C2GSR....I know through personnel experience that by progressively changing various aspects of the exhaust and induction on the car can have a profound effect on performance and most notably boost. With so many different bolt on performance parts available, use of differing grades of fuel, differing climatic conditions, and differing driving uses and styles I find it difficult to comprehend that anything off the shelf can optimise your cars performance and do it safely.
Afterall we are looking at hikes of 50 plus BHP (claimed) from these kind of ECU's and it would be nice to know what is happening to boost timing and fuelling in the process.
The only certain way of ensuring that the Ralliart Sports ECU (or anything similar) performs safely and efficiently in your specific car is to add a KnockLink, LambdaLink and EGT and see how it performs. The trouble is if is it doesn't perform correctly running lean, overheating or knocking (some symptoms already sighted on this BBS) then potentially you've wasted 900 quid, and if it does operate correctly you won't know whether performance is optimised. Sadly the power of marketing means the name is all to some, so I expect most of this will fall on deaf ears.
I think the case for the programmable ECU is well made though.
As to which programmable ECU I believe the principle differences (between EvoLink) is that the MOTEC system uses a bigger brain and thus has more tuning diversity. It is also significantly more expensive. However the key point about programmable ECUs is that the state of tune is only ever as good as the tuner and a badly tuned MOTEC would not match a well tuned EvoLink for example. Whether a well tuned Evolink would be as good as a well tuned MOTEC is another debate, but there is a saying that bigger is not necessarily better. Afterall the Evolink is pretty complex with 96 adjustable fuel zones and 96 adjustable timing zones which become 32,000 micro zones after interpolation (sorry crib from manual). Have a look at the online manual for the PossumLink (for the impreza as I can't find Evolink but much the same) as an example of the ECU's complexity
click here. The Evolink incidently is a complete replacement ECU and plugs into the standard cars wiring harness.
For road use the EvoLink is pretty much plug in and go. The operation of all auxiliary devices like A/C, cooling fans etc are already programmed into the unit where I believe the MOTEC has to be assign channels for each operation and programmed accordingly. The MOTEC has to be programmed on a computer and the changes uploaded to take effect. The EvoLink can be tuned via the tuning module on the hoof and changes are made instantaneously. I should point out that the tuning should be carried out by a specialist unless you are prepared to risk serious engine damage.
Having said all of the above the actual day to day running of the car is much as it is with the standard ECU. Starting is slightly different in that you have to wait a few seconds for the system to initialise and tickover is slightly less even. What is most noticeable is the constant stream of power under acceleration. It pulls as strongly at 3500rpm as it does at 7,000rpm, and you know that fuelling, timing and boost are being controlled correctly at all times. In the event that you think any of these parameters are incorrect for some reason like very cold weather, or that you've changed an exhaust or something these can be reprogrammed accordingly. The other point worth mentioning is that I get slightly better fuel economy than the stock car, yet I have significantly more power. Circa 210 miles per fill up (say 40 litres).
Probably the best point about the EvoLink is its installation. With
BRD, in anycase, you are totally involved with the setup and tuning of the car (you'll be doing the driving) and sitting alongside you is the most well respected programmable ECU expect in the Northern Hemisphere. It is not usual in the motor industry to come away with such satisfaction (
Dragon Autosport excepted).
Steve