My new car!

[chickenwafer]

^Did you tell them you couldn't believe you were attending a school called Urinary Tract Infection? LOL

When Simon's engine blew a couple years ago, I think he had only 1 apex seal remaining. We dumped transmission fluid down into the engine and push started it, and it would run as long as you kept it above 1500rpm. Man I love rotaries. LOL

LOL, that's what my Brother told me the day I enrolled....

I've heard of doing that with transmission fluid...you guys used automatic trans fluid (ATF) right? That shit is flammable as balls!! I remember helping a friend and a power steering hose came loose on his car spraying ATF all over his downpipe which was wrapped. The wrap got soaked and it only took a second before it was in flames. He was lucky he had an extinguisher in the car LOL.

That should be part of any rotary tool bag in your car- socket and wrench set, screw driver set, volt meter, quart of engine oil, and a quart of AFT LOL.

[speedjunkie]

No I believe it was the gear oil for our trannies, 75w90 or something like that. It stunk like crazy but it sure provided a better seal lol.

[chickenwafer]

Well thanks to Matt (Alpha) and after much research, I have jumped ship from the Apex'i PowerFC standalone to the AEM standalone EMS. Why? Here's a few reasons why I believe the AEM is superior over the PFC:

-True PLUG-N-PLAY (no wiring)
-Configurable inputs
-Configurable outputs
-Greater resolution
-More sensor capability (i.e easier to use a GM 3bar, various WBo2 sensors, IAT's, EGTs, etc)
-Faster processor (PFC is archaic)
-Automatic internal datalogging
-2step launch control
-anti-lag turbo spool control
-full 3d mapping for nitrous control which I'll use to control my water/meth
-full standalone boost control with 3d boost correction/mapping
-advanced o2 closed loop feedback
-Automapping of fuel maps
-staged injector control
-run up to 8 injectors
-true CDI ignition option

There are many other options I could go into, but I believe now the AEM is the ticket. Plus, I don't need a Datalogit to tune- the AEM is ready to rock out of the box.

Also, most PFC-tuned single turbo FD's I've seen usually have some kind hole in their map, like they don't idle well, stumble at boost transition or tip-in, get horrid fuel mileage, the list goes on. AEM has more tables and algorithms to correct these issues.

Of course, the AEM is not perfect, as no EMS is. It has a MUCH smaller user base, so getting help will be more difficult. But honestly, the people who do use the AEM know more than average PFC user (no offense intended, just most AEM guys tune their own stuff), so getting help from these people isn't too difficult.

Also, a huge benefit is I can add AEM's 52mm digital Serial Datastream gauge to the system. It simply plugs into the EMS and then can stream up to 19 sensors to the single gauge. I can custom configure which sensors, values/limits for each sensors, audible warnings for each and any sensor (even when not live viewing the sensor, which is one at a time) and they can be smart warnings, i.e. warn if AFR leans to 13 or greater when boost is 4psi or greater. Plus, it records peaks and minimums of each sensor, again I don't have to be viewing the sensor to get the recordings. It's truly amazing.

I can also add up to 4 EGT sensor probes into the EMS that can make immediate changes to fuel or ignition maps. And of course I can also log these values. I can also add multiple IAT sensors, fuel pressure sensors, etc to alter fuel/ignition tables.

With the nitrous control tables, which I use for water/meth control, I can have it come on in certain gears, rpm, boost, etc. I can then lean out fuel maps and advance ignition maps to get the most of the water/meth advantages.

The best part is, since I don't need an FC Datalogit, I will actually save a few bucks buying new for new. So I'm pretty pumped!

Just thought I'd share, hopefully I can convert some other FD owners out there to step up to the AEM!!

[hankook]

very clean man niceee

[speedjunkie]

Sounds good! I might just have to get AEM as well. I'm going to look on ebay haha.

