Hey folks,

just wanted to inform you that AEM knowingly uses faulty code in their AEM v2 ECU that can lead to engine failure and thus is relevant for your safety and health (rational: sudden torque change may lead to loss of control).
The fixed this error in their Infinity ECU but do not seem to care enough about their customers' engines of lives to pro-actively bring this issue up to existing AEM v2 users, e.g. via firmware update or simply any kind of news on their homepage. Instead, they expect you to figure out this error, contact them, and negotiate a deal with the for purchasing an Infinity.

Of course, this might be seen as one step in the right direction from them...
... but especially as the faulty logic is quite easy to improve (coders may approve you that after briefly diving in to the topic and they also have proven that with their Infinity ECU)
AND the result of the faulty logic may lead to a pricey engine damage and potentially threatens your health because of sudden torque changes,
I honestly don't think that this company should further be able to compete in the still growing aftermarket for ECUs.

Of course, the faulty logic only leads in very rare cases to engine damage but the damage then again will be high. This incident is a classic candidate for proper risk management (low chance of having an issue but certainly high impact). Something this company does not seem to have. They do not even seem to care enough about your engines or health to inform you in any way.

This is my opinion and I am not here to debate with anyone about the chance that a damage might happen or the relevance of this whole thing. For me, I honestly think that the offer for aftermarket ECUs is big enough to ditch those that do not seem to have the least bit of social responsibility. ... and yes, I know, they have this disclaimer that the use of their ECU might lead to potential engine damage -- like everyone else. But this is not their ECUs users' fault and I am certain that quite many AEM v2 ECU user currently drive with a VTEC setting that might lead to engine damage. I was giving them this honest opinion and the chance to react. The deleted my posts and ultimately closed the topic.

If you should be interested to understand the technical background or just want to read the thread about this topic in the AEM forum, please follow this link:

Infinity VTEC Strategy Explanation | AEM

What do I promise myself from posting this?
As former user of this ECU, I just want to eliminate the chance that negative things might happen in my life. I hopefully do so in the long run by posting this and raising awareness for reporting such risks, ultimately being a small part in the whole to reduce the barrier to talk about things like this more open.

Thanks for your attention.

 

I remember that discussion from here, but from what I understood it was only Infinity that had this problem.
Is this not correct?

 

Thanks for posting

Interesting read. Really makes me want to rush out and pick up one of their stand alones. I ran their piggy back FIC years ago briefly, and that was garbage.

 

To be fair, they buy whitelabel ECUs, add styling to the UI, and ship em.
https://enginelab.net/products/

 

oh wow... real eye-opener for me. Thank you!

 

I was able to see the faulty behaviour of the AEM EMS v2 in my logs.
Also, if the v2 was fine, they wouldn't have deleted my posts and locked the topic after the discussion went into a direction they do not like, simply because the discussion would not have led to a direction they do not like.

Speaking from an organisational architecture perspective, buying white-label ECUs is also not the best choice for overall customer experience.

 

 

So which EMS' are recommended for an NA application?

 

 

I too logged the VTEC behavior on my old V2 setup and experienced the on/off switching while changing gears even while staying in the parameters that AEM allowed you to set. Sometimes It would not engage till several rpm's after the setpoint. Whether or not this was logging speed issues or actual switching issues, I am not sure.

In AEM's defense though, you can't expect support for older products for the usable life of said products. They have something newer and more capable out now, that they would love for all their V2 users to upgrade too. Financially, it doesn't make sense to continue to invest into and aging product. So they kill two birds with one stone...saving money by not investing in an older product, and making money by pushing a newer one. For instance, there are a lot of parts for older model Hondas and even s2000's that you can no longer get from Honda.