Microtech on B engine

[180sx]

bought a LT-8 a year ago and thinking to put it on my honda ( B16A )

anyone have experience with Microtech ? pls post up your comment if u do, many thanks

[vanxpress]

maztech anthony is the go

[dupac->]

lol rawr is running a mircotech.. his engine shuts off when his aircon is on
lol

but it think that has much more to do with the tune
lol

[180sx]

thanks for the quick reply, but what's pro and con to use microtech on HONDA compare to other tunable ECU ?

[180sx]

lol rawr is running a mircotech.. his engine shuts off when his aircon is on
lol

but it think that has much more to do with the tune
lol

i took the aircon off so doesn't really matter, i heard it will run way too rich on a honda even with a good tune ?

[dupac->]

id say running rich would come down to the tuner not the ecu, as the ecu would let the tuner play with fuel +air ratios

[G AE82]

I have a microtech on my b16. Had no dramas car drives well and makes good power. It will only run rich if you tune it that way. It has nothing to do with the computer.

[180sx]

I have a microtech on my b16. Had no dramas car drives well and makes good power. It will only run rich if you tune it that way. It has nothing to do with the computer.

G AE82 do u have MSN? got few questions want to ask u if u don't mind :)

[todaek9]

good tuners makes the diff...pay bit more...may be you might consider a good Motec tuner...if you need one, i'll introduce one to you...fair price, and good tune..

but before that, what else you got internally?

[180sx]

good tuners makes the diff...pay bit more...may be you might consider a good Motec tuner...if you need one, i'll introduce one to you...fair price, and good tune..

but before that, what else you got internally?

thanks todaek9, if u can give me his contact details that will be great :) , hmm my internal ..... just some basic mod, will PM u about it :thumbsup:

[grumpy rooster]

Any tuner and any ecu will give around the same peak power. Its the ecu and tuner combination that makes that combination good to drive and economical.

There is no reason the Microtech won't be able to run your engine smoothly with decent economy.

[WPN.22R]

I hadn't used one on a B series but i had a Microtech Lt8 running my h22 turbo. It was VERY hard to start at cold start (and embaressing) the fuel economy was good and general driveability as well.

I had a quite reputable tuner working on it, but in my opinion... Microtech should be kept for the rotarys.

I was happy to get rid of mine and run Hondata.

[Limbo]

just rem that ECUs all adjust timing/fuel

At the end of the day some ECUs may have more features to do a better job or some extra features like launch control, but i have found most tuners do no tune enough of the points to really take advantage of the extra points.

A/C issues are usually down to tunner not correctly adjusting the a/c option in most ECUs

[Limbo]

P.S hard cold starting is usually on ECUs that require a single point dizzy. Had this problem before. ECUs that can use the standard sensors don't normally have this problem

[fatboyz39]

microtech are a good ECU....Using it in my car.

Havn't used it on any honda's yet due to wiring. We just opt to use a plug and play ECU as it saves alot of time and effort to install the ecu in.

[grumpy rooster]

Hard cold starting is normally a function of the tuner not spending enough time on it. Its difficult to get right because you really only get 1 chance to do; first thing in the morning. To get it right really requires adjustment over a number of days.

[turbo convert]

cold start though will be a problem with nearly every after market ecu, the reasons as stated above, had lots of troubles with my Wolf3d v4, cold start and also battery voltage when headlights were turned on and off, its all in the tuner though i guess

[barefootbonzai]

We had a micro-tech on our h22 eg. Works fine, drives smooth, made good power.

But yeah had problems with cold starts as well, because it didn't have anything to control the IACV unlike crome/hondata/pfc etc.

[180sx]

i had a " LINK " ecu with my last B16A .... and yeah... cold start is annoying ... and i end up blew that engine because of a bad tuner .... and that workshop is " well know " in melbourne too .......

[grumpy rooster]

We had a micro-tech on our h22 eg. Works fine, drives smooth, made good power.

But yeah had problems with cold starts as well, because it didn't have anything to control the IACV unlike crome/hondata/pfc etc.

The temperature compensation maps didn't help at all? If you get these right cold start problems are usually non existant.

[Limbo]

cold start though will be a problem with nearly every after market ecu, the reasons as stated above, had lots of troubles with my Wolf3d v4, cold start and also battery voltage when headlights were turned on and off, its all in the tuner though i guess

you shouldn't have ahd a problem as the v4 is supose to be a really good ECu and it can use all the dizzy points. I have v3 and it was a pain cos it could only take 1 dzzy point of TDC.

[rawr]

Cold start = the worst...

I'm the guy dupac was talking about. I find that my car does sometimes run a bit rich but I haven't had my tune yet. Also the ecu without a tune can't really handle the idle so yeah. And yeah when I run aircon on idle or when drops dramatically i.e. braking most of the time my car stalls

[ginganggooly]

I had all those problems when i first got my Hondata in... They were 100% tuner related though. Said tuner had the hide to tell me that the issues were something i'd have to live with and i couldn't expect him to rectify them; honda spent millions of dollars perfecting those minor things.

Funny, because 5 mins with another bloke and all the problems disappeared.

[Q_ball]

Similar on my car, cold start was the hardest.
Had it running on my DC4.
Made some very good power though.

[TODA AU]

bought a LT-8 a year ago and thinking to put it on my honda ( B16A )

anyone have experience with Microtech ? pls post up your comment if u do, many thanks

If you install it as a piggy-back rather than a standalone, you'll avoid any issue with cold start & idle.
The std ECU is retained without fuel, ignition or Vtec control but still running the IACV etc. It's pretty simple to wire them in this way at the ECU end & under the hood looks stock with no messy wiring.
That said, as mentioned previously it still comes down to the tuner.

