Ok, I was running a Hondata S200 system with EVERY possible option except for the G sensor and that system was great. I started out with a 2B, then moved to S200 and so on and so forth as I progressed and my car developed. Well, I now feel I have outgrown Hondata. I am looking to get a new EMS and was looking at the AEM EMS as it has a lot more features but is still a "flashy" system. Meaning it looks great and has great functionality, but I think it can still be used on a beginers car. I have a friend running a PECTEL system and he likes it a lot. I have been reading about Autronic's system and that sounds like my best bet! But still not sure which way I should go. My car is an all out turbo drag car. I want a system that has a launch control, and preferably an anti lag feature for launches.(come out of the hole at 5psi or so) Now again I really like the Autronic system but which one is best SMC, SM2, Pectel or should I go with a simple AEM EMS? Price doesn't really matter as I figure if I need it, I will save until I can get it. You have to Pay to Play and this is not a cheap hobby/sport/way of life. I know nineseccrx and tony1 and others have some experience with some of these units so please help me out with this.

Thanks,

Sean C.

 

Little help for a racer trying to take it to the next level...

Sean C.

 

The Autronic is a really nice system, but it also depends on who is going to tune it. speak with whoever is going to tune it and see what they know best. I am running a DFI gen7, I got it for a few reasons, bang for the buck, and my tuner knows the system well. It is also an easy system to learn, and since I will be maintaining it after the initial tune it made sense. It does have it's low points too, the install requires a lot of modification, and wiring, but I can handle it...

just talk to people, and see what they are using, and why... DFI was my choice, but Autronic is really nice, if I had the $$$ and a good tuner for it I would have gotten that

hth

 

You have

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by civic disobedience &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">speak with whoever is going to tune it and see what they know best. </TD></TR></TABLE>
theres your answer. good luck.
-Roger

 

Well then, I guess it's Pectel then. He has been able to tune anything that has been thrown at him from LS1edit to Hondata to Haltech's to the Pectel system. And he has researched a lot on the Autronic system so he could tune it. He knows probablly Hondata the best, but right now he is using Pectel and that has most if not all of the features that the Autronic has. Thanks.

Later,

Sean C.

 

Just out of curiousity, what makes you think you've "outgrown" the hondata? The only real limit i see in it is the 28psi max boost. Unless you're running more than that, i think it's the best way to go. If you want more, i'd recommend a motec m4. You can get a compete Honda motec kit with harness and modified distributor for $2350. This has a boost controller built in which can be setup to stage boost by gear and rpm. By far one of the best boost controllers available and it's included with the base m4. That's the boost controller we run in Kenny's car!

 

motec

 

AEM EMS ROCKS!

 

I agree with tony. Unless you plan on running an outrageous amount of boost, you cant really outgrow hondata, it has plenty of options,and depending on what tuner you go to, the potential is very good

 

Well that is the only thing that I have "outgrown" in my Hondata system. I LOVE my hondata! Nothing would please me more than to stay with Hondata; however, I am at a plateau with the 3 bar and stock honda map sensor being the only ones supported by Hondata. I really do enjoy the ease of use of the system and the fact that I have already made the investment and that it is just overall an EXCELENT system.

I do have a couple of more questions though... Is the Motec M4 cheaper than the Autronic would be? Also, does the M4 come with Launch Control (2-step)? I will do some more research on the MOtec system as I never thought I could afford a motec system, but I will do some research. Thank you so much for the advice and keep it coming!

Later,

Sean C.

 

if money is no object, efi technologies, only 25-30k custom built for you

 

feature for feature the smc and smc2 is more bang for the buck than the motec. however, what i like about the motec is that the wideband option is built into the ecu (about $700 bucks) or can run off a motec plm ($1100 give or take). the autronic requires you to run their seperate wideband which ranges from $1500 to $2500 depending on which sensor you want to use. The plm can run the same sensor as the $2500 autronic wideband, and i think that can be a factor in deciding which ecu you wish to purchase.

if you don't intend on doing any tuning yourself, and your trusted tuner owns an autronic wideband, then this isn't really an issue. even with that said, i really like the autronic, and wouldn't hesistate to run the smc2 if motec was out of my budget.

one thing about the motec though is it is very sensitive to crank and cam signal triggers, and in general is a lot more difficult to setup than the autronic. It took me 1 day to get the autronic installed and fired up, whereas, the motec m800 took me over a month of hard work to get it running correctly. granted, the m800 was a lot more complicated due to the fact that it needed to be setup to fire individual coils.

the m4 still isn't a walk in the park either. to get it running on the stock distributor you need to either own an oscilloscope and the knowledge required to use it or send it into motec to have it modified.

i definately would not reccommend attempting to install a motec ecu on your own if you don't have much aftermarket efi experience or significant electronics knowledge.

