G
GTI-R Kid
Guest
With the return of our car drawing closer 
pray: ), we've been considering some form of fuel controller so the car can safely run on the crap 95 octane that is so common over here. Would also be able to knock back the rich running a tad so ease the fuel bills, while still having the engine in a safe condition.
With this in mind I asked our engine builder about the fitting of a Unichip, thinking this was probably one of the cheapest and easiest options available to us. I've seen that quite a few of the members have/had these fitted for up to, and over, 350bhp. With our target being a modest 300bhp it sounded like it might fit the bill ..... until I found out the cost! I was told that to have a Unichip supplied and fitted (don't know if it included mapping, but I suspect not) I would be looking at about €700. :doh: He told me that for that sort of money I'd be much better off getting an Apexi Power FC for the car, as it would only be about another €300 on top and would be a much better investment for future tuning.
Let me point out at this stage that the builder doesn't actually supply Power FC's, being a Dastek, Motec etc agent, so I knew that his advice wasn't based on lining his pockets a little more. He couldn't even point me to a dealer, instead suggesting that I try my many sources on the net and around the globe.
Now considering that we're only aiming for 300bhp, a power output that even a standard car should easily manage with a few choice modifications, would a Power FC be overkill in the extreme? Granted we might some day down the line want more power, and having an FC fitted would mean we could easily add a bigger AFM, injectors, cams, turbo etc, but since neither of us has driven a car with more than 200bhp in about 4 years :faint: , we feel that 300bhp should be plenty to keep us happy for some time to come.
I've been browsing through previous threads, reading up on the Power FC, GReddy eManage and Ultimate, Unichip, Apexi S-AFC etc, and many of the people asking about these units are aiming for much higher power than ourselves. Which is why I'm now wondering what route would make most sense for us. Sure, I love the idea of being able to say I have a stand-alone ECU down the pub, but do I really have any need for it at all? I'm finding it difficult to work out if its really worth the expense for what we want. Would a fuel controller on its own be a good idea? Do I even need to get a controller for the fuel with such a modest output?
The spec is lining up something like whats below, so would a fuel controller be a good idea? What about an FPR? Is an FC just too much or would it be justified in how well the car would run after? Please help people, as I'm really unsure what route to take now to achieve what we want.
Rebuilt engine
87mm JE pistons
1.2mm Cometic head gasket
ARP rod bolts
ARP head studs
Lightened, balanced & knife-edged crank
Lightened & balanced flywheel
Head skimmed but no porting or polishing
All gaskets and necessary bearings replaced
RPS Max Street clutch
Standard T28 turbo
VTA dump-valve
BIIIIIG K&N filter mounted on more direct piping and behind passenger headlamp
Hybrid style front mount intercooler
Mocal 16 row oil cooler front mounted
Walbro 255l/hr fuel pump
Oil catch can
Denso 1 grade colder plugs
New Nissan HT leads, rotor arm and dizzy cap
Polished inlet manifold, plenum chamber, exhaust manifold & dump-pipe
Manifold, dump-pipe and entire Mongoose exhaust heat wrapped
Blitz SBC-iD III boost controller
We're thinking of running max boost of 1.2-1.3 bar and hoping that this will help us to break the 300bhp barrier - anyone think this is realistic? Engine should be ready to be re-assembled in a few weeks, so really need to get everything together now so it'll be up and running as soon as possible.:help:
pray: ), we've been considering some form of fuel controller so the car can safely run on the crap 95 octane that is so common over here. Would also be able to knock back the rich running a tad so ease the fuel bills, while still having the engine in a safe condition.With this in mind I asked our engine builder about the fitting of a Unichip, thinking this was probably one of the cheapest and easiest options available to us. I've seen that quite a few of the members have/had these fitted for up to, and over, 350bhp. With our target being a modest 300bhp it sounded like it might fit the bill ..... until I found out the cost! I was told that to have a Unichip supplied and fitted (don't know if it included mapping, but I suspect not) I would be looking at about €700. :doh: He told me that for that sort of money I'd be much better off getting an Apexi Power FC for the car, as it would only be about another €300 on top and would be a much better investment for future tuning.
Let me point out at this stage that the builder doesn't actually supply Power FC's, being a Dastek, Motec etc agent, so I knew that his advice wasn't based on lining his pockets a little more. He couldn't even point me to a dealer, instead suggesting that I try my many sources on the net and around the globe.
Now considering that we're only aiming for 300bhp, a power output that even a standard car should easily manage with a few choice modifications, would a Power FC be overkill in the extreme? Granted we might some day down the line want more power, and having an FC fitted would mean we could easily add a bigger AFM, injectors, cams, turbo etc, but since neither of us has driven a car with more than 200bhp in about 4 years :faint: , we feel that 300bhp should be plenty to keep us happy for some time to come.
I've been browsing through previous threads, reading up on the Power FC, GReddy eManage and Ultimate, Unichip, Apexi S-AFC etc, and many of the people asking about these units are aiming for much higher power than ourselves. Which is why I'm now wondering what route would make most sense for us. Sure, I love the idea of being able to say I have a stand-alone ECU down the pub, but do I really have any need for it at all? I'm finding it difficult to work out if its really worth the expense for what we want. Would a fuel controller on its own be a good idea? Do I even need to get a controller for the fuel with such a modest output?
The spec is lining up something like whats below, so would a fuel controller be a good idea? What about an FPR? Is an FC just too much or would it be justified in how well the car would run after? Please help people, as I'm really unsure what route to take now to achieve what we want.
Rebuilt engine
87mm JE pistons
1.2mm Cometic head gasket
ARP rod bolts
ARP head studs
Lightened, balanced & knife-edged crank
Lightened & balanced flywheel
Head skimmed but no porting or polishing
All gaskets and necessary bearings replaced
RPS Max Street clutch
Standard T28 turbo
VTA dump-valve
BIIIIIG K&N filter mounted on more direct piping and behind passenger headlamp
Hybrid style front mount intercooler
Mocal 16 row oil cooler front mounted
Walbro 255l/hr fuel pump
Oil catch can
Denso 1 grade colder plugs
New Nissan HT leads, rotor arm and dizzy cap
Polished inlet manifold, plenum chamber, exhaust manifold & dump-pipe
Manifold, dump-pipe and entire Mongoose exhaust heat wrapped
Blitz SBC-iD III boost controller
We're thinking of running max boost of 1.2-1.3 bar and hoping that this will help us to break the 300bhp barrier - anyone think this is realistic? Engine should be ready to be re-assembled in a few weeks, so really need to get everything together now so it'll be up and running as soon as possible.:help:
