Hello guys,
As you probably know - I have a S1 Exige with the 190 kit,
I’m considering an Emerald K3 ECU with the possibility of adding Verniers at a later date,
Could anyone give me a bit of advice on pros / cons and how it will affect the character of the engine?
Thanks muchly,
Character will almost entirely depend on the map and mapper, and you’d want a custom map made to make the most of the investment. Also for the cost of verniers, I’d get them installed at the same time to make the most of a custom map session.
Also have a look at the eliseparts ECU, it’s based on the Tour De Force EC1 and is plug and play (so no cutting up your current loom, or new custom looms). Slightly more expensive than the Emerald, however the reduced install costs should make up for that.
Interested to hear/see your results.
I would say the only downside to having an Emerald fitted to an S1 Exige, is the fact that the ECU plug is different, so it isn’t plug and play. To be honest I doubt the eliseparts ECU is plug and play with an S1 Exige as they had a different ECU to any of the Elise range.
Other than that it is all upside. I would get Dave Walker at Emerald to fit the ECU and do the wiring changes, plus get him to fit the verniers while he is at it. Dave must have mapped about a zillion K series Elise types before so probably has the best base map to start from.
Back when my car had a K series, Dave Walker did all of the above work that I have mentioned and the car was awesome. My car made 206bhp and the driveability and mid range were sooooooooooooo much better than with the standard ECU.
He also got the cold start spot on, so it ended up starting better than with the standard ECU. I also think it is looked on as a very good mod by the whole industry, so would not detract from the originality of the car and therefore the resale price.
Sean…
As usual, the wee brummie speaks sense (although with a strange high pitched accent 
).
Helen was squeezing my nads as I typed!!!
No ECUs are plug and play with the S1 Exige sadly.
If you don’t want to cut up your old loom you can make an adaptor box to convert the Exige loom plug to the emerald.
I started to make one for mine to map to an emerald… then to a Link G4x, before I made the move to a MoTeC, and we ended up rewiring the whole arse end of the car to take advantage of it (and terminating the loom so the old wiring would plug back in in a matter of minutes if you ever wanted to move back to the factory ECU.
The loom plug would clip on here and then the box would have flyleads coming out of it at the other end/side with Emerald plugs on it.
I was talking to Harvey about this not too long back - why do people go to Dave Andrews to have an Emerald installed, then go to Dave Walker for mapping? Why not go straight to DW?
Availability of “time slots” to carry out the necessary, surely?
If I remember correctly Rob / Matt it was all about the timing along with the fact that the car had a small oil leak that Dave Andrews said he would have a look at - not something Dave Walker would have been interested in.
Excuse my ignorance but I thought Emeralds were pretty much “plug and play” with verniers aas a very desirable adjunct?
I’m one of tha rare breed , a 177 Exige S1. I have been interested in an Emerald from Day One but, as with so many things, it’s been on the backburner.
The Treasurer(aka Mrs Thommo)has more or less given me carte blanche with the Exige( Provided I clear out the loft of all my Autorsports and Motor Sports, sell the windsurfer etc,etc.) so I see a clear road ahead . . .
I’d welcome everyone’s observations. I actiually love the lumpiness of the VHPD as it is. Would I lose that completely? Or would it be outweighed by the extra “oomph”. Ot could I turn thelumpiness on and off via a laptop to the Emerald?
See, told you I knew nowt.
Personally I have verniers fitted at the mo but no emerald - much better than standard cam sprockets - but that’s why you buy 'em so you can get the valve timing spotto on.
Myself I quite like the banging and farting of the VHPD so have so far been reticent to go down Emerald route which is undoubtably sooo much more a refined and sophisticated - but needs must I might have to venture down Emerald Way in the not too distant future 
Having a quick Google/Search, it appears I can get it all done (Emerald/Verniers/Remap) all done with DW, so I just need to find the money from somewhere…
I found a �1 coin down the sofa earlier on, maybe I can find a few more
I did notice that Mike was looking to move on an Emerald as part of his sale…see his ad in classifieds.
Thanks Ben - I’ve just pointed that out to Thommo as, it seems, he has the money but can’t read…
Emerald shouldn’t completely kill the lumpiness of the VHPD. That’s from having wild cams and ITBs.
Here’s my VHPD on a MoTeC M800, which is probably one of the highest tech ECUs out there, this is as smooth as it gets!
SEXIGE returns home - YouTube
Granted that’s on 1444s with big valves etc, but it’s not going to turn into a sewing machine with an Emerald
I say! A bit harsh. It was reading your post that got me thinking . . . I’m just doing my research
I’ve been half looking at this as well - although nitrons are top of the list at the mo. Looking at various websites - DWs and Hanger111 it looks like there is a new emaerald out called the K6 - anyone had any experience / know the advantages etc.
Cheers
Alski
Mike you have a PM
[quote=AlskiH]I’ve been half looking at this as well - although nitrons are top of the list at the mo. Looking at various websites - DWs and Hanger111 it looks like there is a new emaerald out called the K6 - anyone had any experience / know the advantages etc.
Cheers
Alski [/quote]
Dave Andrews says that all new Emerald installs are now K6. Seems to be a few nice benefits, its waterproof and has a USB socket for added nerdy-ness 
Dave Walker did all the work on my car some 4 plus years ago. didn’t i say that already???