This little guy looks lile the go...

http://www.wolfems.com.au/products/e...agement/wolf3d

I've spoken to a tuner thats going to be sorting out connecting this to the RX8 - but it could be a little way off yet.

You can download all of the info and even the software for configuring the unit from their site.

If anyone has had exposure to this unit, I'd be very interested in hearing what you have to say.

The fuel maps you seem to be able to define with this little sucker can be in increments of 125rpm x 7% load increments (and exactly the same granularity for the ignition map).

There are so many parameters to play with, I'm way out of my depth just looking - learning's going to be fun!

The really interesting thing is you can swap between 2 maps on the fly! Plus you can store maps on a little dongle, so you can have one for low octane, one for economy, one for track .... and you can lock the car out completely with a security code!

Get the software and have a look - you'll see what I mean .... I want one :D

 

unforutely
thats way over my head

 

if I had an extra Renesis, engine dyno, and a bunch of spare time I'd be all over that thing.... but unfortunetly i'm 0-3 on those things

 

If they manage to program for the 8, I'd be all over that like stink on a monkey! Unfortunately, I have to be able to afford an 8 first. My thesis defense in tomorrow, so that won't take too long :D

I'm certainly no expert, so I'll have to study up on engine management. So far, I've just been reading in other forums about other engine management units, mainly piggybacks, so I'll have to compare this with other stand-alone units to get a better idea of what features to look for.

One thing to find out is whether the dealer can tell you've used a stand-alone when you re-install the stock ecu for dealer service. It is a great find however

 

If you are planning on pulling the stock ECU and using this thing instead...good luck. If you look at everything the stock ECU does on this car I just don't see a standalone operating very well in this environment. The damn stocker practically drives the car for you.

jds

 

Yeah, it certainly has a lot of features, now that I've scanned over the user guide (175 pages!). They have pretty good documentation too. It has turbo timer and boost control features too Overall, I'm very impressed. The one thing I can think of that I can't find is datalogging capability, but you can probably do that by plugging in a laptop.

 

yeah forgot about the DSC

 

or there's this one...

http://www.autronic.com/

seems to have automatic calibtration...

 

Anything with a wideband 02 input will have"automatic calibration." All that means is that you can input a lambda target and the ecu will adjust fuelling inorder to make the car hit that lambda target. Which is what stock ecu's do in open loop mode: Read the wideband 02 sensor and adjust fuel accordingly.

Now let me speak from experience and say that full bown ecu replacements are a total pain in the *** that the average enthusiast should avoid. I have a Motec M4Pro ecu in my Subaru, and it is a serious pain to deal with. It's extremely powerful and can do things like anti lag, traction contrl, launch control.. but it is so far beyond my capability (and I can mange things like s- afc's and so on) that it requires an experienced tuner, as would any standalone ecu.

 

Minor nit, just to keep things accurate: This would be closed loop mode.

jds

 

It sounds like a piggyback unit is the way to go as it doesn't replace the existing factory ECU, simply augments it. This sounds like an advantage to me, because by keeping the factory ECU in place you

- retain all the functions of the factory ECU while improving only selected ones (like Air/Fuel ratio, etc)
- don't run the risk of missing some critical setting that is in the factory ECU
- don't run the risk of voiding your warranty (or ruining your engine!) by replacing the factory ECU - *IF* you disconnect it before you take the car to the dealer for service. It seems to me this should be pretty easy to do by simply installing it with a simple on/off switch (if it doesn't come with one) so that when it's switched off the factory ECU doesn't realize it's there.

But I'm no expert here about engine management and ECUs, and it's clear to me that some on this forum are. So please feel free to venture up an opinion...

 

Also, by going to a full replacement ecu you generally lose things like your OBD2 port, which means you need to make up some interesting stories in order to get your car inspected these days