punchdrunk

I've just test fitted one of these ECU's and wanted to give my impressions. The search feature has revealed a number of heated discussions on the ecu going back to the beginning of the decade - some rate it others don't - some argue that you need all Spoon parts to maximise the benefits including cooling mods, Spoon header, N1 exhaust etc.

My mods are a 4.77 FD, AEM intake, Buddyclub 4-2-1 manifold and a 70mm single exit exhaust and decat. I ran a VAFC2 with a Mase tune and VTEC lowered to 5800 rpms, so I guess my comparison for the ECU is stock, VAFC2 and the Spoon ECU.

I haven't had the chance to drive the car much as the fiddling with immobiliser knackered my battery, but I had the chance to drive the car to get a feel for the performance of the ecu. I'm impressed

The main difference i noted is the increased torque low down and the car pulls hard to redline. No dyno figures but it feels much quicker than stock and the VAFC2. It quietened the exhaust - no mean feat in itself - and it idles like stock. Even though the immobiliser green key is disabled the car still has a functioning immobilser - don't ask me how

I won't be bothering with cooling mods as I don't see the need. I also struggled to find any information on the specific map used for the ECU - so no idea what mods the ECU was mapped with, just conjecture.

For the money and performance gains this is the most cost effective route to take for bolt ons IMO. The Spoon, Mugen, J's and Amuse are pnp and give the boost you need for simple bolt ons.

- AEM is just too expensive to buy and map.£/bhp is high for NA application.
- EMU is expensive and there are very few competent mappers out there and it will be expensive to map.
- VAFC2 is good and Mase only charges £100 to map, but it is rendered useless once you add a 70mm exhaust/decat. Perfect for minor mods

I'll give more impressions of the ECU once I get the car up and running.

s2konroids

Glad your liking the first impressions Julian.

I did feel the low down torque too , however as i said in the PM you sent me my money would be on it not performing as well as the vafc2. This is due to it being mapped for specific spoon bolt on's, still a VAFC2 manipulating the voltage inadvertently effects timing.

This was apparent on my dyno runs with one, running similar bolt on's. I was lucky with my setup with the vafc2, 95% of it needed leaned out. Hopefully the map on the spoon ECU will suit your mods more, the fuelling was quite rich on mine.

I still think a greddy EMU would be a excellent addition for an n/a S (since they are around £300-350 with a PnP harness). I can see it delivering near enough as much gains as an AEM ECU, however the extra feature would see an AEM just pip it IMO. The problem is not many people use GEMU's and people don't understand them/how they work so dismiss them, for example is completely control vtec engagement not a manual switch over of the cams like a vafc2, is a pre-processing unit and directly controls the timing and injectors not manipulating map sensor voltage.

I will post results when i map a members on here's S running a GEMU . The GEMU has worked brilliantly on my setup, helps when they actually set the jumpers correct inside and wire the harness properly .

I think it could be a placebo, still i guess you'll find out on the dyno as you say and hopefully it works out well for you, enjoy.

I wouldn't bother with the cooling mods unless your tracking it too.

IIRC the green immobiliser 'key' light is on because its bypassing the immobiliser. But i seem to remember it bypasses the disengagement of the fuel pump not the immobiliser itself, hopefully someone can correct me.

MB

Sounds good, Punch.

Only thing I would say with the AEM is that the peak power is only part of the story. I'm not sure a J's / Spoon ECU will get the 25-30 bhp increase I saw from quite early on in the rev range. The custom settings for traction control etc are quite handy too.

But value for money wise a bolt on ECU is definately a good mod. Given the only real variables you can play with are AFR and ignition, they are always going to be close to an AEM if you have a few basic breathing mods, but with more mods a bolt on ECU becomes a guessing game.

s2konroids

Mark, by traction control your talking about the AEM? or after-market bolt-on ecu's?

Apparently the spoon ECU had a basic traction control?, i never noticed it even though i tried it .

Guzzie

I bought a spoon for my old s2000 and I thought it was alright-ish. I only had airbox mod and a catback exhaust at the time. but when I put it on the dyno I had something like 145whp and in the end I swapped the oem ecu back and did another run and managed to find something like 40 hp, check it on the dyno before you decide to drive your car too hard or do any longterm damage...

punchdrunk

The one I have is a MY02 JDM ecu converted with the Spoon chip. MY02 ecu is meant to be a good upgrade for MY00 cars so it's win win.

The main difference is the low down torque. Bear in mind I have a 4.77 FD yet I still noticed a huge difference to pick up. Pure and simple, the car is faster.

The change in exhaust note is also amazing. The 70R is a loud exhaust, very loud. The ecu kind of mutes it to the extent that I can now listen to the radio and wind down the window to enjoy the sound.

The VAFC2 would back fire on my car. I preferred the stock ecu with my mods in the end, but the Spoon is better than both.

The effect is not placebo because I haven't even paid for the ecu. The seller has let me trial it, get used to it and pay when I'm ready. He won't have to wait long, I'm definitely having it

Guzzie

Sounds good, but please do get it on the dyno just to make sure the A/F ratio is good throughout.

Suits

My old Amuse ECU, while it was only running on a Mugen Filter and Mugen cat back, was good, when we did a dyno run it came out nice and safe, the AFR was about right. Didn't have the OEM ECU to do a power comparrision so im not going to say it put out more power, because I can't prove it.

I had a concern that it may have been a bit out, either way (rich or lean), turns out it was fine.

These ECU's are a good little bolt on mod IMO, I would recommend the Amuse one to anyone running a uprated filter and cat back. It performed very well and more importantly - safely.

eho

Do you lose central locking and immobiliser?

Suits

I didn't on my Amuse.