[iani1.1]

lol ebay

[RX-7 Chris]

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/i.html?_kw=rx-7&_kw=aem&_kw=ems

seems to run about $1300

[speedjunkie]

According to Dave, that's the list price that they are required to list, but you can get them much cheaper than that all day long. That's pretty much the only reason I'm even considering it since I already have a standalone.

[chickenwafer]

The cheapest advertised priced I've found is from Banzai for $1250 plus shipping:

http://banzai-racing.com/store/93-95_rx-7_aem_ems.html

But apparently AEM has strict advertising regulations on pricing, prohibiting vendors from advertising lower than MSRP that AEM sets. So you can try calling vendors and see if they will give you a lower price. It's not like they sell a lot of these anyways LOL, for some reason the AEM isn't popular with the FD, but for other platforms like Supras it's the go-to EMS.

I'll be watching EBay and 7Club for a used AEM, so don't get in a bidding war with me Eric! LOL I was mad I missed out on an AEM for $800 bucks (with a free tuning laptop!) on 7Club by a few hours.


Edit: Matt also came over last night with the AEM and we plugged it into my car. I made a map on my laptop at home and it fired the car up! No major glitches, other than a super-rich idle (11:1), and my car idles stoich with the factory ECU, so I know the AEM's idle map was far from dialed in. The biggest thing was my WBo2 wasn't wired into the AEM so it couldn't go closed-loop o2 feedback for idle.

I was even able to setup and test the 2step by setting the rev limit to 2000rpm and setting up the input to "Switch #4 ground on" (which is the factory clutch switch input into the EMS), and it worked! It was pretty cool.

[Chance]

I hated my aem setup compared to my new haltech


for the price, the haltech platinum sport is definitely better, but if you can find a used aem full setup for like 1k it would be worth it too

[speedjunkie]

The cheapest advertised priced I've found is from Banzai for $1250 plus shipping:

http://banzai-racing.com/store/93-95_rx-7_aem_ems.html

But apparently AEM has strict advertising regulations on pricing, prohibiting vendors from advertising lower than MSRP that AEM sets. So you can try calling vendors and see if they will give you a lower price. It's not like they sell a lot of these anyways LOL, for some reason the AEM isn't popular with the FD, but for other platforms like Supras it's the go-to EMS.

I'll be watching EBay and 7Club for a used AEM, so don't get in a bidding war with me Eric! LOL I was mad I missed out on an AEM for $800 bucks (with a free tuning laptop!) on 7Club by a few hours.


Edit: Matt also came over last night with the AEM and we plugged it into my car. I made a map on my laptop at home and it fired the car up! No major glitches, other than a super-rich idle (11:1), and my car idles stoich with the factory ECU, so I know the AEM's idle map was far from dialed in. The biggest thing was my WBo2 wasn't wired into the AEM so it couldn't go closed-loop o2 feedback for idle.

I was even able to setup and test the 2step by setting the rev limit to 2000rpm and setting up the input to "Switch #4 ground on" (which is the factory clutch switch input into the EMS), and it worked! It was pretty cool.

No worries Dave, I'm not even for sure yet if I'm going to do it, I was just looking to look. It's the AEM V2 correct? Although on ebay they only come up as AEM EMS.

11:1 is rich? LOL My car idles in the low 10s all day long, because of my injectors. And after I rewired my fuel pump (and not knowing my FPR was set to about 70psi) my idle and cruise AFRs were in the low 9s and drowning the engine.

I hated my aem setup compared to my new haltech


for the price, the haltech platinum sport is definitely better, but if you can find a used aem full setup for like 1k it would be worth it too

Is that Haltech plug and play? How much do they usually go for?

[chickenwafer]

I hated my aem setup compared to my new haltech


for the price, the haltech platinum sport is definitely better, but if you can find a used aem full setup for like 1k it would be worth it too

Why did you hate the AEM?

I've used Haltech's before, first time I ever "tuned" was when I helped a friend in his 550rwhp FC with an E8 (I know, old school)

I've heard good things about the Sport 1000 and 2000 series, but....

