Stand Alone Management systems, Help???

[puntogtkid]

right people i read in a thread standalone management system gets a lot better results than i seb chip, now i have no idea where to get the system or what it does? i bet its gonna be expensive though
Someone please give me some general knowledge into this please
Thanks.

[OwenK]

I'll relay what I know on the subject which admittedly isnt much...

AFAIK, seb chips are piggybacked onto the original engine management, and change the various timings and settings a bit, but doesnt COMPLETELY change the mapping... so while they still do the job and are EXTREMELY good value for money, it's not technically the "best" possible solution to the problem.

Getting a standalone engine management system (is megasquirt one?) means you can hook right into the engine and muck about with settings to your hearts desire. This means essentially that you can do with the engine what you want - you can optimise it for absolute best possible fuel economy, or max possible power production all through the rev range (at the expense of your MPG rating..!), or leave it somewhere in the middle, jack of all trades, which is sorta how it comes from the factory. Or you can go for any point in between.

However its not something to be taken on lightly, you will either need to know EXACTLY what you're doing or be willing to pay someone who does - its not just a button you can press called "make car fast". If you try it yourself and muck up some of the numbers you could do some SERIOUS damage to the engine.

[GTBen]

what modifications do you hav? Dnt expect much change from around £1600.

[Mr Hans]

Ultimately better yes, but about 5x10 more expensive. And on standard turbo won't see more than a few hp. Seb replaces eprom in engine. Its not a piggyback device.

[davethetrike]

right people i read in a thread standalone management system gets a lot better results than i seb chip, now i have no idea where to get the system or what it does? i bet its gonna be expensive though
Someone please give me some general knowledge into this please
Thanks.

General knowledge on stand alone, my experience.

Megasquirt is a standalone system and can be fitted by someone who is willing to work at it. I stress work. I managed to get mine working successfully, cost around £500 without dyno time. You can set it up on the road and many people have. I ultimately didn't use it because I couldn't find a tuning shop that would sort bugs and rolling road it - tuning shops don't want to work with it because they don't have the knowledge base and commercial backup. Lots of very good online support.

Dta
I'm currently using DTA because I decided to spend out on a system I was secure with. Why DTA? Its simple. Thats the system my tuner recommends and works with and from what I've observed and experienced you buy your stand alone according to the skills available locally to fit it. If your tuning shop uses KMS then thats what you are best getting. If your local rr is happy with megasquirt then use it. DTA cost me around £1200 including a complete new engine loom.

The major bonus of a standalone is adaptabilty. My car will now take any engine and be mapped to that engine in an hour maybe two. Also, mapping is no longer an issue. If I take mine in for some work - new injectors next week - then a remap on an rr will cost me £100ish perhaps less.

The major disadvantages are cost, and you are very reliant on the garage that set your system up.

If you are only going as far as a seb xx Then why go stand alone? If you are going to get involved in other stuff then you need standalone.

[minifreak]

Dave what DTA are you using?

cheers

Greg

[davethetrike]

Dave what DTA are you using?

cheers

Greg

I'll add that the £1200 was fitted.

Hi Greg

The S40 PRO which is the basic one of the line up.

Just checked my invoices
DTA £550
Loom from DTA £497
Rest is fitting and initial map.
A further cost was the 3 bar sensor £97.....

[minifreak]

is that classed as better than pro 8 as its newer?

[Mr Hans]

range was replaced. s40 50 60 70 80

[davethetrike]

is that classed as better than pro 8 as its newer?

I really don't know
There's a comparison guide here

http://www.dtafast.co.uk/compare_ECUs.htm

The only thing I could possibly do with from the Pro60 is traction control. If I had that though I would probably screw up more drivshafts....