Emerald ECU experience - after thoughts
Discussion
I've just got my car back from Joolz at Kits and Classics. He fitted and mapped the Emerald ECU and I wanted to share the experience.
Previously the car ('98 500 with a Taraka upgrade from TVR Power (5 years ago) and 80 000 on the clock) was running the standard Lucas kit.
Its driving manners were 'agricultural' and while not overly shunty at low speeds the engine would often struggle to idle. It would bang like a shotgun and spit flames on the over-run, which my son thought was very cool. But not so much the neighbours.
Since the Taraka build I'd always thought there was more available from the engine if it was controlled better. Hence, I decided to go for the Emerald ECU. I'd thought about some of the other after-market ECUs; OMEX (too expensive), Megaquirt (too DIY for a numpty like me), Canems (came close), but settled on the Emerald, as it seemed to offer a lot of features for the money.
After chatting with Joolz over the phone it was booked in for a couple of weeks early June.
When I dropped off the car, Joolz was keen to get it on his rolling road to see what he was working with. He is a very approachable chap and clearly knows his stuff, but was very good at explaining things to me in a language I could understand. I left him to it and he was good enough to drop me at the station. By the time I'd got home he had sent me a print-out of the 'before' rolling road results - 308.5 BHP at the fly. Joolz said it was a strong result, but said the mixture was 'all over the place'. I was more than happy with that given its age. But I knew Dom's Taraka engine was a good one.
Joolz sent me daily progress reports, which I looked forward to getting. He clearly works hard and I was impressed with the quick progress. It was less than a week before he sent me a report to say he'd fitted the hardware and the engine had started first try. The next day I got a rolling road report - 322.9 BHP at the fly. Not a bad result at all.
The following week Joolz worked on the maps. I'd opted for the three maps and we'd decided on one map for the best driving (best manners, best throttle response), one map for full noise, pops and bangs on the over-run, and one map for low emissions (MOT), which also serves as the best fuel economy for long motorway driving.
It was ready to pick up after two weeks and Joolz hadn't reported any problems other than the throttle cable needing some lubrication.
Again, Joolz was good enough to pick me up from the station and we spent an hour talking things over, while he welded a wideband lambda boss on another Y-piece I'd brought with me (hush, hush: the one on the car is catless and the spare is catted for MOT time).
The installation is very neat and Joolz has fitted (God knows how) the coil packs behind the engine. The engine bay certainly looks less cluttered without the distributor and AFM. In the car the only evidence of change is a nice aluminium three position map switch on the steering wheel column.
Then I got to drive the 140 miles home. First impressions: by God is it quick now!! The power is instant, as soon as the pedal is touched. Her manners are that of any other daily driver, no shunts, misfires etc. In the 'noisy' map she makes some lovely crackles and pops. And I know the engine is running as smoothly and efficiently as it can.
So to sum up; the experience with Joolz was first class. He and his work have been excellent from start to finish. The Emerald is proving to be a very good upgrade and has unleased the engine's full potential. Having the 3 maps is good, although I will probably keep it in noisy mode most of time.
The only drawback - if it is a drawback, is that previously the engine had its own character and when driving it it had to be treated a certain way to give you its best. It was something I'd learned over miles and miles of driving. And with its flame-spitting over-run was full of noise. Now some of that character has gone. Its like a wild horse that's been broken in.
I hope this serves as useful to others who are perhaps thinking of a similar move.
Previously the car ('98 500 with a Taraka upgrade from TVR Power (5 years ago) and 80 000 on the clock) was running the standard Lucas kit.
Its driving manners were 'agricultural' and while not overly shunty at low speeds the engine would often struggle to idle. It would bang like a shotgun and spit flames on the over-run, which my son thought was very cool. But not so much the neighbours.
Since the Taraka build I'd always thought there was more available from the engine if it was controlled better. Hence, I decided to go for the Emerald ECU. I'd thought about some of the other after-market ECUs; OMEX (too expensive), Megaquirt (too DIY for a numpty like me), Canems (came close), but settled on the Emerald, as it seemed to offer a lot of features for the money.
After chatting with Joolz over the phone it was booked in for a couple of weeks early June.
When I dropped off the car, Joolz was keen to get it on his rolling road to see what he was working with. He is a very approachable chap and clearly knows his stuff, but was very good at explaining things to me in a language I could understand. I left him to it and he was good enough to drop me at the station. By the time I'd got home he had sent me a print-out of the 'before' rolling road results - 308.5 BHP at the fly. Joolz said it was a strong result, but said the mixture was 'all over the place'. I was more than happy with that given its age. But I knew Dom's Taraka engine was a good one.
Joolz sent me daily progress reports, which I looked forward to getting. He clearly works hard and I was impressed with the quick progress. It was less than a week before he sent me a report to say he'd fitted the hardware and the engine had started first try. The next day I got a rolling road report - 322.9 BHP at the fly. Not a bad result at all.
