Am thinking about having an Emerald ECU to replace the Lotus 190 ECU. I hear that they are set up to run with more power and are a lot smoother in their power delivery. Excuse my lack of mechanical knowledge (I just enjoy driving the exige too!) but can the collective please pass down any comments on this subject? I see posts on vernier camshaft pulleys and such and I must confess to not knowing what would be required in such a conversion. Costs and where work could be carried out of interest as well.
Not not aware of many people that have gone from 190 to Emerald, most from std 177 to Emerald. It’s probably better but I’m not sure now much value you’re gonna get for that last few bhp. I’m sure the mid-range will improve a bit.
Ian
Not really looking to squeeze that many extra horses from the engine (although any extra would be welcome!), just wanted to know how much difference it would make to its overall performance? An expensive option for the extra power for sure, but will it improve the car noticably ? if it cures the 5500 rpm hiccups then it would be a bonus in itself!
and you get better fuel consumption with the Emerald, even if you thrash it around all day
The Emerald is a good ECU and worth it if you are fitting verniers to timing the cams properly, on a standard engine these will not gain you vast amounts of BHP/Torque but the drivability of the car from tickover to 8000 rpm is vastly improved.
I see the Emerald-equipped Exiges having just a little bit more oomph, and the 5500 rpm hiccup is vanished, of course.
But the main advantage is future upgradeability.
If you modify the engine further than the 190 spec, the Lotus ECU may not be able to cope, as it is not programmable.
You can do what you want with the Emerald, as it is fully programmable.
I would say that the Emerald really improves driveability, but the real bonus is that it will encourage you to go the next step and really modify the car…
Phil is spot on with his comments re verniers etc also…