Motorsport ECU's

[topwelshman]

I've got a digital dash that is having problems reading my M3 ECU, so might have to spend out on a motorsport ECU. Anyone have any real experience with DTA and Motec and what are the benefits of one over the other?

[stevieturbo]

Depends on what you want to achieve with the car, and power goals.

Motec is more versatile and will work with many factory crank/cam triggers, and they offer wiring harness adaptors for many cars, albeit at extra cost.

So fitting can be made easier. Motec has better map resolution and better injector control. They generally make better ecu's, but they are about twice the price of the best DTA.

DTA is also very competent. The lower map resolution isnt much of a concern unless you are making a lot of power in a boosted application. I think there are plenty of windows for any normally aspirated car.
Injector control is fine, again, unless seeking huge power, and you need low impedance injectors.
DTA also has a few extra features, like traction control built in.


Motec is the better ecu. But whether you need to spend that extra money is entirely up to you. For 90% of cases, it wont benefit you in any way really.

[smckeown]

Other lower end of the market ECUs worth looking at are Emerald, OMEX and KMS (Cheapest on the market). DTA also do 2 ECUs, one has traction control (8 PRO) and the other cheaper version (E48 EXP) doesn't

[denisb]

I have extensive experience of the cheaper 4 cylinder DTA and, providing you don't mount it directly above your exhaust manifold, it has proved reliable and easy to use. My V6 is getting the more expensive one which uses the same software but I haven't used it yet.

I use the Weber Alpha Plus system on my race car. It's fantastic, ultra reliable but can't be user programmed. I actually consider the latter a benefit as it stops me fiddling.