After market ECU
Discussion
Hi I am looking for guidance on after market ECUs. I want to fit a LS3 engine into my Defender. I know some of you will probably think this is not a very good idea but I want to do it anyway. I will buy a new crate engine and have found someone who will sort out a suitable gearbox so the hardware is no big problem.
The electronics are another story though . I have been told that various after market ECUs are available but what to get? In an ideal world it would work on 24 volts (this is not essential but would be nice) and with three different maps (one for MOT time one for "economy" and one for full house factory magnum we are all going to die setting).
As a bit of back ground I have been mucking around with Land Rovers for ten or so years and have rebuilt / restored a few but only to factory standard so this modifying stuff is all a bit new for me and i have never been very good with electrics. The victim has had its brakes upgraded to 15 inch discs with 6 pot calipers on the front and the rears are the new discs and calipers from the front. The suspension has been lowered two inches and stiff shock absorbers fitted.
If you have any ideas I would be grateful and if you could please post links rather than just names (that i probabley have not heard of) I would be even more grateful.
Thanks Rob
PS Could I please have a bit of a break from the PH speling and. grammer police as i have a touch of dyslexia. Spell check is a wonderful thing.
The electronics are another story though . I have been told that various after market ECUs are available but what to get? In an ideal world it would work on 24 volts (this is not essential but would be nice) and with three different maps (one for MOT time one for "economy" and one for full house factory magnum we are all going to die setting).
As a bit of back ground I have been mucking around with Land Rovers for ten or so years and have rebuilt / restored a few but only to factory standard so this modifying stuff is all a bit new for me and i have never been very good with electrics. The victim has had its brakes upgraded to 15 inch discs with 6 pot calipers on the front and the rears are the new discs and calipers from the front. The suspension has been lowered two inches and stiff shock absorbers fitted.
If you have any ideas I would be grateful and if you could please post links rather than just names (that i probabley have not heard of) I would be even more grateful.
Thanks Rob
PS Could I please have a bit of a break from the PH speling and. grammer police as i have a touch of dyslexia. Spell check is a wonderful thing.
bertelli_1 said:
Probably the easiest option is to use the factory ecu - it is fully mappable & there are various aftermarket wiring looms available in the states. Start by having a look at hptuners.com & efilive. There are a few people in the uk familiar with the software used on these ecu's.
This the std ECU is a good bit of kit & using EFiLive (see Ringram on here) can do a lot more than an aftermarket ecu, if it as to be an aftermarket ecu Emerald3d is worth a look I've wired a number of these to LS conversionsSurely a defender doesnt operate on 24v ? I doubt any aftermarket ecu will. Not to mention injectors, coils, etc etc.
But it seems you are starting from a totally blank canvas ? ie no engine, no wiring, no ecu ?
Does the crate engine come with any of this stuff ?
More important than the actual ecu, is who will be installing and tuning it ?
Whereabouts in the UK are you ?
From a cost point of view if you have no ecu or wiring at present, then an aftermarket will make more sense than the OEM, and the install should be easier.
Give Craig a shout at Dynotorque, he's done quite a few conversions using Emerald ecu's and has good support from Dave Walker at Emerald.
I could rhyme off a load of potential ecu's you could use each with good points and bad. But when there is access to people with known and fully working installs who can replicate them and offer support, then it makes a lot of sense to follow that route.
I'm assuming it's just a normally aspirated and hence quite a simple installation too, so no real need for any fancy ecu's
But it seems you are starting from a totally blank canvas ? ie no engine, no wiring, no ecu ?
Does the crate engine come with any of this stuff ?
More important than the actual ecu, is who will be installing and tuning it ?
Whereabouts in the UK are you ?
From a cost point of view if you have no ecu or wiring at present, then an aftermarket will make more sense than the OEM, and the install should be easier.
Give Craig a shout at Dynotorque, he's done quite a few conversions using Emerald ecu's and has good support from Dave Walker at Emerald.
I could rhyme off a load of potential ecu's you could use each with good points and bad. But when there is access to people with known and fully working installs who can replicate them and offer support, then it makes a lot of sense to follow that route.
I'm assuming it's just a normally aspirated and hence quite a simple installation too, so no real need for any fancy ecu's
I had a similar dilemma when I fitted an LS to a 4x4.
I was persuaded to go with GM ECU and a loom from the States and after four problem free years would say this was good advice.
here would be a good place to start looking.
Connect up about five wires and it runs.
I would suggest that the engine will run fine without being remapped, The GM ECU will adjust itself to your air intake and exhaust. One map will suffice, use the pedal on the right to change between gentle cruising and breaking everything in the drivetrain.
I was persuaded to go with GM ECU and a loom from the States and after four problem free years would say this was good advice.
here would be a good place to start looking.
Connect up about five wires and it runs.
I would suggest that the engine will run fine without being remapped, The GM ECU will adjust itself to your air intake and exhaust. One map will suffice, use the pedal on the right to change between gentle cruising and breaking everything in the drivetrain.
The above can make sense if you already have an ecu and all of the parts to make the engine run as per OEM spec.
But when starting from nothing, with many parts missing. An aftermarket ecu sourced and installed locally is beginning to sound the more sensible option.
Cost wise the two will be similar. But you're talking $750 for the wiring harness alone.
Then the original ecu will have immobilisers and other features than need reworked before you could use it here. He would also need to buy an ecu. So there is extra cost before he even gets started.
But both are very viable options The OEM ecu is very capable, but any reprogamming will require the purchase of kit to allow it, thats more cost.
An aftermarket is designed for that from the outset and there are more people in the UK capable of working with aftermarket ecus.
There are only a very small few who can look at the OEM ecu.
But when starting from nothing, with many parts missing. An aftermarket ecu sourced and installed locally is beginning to sound the more sensible option.
Cost wise the two will be similar. But you're talking $750 for the wiring harness alone.
Then the original ecu will have immobilisers and other features than need reworked before you could use it here. He would also need to buy an ecu. So there is extra cost before he even gets started.
But both are very viable options The OEM ecu is very capable, but any reprogamming will require the purchase of kit to allow it, thats more cost.
An aftermarket is designed for that from the outset and there are more people in the UK capable of working with aftermarket ecus.
There are only a very small few who can look at the OEM ecu.
bikealarmblair said:
I think your prices are a little out Steve an aftermarket loom & GM PCM can be had for less than you suggest the loom will cost
Prices are based on the link someone else posted above.Graham said:
gmpartsworld in cannock do a new factory loom, ecu and throttle pedal( fly by wire) for around the 700 quid mark, much cheaper than an aftermarket setup
And as I said. If the user intends to go no further, and wishes to install as OEM and stop there, then that can make sense.And you state an OEM loom. That isnt the same as a DIY ready to install loom like the Speartech one above ?
Or is the loom PWP sell a ready to install package clearly labelled for aftermarket fitment ?
And on their website these components are £780, and all the OEM components must be used.
Which can involve a little more installation work, but can also mean a very nicely running totally standard engine straight away.
Tuning or going further will be more expensive though
Be wary of the PWP aftermarket loom as it may not work with earlier engines. There was a changeover point where the throttle body changes and the later one has a different gear ratio inside. The result is the throttle pedal and TB are not compatible and the ECU goes into limp.
Would be worth asking PWP before buying.
Also I believe the advertised price of the loom/ecu is when bought with a crate engine.
Steve
Would be worth asking PWP before buying.
Also I believe the advertised price of the loom/ecu is when bought with a crate engine.
Steve
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