I was looking to get a new Engine management system. I have an Elecromoitve TEC3r. I was looking at the BS3 or XFI. Any opinions??? If you have used either , how is the datalogging capability??

 

Search is your friend

 

I personally like the XFI a lot, but have never used a BS3. I have never had a problem with technical support or ordering things at the last minute and getting them extremely fast with F.A.S.T.

 

It is difficult for anyone to make a recommendation without knowing a lot about you and your application. Here are some tips to get you started. Sit down and make a list of all the things that are important to you or that you assume every stand alone does. It seems at first all will do anything you want but in many cases it turns out not to be true. Some companies have their manuals and website literature written very carefully to make you think they have features that they don't or sometimes even flat out false information.

I know of a company that makes a box that can really do anything you can imagine but they will not sell it to you. They will only sell it to an authorized dealer that must install it for you. Obviously a box that is extremely flexible is inherently extremely complicated and this company has been burned enough times by the unsatisfied user that created self inflicted issues. The boxes that they will sell you are more strait forward but have less features. In this case you could read alot about features that are not in the model they would sell you for your car.

I know of a company that lists all the features of all of its boxes in all of the manuals even though all of these features cannot be had together. Box A will have some features that box B does not but yet box B has box A's features listed in its manuals and literature. Here the dealers will even mislead you because of thier own ignorance. They have no experience with box B and assume if the manual says it has it it must have it.

Be careful who you listen to. I know of a company who's owner/co-owner/founder or what ever he is answers the phone himself. He has an electrical engineering degree and will answer your questions accurately. Some have said he is arrogant and hard to deal with and might treat you like you are an idiot. Other companies shield thier engineers from the customer and technicians man the phones and answer questions. These guys are often not much more knowledgable than the user. Listen to thier answers carefully. Listen for when the tech says "It should be able to do that." or "I'm pretty sure it will do that." The bottom line at the end of the day the engineer that treated you poorly is your best choice and you should tolerate him. All the tech can do for you is give you bad or incomplete info himself or put you on hold forever while he goes and asks the engineer the question only to come back and try to explain something he really doesn't fully understand himself. A good dealer can be the answer to this. He has to install these things on cars and make them work so he will have a reasonable understanding and when he doesn't know he can call the engineer directly and get the scoop.

(read sarcastically)Other than this stuff buying a stand alone is easy.

 

Thanks, this only confirms all my fears and past troubles. I'll keep doing research before I buy. I got my current system because it was what the engine package I bougt came with. It not terrilbe but lacks things I need and problems with firm ware upgrades.

 

LOL not on this topic.

Find a tuner that you trust, get a system that they choose and you'll get many good nights of sleep.

 

Yeah, I know I need to do that. I have been trying to do all the tuning myself but my knowledge base is about tapped

 

I hear that...

 

the guy that people complain about, has always been nice to me, i answer his questions about set up and he tells me what should be changed or if i did something incorrectly.

dont even call if your power and grounds are not connected to the battery directly.

 

I personally run XFI. However, Don Bailey (who for a second I thought might the mystery man they were talking about, but Don is a lawyer, not an engineer, so it wouldn't be him) can tune any of them, but he will be quick to point you to a BS3. He knows what he's doing and if you don't waste his time with "yea .. uh ... I'm gonna do this, and have that, and just shoot him straight and don't BS him with dreams and aspirations, he's probably one of the most well schooled guys out there with a stable of winning customers that could wow anyone. John Meany (who designed the BS3 as well as the first "DFI") might be the engineer they are refering to.

That said, I've never run a Big Stuff, so I can't speak to what it's all about first hand. The XFI, on the other hand, can do a lot of the same stuff except coil on plug ignitions. The processor speed in the BS3 is faster than XFI, but they are both so fast you would have to be a really high end user to notice the difference.

Somebody already said it, but they are right: find a tuner you trust and are going to stick with, and buy what they suggest and you really will have many frustration free nights of peaceful sleep. I've taken the hard road and tried to do most of my learning by reading (a TON of it on this very site) and by trial and error (mostly error lol). I don't recommend it. Good tuners don't work for free, but most will teach you as long it's your dime. It's MORE than worth the investment.

 

Andy's list is good. And true. Also, plus two for this:

Exact-a-mundo.

I know you haven't named any names. In going with that trend, FWIW, I talked to the designer of one of the systems in question, in person, for a half hour once. I was nothing more than a tire kicker - at best - and he answered all my questions and was really friendly. I know what it feels like designing something inside and out, then getting surly emails / phone calls from people who shouldn't be near anything more complicated than a hammer. To wit:

I'm not allowed to talk to our customers at all. Not because I'll give them secrets - it's because I'm not good at sugar-coating the reasons why their ideas and problems are laughable, haha.

By the way, 71cam: do you know who TRENDZ (TRNDZ) is? He is a TEC3 wizard, and a hell of a guy as well. He's busy / doesn't frequent the board so much any more (or maybe he does and just doesn't post?), but send him a PM....he may be able to help you with what you've got already. (His screen name is "TRNDZ")

 

These cracks toward the "engineer" guy crack me up. I have NEVER had a issue with them that isn't handled. A GOOD DEALER is the place to start, don't by the system used and expect somebody to read the directions for you and help you wipe your ass. That's true with anything.

 

I have the same question what is better but also any good east coast tuners?