retuning ECU?

[tezza88]

hey guys.
i just recently bought a microtech LT-10 from a mate and wanting to hook it up to the AE86.
thing is. im clueless to what i need
so heres what i have
1. LT10s
...
thats it
it came off a 4cyl daihatsu and i was told it doesnt need a complete re-mapping from microtech, jst a retune.
but is there anything else i need to plug it in? im sure the plugs arnt exactly the same from car to car.

any help is appreciated

Tez

P.S its to run a JDM bigport 4AGE NA

[NME308]

Hi there,
It sounds like you received the full wiring harness with the ECU which is a large bonus.

Lets assume the supplied harness is micky mouse - that is not full of dodgy joins and hard old wiring. You will need to check the fit of the harness i.e. sensor and injector positions and the type of connector for each. From there you will need to either lengthen or shorten the wiring as required and splice in plugs from the 4A harness as needed. Of course you were going to do a professional quality job of wiring modifications anyway I'm sure but here's a reminder to get it right the first time!

As for retuning the ECU you can download the software from Microtech and go play with a laptop... Although I advise saving a copy of the current tune before starting. You will need to tell the ECU the specifics of your sensors and trigger/sync inputs along with such things as ignition outputs and coil configurations and/or dizzy... Once you have those things right you may be lucky enough for it to start the engine and you can check things like the base static timing and input this to the ECU. Unless you are confident I would probably get it trucked to a competent dyno tuner at this point for full tune. However if you have a wideband meter/logger then you can carefully attempt modifying the fuel map to suit your engine as it is almost guaranteed to have way different requirements to your mates car. Timing map will almost certainly need tweaking for best results also. Listen very carefully for knock as you go and pull out timing if you hear it - at least its not turbo, but hearing knock is not good as its already doing damage before you can hear!

Hope to hear some good results from your new purchase!

Cheers,
Jason

[MWP]

it came off a 4cyl daihatsu and i was told it doesnt need a complete re-mapping from microtech

This could be a problem.
Each Microtech is setup from the factory to be used on a specific type on engine.
If its not correct for the sensors on the 4AGE, youll have to send it back to Microtech to have it changed (good luck with that, their customer service is a joke).

To be honest, sorry, but it sounds like you are over-your-head with wiring and tuning
The Microtech will not plug in... far from it. Youll need to splice the MT loom onto the 4AGE loom.
Not a difficult job, but not something a beginner should attempt. You can try, should shouldnt fry anything unless you get it horribly wrong. Worse you should do is it just wont run.
LT10s wiring diagram: http://www.microtechefi.com/pdf/LT10SFuel.jpg

Tuning needs to be done on a dyno or with a wideband EGO sensor installed in your car.

Also, you need to buy the ~$80 laptop adapter to be able to use the (crappy) Microtech laptop software.

(...and if you havent worked it out, Microtech's are crap. They are cheap and OK for racing, but are crap in a street car.)

[tezza88]

thanks for the prompt replies guys
i forgot to mention.
i will be bringing it to a shop to get it done properly, so my real question i need answering is.
what else do i need to buy from Microtech?
or can i just bring it to a decent workshop and let them do all the work and charge me ~$500 or thereabouts

and once thts installed and i have my first setup all good to go. i could download the program and fiddle with it

[tezza88]

(...and if you havent worked it out, Microtech's are crap. They are cheap and OK for racing, but are crap in a street car.)

I've always thought for an NA car, there isnt much needed from an ECU. being basic timing, fuel and air tuning. i could be wrong. anyone give me a lesson on what else i should be looking into?
if it makes THAT much of a difference, il just sell this one

[MWP]

Microtech's were decent 10yrs ago, but they havent improved since.
So compared to other ECU's they are *very* much outdated.

A few bad points that come to mind:
- No support.
- Poor tuning resolution
- Limited 3D fuel map
- A 2D ignition map
- Handcontroller is difficult to use (up/down reversed, bouncy buttons, very expensive for $15 of parts)
- Need to pay ~$80 for the laptop adapter to use terrible laptop software (again, about $5 worth of parts in this)
- No closed-loop O2 cruise mode
- No wideband O2 support
- Not many aux inputs and outputs

Basically, itll run a street car ok, but it wont have good drivability, and poor fuel economy.

Pretty much any other ECU with a decent rep is better (Adaptronic, new Wolf's, Vipec, etc).

[CrUZida]

Given all that above, I'll take a Microtech over a factory ecu any day of the week (assuming the motor/setup is no longer standard).

5 years ago (when most of us bought the Microtech's) there wasn't much competition in the price range, but things have changed a lot now.

I bought my LT8S in 2004 (a few months after the 'S' series was released), and since then there have been no updates in either hardware or software (the LT10S is just an LT8S with 2 extra outputs)

[MWP]

^^^^ Yeah, agreed.

I very much recommend people dont buy one now though, unless its a dedicated track or drag car.

[RT40Corona4AGTE]

hey guys.
it came off a 4cyl daihatsu and i was told it doesnt need a complete re-mapping from microtech, jst a retune.

You will need to check that the CAS on the daihatsu engine outputs the same signal as the one on your engine? Otherwise you will need a remap from microtech which i think is still around the $350 mark? someone will correct me if I am wrong with the price though I am sure.

Wiring is pretty straightforward, I can assist you if you run into any problems if you like. You can also buy a new split loom from microtech but they are around the $150 - $200 mark.

Either way, I would cut off all the plugs on the loom and goto an auto leccy and buy new injector, tps and CAS plugs and fit them to the loom at the appropriate lengths required, which depend on how you want wires to be ran in your engine bay.

Microtechs are pretty basic, I might even have an old map lying around for a 4agze that I could type up and send to you if you want. It should atleast let you get the engine started anyway.

Hope that helped a little