ST205 - Powered by EMU Options

[skogs]

I bought my ST205 almost a year ago, and its been a really bumpy ride. First the engine blew up not long after i got it, and i didnt have the tools, knowledge or time to fix it myself. So a workshop offered to import a JDM ST205 and to the swap. The price was good and the wait was bad, it took almost half a year. But at least i got it back on the road, and i could finally start working on it myself

When first got it, it looked like this:


Looks really awesome with those rims, however the rides was terrible. I decided the looks wasnt worth it, but i couldnt afford a proper set of 17". So i used the rims from my old celica. Looks ok. I will post a pic of that later.

Then when it was time for the MOT (EU-check), i had to get rid of the Teins. So i replaced them with the stock suspension from the JDM ST205. The ride is really comfortable, but its too soft for active driving. 17" rims will probably help a bit.

When it comes to mods, it was equipped with all kinds of electronic stuff. Alarm, engine heater, turbo timer, lots of gauges and a Blitz EBC-ID boost controller. Everything wired really bad. So i removed the turbo timer, alarm and heater. Dont need any of it, so its just in the way. Mechanically it came with an aussie downpipe, mongoose 2,5" exhaust and a HKS ssqv. Sounds awesome. Alltough i wish the dump valve wasnt sequential, its almost louder on low boost.


The sound system was basicly non-exsistant, which was good, as now i could build everything from scrath. Luckily it was the 8-speaker option. So i installed a focal 3-way system, 4-channel amplifier and a 12" sub. In the dash i have an Asus 7" tablet, which is connected to the amplifier via a miniDSP. This gave me excellent tuning-possibilities, and i have tuned it exactly to my taste. I also installed a remote controlled central locking-system.

But now to the fun part! Tuning the engine.
The workshop that swapped the engine installed and tuned a standalone ecu from ecumaster. They did a really crappy job, and didnt even admit it.

And thus begins my experience with the Ecumaster EMU standalone ECU. It has been so much fun, and extremely educational. I've heard people say that aftermarket ecu's are just good for racing, that there are drawbacks like rough idle, harder to start, behaving bad at low loads and rpms. All in all nowhere near the drivability of the stock ecu.

This is simply not true. A standalone ecu like the Ecumaster EMU can be everybit as good as the stock ecu, with the added advantage to increase power dramaticly. It's just a manner of spending time tuning it. Customer support at ecumaster helped me get startet with the mapping, as the maps that the workshop had provided was utter crap. Using remote desktop i sat in the car for about an hour just idling and reving, while an Ecumaster employee adjusted. When we were done, all starting issues, bogging issues and missfires was completely gone. Until about a week ago, i knew basicly nothing about mapping. And now i'm currently logging and tuning the fuel map all by myself, it's kind of easy once you understand how it works. It's just logging - comparing the actual ARF with target ARF and then adjust VE-map accordingly. Then repeat. This has to be done for as many combinations of load and rpms as possible. The timing however, i will leave to professionals, thats were the power is made.

There are of course other tables and settings thats a bit harder to comprehend. But at low load and rpm it's safe for a bit of trial and error.

To be continued with more pics and details on the mapping and trip to the dyno.

[JoshuaM]

I know you had to change it.... but that car looks AMAZING!