The following week Joolz worked on the maps. I'd opted for the three maps and we'd decided on one map for the best driving (best manners, best throttle response), one map for full noise, pops and bangs on the over-run, and one map for low emissions (MOT), which also serves as the best fuel economy for long motorway driving.
It was ready to pick up after two weeks and Joolz hadn't reported any problems other than the throttle cable needing some lubrication.
Again, Joolz was good enough to pick me up from the station and we spent an hour talking things over, while he welded a wideband lambda boss on another Y-piece I'd brought with me (hush, hush: the one on the car is catless and the spare is catted for MOT time).
The installation is very neat and Joolz has fitted (God knows how) the coil packs behind the engine. The engine bay certainly looks less cluttered without the distributor and AFM. In the car the only evidence of change is a nice aluminium three position map switch on the steering wheel column.
Then I got to drive the 140 miles home. First impressions: by God is it quick now!! The power is instant, as soon as the pedal is touched. Her manners are that of any other daily driver, no shunts, misfires etc. In the 'noisy' map she makes some lovely crackles and pops. And I know the engine is running as smoothly and efficiently as it can.
So to sum up; the experience with Joolz was first class. He and his work have been excellent from start to finish. The Emerald is proving to be a very good upgrade and has unleased the engine's full potential. Having the 3 maps is good, although I will probably keep it in noisy mode most of time.
The only drawback - if it is a drawback, is that previously the engine had its own character and when driving it it had to be treated a certain way to give you its best. It was something I'd learned over miles and miles of driving. And with its flame-spitting over-run was full of noise. Now some of that character has gone. Its like a wild horse that's been broken in.
I hope this serves as useful to others who are perhaps thinking of a similar move.
Classic Chim said:
I don’t get this eco map thing, surely its mapped to be economical on light throttle on any map. Good for mot though if your de cat.
No, on part throttle it works at 14.7 lambda target usually.. I am guessing eco map runs slightly lean using a leaner lambda target.Hi Alun , these old combustion chambers prefer running richer and retarded, but whilst that's good for smoothness it's not so good for efficiency/economy, so with multiple maps you have the option of smooth and frugal.
However smooth and frugal your car is at the moment it could potentially be even better with switchable maps.
However smooth and frugal your car is at the moment it could potentially be even better with switchable maps.
spitfire4v8 said:
Hi Alun , these old combustion chambers prefer running richer and retarded, but whilst that's good for smoothness it's not so good for efficiency/economy, so with multiple maps you have the option of smooth and frugal.
However smooth and frugal your car is at the moment it could potentially be even better with switchable maps.
If I can manage 30mpg 350 ft torque and 300bhp out of a standard 450 with zero shunting down to 800 revs with transmission engaged I’m not doing to badly However smooth and frugal your car is at the moment it could potentially be even better with switchable maps.
Did I ever mention my drag times on this one map
cp81 said:
With the ECU did you have any other options as well as the three maps? For instance changing injectors
Joolz can do anything you like I reckon, he’s one of if not the best on many levels and i’m Just ribbon him until he takes a drum lesson of me , he’s probably better at drums than me too,,, 
cp81 said:
With the ECU did you have any other options as well as the three maps? For instance changing injectors
He fitted me a bigger set of injectors as part of my installation. He is a fully skilled TVR engineer, he just prefers to specialise in the ECU area these days, but is fully aware what is happening with the rest of the car, hence his throttle cable comment was expert opinion, not just "hmmm, it feels a bit sticky".
By the way, the installation doesn't take two weeks, but he has the car for two weeks so that he can set the cold start up correctly. As he explained it to me, you only really get one shot per day at cold start. Logical really.
cp81 said:
With the ECU did you have any other options as well as the three maps? For instance changing injectors
I also had the option, with a boost controller fitted, of having the three maps set up slightly different to the OP:1. A low boost map (2.5 psi of turbo) which produced 325 bhp. The car drives just like a standard 500 on this map, but with a little more power, 395 ft lbs of torque, and much much smoother than on the 14 CUX.
2. Same map as 1, but with pops and bangs on the over-run, for TVR club runs and when my inner 19 year old wants some amusement driving around town.
3. A high boost map (7.5 psi of turbo in my case) for track days with lots of straights, producing 395 bhp and 525 ft lbs of torque. The turbo does produce humongous amounts of torque, but in a narrower band than the normally aspirated engine.
I'd already had bigger injectors fitted post-taraka, as they aren't part of the 'standard' upgrade. Neither was a new chip but Dom gave me a 'best guess' mapped chip. This gave me a BHP increase from 282 to 300. Going full decat gave me a bit extra but wasn't planned - the old Cat fell apart and Dom cut it out. But the car felt so much better without it and sounded awesome so I left it (I found a catted y-piece that I put in for MOT time).
Now with the Emerald it feels like the engine runs so smoothly and is able to give what it can. Next step : turbo?!!
Now with the Emerald it feels like the engine runs so smoothly and is able to give what it can. Next step : turbo?!!
Edited by The Red Baron on Sunday 30th June 20:06
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