No worries Dave, I'm not even for sure yet if I'm going to do it, I was just looking to look. It's the AEM V2 correct? Although on ebay they only come up as AEM EMS.

11:1 is rich? LOL My car idles in the low 10s all day long, because of my injectors. And after I rewired my fuel pump (and not knowing my FPR was set to about 70psi) my idle and cruise AFRs were in the low 9s and drowning the engine.



Is that Haltech plug and play? How much do they usually go for?

No, they are not PnP. You need a "flying harness" and you have to wire it yourself. I think you can use some factory sensors, but for the most part you need to source GM sensors (or it's at least easier).

And the AEM EMS is the Series1, they haven't released a Series2 for the FD yet, and I seriously doubt they will because the Series1 never sold well. Really, you're not missing much, the Series2 only has these benefits:

-Smaller enclosure (the Series1 is actually quite huge [double the size of the factory ECU!], but it's mostly dead space, so if it really bothers you, you could easily re-case it...)

-USB connection vs old school serial connection on the S1. Again, not a big deal, you can use a serial-to-usb cable which is about $20 bucks or less

-More internal datalogging memory. S1 is 512mb and S2 is 1g. It's twice the size, but again not a big deal. With "smart" internal datalogging on the S1, I can record 19 sensors for only boosted driving conditions, which yields nearly 13 minutes of datalogging time, which is a crap ton for boost-only conditions. Plus, it will overwrite it's self on a loop. So I don't know about you, but if something goes wrong, I'll shut it down then and the problem will be in my log. I won't keep driving for 13 minutes and loose the log LOL

-Faster processor. This is the biggest difference, but not huge. The Series2 just benefits from modern CPUs and newer computer technology. The Series1 EMS came out in 2002, the Series2 in 2008, so it has 6 year newer technology. It's not that much quicker, however, to make it worth it

-Runs AEMTuner software as opposed to the AEMPro with the Series1. Again, the AEMTuner is newer technology, much more intuitive to use than AEMPro, and has much more features. But, for the most part, all tables that modify how the engine runs, are the same. There are some people attempting to hack putting AEMTuner on Series1 boxes, however, but I don't think it's worth bricking your $1200 ECU.

[speedjunkie]

Hmmm, quite a few things to think about. If I'm going to spend the money to get a new ECU I'd much rather spend it on the newest technology available that is easy to use, which as far as I'm concerned would be the Series 2 if they ever made it for the FD. And actually having it in a smaller case is pretty big to me because I'd like to keep it in the stock location and there is no way the Series 1 would fit. Much to think about...

[Chance]

They are plug and play if you order them that way, but like the way I did mine with the flying lead it looks better and simplifies everything. AEM is for people who have no ****ing clue what they are doing with a car but have enough money to go pay someone to spend hours and hours tuning the car for them. Basically, if you are lazy or stupid you should buy an AEM. Also, periodically you have to physically send your ecu in to get inspected and shit. I didn't have to do that because mine was a one off ecu, more or less an fd unit although you couldn't plug it into anything other than an FC


Trust me, I have talked to many tuners, builders, and tons of people who work for Haltech who know more about any of their own given systems than the AEM guys who actually designed the shit. Pound for pound, haltech is better on so many levels but the main part that makes it better than AEM is the support on them.


Also, my engine bay will always look better than anyone who has a stock harness, even "tucked" or modified.


I can modify my tune while I'm driving too, AEM doesn't allow that

[chickenwafer]

Hmmm, quite a few things to think about. If I'm going to spend the money to get a new ECU I'd much rather spend it on the newest technology available that is easy to use, which as far as I'm concerned would be the Series 2 if they ever made it for the FD. And actually having it in a smaller case is pretty big to me because I'd like to keep it in the stock location and there is no way the Series 1 would fit. Much to think about...

