Hi i just wanted to no your opinion on these 2 ecu's, I have a 2004 sti litchfield type 25 and im looking to upgrade my E.C.U, i was looking at buying at simtec but now iv heard about a GEMS ECU, I dont no wich one to go for now please help! Does anyone run a gems ECU or know about them on here! Any help would be great many thanks!

 

Run the standard one, its more than capable

Tony

 

GEMS have cold-start issues and require a lot of mapping to get around that. You should be fine on the standard one, unless you're going for a massive spec.

 

I did like the idea of having anti lag, Im lookin at running 450 bhp scooby clinic advised me to replace the ecu as they said it would run a lot better, Is this true?

 

ecutek are now doing anti lag in their programs

 

wot bhp are they capable of running?

 

Well your engine afaik still has the standard internals so 450bhp will mean a rebuild for you, the ecu can do 450bhp, dont go with all the "fancy" bits, proper anti lag will eat your turbo for breakfast, plus its more of a gimick than anything on the road.

Tony

 

solaris or autronic

 

hello fella
dont know about the gems ecu but have heard good reports on motec standalone units r good may be aquamist unit aswell p.s ( lichey) you will probably nee something pretty tough to keep up with big bro as he tends to get well lubricated on work nightes out lol !

 

Adam at scooby clinic said mine already has forged pistons, Appatrantly he spoke to ian litchfield who can get all the data up on the car, So all i need is ECU, front mount, bigger turbo, oil cooler, injectors, inlet hose, and a fuel regualtor, Im currantly running 350 bhp at the moment but want to get it up to 450! Its a lot of money to hand over in one lump so i want to do it in stages! I just though starting off with the ecu would be the best idea, As its also cheaper to remap an aftermarket ecu, I just want to make sure i get the right ecu from the start,

I have been told to get a solaris by scoobyclinic but they seem quite expensive also theres a simtek and a GEMS ecu up for sale secondhand wich sound pretty good

 

I really dont think the ECU would be my priority at this stage, especially as ECUtek is fine as is & has launch control; in gear mapping; etc

 

What do you reccomend ricky?

 

I would get all the bits you need, get them on the car, get it mapped with ecutek & then decide wether you actually need to change to e.g Solaris etc. If yours is a Licho Type 25, then Ecutek licence fee is already paid & all you have to pay for us mapping time from scratch. Save your cash & spend it on something else rather than another ECU IMO

 

yes it is a litchfield, That does make sense thanks for your input, Iv heard that ecutec also do anti lag now, do you no if this is correct?

 

You really really dont need anti lag, if you want proper anti lag, be prepared to pay 1k every 1k miles for a new turbo, your twin scroll setup is far better at reducing lag than a single scroll set up is, if you just want pops n bangs, then that bit of overfuelling can be mapped in

Tony

 

ALS and launch control is possible with OS mapping for your model year - not sure on Ecutek - sure JGM will know.

Std ecu is the best for what you need - aftermarket ecu's are great but you would be unlikely to gain any power and more often than not lose some nice bits like good cold starting, closed loop idling and knock control. (although Simtek is releasing these soon) I run Solaris and love it and it suits my needs now but I ran the std ECU to 545bhp with no real issues.

 

tony burns is singing from the same book as me fair play to him

 

Yea thanks guys, iv decided im gona stick with the standard ecu! Dymamix what mods have you done?

 

lictchfield t25 vs classic sti acl bearings kittens out marle oversized pistons hks filter fcd + fse yellow injectors lighter car 60x40 split diff what you putting your cash on (only entry level stuff ) sound your opinion tony boy

 

Always good to upgrade those pistons dont forget the rods, classic ones suck and upgrade the crank to the twin scroll nitrided/x drilled unit, better than the standard one as it gets the oil to the bearings better

Tony

 

have to say i disagree with on thiis one duncan, dumping the maf is reason alone to get rid once your reaching 400's. yes the standard ecu is capable of running that high pwer, but doesn't mean its the best option. i run autronics on my calssic but had it been around at the time i would have gone down the solaris route. by far the best ecu on the market at the min features, spec, price wise. i havn't as much power as your talking about going but still crapped out two mafs during mapping before giving up and going mafless. just because you don't get any out right power gains, which i think you'll find you prob would get a bit of improvment, doesn't mean its not worth doing. power is no good without control

as far as launch control and antilag, its just pub talk. Launch control canbe out launch by a driver with enough practise, plus hard launches arn;t exactly car friendly.

Anti lag as alot of folks claim to have is extreamly mild indeed in 99% of cases, there's a reason why they rebuild wrc cars/turnos after each event, and they run full blown antilag. im nto exactly sure how the open mapping accomplishes this, but i know theres a product i've seen advertised on here that just kills the spark, make no changes to the ignition timing or fueling, that is seriously bad for your engine.

 

Back to the original question. The Simtek is streets ahead of the GEMS. The Simtek was developed by Andrew Leech and Steve Simpson, hence Simtek. Steve was formerly with Gems and a top Gems mapper and the Simtek was a further development and refinement from there.
Software is very good and intuitive so numpties like me can find their way around and the system represents real value for money from a capable and sophisticated ECU compared to what was availble just three years ago. The Solaris is also good but probably priced at a level above the Simtek.

 

i ve had 400 bhp ish with a standard bugeye ecu then went to a simtek along with a new engine running under 500 bhp (at a guess)

its hard to say what difference the ecu made but when i fit the fmic to my original engine I found the car wasn't so refined and could be a bit jerky comming on and off the throttle my new engine with simtek run's like stock - Im not sure if it warrants the cost of a new ECU but in fairness to the clinic if I was doing the work for someone I would recommend an ECU swap

edited to say , everyone keeps saying how bad anti lag is - I have it and when im in the mood nothing can touch a blast round the twisties with the anti lag swicthed on

Rich

 

Cheers guys your makin me change my mind again lol! I have no problem with the clinic mate i think there great! I always put my car in there, even tho its a 8 hour round trip! I no there not the cheapest but they do a quality job, So you pay for what you get! I think i got save 3k up and then make my final decision and do some homework inbetween then! Thanks for all your help guys

 

Nothing major prity standard really

 

 

My spec is there for a reason (ie Time Attack) but it depends on what your power targets are as to what you need. If it wasn't for competing in TA I would have stuck at around the 400 mark. It makes for a much nicer road car IMO.

Fit a good turbo and follow good advice on supporting mods and it should be straightforward to reach that level reliably on a newage on the std ecu.

Tidgy - the classic MAFs are awful in comparison to the newage. Still, I can map the newage OE ecu to run Speed Density (ie mafless) if people are wanting to go down that route. Lots of other goodies aswell in that

 

so how does it pull the info?

 

It is MAP based.

 

whats the difference between this and a classic? would nmake sence to do it, or do you have to simulate the results rather than a proper senced parameter (if that makes sence)