Anyone using an aftermarket stand alone ECU like the Motec?

 

You mean besides FTR on the M600?

 

is that what he is using....hmmmm......I wold like to know more about this system for the Mini ... I have been to the site and contacted them.... we'll see... any info is appreciated

 

I talked to their tuner (forgot his name) today at the unveiling of the FTR Special Editions.

He said it is tough to work with, that there is a lot going on. I neglected to ask about any details. Bad me.

 

Bob,
Expect to pay around the $9K mark to get a Motec up and running on your Mini. You might be lucky and get it down to $7K, but....

Grand Am teams pay over $20K to get their Motecs squared away.

 

Spider X,

I looked at this when building the race car. The big problem was the wireless accelerator/throttle body. At the time, nobody had this feature available, but it's only a question of time (if it's not already available) before someone offers this feature.

There are ways around it but if you go Motec, you'd have to give up a bunch of features in the car, assuming you drop the OE ECU. You could potentially run the MOTEC for a few features only, but it will get to be very complicated and time-consuming. But someone smarter than me should be able to do it.

Are looking at it for tuning or for data acquisition?

 

And Autronic offers very similar systems for a better deal.

 

I had no clue it was that much .......not in the budget.....interest gone

 

The Hydra EMS will be $2300 for parts [including the practically mandatory wideband O2], but you have to keep the stock ECU in the background so you can use the stock instrument panel [tacho, CAN-bus, immobilizer, blah blah]. I'm not sure if functions like cruise or DSC will still work...

There are other DIY [and cheaper] ECU's out there, like MegaSquirt, but MS is a PROJECT, not a plug-n-tune.

Why can't there be a good MINI ECU Flasher out there that will do custom stuff and doesn't give attitude or contracts for replys?

 

Agree... It's not fun looking through magazines and seeing so many plug'n plays for other cars.
I looked into the Autronics and a Mini racer I know of is having one installed now. I was quoted a rather high price, but she was getting it cheaper. I'm waiting to hear how it goes.

Hooking it all up should not be a problem in a race car as simple as mine, but tuning it will take some real pros and a lot of dyno time.

 

Speaking of plug'n play, AimSports has released a software version for their digital dash display that is plug'n play in the MINI I-bus. About 25 parameters you can display (and monitor if you have data acquisition capability)

http://www.aimsports.com/products/mxl-chooser.html

 

Bob,

You are correct, these systems are designed to run the engine in it's entirety without outside help. Unfortunately in a car as complex as the Mini defeating the stock computer will net you a lot of trouble. The factory computer communicates on a CAN bus network with all other computers in the car. The instrument cluster, anti-lock brake system, stability control, HVAC controls, security/immobilizer computer, cruise-control, etc. will either cease to operate or go into a diagnostic 'limp-home' mode. It takes an enormous amount of engineering work to fool all of these systems back into operation using equipment that is usually considered far too expensive for an end user. I have done this work for manufacturers before and the cost has been upwards of $25k. The reality is that you might actually be able to piggy-back the motec ecu into the car, but this too takes quite a bit of effort and there is no guarantee of success because it all hinges on how the factory engine computer will asses the changes you've made. It may never want to work as it can no longer 'sense' coils or injectors connected to it. Or it may simply shut everything down when you boost the car past what it deems a safe limit.

As for a motec ECU to do the job, an M4 will do fuel and spark as long as we don't have a complex engine to run. If we want to take over camshaft control and drive-by-wire then an M400 is the minimum computer required. If you are going to completely remove the factory computer and replace it with a Motec ECU then you may even need to consider an M800 just to have enough output to control all the ancillary devices present on the car.

Simon Wagner
Motec Systems USA
5355 Industrial Drive
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
TEL: (714) 897-6804 x 161
FAX: (714) 230-3075

 

Well, ... there's one mod we won't be seeing on Bob's sig...

............ or will we .........

 

No....not in the budget.....how about you?.....

 

Not the Motec, but possibly the Autronics. All I need is engine control as there is nothing else left in the car. No ABS, General Module, etc.
I won't do it this season, but maybe over the winter.