STS-ECU help needed

[riverman1]

First a little background: I ran a few of the ER autocrosses, in ES class, in the 2014 season, as a novice. Had an absolute blast! Due to some work related commitments, I was unable to run any 2015 events. However, I have still been enjoying my 1991 Miata and have done a few upgrades as well. So, as the saying goes, in for a penny, in for a pound. Since the upgrades will throw me into the STS class, I would like to go ahead and go all the way, with allowable upgrades.

Most upgrades, ie: suspension, wheels, intake/exhaust, are pretty easily researched and figured out. ECU is another story. So, my question is, what are the DFW area local STSers running and who are they using for tuning, while staying within the piggyback/fits in the box STS rules?

Being 50+ years old, electronics and computers are not second nature, for me, and I really have to apply myself to learn any of the more complicated aspects of such. Sorry, but I learned to type on an IBM selectric!

Any help would be appreciated.

riverman

[sammm]

I've thought about going down that road, but haven't (yet)....I'm still running a stock ECU.

I daily drive my STS Miata, and like to keep it simple.

PS - Spend your money on seat time, seat time, seat time.

[OZMDD]

A Megasquirt system is the most common and inexpensive way to take advantage of the standalone allowance in STS. There are some other options, but all are more expensive. You can simply change the crystal in the oem ecu to bump the rev limiter. A good tuner can find 10-12 hp on a good IHE setup with cleaned and flow-tested injectors, but suspension setup and tires are going to be the biggest areas of improvement in autocross. Once you have maximized your setup and driving gains, an ECU is a good investment. Before that point, its a fair bit of money, time, and effort for a a difference that will probably not show up on the clock right away.

[Davidss]

Unfortunately all of the STS legal ECU options are pretty expensive. In my opinion they are a poor investment. It would be far wiser to work on driver development. When you get to the point that you are winning or almost winning against the top local STS cars then it's time to upgrade the ECU.

[Steve E]

As someone that has investigated the sts ecu options i would recommend you work on car and driver before you try ftw ecu... If you want to chase that dragon i would be happy to discuss. Have wallet handy if you want to step down that road...
Steve E

[modernbeat]

For autocross I would do the crystal and bump the rev limit up a little. Beyond that it's a lot of pain for very little gain.

[sammm]

^Are there any good write-ups on the 'crystal mod'?

[modernbeat]

This one is decent: http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=220003

[sammm]

Thanks.

[jrj512]

^Are there any good write-ups on the 'crystal mod'?

I have an ECU with the mod that you can try out. While it increases your red line limit, it also messes up your low end, not that you have much to begin with. I went back to stock.

[sammm]

^Thanks, but my car has a CA ECU, and that's different than a non-CA car. I could change the fuel-injector harness if I wanted to use a non-CA ECU.

[OZMDD]

I have a spare non-CA harness.

[riverman1]

Thanks for the help guys. I know ya'll are correct about the nut behind the wheel needing the most work. I will follow the advice about the suspension/tire mods first and think about an ECU upgrade later. I really already knew this, I just hate to leave anything on the table. Thanks again and I look forward to seeing/running with yous guys in the upcoming season.

By the way Mike, I am the guy that bought some daisies from you last year, and more recently, the refinished steering wheel.