Cus' NA6

[hks_kansei]

If you get an answer in regard to the "sealed" part i'd love to hear it.
Very few people have gone through the effort to do the job right, so information is hard to come by.

I also understand the whole "otherwise reprogrammable" dilemma, since even the standard ECU is able to be reprogrammed to an extent (it's apparently moderately common in japan for the NA6, and I know that the aussie NA8 ones have been done too)

The other option that I have thought may be a way around it, is to look into purchasing the setup used on the Ford laser TX3, or the Mazda 323 GTX (or GTR, one used a B6, the other a BP)

While turbo manifolds etc will need to be binned (FWD application) there's a possibility the ECU may work (would depend on what other changes the Laser and 323 had, stuff like distributor ignition possibly)

While not exactly the most powerful end product, the fact that it uses an OEM ECU (albeit from a different car) may possibly be a way around things.




Of course, the simplest method would be to shove the engine/ecu from an SE in there. Easy to get engineered, emissions no problem (the setup meets 2002 emissions standards, so 1989 ones should be a breeze)
Biggest problem there is the cost/benefit... it's a lot of cash for not that much power.





The saddest part is that with all the Vicroads runaround it would actually be easier to buy some scrappy square of desert in far west NSW and register the car there to get NSW plates, which means you can kind of skip the vicroads stuff (technically any cars on Victorian roads are supposed to meet Vic rules, so an engineered and legal car in NSW can technically be given a defect the minute is passes through Albury..... in reality it doesnt happen much since the police have better things to do.

[Cus]

I've done a little bit of digging, the NA6 ECU has a ROM, not an (E)EPROM so once it's got data on it, it can't be changed. It's probably one of the few ECUs that are legal-to-the-letter-of-the-law in a fuel injected car! What the japs are (or, were) doing is completely desoldering the chip, and putting a new one on a daughterboard, and soldering that in it's place.

It would technically do the job, but once again it's "user-modified" - so the debate is back to square one.

NA8 and up are (E)EPROM so you can desolder the chip, read it, write it, change it, whatever, and either solder it back, or more often, socket it back into place for later mods. (hence the name "socketing") Nearly all GM ECUs are modifiable, as are a lot of the Ford ones, and probably most other ones with our current "ship now, patch later" mentality.

I think the most straight-forward way would be a) not having the USB port accessible on the outside of the case, and b) anti-tamper paint and torx screws holding the case closed (ie; fill the head on the screws, splash some on the case for good measure), and a section in the engineer's report along the lines of "Compliance includes ECU case screws <list of screws> having white paint and showing no signs of being opened or otherwise tampered with, ECU has been examined before sealing and <whoever> is happy there is no method of modifying the programming without first opening the case" possibly with a printout of the spark and fuel maps "as tested" so they can be verified before final sealing.

That way I give them an automatic fail if the ECU is ever discovered to have been opened, no testing needed: here's a fine, see ya later, wouldn't wanna be ya! ...and then some of these for good measure:


On the topic of an alternate ECU though, you've triggered my memory on an OEM ECU that *could* be "fit for purpose"...
http://miata.turbomirage.com/turbo_miat ... rade2.html There's a youtube channel called "Tom's Turbo Garage" where he talks about the ECU changeover for about 10 seconds as a side-point to doing something much less interesting. But once again, "user programmable" - just not as obviously so as an MS - Not a path I'm going to investigate though, unless there turns out to be absolutely no other choice.

And let's not even start on VW doing exactly what they're assuming every modified car owner is going to do: pass emissions with one tune, then use another on the road (then fix it when they were busted....)

[speed]

Cus, I thought you were aware of the ecu issues.
Whats your engineer say?

No point me banging on about NSW except the part where the engineer signs off on ecu, whether it be tamper proof stickers, screws etc.

Doubt they would open up the ecu, especially if it has tamper proof screws and sticker already in place and signed off.

