LXM has the bramhammer, that nonsensical ego stroking internet tool; MA needs one too--the Naterator, a combo of Nate and moderator, capable of vaporizing idiotic posts with a single keystroke. Think of the possibilities; we could have the bramhammer versus the naterator, like King Kong versus Godzilla. The naterator would win going away, as the bramhammers grasp of the English language would result in a string of misplaced adverbs, pronouns and adjectives that would result in a quick tap out.
Well, I guess I'm going to end up being one of the test dummies for EcuMaster to see how well it works. I talked to a number of users who have various EMU versions and so far everyone has nothing but good things to say about the product and the company. In Europe they also have the UltraTech Ecu line as well. While I was told that EcuMaster's EMU isn't as good as Vipec/Link G4+, for the basic user not looking to build an all out track monster it seems to have all the high end options but with a better base cost price tag. I'll update you guys more as I go, my ecu should be in around the new year, but tuning won't commence until my turbo conversion is completed.
So after a few months of playing with this stand alone and getting the hang of how it works, I figured I would come back and at least give you guys an update on what I think of it. I'm running the standard EMU stand alone with the can-bus adapter and harness adapter. Supposedly the new EcuMaster Black series is going to be full plug and play just like the Link G4+, but will incorporate several additional features (such as built in 4bar map sensor that is pretty well standard for EMU's now). For the money, this is actually a darn good option. Because I have a turbo on my r53, obviously it makes tuning a bit more interesting compared to the stock ecu/supercharger setup. Biggest difficulties for my application have been reworking the accel enrichment now that my TB is mounted to my intake, but everything is working well now. Pros: Great price tag, and a lot of high end options. Full knock control that works with the oem knock sensor, DBW throttle support that is actually highly responsive compared to stock, full injector control and the ability to have a second set of maps for flex fuels. Soft rev limiter, 2 step control, rolling anti-lag, you name it and it's here. Can-bus integration so your dash cluster works just like it should, however the low tire pressure warning will be on all the time (it's an ongoing project to see if changing can protocols can turn it off). There are tables for traction control, although I haven't gotten to try them out and see if I can use the factory CAN switch to activate/deactivate traction control like with the stock DME. There are also boost tables for full 3 port or 4 port boost control if you're running a turbo (like me), and options and tables for pretty much every variable out there. You truly can get lost in this ecu if you don't know what or how to tune. Cons: Maps aren't quite as big as Link's for fuel and timing, but there are plenty big for what most people need. I haven't run into any issues yet, although I could see having a little extra resolution if I was building a 30psi monster and daily driving it. Setting up knock detection can be a little tricky if you don't understand how it works. I'd really like to see an audio recording function where you can record the engine as you log your pull and actually compare the engine noise to the log to view timing and fuel. That would help not only with tuning timing for knock, but also with setting up the knock sensor itself. I had to rig together a recording app on my tuning laptop to do this and it's a little bit of a hassle. Some of the explanations are a bit vague too, more like generic guidelines for some tables and then solid information for others. Many will tell you what the table is used for, but not how it calculates the final results. Luckily, many of the tables will look similar to users of MSpro or Haltech in their overall design. It's a basic stand alone that offers some pretty high end options. I also like the fact that if I ever decide to leave the Mini world, I can take this ecu with me to my next platform or sell it outright to pretty much anyone, since it's not Mini specific if the adapter harness and can-bus adapter isn't used. These are used in more high hp imports right now than pretty much anything else out there (supra's, subaru's, etc), and they seem to have a good track record with those groups. I'll add more info on to this if people want, or if anyone has questions about it or it's functions I'll be happy to help out if I can with that too. I'm not being paid to say anything positive or negative about them, so this is pretty much my opinion and experience with the product itself.