[JDNakaBomb]

Righto, to start, I'll openly admit I know nothing about ECU's and tuning etc. . . I've searched for answers but I just get confused in peoples setups and terminology. . . And forgive me if I loose you in my incorrect terminology. . .

Can anyone tell me what I would be best doing. . .? (and don't say M/T. . . if I wanted a M/T I'd put one in. . .)

Currently have a (Twin Turbo) 1jz with A/T (Auto Trans) and stock 1jz A/T ECU (and I think the A/T's have a seperate A/T ECU . . . Aswell?) I'm planning on one of 3 things. . .(in order of likelihood)

converting the A/T to a standalone A/T (manually controlled (independent of a computer)) so I believe I can just run standard computer from a M/T?

tracking down an extremely rare (as far as I can tell) ECU for a 1jz with A/T (I think they are rather limited in tuning/power anyway. . .) (if you could point me to one I'd definitely owe you. . .)

keeping the stock A/T and computers. . . (obvious disadvantages in terms of power?)

With the third option, anyone know the reliable (before a/f ratios etc are thrown out of it's capabilities) max power level of the stock 1jz computer?

In any and all cases I will be building the A/T to hold power . . . Im not sure what sort of power level I'm shooting for yet as I'm still stuck on turbo decision. . . Probably not much, I've decided I just want more power than the stock twins. . .

Anyone have ECU suggestions? Any help, even a your a dickhead its not called that much appreciated. . .lol

[harleyMKIII]

As far as I know the 1J ECU's are pretty capable of getting big power levels out of them (but I'm in the same boat as you, not very technological haha)
And my turbo car was a manual, with an auto trans computer in it (go figure), so I'd go ask somewhere like turbotune, fours 'n' more, horsepowerinabox etc etc and see what they recommend.
When the engine was in the old car, and I took it for a quick test drive it ran like it was brand new with an auto ECU behind it.
If I were you, I'd ask around some tuning shops and see what they can do for you, assuming that's an option for you haha.

[--Golli]

Yeah, The auto is controlled by its own computer, However there are some things in the ECU that do take the auto into account if I remember correctly. Idle control, AC, fuel maps (i think) and a few small things.

The harness also has a plug inside the cabin that leads to the auto computer.
As far as I know, you can safely use a Auto ecu on a manual car, but not the other way around.

I have head of people using the MV Automatics SupraStick to control the auto, along with an aftermarket computer to control the motor.

Your best bet is to troll through supramania in the following two sections;
MKIII TCCS (ECU) & Electrical
Transmission and Drivetrain

I'm sure they will have some helpfull info on the topic.

I don't really know much on the subject of controlling autos, but those links would be your best bet for learning.

[naut]

3 Ecu's come to mind however not sure if they can control the auto gearbox.

Haltech
AEM
ViPEC

Try calling a rep for each one of those manufactures to see if it's possbile. (Haltech I don't see why it can't since they got one plugged into their R35 GTR)

Once you get info of each, call a tuner and see what they are comfortable with. No point spending big bucks on an ECU where the tuner isn't comfortable with.

[ma61turbo]

naut, on 01 March 2010 - 09:39 PM, said:

3 Ecu's come to mind however not sure if they can control the auto gearbox.

Haltech
AEM
ViPEC

Try calling a rep for each one of those manufactures to see if it's possbile. (Haltech I don't see why it can't since they got one plugged into their R35 GTR)

Once you get info of each, call a tuner and see what they are comfortable with. No point spending big bucks on an ECU where the tuner isn't comfortable with.

It'll be extremely unlikely that any of those, or any other aftermarket ecu for that matter, will be capable of controlling the auto gearbox. AFAIK the Haltech for the R35 has no gearbox control, their website doesn't indicate any either.

Depending on how much power you want, you may be able to get away with just a piggyback ecu. Be aware that any full aftermarket ecu system is not going to be cheap(unless you get a low-end one, in which case you may or may not be happy with it compared to the factory ecu control). Find a good tuner first, and then choose what ecu you want to go with, don't do it the other way round.

[JDNakaBomb]

Cheers guys for the input. I managed to speak to a guy from Canada late last night who has a similar setup to what I'll be looking at. . . He had a fair amount of experience with auto boxes and manual controllers. . .

He confirmed that I can swap to an aftermarket manual or stock manual ECU if I use a full manual controller as the car is literally a manually operated trans (doesn't rely on computer inputs to change gear), but with now controller I obviously need an Auto ECU. On his current mk3 he still uses the stock ECU's +manual controller which allows him to switch between selecting the gears or having the computer do it (the benefit of keeping the stock ecu).

As far as the auto having an impact on the ECU, all factors are overcome using a manual ECU, the only thing that doesn't happen is the retardation of timing on gear changes (which not all 1jz's do anyway) and all this results in is a "harder" change from what he told me.

Combine your input/his experiences/what other info I have managed to find; I'm thinking I might just run the stock ecu's to start with (supposedly run 350-400rwhp with no AFR etc issues and up to 500rwhp with a few adjustments (SAFC? I think he said from memory) and then if the mark is breeched I can always change to any standard manual aftermarket ECU and switch to controlling the auto with a full manual controller all of the time.

This plan goes against what I usually do - I usually prefer to buy the better part now even if it's not needed yet as it saves hassle later on. But I'm getting older now (just hit 22. . .lol) and so I'm looking towards more of a cruising car than a fast car (of course, power is still nice! -hence the turbo!) and so can't justify spending 3-4k on something that I don't need to utilise right now and probably won't need to utilise (stock ECU's should do fine for the power I'm looking at). Will still be building the trans to hold power just to make it more reliable - and will probably fit a full manual controller aswell while I have the dash/console apart. . . (makes the change easier later on. . .)

Anyways, once again thanks for the input and links, much appreciated. . .