unit.

 

[donmagicjuan]

I'm running ECU+, and I'm perfectly happy with it. Whether I would advise getting DSMlink really depends on your power goals. DSMlink is superior when it comes to making huge numbers, but for anything that 720cc injectors can handle, ECU+ does just fine. It is a piggyback, but when using the injector scaling feature, the effect on ignition timing resulting from altering the MAS signal is counterbalanced (or at least my timing curves would indicate so). As stated, it can perform GM MAF translation, as well as support logging boost, wideband AFR, and the usual engine parameters. One other difference is that DSMlink interprets knock as degrees of timing retard, while ECU+ displays knock voltage. Degrees of timing retard must be inferred from the timing curve log.

As I said, with my power goals the ECU+ performs like a champ. If you're looking for upwards of 400whp, however, DSMlink just might be a better solution, or at least ECU+ with a reflash.

 

[Itlooksfast]

ey Don...i was reading your profile and see what you got. You have the ECU+ but you also have the PLX-M300 wideband too...is that neccessary? or can i just use the ECU+ and be fine with it?

 

[Splitpi]

Yes the ECUPlus has MAFT, but version 3 of DSMLink is supposed to have MAFT in it when it comes out this summer. You won't need an E-Prom ECU, but it is like having a logger, MAFT and SAFC in one unit. You could go with the new MAFT Gen II, which is like the MAFT and SAFC in one unit (with more settings) and then all you'll need is a logger.

Wait a minute... DSMLink 3 will not require an E-Prom ECU?

Sorry to hijack this thread but I'm contemplating either dropping the 700 for DSMLink (including ECU) or going ECU+ aswell. So if the new version is coming out then I would like to know aswell.

 

[donmagicjuan]

Running a wideband to the ECU+ allows you to log accurate AFRs, which is a big help when it comes to tuning. You can try to make adjustments by watching your AFR gage, but doing so would just be a shot in the dark. Another solution would be to do all your tuning on a dyno (with a sniffer in your tailpipe). This option, while very effective, can also be as expensive as the wideband or more, and only affords you one chance to get it right. Unfortunately, the advantage of getting a wideband is independent of which management system you decide to get. You would benefit from it equally with either ECU+ or DSMlink.

 

[DGajre777]

Wait a minute... DSMLink 3 will not require an E-Prom ECU?

Sorry to hijack this thread but I'm contemplating either dropping the 700 for DSMLink (including ECU) or going ECU+ aswell. So if the new version is coming out then I would like to know aswell.

DSMLink requires an E-Prom ECU, ECUPlus does not. If you plan to use a MAFT, the new version of DSMLink will come with MAFT this summer.

 

[Boosted98gsx]

The release date on dsmlink v3 is not yet determined.

 

[Itlooksfast]

IS this DSMLink V3 gonna be the same price or more?

 

[Splitpi]

IS this DSMLink V3 gonna be the same price or more?

I emailed DSMLink to ask them about V3. This was there response:

We are still trying to decide if we can actually offer non-EPROM conversion at a price that makes sense. Right now, to be honest, it seems unlikely. It's quite a lot of work and very time consuming.

--
Thomas Dorris
ECMTuning, Inc.

 

[Itlooksfast]

If they decided to no a non-eprom ecu DSMLink, they are gonna make a lot of money. I think around 650 to 700 would be a good price.

 

[JayRolla]

I might as well wait and see if they release a non eprom dsmlink. I was going to buy it here soon.

 

[Itlooksfast]

man so only one person is using the ECU+....it seems to be a good upgrade for 2g owners and a lil cheaper too. I though they fix all the problems they had earlier when it first came out.

 

[Strm Trpr]

You may need to make an account, but you should be able to find all of your answers here.
http://www.ecuplus.com/forums/

 

[DGajre777]

man so only one person is using the ECU+....it seems to be a good upgrade for 2g owners and a lil cheaper too. I though they fix all the problems they had earlier when it first came out.

