New ECU for the RX-8
 

I stopped by my friend's shop today and found out that Microtech released their RX-8 unit. Will control fuel and ignition.
Sweet!

got any other info? is it a real ecu replacement or a piggyback?

converts to speed density fueling (remove MAF) and you run piggy back for port actuators and drive by wire controls.. i think the on board map sensor is good for 23 psi for you boosted guys! ;)

will it control both leading and trailing across the whole rpm band? the leading and trailing are on 2 seperate maps that dont even look at each other so the split is not consistent. can you stop it from switching to trailing first firing at idle? i want to see what that does. do they supply a new IAT sensor since the IAT is attached to teh MAF when you remove the MAF you remove the IAT. What does the PCM think about not having the signal from teh maf or does this piggyback send the speed density sensor info like it is coming from the MAF?

How much is it ??? were do we get it from

i think they are an australian company... prices i found were $800 - $1500 for similar rx7 ecus, but that was in AUD dollars.

do you have a number can anyone contact them?????

www.microtech-efi.com
i didnt see it on their site last night..

Are you sure it's Microtech? Motec (Another Australian company that starts with an M) is working on a direct plug in system for the RX-8 but it is still in the development phases. I've never seen Microtech develop a plug and play sysem before.

You can be sure that if either of these companies does develop a system, it will be full control of all fuel and ignition systems. No more piggybacks.

No more piggybacks, but will we have to live without some of the basic functions of the RX8 PCM? I remember people saying that a lot of the stand alones won't be able to do all that stuff? Thanks

If it is a true plug and play system like the Power FC is then you shouldn't have to sacrifice anything but stil get the rewards of full tuning ability. If it is just like every other standalone system, yes you will sacrifice.

Guys i have contactedTim from Microtech at tim@microtechchefi.com as to the best system for the RX8 , but if someone wants to ask the hard tecknicall questions such as Zoom 44 or Rotary god have please contact Tim or sales@microtech.com.

The m800 from MOTECH a different Australian company is suited for the RX8 BUT THEY HAVE NOT GOT A SPECIFIC PLUG AND PLAY UNIT FOR IT THEY SAY THEY ARE WORKING ON IT .

cheers
michael

RG, could you elaborate on some of the things that are sacrificed when moving to a standalone ECU/PCM?

Emissions and traction control are the 2 biggest ones. Also, only the Motec has the ability to run the drive by wire. The others would need a new conventional cable style throttlebody.

sent them an email for info. will post reply.

Ditto and i asked them on your behalf :D


The more interest these companies get for their products especially from overseas the quicker they will get of their backsides , so email them with your interest :cool:

cheers
michael

OK guys heres Microtech s response to my e-mails

cheers
michael

Michael,
We have just finished teh R&D of that unit for RX8 application.
Can do LT10 and LT12.
Both run teh fuel and ignition and have a switched output for fan control, and a
PWM for stepper motor.. BUT they dont YET run teh 6 port actuation or the fly by
wire throttle.
SO... if you are putting this engine in another car its fine as you normally run
the 6 ports fully open and a normal throttle.
But if in an RX* vehicle it must piggy bachk teh stock system and will give you
full fuel and ignition control etc but stock ECU does throttle control and 6
port actuation.
Order here and I can supply LT10 at $1095aud plus freight for a short period of
time after Xmas break then prices go up about $200aud
Tim.
__________________________________________________ ______________

Zoom44's Question

will it control both leading and trailing across the whole rpm band? the leading and trailing are on 2 seperate maps that dont even look at each other so the split is not consistent. can you stop it from switching to trailing first firing at idle? i want to see what that does. do they supply a new IAT sensor since the IAT is attached to teh MAF when you remove the MAF you remove the IAT. What does the PCM think about not having the signal from teh maf or does this piggyback send the speed density sensor info like it is coming from the MAF?

Answer:
The Microtech doesnt fire the trailing at all on cranking. It has a map that
ajusts the trailing and leading throughout the rev range as it always has . Its
purely a split map so you cant advance the trailing in front of the leading (you
wouldnt want to) ... so its a retard map...split map.
It will run a mazda air temp.
Our systems run a MAP sensor.. they dont use the MAF. If you mean what does teh
stock ECU think of not having a MAP... It wont liek it so you have to keep it
in teh system if piggybacking.
Regards, Tim.

ok so that's what i thought the OP said "remove the maf" and it didnt seem correct to me. also i dont want to advance the trailing in front of the leading i want to stop it from doing that at idle, which is what it does now. im not sure but i think he is also saying that it doesnt have control over the trailing. i like this guy tho- he has the same problem of typing "teh" that i do :)

It does control trailing. Unlike the stock system it doesn't have different maps for the leading and trailing ignition. You adjust the amount of timing split based on rpm or load and it stays this way. This is what you want.

RG, does this look promising for my application? I'd like something a little more capable and not tempting for the customer to try "tuning" And what does "keep it in teh system" mean.

Well based on what i've read, if you can't adjust the trailing spark, you don't have much control over the leading/trailing split. I think I read on Paul Yaw's site that 13b's do best with a 10 degree split across the board with 26 degrees max advance. But if all you can do is adjust leading spark, you can't very well control split and total advance at the same time. Especially with the trailing spark on an independant map from leading. Hopefully i got all that right :) (i've learned alot about the rotary engine in the past year, but I have miles to go)

power abbid. power. getting the split right between lead and trailing fire can increase the hp out put. with any unit that adjusts leading only you can have issues like loss of power/mpg etc because the trailing plugs fire on a completely independant map in the rx8. so the split will be (and is stock even) inconsistent. a consistent split though out the rpm range is better for power. the only reason i can think for mazda to do it the way they did is for emmissions and maybe mpg but those are just guesses.

this is my understanding. RG will probably say it better and mazdamaniac may have a difference of opinion on the importance of controlling both.

Richard that was in response to one of my questions. the original poster of this thread said "converts to speed density fueling (remove MAF) ." i questioned that idea and Microtech's answer is no the maf stays when using it to piggyback the stock pcm.

from what I read the trailing split is adjustable. you set the split based on how far behind the leading plug you want it to fire. the leading plug map is based on load and rpm for advancing retarding the leading spark but the trailing plug is a set split retarded from where the leading plug is.

Are you sure that's what he said? So then he runs a MAP and a MAF at the same time? I see nothing wrong with that if he gets it to work. I just think he has to make the MAP work as a speed density type. If you run both at the same time they will fight each other.
Am I missing something?