Im currently running the unichip piggyback on my aps st. But i feel like my car would feel and run so much better with a standalone ems. People tell me its a night and day difference. The only reason why im considering changing ems is because there is a stutter when i shift gears in high rpms due to an issue with the unichip. The easiest solution would be to get a new ems. Do you guys think its worth the money? What ems gives you the best bang for the buck? I figure a new engine management system is probably one of the most worthwhile mods for an FI'd car.

Please tell me your input!

 

Its only great if your tuner lives near to you.. otherwise go for the Haltech

 

^Haltech FTW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Is it because fcon has its querks and requires constant tuning?

 

no once its tuned properly.. you never have to touch the unit again.. the problem is if you live far from your tuner.. and you have a problem with your car and you are not sure if its EMS related.. its virtually impossible to eliminate the EMS as a problem if you can get into it or find out whats wrong.

 

No, it can only be tuned by an athorized HKS pro-dealer, and that tuner locks the FCON after the tune so that no other tuner or user can adjust or use the same maps

Frankly, I would go with a haltech if you wanted something as intensive as an fcon

 

i see..well Sam@GTM isnt too far away from where i live maybe an hours drive. haha.

but for those who have changed to the fcon, what are your impressions?

 

the tuner doesn't LOCK the F-CON.. the F-CON is locked by default by whom ever tunes it.. its not like a UTEC that gives you the option to lock or not lock

 

The F-CON is excellent.. and probably the best EMS for the 350z right now.. the only downfall is the tuner/lock problem.. if you have Sam in your backyard.. you are lucky as hell.. Sam is probably the best F-Con tuner out there..

 

Ive driven the FCON and loved it. With that being said, I dont believe any EM is good enough to tune it and forget it, perhaps in states like Florida. But in MD where I drive in temps between 20 and 105 degrees, I have yet to see a system perform flawlessly without needing adjustments to A/F at the minimum. I have driven my Haltech in 40 degree temps and was shocked to see the A/F's right on, pleasant surprise I didnt expect it without adjustments.

 

my A/F's have been the same since the summer.. and we got down to 12 this weekend

 

I dont drive my car when all it does is spins, thats no fun. Even taking your word for that, I cant get by the fact of having something locked down in my own car, but that is another issue.

 

I had alot of fun this weekend while it was cold out.. kicking the rear end out.. it was so sunny out too.. hardly remember how cold it was

 

what about your stock EMS? i am sure you had no issues with it while you were n/a. Its really like night and day when going from a utec(which isnt bad but not even close to standalone) I am sure it was a pleasant surprise to see new EMS like haltech(in your case) and proefi perform can perform like that. A good friend has been with proefi for over year now in Vegas where condition change a lot too along with elevation changes and a:f are still on the spot. It definatly highlights that we have evolved in EMS development for the vq... a far greater start than the 2jz only dreamed to have .
Now having the EMS locked is an issue i can understand


werd!
TO the OP... FCon vpro is great so if you have no issues with a close HKS dealer i would consider too...i am not a fan that fcon comes very limited unless you get all the accessories to make it fully work which arent cheap...but everybody knows you can get a very solid tune with it, as you would expect from a standalone.

 

Properly configured with a wideband, the FCON has very good o2 feedback (self fuel tuning correction), the best ive seen.

Also, if its just for temperature correction, its perfectly normal and acceptable to minorly tweak your fuel pressure if you need an across the board correction, but you have to be very careful and only go a little at a time as the effect on the curve wont be 100% static. (With any EMS)

All good EMS' also have temperature correction maps but it can be hard for the tuner to get this dialed in perfectly by only tuning the car once. But in theory, the EMS is setup to correct for environmental changes, its just that when the tuner is only given a single environment (the day/season of tuning), you cant expect it to be dead on.

 

Q: Is the fcon vpro worth the money?

A: Ohh yeaaa

I am very happy with my car, and think a standalone is well worth the investment.

 

I agree with George I was in the same position as you bit the bullet got the FCon, it's a night and day difference definitely. I don't know much about tuning but I can definitely feel the different, the car is soooo silky smooth.

 

I love my Fcon.

 

+1 Same here

 

Almost two years and love it

the unit doesn't get locked, that being said you need the HKS software and USB Hardkey which is only given to dealers, so any dealer can open up the same unit