I've got an '06 z, is there a ECU that could let me keep my stock cluster and use the VK?

I emailed Haltech but really didn't get a clear answer.

Was wondering about your input

 

I think your best bet is an ECU swap with the stock VK ECU and custom wire in everything as needed. Contact Z fever they are the champs at this, for example they were able to run an a VHR ECU in DE Z and have a fully working cluster.

 

8 vs 6.

If the haltech cannot output 8 coils and injectors then you won't be able to use it.

 

I would talk to Larry at Sound Performance or jared at proEFI. proEFI makes stand alone ecus that handle v8's and their unit with harness for the 350z works with stock gauge cluster. Maybe there is a way to make your own harness to run 8 cylinders and wire it into the stock ecu to use the oem gauge cluster.

 

The 350Z specific harness haltech will not work. Its only made for VQ35 Timing and 6 injectors and 6 coils.


the Haltech Sport 2000 is a universal ecu that could work.

Best bet imo is OEM ecu and use Osiris to tune.

 

and how do you suggest he gets a non-350z ecu to run the gauges? It needs the 350z ecu to run the gauges.

 

The gauges are over the CAN system.

I have used a Sentra Spec V cluster with a 350Z ecu and gauges worked, and this was all installed into a 02 Maxima.

With quickly looking at the FSM, Id probably use a Titan ECU, that is if osiris works. But a M56 ecu might work too, whichever one would work the best for the 350Z system is the one id use.

Gauges like Tach speed, water temp, etc would be the least of my issues. And honestly this swap with a factory ecu might be pretty easy to do. It really depends on the differences of the VK56 ECU's.(stuff like cruise control would be my biggest concerns)

It would be something id like to mess with but the VK motor is really expensive and aftermarket support is low. LS would probably be cheaper and much more support.

 

see, the problem with your answer is you are talking about YOUR concerns. The OP wants the stock cluster to work which requires the oem ecu. There have only been a few people that did the LS swap and get the oem gauges to work without the stock ecu. I think they had to put an aftermarket tach in IIRC though. That wouldn't fit with "stock gauge cluster".

Since the proEFI will work with stock 350z ecu and the proEFI can be wired for 8 cylinders it would work. The OP wouldn't be able to use the pre-made harness for 350z though. He would have to wire it separately.

 

technically any of the universal stand alones will work. you just wire fuel, timing, cam to the standalone and leave the rest on the stock ecu.

 

Yeah i'm talking about my concerns with the idea of swapping in a VK56 into a 350Z using a VK stock ECU.

The cluster does not require the original vq35 ecu.

What i was saying is how the gauge cluster CAN system and the ECU CAN system works.

I said that i used a Sentra gauge cluster (which is a 4 cylinder) the cluster uses CAN, I then used a 350z ecu which is a 6 cylinder and connected them together which had working gauges including TACH.

Yes this is not the exact same as a 350z with a vk56 ecu. But it DOES mean its possible to do the swap like i'm suggesting.


Here is a video i made a while ago. This is a 02 Maxima VQ35 with a 06 Rev up Z ECU and a 05 Sentra gauge cluster.

 

Interesting. Why are so many people having issues running stock gauges with the LS swap if the gauge cluster will work on any can system? (honest question, not rhetorical)

It just seems they would'nt have to jump through hoops they do if any can system would communicate to the stock gauges.

 

CAN is just the communication protocol to exchange data. If the data is not there then the cluster will not work. Communication can still exist.

If the stock ECU is used the data and communication will exist. The problem is that the sensor data must also exist and be calibrated to the ECU. When people swap sensors ( fuel level, cam, crank pos, knock ect) the ECU may not be able to interpret the sensor correctly.

 

The GM ECU doesn't interface correctly with the Nissan CAN. Even with the OEM ECU in place, it's not getting the correct signals from the engine to send the tack signal over CAN. The trick is using a Nissan ECU to both control the engine AND run the gauges.

 

This is correct! Thats why im saying to use a oem nissan VK ECU.

/thread

 

ah, so it's a problem with the GM side. Which I assume is the same with all the 2jz swaps as well. What about the people with the RB swaps? does that not work because of the old nature of the RB engine with the new system of our cars?

 

With the advancements with Haltech recently they should really have some good stuff in the works.

They have the 350z full ecu replacement that uses the can system, too bad that ecu is locked to VQ35 engine. If they could make a ecu that used that can system and stuff but could run other motors it would make Z engine swaps much easier.

 

ya, i thought about that until i realized it was the vq35 specific version only and wouldn't help a person with a v8 swap.

 

Most of not all of the RB and 2JZ swaps (at least the ones I've seen) have dead tach. I know of a couple more recent LS swaps that have a working OEM tach but they use some kind of fancy programmable CAN interface that injects the RPM. I assume this could work for other engines as well since it isn't LS specific.

 

Using the Z fever harness you can run stock vk56 ecu all gauges work.

 

I recently checked the ZFever website and either they are having website problems or they don't offer anything for the VK56 right now. Does anyone know if ZFever has backed off the VK56 game or something?