POLL: Which Engine Management System is best?
 

Say you are committed to going all electronic with your spark and fuel management. What is the best system out there? Consider reliability, cost, support, features, ease of use.

Let me know if I left one off and I'll add it ASAP.

Please limit your voting to only those that have actual experience with a particular system. Don't vote based on "I read somewhere..." or "My favorite wrench told me...."

Hay, you forgot CIS ;)

There's one in every crowd. :)

We have tuned and/or installed four of the six systems you list. I think there are to many variables to acccount for to make a simple poll i.e. cost is no object, or best bang for buck.

Even though we are an autorized Haltech distributor, we appreciate that MoTec makes a fantastic product, as does SDS.

Weigh your choice on which system can fill all of your needs, and not break your bank

I don't see Bosch on your list.

We have a Bosch Motorport ECU on our GT3RS, which was tuned by Porsche Motorsports, I think we will leave that one just the way it is ;)

For some reason I can't edit the poll options. If a moderator is watching please add Bosch to the list.

OK, so please consider reliability and features above other matters. After all we want something we can depend on and we want something that has the features we need to get the job done.

I have Motec M48 on my 3.5 and like it a lot. The software is easy to understand and adjust with a basic knowledge and the tech support has been very good if you don't want to take the car back to the installer for simple tuning questions. I have been able to use my laptop to get a really nice idle and smooth out some specific running issues that would have taken hours on the dyno.

The only down side that i have found is that some of the options are a little pricey. I bought an Innovate Motorsports LM-1 for tuning instead of activating the Motec wideband option. I don't want to run closed-loop and the advanced tuning package comes with lots of stuff that i don't need. There aren't any other options that i want so this wasn't a big deal and when i am done with the LM-1 i can re-sell it.

Paul

i've been eyeing DTAfast, it's not to pricey, has good software
and from what i hear, they swear by it in rallying... which to me says it's rugged and reliable...

haven't had any myself, so can't give first hand experience...

I see votes for Tec3r, MegaSquirt, and SDS but no posts as to why someone prefers them. Anyone care to elaborate?

Personally, I have the Tec3r and do not vote for it. It does not seem reliable and the vendor always blames the install for it's failures.

We have extensive experience with Motec & DTA and both are fiune systems.

Motec is IMHO, top of the line for capabilities and support and the newest M600 systems offer a lot for what you get.

We use DTA where the budget is more constrained and where one doesn't need all the inputs and accessories from Motec.

You get what you pay for,............. :) :)

Well, I put a vote for Megasquirt because I used it, but honestly, if money's no object Motec is probably way to go.

So why Megasquirt? I glanced thru the feature list of many systems, MS is very comparable and it is cheap. And there are some nifty software that I'm not sure if other systems have (e.g. tuning / logging thru a Palm device). Granted, you have to be a hardcore DIY to make it work, AND you have to tune it yourself, but that is also very satisfying for me.

Motec does seem to have a lot more advanced features that came thru the racing heritage. And I'm sure there is lots of support. But I'm not ready to pay $$$$$$$$$$, especially for the advanced features like data analysis.

YMMV

I bought the Motec because I wanted reliability and support. I choose the M600 so I wouldn't need an ignition expander and so it could run the latest software and options. The only ECU errors I've had were from my wiring and were fairly quickly fixed. The cost has been a quite a bit more than I was planning once I added Lambda, logging, and boost control. If you build the harness yourself it's really expensive, if you have someone else build it, it's ridiculously expensive.

As for support, Simon at Motec is great. He's helped with a few little items, but I was really impressed when we were setting up the boost control last week. He ran through about 10 control items and told me what number to start with, it worked right away and only needed a little tweaking.

Would a M48 system been enough for your car? I thought the M600 was expensive almost overkill for a street car because it had fancy features like
-ignition cut out for sequential gear boxes
- traction control
- Data loging ect...
features not needed on our old cars.

the M48 is only like $2400 also... not to bad if it does the job.

I voted for Megasquirt since I just finished an install in my car. I think that you can spend more money for the same features. Overall the circuitry reliability will be the same for just about any system. They are all PC Boards running some small ECU chip. The difference will be in the process capability which might allow for more add-ons. Funny, Megasquirt can do most of those add-ons too if you want to develop the sensors and wire in an input on the proto-type area on the main ECU board. I like it since it will run with as little as 3 input - tach, CHT/coolant temp, and MAP. Of course, there is room for much more. The state of tune also depends on how complicated you want to get.

Personally, the challenge of assembling the system, having it start on the first turn of the key and then going through tuning is exactly what I was looking for. The tuning software is very straightforward. Even upgrades like reflashing the CPU are easy.

I think that what you get out of your system will depend on how much information gathering you do prior to making your choice. Each engine management system may have slightly different functions than others but basically they just need to accurately control fuel delivery and spark. That is not too hard in today's world of electronics.

Anyone considering EFI needs to do their homework and understand EFI as a system. Only then will your choice be the right one. Of course, anyone just writing a check may not care about how easy it is to setup or use.

I am using a microtech on my twin plug efi 3.4, should start it up in the first week of august and will report what i think of it. The software looks logical enough.......

I am still finishing up the wiring, but the ecu can at least now comunicate with my laptop! :)

Cheers

What happened to MFI....??
Bob

Hi Bob:

Old stuff, that MFI,....:) :)

Look at the AFR plot on a dyno run with an MFI-equipped motor and you'll see why. Looks a lot like the Andes mountains,...:)

I had a big bore MFI set-up on my 3.5 before the Motec. It looked really cool and period but I had to choose between top power and idle/midrange driveability. Also, with the switch to Motec sequential injection, power went from 254hp at the crank to 310 with better gas mileage.

Paul

I think most people still use the M48 even on high end projects, I used the M600 for the additional ignition outputs, but it could be done cheaper with an ignition expander.