thingo

I knew that Track conditions is the most extreme situation I am envisaging

Chris White

I still say the proper knock detection system should be connected to a 5th spark plug located in the driver’s seat firmly placed near the sub strap.

As I have mentioned before – the most important thing to get with your standalone is support. Most of the current stand alones have a lot of tuning power – and a lot of mistuning power!
Crystal or liquid?

Chris White

My way of thinking is a little different (and it sounds weird coming from a stand alone guy).
The EMS doesn’t make any power. Zip, none, nada.
What it does do - It allows the rest of the parts to create more power.
One of the typical questions I get is “How much more power will the Tec3 make”….um…none. But it will allow you to maximize the potential of all the other parts of your system. It will allow you to make your own decision on safety margin vs. performance.
To get the most out of you set up you have to tune the ‘system’ – this includes hardware like turbos, intercoolers, intake and exhaust manifolds and it also includes environmental issues – intake temps, fuel quality, coolant temps and system faults (like oil consumption lowering the octane).

Porschefile

Hehe.



Isn't that the darn truth! I completely agree with your point of view.

RolexNJ

Big bump to this post Mike!

SoloRacer

I know Milledge and KMR both use Motec systems as do many other Porsche tuners. Having said that, the most important thing would be to choose a system based upon the support you will get for it. A well tuned TEC3 will be much better than a poorly installed and tuned Motec just as a well tune Motec will be much better than a poorly installed and tuned TEC3.

Even if you are going it alone you are still going to need assistance to get the best out of whatever unit you have. What system to get is going to depend largely on your level of experience.

dave@fnf

We're currently installing VEMS standalone on a Customers 951 thats getting a Chevy LS2 crate motor swap and a Paxton Supercharger but that obviously wouldnt work on the Factory motronic ECU either.

nize

you can't beat plug-and-play;
https://rennlist.com/forums/944-turbo-and-turbo-s-forum/233816-wolf-3d-ems.html

Raceboy

Plug'n'play justifies itself only on relatively new vehicles. Plugging ECU to the 20year old harness like on 951 is asking for trouble. Bad ground can fry aftermarket ECU not to mention wasting the time chasing poor connections.

nize

i think that's a poor excuse made by people who don't have plug-and-play. there was nothing wrong with the harness/wiring on all three of my last 951's, and every single 951 i've ever seen around here has zero issues with the stock wiring. one should not be forced to re-wire their entire car (and not be able to return to stock) just because they want to go to a standalone ecu.

Chris White

Plug and play is not rocket science. Its just a wiring issue. The Tec3 could run as a plug and play if an adapter was configured to create the physical attachment.
Of course you would lose the ability to have semi-sequential or full sequential injection, the superior wasted spark ignition system, modern sensors and a new harness.
In fact I looked at doing a plug and play – it would be a lot easier for me since I wouldn’t have to make up the harness…but you lose too much in the translation.

That begin said – I don’t know why this type of discussion always gets a little testy. There are merits for each method. Jus t take your pick and don’t feel the need to belittle the other systems.

nize

i think those should be options, not requirements. if it's 'just a wiring issue', why not do it and at least offer it as an option for those who don't want to re-wire their car?

Chris White

OK, if you can find anybody that wants to delete some of what I feel are fairly important features (new harness, coil pack, sensors) I will accommodate them and make it a plug and play setup for the same price….

DanG

Come on Chris, that one's obvious. Its because the only system that's the best is the one the poster has! Or has read lots of threads about on the intarweb.

Following that logic of course, the ONLY answer in standalones starts with Mega and ends with 'squirt! Its the ugly red-headed stepchild of the industry, which I'd like to blame primarily on its uber-low entry fee, and predictably uber-low experience level of the cheapskates and forum geeks that use it. You don't see too many of them on $50k+ race cars, although I believe they are just as up to the task. They certainly measure up on paper. I'll be running it on my $500 24hrs of LeMons volvo, as well as my $4k engine'd 951.

While the system itself has EXCELLENT support, there are only a small handful of guys using it on our cars. I'm cool with that, but not many other people are.

Rogue_Ant

DanG,
Does MS have knock sensor ability?


Rogue