Ok I have my opinions but I want to here others.

Im looking for feedback on the

standalone AEM EMS
Emange (Piggy back)
Unichip (Piggy back)

ANd any others that would work with our car that im not thinking about...

 

i'm uppin this because i would like to know too...especially the AEM EMS.

if AEM doesn't release a plug-n-play for the tC soon (last i checked they didn't have one, correct me if i'm wrong), i'm just gonna wire it myself.

 

I think the Haltech EMS might work. Man, if only we had something like Hondata for the tC .

 

I can't tell you about these product with tCs, but I can tell you a lot about Supras with them.
1. Never expect a stand alone to work like the stock ECM. They don't, they won't, they can't.
2. Piggyback are all limited by their ability to fool the ECM. 'The best is the HKS F-Con V because they actually pass corrected data to the OEM ECM to make it think everything is just fine while the F-Con handles fuel and timing and a few other things. It's the only plug n' play piggyback that can actually run VVTi and deal effectively with the multiplexed gauges on an IS300.

3. All of them require you sacrifice some of the turn key reliability of the OEM ECM. If you need your car to get to and from work, I wouldn't do this.

 

F con huh? thats ur pick of the litter

 

What about the GReddy E-Manage Ultimate? Anybody have opinions on that? A good stand alone one I heard about is the TEC3. I don't know if the TEC3 will work with our cars though.

 

Sorry if I'm hijacking.

 

The ultimate has had a few bugs still, but will be a decent piggy back once they fix it.

The Tec3 is used by a lot of IS300 owners, which shares similar parameters to the tC, so it could work out ok. The F-Con is the best piggy back for now, as Lo_Bux said, but it does cost a decent penny for a piggy back system.

We've been talking with AEM to offer our ECU and my turbo tC as a test bed for the stand-alone. All a matter of time I guess.

 

generally speaking stand alone systems are capable of doing more than piggy back systems. they all require a fair amount of knowlege about tuning and also require some access to a dyno to be set up properly.

If you want BIG power mods, like a high boosting turbo kit, go with the stand alone and invest in the tuning.

 

With the one caveat, it ain't a daily driver anymore.

I could tell LOTS of stories about standalones that were tuned perfectly yesterday, a cold front moved in overnight, and it won't even start today. It doesn't mean they don't work. They do work, but not with the same kind of reliability the OEM ECM does. Plan to spend quality time with your standalone on a regular basis, it's par for the course. Not MoTeC, not Autek, not Haltech, not GEMS (AEM's original source for hardware and software). They all have their quirks, and they are all intended for racing vehicles that get LOTS of attention.

Again, I could tell you lots of stories about AEM's initial foray into "plug n' play" ECMs, but the truth is, it takes time to work through the bugs and get stable operation for most conditions (but still not the same as stock). Ask Chris Bergemann about his crank walk from starting his car literally thousands of times just to get the idle right.

Anyway. If you're willing to put up with all the negatives, you can definitely get them to do cool stuff. The people I know and trust the most are sold on the F-Con, and yes it costs more, but it also works best. What do you want in the end?

 

For the Ford EEC they have handheld tuners (Diablosport, Superchips, etc) and chips to plug into the EEC to insert tunes and such.

Is this only possible because of the Ford ECUs being very simple? I've always wondered why japanese cars were never really able to do this (to my knowledge)

 

Most of the problems with the existing standalones are the lack of drive by wire support..

Hydra seems to be one of the companies that's dedicated to releasing PnP EMS's for DBW cars, as demand dictates. Hopefully they will see the potential in the Scion for a PnP unit.

AEM as well. I would love to have either EMS, to complement ZPI's turbo kits.

 

anyone know if a apexi super AFC II
would be good for the TC


ps don't meen to be rude i'm a newbe

 

No its not a piggy back and it only adjusts fuel curves every 400rpm

 

It modifies the signals that the ECU sees, I'd call that a piggy back.

 

Yea, why wouldnt it be considered a piggy back?? It is a very limited piggy back, but as nester stated, it modifies the EFI system, therefore it is a piggy back fuel management controller

 

Yes its a piggy back but it doesnt do wide varity of tuning like the emange and the others. Its just a cheap piggy back that really doesnt do much and is limted to what it does do. Like every 400rpms fuel curve adjust...

 

Anything that lies to the ECM to make it think something other than reality is happening is a piggyback of some kind. Even that stupid resistor for the MAF is technically a primitive piggyback. Put it this way, if the original ECM is still in the car and connected and you have some other device modifying what it does, it's a piggyback.

 

so cant you just unplug the piggyback if ur having troubles with it on ur car?

 

If you use a harness extension to wire in the piggyback, sure. If you splice it into your harness, it might not be so simple. Just another reason to get a harness extension.