Quote:
Originally Posted by nextse7en
That said, I am curious what you think of your autronic unit, specifically...
1. What version are you using.
2. How difficult was the wiring/tuning process.
3. What was your cost, at the end of the day, for the autronic unit and associated installation/tuning.
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Patrick, it's the basic Autronic SMC...I think it was $1700 or so 5 years ago (this was scavenged from a stillborn 240SX project). I don't know the current pricing schedule, and how much inflation has affected it.
I'm primarily responsible for the engine's breathing upgrades...heads, cam design, intake, headers. I have had very little to do with the ECU and tuning, it's not my strong point.
I know that the ECU's wiring harness was made by grafting part of the Autronic's with part of the Subaru's. Jack did most of the work himself as I recall. Price? At least 8 hours of labor's worth. He also has the Autronic ignition amplifier, probably overkill for most applications unless it's got massive boost.
The tuning has been done by numerous people over time. I think the initial tuning was performed for free by a former XX Tuning employee who no longer works there. The engine was seeing 210-212 hp back then.
Later on the car/engine combo became the guinea pig for the advanced
EFI-101 classes that were hosted at XX. So the instructor had plenty of time to further tune the car at least 5 or 6 times over the past two years. HP had crept up slowly from 210 or so to 221 hp via just tuning. Since the car was being used for the class, the cost of tuning was also free, as was the dyno time.
Most recently since the heads/cams were upgraded, Jack and a friend of his explored the wideband feedback potential for the tuning of the Autronic for the first time. They essentially reduced the previous 1.5-2 hours of tuning down to a 15-20 minute job, without using a $500-per-session professional tuner. Naturally this feature is pretty awesome, even someone like me who is computer illiterate could
probably tune the car now.