[180sx]

If you install it as a piggy-back rather than a standalone, you'll avoid any issue with cold start & idle.
The std ECU is retained without fuel, ignition or Vtec control but still running the IACV etc. It's pretty simple to wire them in this way at the ECU end & under the hood looks stock with no messy wiring.
That said, as mentioned previously it still comes down to the tuner.

thanks for all the inputs guys, appreciated

TODA AU, so u saying i can use the LT-8 as a piggy-back ecu ? ( sorry i am a ecu newbie ) , what's the pro and con to use it as a piggy-back rather than a standalone ecu ?

[TODA AU]

thanks for all the inputs guys, appreciated

TODA AU, so u saying i can use the LT-8 as a piggy-back ecu ? ( sorry i am a ecu newbie ) , what's the pro and con to use it as a piggy-back rather than a standalone ecu ?

No problem,

When used as a piggy back you retain the nice idle of the STD ECU without problems normally associated with increased engine or electrical load that can play havoc with entry level ECU’s.
E.g.: Interior fans, head lights, air conditioning compressor running etc.
The STD ECU can effectively compensate for these by way of the idle air control valve. When the load increases or decreases the STD ECU will still adjust the IACV output to compensate.
The Microtech is unable to do this, though it can be tuned around this to point.
Cold start is also much better when piggy backed. Again the IACV comes into play increasing airflow to give a higher idle when cold.
All this is only ever as good as your tuner, but done in this way the car will have very few of the characteristics normally associated with entry level ECU’s.
The hard part will then be to get the trailing throttle to over run fuel cut really nice.
Once that’s done, it’ll drive pretty well.
There are no real down sides to installing the ECU in this way, that is apart from not being how all installers are used to doing it.
It’s not a difficult task & something anyone who can wire in a Microtech as a standalone should have no issue with.
Only the fuel, ignition & Vtec wires are cut away from the std ECU, all other wires are spliced. This includes crank angle sensors, temp sensors etc.
The STD ECU can still see what’s going & operates accordingly with the limited outputs available to it.
In a nut shell it makes the microtech look a lot better than it is.

[180sx]

No problem,

When used as a piggy back you retain the nice idle of the STD ECU without problems normally associated with increased engine or electrical load that can play havoc with entry level ECU’s.
E.g.: Interior fans, head lights, air conditioning compressor running etc.
The STD ECU can effectively compensate for these by way of the idle air control valve. When the load increases or decreases the STD ECU will still adjust the IACV output to compensate.
The Microtech is unable to do this, though it can be tuned around this to point.
Cold start is also much better when piggy backed. Again the IACV comes into play increasing airflow to give a higher idle when cold.
All this is only ever as good as your tuner, but done in this way the car will have very few of the characteristics normally associated with entry level ECU’s.
The hard part will then be to get the trailing throttle to over run fuel cut really nice.
Once that’s done, it’ll drive pretty well.
There are no real down sides to installing the ECU in this way, that is apart from not being how all installers are used to doing it.
It’s not a difficult task & something anyone who can wire in a Microtech as a standalone should have no issue with.
Only the fuel, ignition & Vtec wires are cut away from the std ECU, all other wires are spliced. This includes crank angle sensors, temp sensors etc.
The STD ECU can still see what’s going & operates accordingly with the limited outputs available to it.
In a nut shell it makes the microtech look a lot better than it is.

very useful information !!!! :thumbsup: , hmmm 1 question, why don't everyone use it as a piggy-back if there are no down sides ? thumb up again :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[TODA AU]

very useful information !!!! :thumbsup: , hmmm 1 question, why don't everyone use it as a piggy-back if there are no down sides ? thumb up again :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Not sure? A lot of guys I know in the industry do it that way, others don't.
I guess it comes down to the preference of the installer / tuner.
It's not the only way to do it, but in my experience with ECU's like this,
You end up with the best results.

[turbo convert]

you shouldn't have ahd a problem as the v4 is supose to be a really good ECu and it can use all the dizzy points. I have v3 and it was a pain cos it could only take 1 dzzy point of TDC.

Well i thaught so too that it was a really good ecu, but it drove me to the point of selling the car, it was good power straight power but not for driveabilty, and the tuner claimed to be an expert.
after that experience i dont really want to put an aftermarket in my rexxy, cause i lost too much everyday drivabilty , cold start, diffrent temps change, really irritated me.
But as stated beofre alot comes down to the tuner imo

[phantom_civic]

Had a microtech on my CRX B16, like the previous posts made good power but yeah cold starts.

[180sx]

Well i thaught so too that it was a really good ecu, but it drove me to the point of selling the car, it was good power straight power but not for driveabilty, and the tuner claimed to be an expert.
after that experience i dont really want to put an aftermarket in my rexxy, cause i lost too much everyday drivabilty , cold start, diffrent temps change, really irritated me.
But as stated beofre alot comes down to the tuner imo

where did u tune yours at ? mind to PM me the details ? ;)

[180sx]

Had a microtech on my CRX B16, like the previous posts made good power but yeah cold starts.

any other bad things happen to yours ? or just the cold start ?

[fatboyz39]

Agree with toda AU. Just wire as a piggy back. simple. Unlesss its a all out race car. I don't have any cold idle issues at all.

[phantom_civic]

any other bad things happen to yours ? or just the cold start ?
Just the cold start only, no other problems.
Just gotta hold the revs for a while lol

[Limbo]

The only other problem i had was A/C on, it idled funny.
Bu i think if you do it Toda's way it should be fine