Well I highly doubt AEM will ever release the Series2 PnP for the FD. Just not happening. The Series1 WILL fit in the stock location, just takes some convincing of the stock kick panel

They are plug and play if you order them that way, but like the way I did mine with the flying lead it looks better and simplifies everything.

Well I'm not even sure where to start with this. But I can easily cut down and tuck my stock harness for the sensors and shit I'm not using. Not reason for me to go and wire in a completely new harness when I have a PnP option LOLZ

AEM is for people who have no ****ing clue what they are doing with a car but have enough money to go pay someone to spend hours and hours tuning the car for them. Basically, if you are lazy or stupid you should buy an AEM.

This is probably the funniest statement here. Why the hell do you say that? I'm tuning the car myself, I always tune my own stuff. The AEM has about literally 100x more options than the most popular FD standalone (PFC), but that makes it for stupid people?

Look, you CLEARLY have an alliance to Haltech or something, thats cool. But don't knock another EMS because you couldn't figure it out. I've seen plenty AEM EMS equipped-cars in my day and they drive beautifully, idle awesome, and have ZERO holes in their map. The operate like a stock ECU-equipped car. It must be a piece of shit EMS for Tony at UMS Tuning in Phoenix to exclusively recommend it

Also, periodically you have to physically send your ecu in to get inspected and shit. I didn't have to do that because mine was a one off ecu, more or less an fd unit although you couldn't plug it into anything other than an FC

I don't know where you're getting your info from, but I've never heard of "having" to send in the ECU. They release firmware updates to UPDATE the ECU, but you know you can just download the batch file and do that yourself with your laptop, right? Opps!

Trust me, I have talked to many tuners, builders, and tons of people who work for Haltech who know more about any of their own given systems than the AEM guys who actually designed the shit. Pound for pound, haltech is better on so many levels but the main part that makes it better than AEM is the support on them.

I'm not arguing which is better, again I'm NOT making my harness (no need to, it would be pointless) and switching out all my sensors to run a Haltech. I've actually talked to a few AEM engineers in person, and they sure would make your or I look like a retard.

I've also called AEM and emailed them, and they are always helpful. They're not in the business of handing out free tunes (who is?) but if you have a hardware issue or question, they usually can answer it.

Also, my engine bay will always look better than anyone who has a stock harness, even "tucked" or modified.

Cool. You also spent more time and money on that. My harness was free (came with the car LOL) and I will clip off the sensor I don't need and gut the harness, re-wrap it in self-fusing heat-resistant electrical tape and tuck it where I can. Not sure how making my own harness would make it look any better? All that would be different is the wire....

I can modify my tune while I'm driving too, AEM doesn't allow that

Again, you CAN make live tuning changes with the AEM. Man, you have a serious misconception of the AEM. You NEVER have to send it back to AEM unless you have a physical problem with it. And you can make live tuning changes! No wonder you didn't like it, you didn't know what it could do!

And before you call BS on the live tuning, I DID IT on Monday night when Matt brought his over. The car was idling high (2k rpm) and rich so I went into the fuel map and started pulling fuel. The AFRs slowly dropped all the way to 15 where it started to stumble, so I added more and it fattened up.

I also dropped the idle speed instantly by just clicking in a box. That qualifies as live tuning.

I'm not an AEM Fanboi by any means, but I'm also not comparing it to the Haltech (which doesn't have a PnP option for the FD, so USELESS for me, this is a STREET CAR), I'm comparing it to the 11 year old staple of FD standalones, the ECU that was never designed to be tuned with a laptop, the PowerFC.

Now, if you truly aren't interested in tuning and just want something that plugs into your FD and "goes", get a PFC. It even has a fancy Commander that lets you look at tables you can't understand because you're viewing them on a Gameboy-sized screen so you can't see the whole map and the axis' are labeled in arbitrary complicated metrics like "N10" and "P7".

I'm not saying the PFC is bad, I'm just saying the AEM is better