How is it cheaper for 2G owners? Are you comparing it to the cost of buying E-PROM for DSMLink? ECU+ is not like DSMLink, they are 2 different setups. For the cost of ECU+ and a laptop, you can get a the MAFT Gen II and a logger and still have couple of hundred bucks left over.

 

[Raph]

but if you already have a laptop...

i love my ecuplus

dont need a eprom ecu.

 

[Itlooksfast]

Yea i was comparing the DSMLink + the Eprom and ECU+. Its like $645 for the ECU+ and since it can act as a MAF translator no need to buy that too. And its 545 for DSMLink + 200-250 for eprom ecu, and maybe getting a MAFT...thats too much.

But yea MAFT GEN 2 is not even on my mine to get..its rather DSMLink or ECU+

 

[DGajre777]

Yea i was comparing the DSMLink + the Eprom and ECU+. Its like $645 for the ECU+ and since it can act as a MAF translator no need to buy that too. And its 545 for DSMLink + 200-250 for eprom ecu, and maybe getting a MAFT...thats too much.

But yea MAFT GEN 2 is not even on my mine to get..its rather DSMLink or ECU+

Yes, but you are missing one very important point. DSMLink does not lie to the ECU and make it run futher away from fuel maps with bigger injectors like ECU+, SAFC and MAFT Gen II. The ECU+ is just a SAFC+MAFT+logger in one unit.

You cannot compare it to DSMLink which has many more things on it that ECUPlus doesn't have.

If you want ECU+ to give you a setup like DSMLink then you will need to factor in an E-Prom ECU, Stage III chip from Keydiver + ECU Plus, only then can you compare ECU+ to DSMLink. And by then the cost of ECU+/e-prom/chip will end up being more than DSMlink.

If you don't want timing control and plan to run 660cc injectors or smaller (750s will be pushing it), then you can go with ECUPlus. But for that cost, as I said before you can get an SAFC/MAFT or MAFT Gen II and a logger. ECU Plus is no different than running MAFT Gen II and a logger combined, the only difference is you do it on a computer.

 

[Mach V Dan]

If you don't want timing control and plan to run 660cc injectors or smaller (750s will be pushing it), then you can go with ECUPlus...

DGajre777, ECU+ DOES allow you to alter ignition timing. It has a full timing control map in addition to fuel control. Yes, it's offset (as opposed to absolute), but you can arrive at the same results as with any other system.

We have many customers running 750cc injectors without complaint or problems...

Because it's using offset fuel adjustments, it probably doesn't make sense to use it on a car running 1000cc injectors, but other than that we've found it to be quite effective. It has many convenience features which I think are awesome, including a "dyno mode" where you can generate a dyno graph from your street acceleration runs, plus rear-O2 simulation (for cars running less effective cats, or no cat), VERY sophiscticated datalogging, logging to a Palm device, a bunch of idle stabilization features, and a lot more.

--Dan
MachV Motorsports

 

[DGajre777]

DGajre777, ECU+ DOES allow you to alter ignition timing. It has a full timing control map in addition to fuel control. Yes, it's offset (as opposed to absolute), but you can arrive at the same results as with any other system.

We have many customers running 750cc injectors without complaint or problems...

Because it's using offset fuel adjustments, it probably doesn't make sense to use it on a car running 1000cc injectors, but other than that we've found it to be quite effective. It has many convenience features which I think are awesome, including a "dyno mode" where you can generate a dyno graph from your street acceleration runs, plus rear-O2 simulation (for cars running less effective cats, or no cat), VERY sophiscticated datalogging, logging to a Palm device, a bunch of idle stabilization features, and a lot more.

--Dan
MachV Motorsports

I forgot that ECUPlus had timing control too. I always liked ECU Plus until I somehow got convinced to get DSMLink instead. Hmm, I wonder how that happened. (We need to have a thinking icon...)

