Garage7RP wrote:ethergore2 wrote:Garage7RP wrote:With all the annoyance and unavailable tech support you mentioned, why did you choose AEM EMS 4 instead of haltech, TeC, SDS, or MegaSquirt? With the pricing you mentioned ($700) plus wiring and sensors, you can get any of the other ECUs.
I originally chose AEM because they are local here in SoCal. Many tuners use their products. Most of the annoyances have come from not many people using AEM on a 16 valve 4ag with ITBs. The most difficult part was getting the trigger to work which, now that I know what needs to be done, is actually simple. I never said that AEM customer support was unavailable but they weren't that helpful.
The good news is they have a very good tech support guy named Beau now who has been very helpful. We have made some good progress and I should be able to finish up this build thread soon. Ie, about a month or two since my tuner is on vacation.
Thank you for the information. I asked because I am looking for a good standalone for my new 16V engine using TRD individual throttles using the following criteria of quality, tuneability and user-friendliness, cost, excellent support and customer service. I was stuck between Haltech and TeC but since this thread I decided to look into AEM because they are available locally. Like you mentioned, I do not see most people use AEM on their A series motors.
Since you already know the problem, how much would be the total cost of equipment without counting the wrong parts to run AEM (AEM EMS 4 + flying lead kit + injectors + 1NZ COP + 4AGE CAS + other necessary sensors = ?
Lets see what I can remember:
I got the EMS, flying lead harness, map sensor, air temp sensor, and water temp sensor for $1350. If I was smart and didn't insist on all AEM sensors I could have paid $900 for the EMS and flying lead and found the sensors in the junk yard for cheap.
The 1NZ coils were $125
The CAS was like $90 used
I found some 225 cc injectors for free and got them cleaned by RC for $100.
I had to pay to have my water neck re-drilled to accept the AEM threads- $50
All kinds of wiring supplies including expensive ratcheting crimpers must be totaling $300 by now.
So for parts alone what is that? $2015
The most expensive part was getting someone to wire everything since I can't do it myself. I'm getting close to 3k for that since I'm paying by the hour. If you had my project as a guide or if you were lucky enough you could probably pay the guy who did my wiring to make you a harness and only have to pay for tuning.
Like you are thinking, AEM is good in theory but carrying out this project with few references was expensive. Now that someone (me) has almost finished, it should be much simpler.
I say you wait for me to finish and see how it turns out. If it works, I think it's the next cheapest way to go after mega squirt.