For the Scooby Owners -- which is best ?

[Damage]

Hey guys,

Gettin some parts for the scooby this week and wanted to know if anyone of you guys know which is best for a GC8 Scooby, management wise ...

Emanage Ultimate or Apexi Power FC

I used to the Ultimate inside out but I'm 100% sure the Power FC will be as hard if not easier from what I saw from people using it.

Let me know please if possible. If no one knows will have to try both lol

Regards,

Daniel J. Vella
www.KyokudoRacing.com

 

[herbie]

I run a Apexi power FC on mine. Much better than the Ecutek I had beforehand.

Cant say Ive heard of Impreza owners running a Emanage.

 

[hardcoreep]

Ecutek is your best bet. The Emanage and the Subaru ECU aren't friends.

 

[herbie]

IIRC Ecutek aint exactly a stand alone ECU and you can only put an ecutek flash on to the standard ECU's on cars after 1996. Better off with a APF, it aint that more expensive.

 

[hardcoreep]

The ECUtek retains all the functions of the stock ECU while giving you access to all its functions. With the ECUtek you're just installing a map in the stock ECU for your settings. I see no reason why you'd replace your ECU unless you have a 96 below Impreza or expect to be running more than 350bhp.

Guys here are running 400bhp with ECUtek with little loss is driveability. The Subaru ECU has enough functions in it not to warrant the change. Here the initial tune is US$1,000 with US$150 per reflash.

 

[herbie]

An Ecutek is going to be pretty useless if the original poster has a pre 1996 so theres not point discussing it till we know what year his car is.

APFC is faaaaaaaaar better lol

 

[azerty]

I beleive Daniel is going for a Type R v5 or V6
I've been studying Ecuteck, emanage ultimate, PFC and few other route before choosing which one to go. I've choosen PFC route you will need to add FC datalogit to it to do proper tuning.

Link & hydra ECU are also nice (and even better) alternatives

It is true that with ECUtek you can remap original ECU with your own maps what is cool as oem ECU is a good ecu that can retard if knocks occurs (while PFC cannot). the down side is that you will need to go to ECUtek official dealer each time you need a remap and pay for it. it's quite expensive for what you get... They are some open source software that do the same as ECUtek but they do work on DENSO oem ECU only. while most subaru use DENSO ECUs, STI tyre R v5 & V6 use JECS ECU. No open source software are yet compatible with it

Emanage ultimate doesn't have much support on subarus as I couldn't find much guys using it. so not much feed back. I beleive the subaru comunity don't use it cause they just underestimate it. that said, as there is no support for those, I decided to go PFC route. Power FC won't have launch control nor Dual maps. but it will manage your boost too. I'm quite happy with PFC I have to say

PFC for subaru have very decent price. exept pre 96 as they are discontinued so would end like searching for a starlet one !!

 

[Damage]

Yeah as Lio said I'm getting a Ver V or VI. Might go with the PFC than also get the Dataloggit while I'm at it. From what I've seen on the PFC it doesnt look that difficult so I'll see how it goes when the Scooby arrives. Will definetly be wanting a minimum of 400bhp on the Scooby. I'm power hungry lol Will also look at the ECUtek and see how it is.

Thanks for the info guys

 

[stevieturbo]

Ecutek isnt something a DIY person can do, as it requires Ecutek dealer software. It does not allow live mapping either.

With the Apexi PFC, you must retain the airflow meter....so IMO, that rules that one out, even if they are cheap. But the fact you need to buy Datalogit to tune it...suddenly it becomes a lot more expensive. And there is little support with Datalogit, as its a private venture.

Link ecu's are ok on a budget. But to be honest, I dont like them. Ive fitted a few to Subarus, and they can be troublesome, especially when tuning. Random figures for fuel/ign keep appearing on the map, very very annoying.. But generally speaking, they do work ok, and dont cost the earth.

Ive fitted a few Haltech's on them too, E8's, and Im finding them to be very good, and reasonably priced.. Far far better than any Link ecu's

Newest affordable ecu on the block is the Simtec ( UK based ). I havent tried one yet, but they are getting good reviews by anyone who hs tried them, so Im sure they will be worth a try.

All of the above offer plug n play systems for most model years of Subaru. There are other options, but the ones above are at the more affordable end of the scale. Only the Apexi retains the airflow meter....so if seeking 400bhp, you will also need a larger AFM.

Id ignore any ecu that retains an airflow meter.

Ive heard that some guys will be testing the VEMS soon....dont think its up and running yet though. You'd need to sort your own wiring for that. DTA is another option, and I could possibly direct you to a guy in Malta who could fit one for you who uses DTA a lot.( if you arent doing it yourself )
The newer S-series supports the new Subaru crank triggers, so Im sure it could be configured to support the older ones, if you didnt want to fit a new crank trigger.