 

[Itlooksfast]

Yea finally a person from Mach V...i was gonna call you guys but im at work now. I live like 30 minutes from you guys. I really like the ECU+ and im getting a really good deal on it but i was wondering if you know anyone who can help use it and tune with it.

 

[donmagicjuan]

DGajre777, ECU+ DOES allow you to alter ignition timing. It has a full timing control map in addition to fuel control. Yes, it's offset (as opposed to absolute), but you can arrive at the same results as with any other system.

We have many customers running 750cc injectors without complaint or problems...

Because it's using offset fuel adjustments, it probably doesn't make sense to use it on a car running 1000cc injectors, but other than that we've found it to be quite effective. It has many convenience features which I think are awesome, including a "dyno mode" where you can generate a dyno graph from your street acceleration runs, plus rear-O2 simulation (for cars running less effective cats, or no cat), VERY sophiscticated datalogging, logging to a Palm device, a bunch of idle stabilization features, and a lot more.

--Dan
MachV Motorsports

Thanks, Dan, for saying it better than I could have.

 

[Itlooksfast]

If i get either DSMlink or ECU+....do i even need to get my car dyno. You guys are making it sounds like with one these devices i dont need to go to a shop and get it dyno-tune. I can just do it on the street with a help of a friend. ### i dunno if theres any AWD dyno shop in my area and if there is, im pretty sure its expensive. But if any of these devices can cut the time and money at a dyno shop then it will very convenient and useful.

 

[EclipseTrbo420A]

If i get either DSMlink or ECU+....do i even need to get my car dyno. You guys are making it sounds like with one these devices i dont need to go to a shop and get it dyno-tune. I can just do it on the street with a help of a friend. ### i dunno if theres any AWD dyno shop in my area and if there is, im pretty sure its expensive. But if any of these devices can cut the time and money at a dyno shop then it will very convenient and useful.

YOu get set up to safly tune at WOT..then Log the run and look over the log...make changes where needed. You dont need a dyno.

 

[steel_3d]

I have ecu+, and it has its advantages, as stated before. One of the biggest ones is price (especially when you factor in the price of a maft and eprom ecu). My favorite feature is the high resolution data logging (normal loggers have shitty resolution), and the fact that you can log wideband o2, boost (with a map sensor), and other inputs of your choice, and analyze them on the same graph along with the usual logged data. I haven't used the dyno feature yet, but it seems like it could be useful. I would think it's fairly accurate (at least run-to-run, if not in absolute values) given that it uses high-frequency logged data. Of course you have to use the same stretch of road every time, or a perfectly level stretch of road every time, to be able to compare graphs. All this data at your fingertips can only be a good thing when tuning. I can't wait to have my car running to really put this thing through its paces. I've only had a couple of days with the ecu+ before my car crapped out (no, it wasn't ecu+'s fault, but the dumbass ex-owner's ).

Another thing to note is that you don't need a laptop for ecu+, if you don't have one or don't wanna lug it around in the car all the time. It's got fairly good palm software for tuning and basic monitoring, and you can transfer your logs to analyze on your pc in high resolution.

One of the few things it really lacks is injector dead-time compensation. It supposedly can't handle huge injectors, though I've seen guys running 850's. The fact that it has timing control makes it far more useful than an safc, and it shouldn't be compared to an safc directly. As of now ecu+ lacks a stutterbox feature, though it's in beta testing. One of the cool things about ecu+ is that theoretically the firmware has the ability to do all kinds of cool tricks like stutterbox, boost control, water injection control, etc, unfortunately the guy doesn't seem to have the time to work on this stuff intensively. One of the major features that I'm missing is that it can't override check engine codes (except the rear o2 code). So I may need to fix all the hacked up emissions equipment on my car in order to pass smog. You also can't do other ecu tricks like change base idle, display knock on the boost gauge, check engine light as shift light, etc (though you could hook up a real shift light to one of the outputs of the ecu+ if it was programmed for it). If anyone can think of other disadvantages, I'd like to hear em.