This might put the cat amongst the pigeons :thumb
What do you folk think are the pros and cons of stock (ie stock Subaru) versus aftermarket ECU's on an EJ25 in a T3 Caravelle?

ANdy.

mate from my limited experiance the trade off of going aftermarket is that you always loose refinment. From that I mean that with a stock ecu you will have great idle, great cold start enrichment, closed loop economy, if you keep the air con you car will idle etc... often a lot of these comforts are sacraficed when you go aftermarket There are two options that I'm aware of that allow you to have the best of both worlds: Power FC controller which is basically a modified ecu in which you can controll everything, or keep the stock ecu to handle the basic operation of things and splice in your aftermarket gear for fuel, ignition and boost. Then again a stock ecu powered T3 will be enough fun i'm sure (i've driven a t3 )

I under stand the above , you also have a cost point here and as we are talking a VAN ? 4x4 sencro I think ?

this is what I have done that might reflect your case for placing this post .

I have a ej20 quad cam this is going in my trike ( bike ) , I got the front cut and removed the stock ecu .This i send to Perfourmance motor sports in QLD 07 38084244 andrew did the sorting of all those wires for me I parted with about $350.00 for this .It came back with all the wires labled for conection fues requied and to the lenth i asked .

If i was to get a aftermarket ecu it would be over the $800.00 mark .

If the motor was in a race car or street machine I would get the aftermarket ecu as to get the best out of the motor .Your best to get what fits your back pocket and go from there .:beer seagull

STOCK! Get the harness 'sorted', as suggested above... Why the hell would you go aftermarket? So you can play with your knobs like the ricers do?!

"Why the hell would I go aftermarket?" I'm not. I'm asking the question - "What are the pros and cons of each?" I don't know, hence the question!

Yes Seagull, it is for my Syncro.

Why would I consider it. Because I can get an engine with ECU and loom (on 48000 kms) for $3500. Add alterations to the loom, another $300ish.
OR
I can get an engine sans ECU and loom on 60 000kms for $2500. Add aftermarket ECU = about $3500.
So cost isn't really a factor which is why I wanted to know which would be better. I thought an aftermarket one MIGHT be easier to wire up.
I thought they had idle adjustments for aircon and power steering. Not true???
Which would be easier to make my factory tacho run properly?
555bug I'm afraid you lost me a bit with the idea of running a mixture of stock and aftermarket stuff. I appreciate the comments re less refinde idle though. Thanks.

More thoughts please :bounce

it's pretty simple.

If the engine is stock, use the stock ECU.

IF you modify the engine such that the stock ECU won't be correct and won't be able to adapt, then go aftermarket.

you can get the tacho sorted on the syncro from the stock ecu , I have seen this done a few times now , I recall the name ( tisco ) come up about this there a automotive company in Perth .

go stock the name I gave you above will mark the wires so a 10 year old can follow it .

If it's going into a registered car then another thing to consider is what the certifyers want. A lot that I've spoken to prefer you to use the stock ECU (with cat converter, 02 sensor, etc) due to the emissions issue. If you go after market then you may need additional testing.

VWCOOL - No worries. No offence taken.
Thanks for everyones thoughts.

My 2 cents worth.
I had a subaru turbo with stock ecu,no probs with anything.
I now have another one with a microtech mt8 on it,bought it as is,the car was never tuned properly which makes it run like a dog,if you go aftermarket make sure you find someone competent enough to tune it for you.
Factory ecu uses lots of senders etc...to make it run smooth,aftermarket only have a couple of pick ups hence they are not as smooth but will deliver more outright power
if that's what ur after.
Also if you want more power with your a/m ecu,you might need an injector upgrade,fmic,water injection etc...$$
PS you will need some sort of factory harness to spice your a/m ecu on it.

Just stumbled across this, if it's of any help .....

http://www.autronic.com/page_files/mitsubishi_subaru.htm 

For anything to do with subi motors you can try these guys as they have been very helpful to me. http://www.mrtrally.com.au/performance/  they have a good section on what you can do to your stock ecu before you need to go aftermarket. It makes for some good reading.

you can tune an aftermarket ECU to run as smooth as a factory produced unit in any car. all it takes is time and money.
in fact aftermarket ECU's can actually make stock engines produce more horsepower!!!!

True but then you have to buy a top of the range unit.
Motec and alike ,quite a few $$$.

Aftermarket is a better way togo but the money is well spent.But only buy the best,Motec is the only way and is worthy off its opponents,I have MTX8race Microtec and causes me nothing but probs its like comparing a mini to a porsche for eg.Lots of the boys on the MRT forum stick with the original ECU and do them up.JVLRacing

I also hear that the motecs and other top of the range ones have an anti-lag feature. this will help you out a lot with making your vehicle quick.
I know wat it is but cant explain things very well. anyone else care to explain this for me


Anthony

from what I know the anti lag makes your mixture super super rich so it ignites in the exhaust and spools up the turbo when you back off the accelerator during gear change. This is for cars which engine's have a useful life of about 3000 miles and cost six figure sums!

motec may be " the best ", but if you look around at the other manufacturers they offer some good stuff.
now im using WOLF and to be honest it has every feature you need, is reliable and works really well. best of all you buy the kit for $1400 instead of motecs $4000.
all you need is to find the right people to tune them.
also if you look at what the rotary boys use it aint motec

Hey Motec might cost $4000figure but you speak to people Like MRT and Coltracing and look at the higher classes of racing most will tell Motec is the best.You dont see Wolf all microtec in V8 super cars so what does that tell you.Theres no way Wolf and the rest will give the same features at 100%yes some of us cant afford this option but iam saving real hard to go motec for racing next year.JVLRacing

for what most of us use our cars for there is simply no point in spending big dollars on an ECU when one half the price does the same job.
how do i know?
i did all the research and my car is sweet

Thats true VWrallycar most ECU are ok my investment into my car are well over $160,000 and reliability is a factor for at this moment and message is to run motec.Most aftermarket ECU wont run at high percentage rate as motec that means hp figures etc.JVLRacing

160,000 bucks!!!1 that insane.

what car is it? :s

Orange Racecar with the carbonfibre panels.Latest photos Valla Vw show done by baja wes.JVLRacing

hey if you have a $160 000 car then yes buy motec, i certainly agree with u there.
just for poor people like me i have to buy the budget stuff
cheers

At least you are getting results mate thats all it counts and having fun.JVLRacing