Basically stock car (Perrin MBC, Blitz DTTII, Intercooler screen). Planning on Buschur TB exh, UICP w/ 1g BoV, lighter battery, AMS Intake and some type of management in the next 6 months.

Street car, daily driver...I haven't done any tuning before (used to own a 97 talon but just dinked around with it, nothing serious)...My ultimate goal is somewhere btwn 325 - 350 whp with my evo.

Which of these controllers do you suggest and why (SAFCII/Emanage/ECU+)?

I'd like to spend under $500, although I'm open to hearing why I should save my money for a UTEC or AEM EMS...

 

The SAFC-II with the Buschur tuning setting is a great bang for the buck, and Machevo.com tested it for something like 20-30hp (?) It definitely passed the butt-dyno, too. I'll be dynoing soon to give ya some real numbers, but it's great.

Anyone who gets in the car is like holy crap, what is that, i like that

 

yeah i'm leaning towards the SAFCII at this point...would like to hear from some other people that have used the Emanage, ECU+, etc tho before I take the plunge...

Thanks for the input Matt, would love to see your dyno #'s when you get em...

 

If you're not planning to keep adding mods and don't just want to learn to do it yourself, you could consider a reflash. The parts you've listed place you at about BR stage 2. Pretty good bang for the buck. I'll refrain from commenting on the others you've listed since you asked for personal experience.

 

Oops, didn't mean to imply that...comments without personal exp are welcome as well...I'm open to any input you guys have to offer

I am considering doing more mods in the future (9mos to 1yr), such as cams, FMIC upgrade, fuel pump, injectors...not too sure at this point.

 

Out of those I would go with an E-Manage. The SAFCII doesn't have any type of timing control.

Now, I don't have any personal experience with EVOs and SAFCIIs, so someone stop me if I'm being irrelevant. But all the turbo + SAFC cars I've had experience with were bad news. Since the SAFC is a piggy back, it sends false signals to the ECU in order to get your desired setting. Unfortunately the SAFC has no timing control, so when your ECU is getting tricked, it can advance timing at unwanted times, leading to detonation.

With the E-Manage, you can at least control timing as well. Unless you get an ITC to go along with the SAFC. Of course a full stand alone EMS would always be the best route. But cost is a big factor, if you're only going for moderate gains, you can probably still get away with it with piggy backs. But the higher your goals and the more mods you plan on adding, the less helpfull a piggy backs become and the more usefull and EMS would be.

 

I would definetely get the ECU+ because it lets you control the timing...

 

don't get the safc......the emanage or ecu+ are both much better options. they let you control the timing also......not sure about the ecu+ but the emanage also has several other setting as well, such as extra injector control (nos), engine anti-stall(vta bov), and other things. Also on the emanage the map for a/f is 16x16. the map on the safc is 8x1 i believe. anyway, the point is that the emanage is definately a much better product. it costs a little more, but is safer and will net you more horsepower. i actually bought the safc originally and later sold it for an emanage. i can vouch for the emanage being a great product, and i've read great things about the ecu+.......i would stay away from the safc though...

 

That is so very true. However, with the S-AFC2 and the Mitsubishi DSM ECU seem to go together like steak and eggs. For modest horsepower goals (<375) I don't think you can beat the cost effectiveness of an S-AFC2, even though the Evo ECU is diferent. When DSMers start getting into 720cc and up injectors, 50 trim turbos and of course 400+hp, then the SAFC(2) usually gets chucked for a standalone like DSMlink or bolstered with a GM MAF integration.

 

E-manage is out of question. There are still outstanding issues with it. You seem conservative. Go with a flash! I wish I would have started with that.

 

I would go with a reflash. Many vendors offer discounts on subsequent reflashes (for when you get new parts). I think this will give you the best performance and safety at the price level you're considering.

In my opinion, EVERY customizable tuning option available at the $500 price point leaves too much safety, performance, or tuning flexibility to be desired. A reflash will be much less of a headache and give you better performance than the other piggyback/interceptor solutions you mentioned when tuned well.

Definitely avoid the S-AFC2 as it references only TPS not air-flow. This means you are messing with the fuel curve based on the throttle position which is a weak indicator of engine load since it doesn't take boost into account. The ECU will also advance timing when you lean out the mixture with the S-AFC2, which means you have to run richer than you otherwise would to avoid knock problems.

The ECU+ is an interesting option but I'd hold out until Tom adds a plug-and-play harness and more resolution to the tuning maps (right now there are only low, medium, high MAS and WOT settings compared to the 4x points of resolution the ECU is capable of). Of course at that price range you might as well look at Vishnu's proven XEDE but that's your call as you're getting into heavier duty tuning at that point.

For now, a reflash is the ticket!

 

Thanks for all the responses fellas. Very helpful! Looks like I'm going to go with a reflash. Unfortunately, this brings up the question of which vendor to get the reflash done with. I've heard of Dynoflash, Works, Vishnu(?) and recently the Buschur Flash...Any opinions on those or other choices?

Finally, would it be best get a TB exh and maybe intake/BOV first and then get the flash? Any disadvantages or harmful effects to my car in doing that?

 

Bumpity bump...any opinions on which flash is best?

 

E-Manage is FAR more sophisticated but either one will get you to your goal on race fuel if tuned properly. I've done over a dozen e-manages on EVO's and every single one has worked flawlessly. YOu just have to have a good E-Manage dealer install and tune it for you. I usually see around 300-310 whp on pump fuel and around 325-330 on race fuel on our AWD Dynapack dyno. Whatever you do, do NOT use Buscher settings on an SAFC. I had a car in here a few weeks ago running dangerously lean on those settings. I'm surprised he did not damage anything.