63 replies to this topic

[Bojang]

Long Story short I brought my Vx last may from "MayBach" awsome guy and former member of the Forum, After two weeks of having the car it died during a spirited run. I had the car diagnosed by "Steve" at guglielmi Motosport daventry, amazing service, STeve decided the car needed a new ecu, Option 1 Fit a AEM infinity stand alone unit will need custom crank sensors engine trigger costing around 2k plus Option 2 DUtch ECU WOuld love any and all advice, the car is a stage 2 supercharged Vx

[CHILL Gone DUTCH]

I'm sure option 1 will be better but £ for £ I can't fault Dutch ECU Also stage 2 SC on Dutch ECU

Edited by Chill, 20 June 2013 - 02:03 PM.

[Mike (Cliffie)]

Hi Dude,

 

Welcome about the good ship VXSC.

 

I would go Dutch, even John at Courtenay is saying it is a good route.

 

Exmantaa is a good guy to comment on this and NickB has just taken the plunge as well.

[Rosssco]

Do you NEED a new ECU, or was it 'recommended'..? If so, why?

 

I'd go for the Dutch ECU as it pretty much plug and play once a base map has been installed. Don't think it needs anymore if just a standard Stage 2 SC, unless you want to eek out the last efficiencies out of the mechanical set-up.

[techieboy]

Do you NEED a new ECU, or was it 'recommended'..? If so, why?

 

[slindborg]

I would hazard a guess at corroded ecu pins akin to loom of doom...

[Bojang]

Well the ECU was sent away for diagnosis and returned 99.9 percent fault free, However steve spent months eliminating all options, Then sent the car to Advanced Engineering motosport in SilverStone. So Ecu route is recommended to remedy the car, The car wouldnt start apart from when very cold outside and then it ran extreemly lumply and erratic revs then died

[Bojang]

The cost of Dutch sounds extreemly tempting, But I dont undertsand the difference between the two options, so weighing up pros and cons is extreemly difficult so this is why I ask for advice before parting wity my hard earned cash, I want to assimilate all your wisdom so I have the warm fuzzy feeling of a knowing I have picked the best option

[slindborg]

The dutch route means buying a new (2nd hand) ecu and then sending it off for programming and then doing the calibration work.

 

The AEM route would be easy aslong as it does ETB (Fly by wire), but at £2K+ its a rip off imho... and then you need someone who can calibrate it.

Might be better talking to Hoffffmmmaaannnnns about a syvecs setup which might be cheaper and well proven etc.

[Pidgeon]

Why isn't replacement standard ECU on the list - it's the far cheapest route?

[ciderbooze]

If you do need a new ecu Can't you buy a cheap std one from eBay and then post it to cms to put "your" Map on ? Damn my slow fingers

Edited by ciderbooze, 20 June 2013 - 02:24 PM.

[CHILL Gone DUTCH]

Why isn't replacement standard ECU on the list - it's the far cheapest route?

It would then need mapping again for SC

[techieboy]

€50 for a secondhand ECU + €800 for OBDTuner reflash. Plug and play compatibility with your car and ready to go with a standard base map and you can self tune it 'till your heart is content after any new additions. May not solve your problem though, if the original problem isn't the ECU and is down to the loom. Only suitable for the VX220/Speedster.

 

€3000 for the AEM standalone with a custom loom and custom mapping from scratch. Will definitely solve your problem but may introduce some more of it's own along the way. May or may not be self-tuneable and you may or may not have someone local to you that can do it, if it's not DIY'able. Does mean you could remove the ECU and use it on any other car in future, if you wanted. May also have some more advanced features like traction control and proper wideband lambda support.

 

€50 for a secondhand ECU and €300 for Courtenay to reflash it and re-install your existing map on it.

[siztenboots]

 

Why isn't replacement standard ECU on the list - it's the far cheapest route?

It would then need mapping again for SC

 

 

or just copy the map across , the ecu might have some damaged inputs/line drivers , but you should still be able to talk to it

[rob999]

Can't see Syvecs being that much cheaper Borgio

[Bojang]

Techie whats the AEM unit you are talking about thats peakee my interest, and the loom has been recomended to be replaced as you have mentioned to eliminate any problems or faults, wideband lambda is that a must on standalone ? Im unsure if the Aem Infinity unit he has recomended me has wideband il ask, and is wide band lamda more for tuning or economy?

[Exmantaa]

Well the ECU was sent away for diagnosis and returned 99.9 percent fault free, However steve spent months eliminating all options, Then sent the car to Advanced Engineering motosport in SilverStone. So Ecu route is recommended to remedy the car, The car wouldnt start apart from when very cold outside and then it ran extreemly lumply and erratic revs then died

 

Is that the only problem? Sounds more like a sensor fault and ecu's very rarely go bad. (besides corroded pins)

 

I would first swap the ecu with another ecu to see where the fault is. (preferably with an SC mapped ecu, but most likely it will start with the NA version. Ow, and use Opcom to switch immobiliser codes!)

 

Think Courtenay has all the SC remaps saved by name, so a simple back-up on another ecu should not cost you much!

[techieboy]

No idea about the AEM, I've never heard of it. I'm just using your £2k+ estimate (and the fact it will need a custom loom, trigger wheel, sensors and mapping from scratch). The only positive I could find was the fact that it's a proper standalone, so transportable between different engines/cars.

 

Personally, I'd go with the secondhand replacement standard ECU and getting Courtenay's to re-apply the map if I was happy with the setup and didn't plan on any further upgrades. As you're in Germany, it does at least mean you have access to Klassen to do the mapping but as he charges 3x more in Germany than he does via Courtenay's, I'd get it done here if I could.

 

If you think you might change things in the future (i.e. go Stage 3 or fit a Harrop) I'd get a secondhand ECU and get OBDTuner installed and at least be future proof as far as the VX is concerned and given the previous point, not reliant on Klassen to fine tune things at great cost.

 

I wouldn't be paying somebody else to fit an expensive aftermarket ECU and the cost of them learning how to map things properly for the VX.

[Mike (Cliffie)]

Can't see Syvecs being that much cheaper Borgio

I was quoted £3k for fitting, pinning, wiring and mapping and I was given the Syvecs stuff for nowt.

[slindborg]

Can't see Syvecs being that much cheaper Borgio

Atleast there are a few known calibrators of the syvecs about.... whereas there will be minimal AEM folks imho, unless you like having a jap style calibration of huge idle speed etc.