 

Maybe I shouldnt say this, but hondata is coming out with a 5-bar map sensor and software.

art

 

i think the resolution on the hondata is pretty impressive.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Arturbo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Maybe I shouldnt say this, but hondata is coming out with a 5-bar map sensor and software.

art</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thats good to hear. Hondata is better then most people think it is, or make it out to be..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SEFI8LOxCivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i think the resolution on the hondata is pretty impressive. </TD></TR></TABLE>
I totally agree with you on that one. The resolution is alot better than the speed pro. What I like about the hondata is the fact that alot of the calibration maps are already done or you since you are still using the stock computer.

I am running Autronic SM2 but I chose that over hondata because I figured I could learn it and help Mike out when on the road when Ben couldnt be there.

art

 

I have DFI 6.0, and will be switching to Hondata next season. All it needs is a good tuner, and its just as good, if not bettter, then MOST systems on the market

 

Just want to make sure people don't get confused...
The Autronic SMC/SM2 and the Motec units DO NOT "NEED" to be tuned with the above mentioned wideband setups. Just like any other systems, they can be tuned by external Oxygen sensors or analyzers, (or just by "seat of the pants" tuning...hehe)

The Autonic units have the "AUTOTUNE" feature, which allows you to hook up an Autronic wideband analyzer, tell it what A/F ratio you want, and it tunes for you! You can just rent/borrow an analyzer for when you're doing big tuning session. You can also do some tuning with a regular O2 sensor and run open or closed loop.

As far as an Autronic on a Honda, there are lots of options for Crank&Cam triggers (remember that Autronic uses both because it has true sequential injection and even ignition).

The technique I like to use on all the Honda's I've worked on is simply disassembling the stock distributer, and grinding the extra teeth off the trigger wheels. We've got 10,000+rpm reving Hondas that trigger prefectly off the mod'ed stock distributer. There are also different chip versions that allow for multiple tooth triggers, (even VW's 60-2).

I almost went to Motec for my car a few years ago (after a lot of issues with Tec2) since my sponsor could get it from Motec Australia at a good price. But after discovering Autronic, we went with the SMC. The cost was better, the features fit what I needed, and I got really good tech support from the US dealer/tuners.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Arturbo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Maybe I shouldnt say this, but hondata is coming out with a 5-bar map sensor and software.

art</TD></TR></TABLE>

that, right there is the best thing I've heard in a while

 

I would stick w/the hondata ecu if I were you because it can do everything the aem ems can but it is cheaper. the chips you can burn with it is endless. you can control your ignition so much easier and program in three stage rev limiter. Most of the pro's driving hondas are using hondata so it must be doing something right

 

stick with the hondata!
i run aem ems and like it myself but if you have hondata already..no need to change

 

use what your tuner says... the best system out there isnt gona do **** if you dont have someone that understands the quirks and specifics of the particular setup.

im partial to the aem ems, i started with it and i have spent alot of time using it. i am to the point now that it dosnt take me long to get a car 90% done on the street with a wideband and egt.

with way of tuning that im trying to develop with the ems you potentially have an unlimited resolution and once you tune for one condition all other conditions will be right... one example is the turbo civic im working on now.. we tuned it on the street to 12:1 afr all the way across at 10psi.. well we were out one night and the wastegate vac line blew off and boost went to 30psi, but w/the way i have it tuned the afr's were still dead on even though i had only tuned at 10psi and we only scaled the tables up to 25psi (its running a 5bar map, but we didnt anticipate running over 25psi so thats what i scaled it to)

and the automapping thing... imo thats for n0000bs that cant tune properly to begin with

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by poorguy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if money is no object, efi technologies, only 25-30k custom built for you </TD></TR></TABLE>

Not true at all.............Efi Technology has recently come out with some units to compete in the four cylinder market place............their 1.9 ECU for four cylinders costs under $3k for custom built raychem harness and everything included.

 

Well if you are tight for cash I heard the new version of the AEM EMS is better now.