Hence why I'm curious to know what your engineer has advised.

[Cus]

I was aware of ECU issues, but not to the extent that they're an issue-issue. Blue94t's posts were rather enlightening.

I'm taking baby steps with the engineer - Every time I talk to him he's more accepting of the idea, so I don't want to push my luck by introducing new "problems" before he's happy the old ones are solved. Basically I'm approaching it the same way I talked my parents into letting me do things they didn't want me to do

He's changed his stance from "you're asking the impossible" to "this seems quite possible" - He still has more questions about the kit before he's happy, but that's AVO's domain now. Then we move on to the ECU. I have a battle-plan, and know much more about the process, and the snags, than I did a week ago. As we're all aware, it's not going to be cheap so I'm trying my hardest not to be blind-sided by anything, at all, not even a little bit. It's actually looking quite "easy" as well, I just had to accept that some things were simply not going to happen the way I wanted.

I will definitely be letting everyone know what happens though, don't you worry about that! Then it's back to face-palm inducing posts about trying to remove steering wheels and other general maintenance mayhem....

In unrelated news, I got my non-synchro HR truck license today, the tester said it was one of the better drives he's been on!
It turns out owning a little car you have to drive defensively in day-in, day-out is excellent training for driving a 20T Truck

[smy0003]

Cus, I spoke to AVO a while ago about all this. I got the impression that their kit was only emissions approved with their interceptor box/extra injector rubbish set-up controlling the fuel and spark.
I also spoke to someone who actually had a legal (shock horror!) NA6 Turbo in Vic, and gave me the name of the engineer he used to comply the AVO kit he used.
If you shoot me a PM I'll pass on his details and the info he gave me.

[speed]

If you shoot me a PM I'll pass on his details and the info he gave me.

Does his user name start with B?

[smy0003]

If you shoot me a PM I'll pass on his details and the info he gave me.

Does his user name start with B?

Nope, I don't think he's on here much anymore. Happy to shoot through the engineer he used/recommended in a PM

[speed]

All good. I'm in sydney and already have an engineer.

I pm'd the bloke I was thinking of and awaiting his approval before passing said info onto cus ;)

[speed]

Bruce resides in VIC and said the following.

Hi,
It comes down to whether the Engineer will accept what ECU you're running.
I've got an SR20DET with Nissan ECU. ECU has been Nistuned (ie.programmable). I don't think he really cared about the ECU, more about the actual Emissions Test (which is a whole another story).
Ta
Bruce

[MJT_MX5]

Cus,
I envy your road trips you've done in the Mx5,
I use to do that a couple of years ago in the Mx5 when i had more time, set off for days with only a rough idea where i'd end up, best way to enjoy the car.
This year i'm going to take a leaf out of your book and drive the cars alot more.

Can't wait to see the next turbo chapter of your car!! keep it up.

[Cus]

On the topic of random road trips... I'm currently near Coffs Harbour...

I drove up and down Waterfall Way today, pouring rain all the way up, wet and exciting all the way down ... Once the laptop decides it wants to connect to wifi again, I'll post some pictures and videos!

Saw a black & blue NA at the Tormina Shopping Centre - took some photos of it like a creep lol

But more importantly: anyone close by with an oil pan, rag, 14mm socket and a driveway I can borrow? It's oil change time! lol (yes, I left home with no tools, don't judge me!)

Sent from my D5833 using Tapatalk

[hks_kansei]

I'd just leave the change until you get home.

How many km are left in the trip?
As long as you aren't planning on heading to Darwin from there I'd just wait.

[Cus]

I'm 1000ks overdue for filter+oil - I do filter every 10 and oil every 5 but I'll be going north before I go south!

Might just have to go the old fashioned way of taking it to a shop lol

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[Cus]

Here's a thing!

[smy0003]

Hahahaha your wipers look like they're going insane.
Looks like a great road, shame about the rain, looks slippery as.