What ECU to choose

Hey There,

I am looking to tune 2 new cars out of my experience. I've been tuning stock ECU's with open source on Lancer EVO's for a years now. And I am ready to try a different system on a different car. The 2 cars I am looking to tune a standalone with are:

1. BMW E36 with a 99 S50 B32 motor - What ECU will be best option?

2. 2015 WRX - I know there is open source for this car but I would rather go standalone with this one.

Thanks

I think the first thing u have to decide is whats the budget / then how much information is about on the use of the soft wear/ and thirdly what features do I need for the job , or do I want to use it as a learning tool as well . whats your thoughts , Dwayne NZ .

Thanks for the reply. Budget not a concern really. The BMW will be a track only car and the WRX will be a daily driver.

MOTEC M1 for the track car and link g4+ for the street car

I would go link G4+ on both cars if it was me , be a lot easier working with one type of software too

Hi.

For the BMW.

Link makes a PNP model for the M50 series E36 engine. You can swap the engine harness from something before 1996, and plug the ECU right in.

If you want to re-wire, in I would use the new SL8 from Emtron, or the Link Fury. The Emtrons flexibility is a really awesome advantage, but the SL series does not have an internal wideband controller like the Fury.

At this stage I think your only option for the WRX is Syvecs if you want the rest of the car to work (dash, radiator fans, diff control etc). You will need to check with them whether the US model is supported. There should be a Motec M150 version coming out along the same lines as their 86/BRZ kit, but there is no time frame for release.

If you go with Syvecs for the WRX then look at Life Racing for your track car - Life Racing make the ECUs for Syvecs. Life Racing are for race cars where as Syvecs is the brand for more modified road cars where you need integration with OEM systems. The tuning sofware between the two brands is pretty much identical. The logging software is the same.

If you hang out for the Motec M150 WRX solution, then I would look at Motec for your track car as well. Might as well keep the software and your learning curnve to just just one system.

Thanks for your input everyone. Its a toss up with the BMW. I don't see a PNP for the Motec but I see the PNP for the Link, makes it very attractive. As for the 20115 WRX the I don't see any PNP for it as of yet. I might have to wait...

MSEL is correct. Syvecs has the better comprehensive offering for the WRX, Link should be able to manage the engine but the other OEM stuff might need third party items such as the MoTeC diff controller. There's a patch harness M800 based solution for the WRX on the MoTeC platform but you will lose some of the OEM dash board functionality. The MoTeC solution using the M1 family of ECUs is currently being worked on but it isn't ready. You can expect to see the same level of completeness which has been given to the R35 and BR-Z platforms.

It might be wise to keep both ECUs the same, unless of course you are up for the simultaneous learning experience.