[vex]

TitaniumTT will absolutely bite my head off if I didn't include this section, and for good reason. The electronic suite you choose to run in your car is your line of defense from potential problems that may cause you tremendous grief and pain with regard to the engine. What you choose to monitor should be the key index's that measure the condition of the engine. Unfortunately we have nothing that directly measures the condition of the engine at any given operating scheme. What we can do however is monitor specific subsystems for their function and secure base line readings of all systems throughout the nominal operating conditions and then compare those readings throughout any situation that may arise.

What we have been discussing so far are all the subsystems we need to monitor. Oil, fuel, coolant, etc. They're all the portions of the engine that we need to ensure we can have data from if we need to. It will do us little good to know that we are low on coolant when we don't know what final temperature we were able to keep the engine at while we attempted saving the engine. It would do us little good to know we are low on oil without knowing that the pressure is good but the temperature is out of spec. These systems however do not need to be monitored all at once, nor do they need to be monitored in real time under most situations. For this cause, you as the builder, need to figure out which specific systems to have dedicated to real-time gauges, and which systems need only access to be datalogged.

The systems I chose were: AFR's (Exhaust), EGT (Exhaust), Boost/Vacuum (Induction), Oil Pressure (Oil), Coolant Temperature (Cooling). Those provide me with enough information to know if my engine is operating under satisfactory condition. Stock gauges themselves are helpful, but they lack a specific degree of accuracy you might want, if so consider altering your setup and real estate for more gauges.

Another portion that needs to be addressed within this section is the ECU/EMS. The stock NA ECU will not cut it--and sadly neither will the RTek 2.1 system for the NA-Turbo. An alternate way would be to secure a Turbo ECU and Harness and have it modified for the RTek 2.1. It then should have no trouble running what needs to be run. This however has not been tested by me and so I can not verify it.

The other option is to go piggy back. You however lose control to alter spark, but that may not be necessary depending on the boost level pressure you plan on running. You may also need to replace the MAP sensor with one more capable to handle positive pressure. The NA MAP sensor only is able to read up to 2.4PSI (I have rarely seen it read above 4PSI even though I have seen as high as 8PSI on my gauge--don't ask).

The final option is to go with an aftermarket EMS. I personally plan on going this route and have had many discussions with members on this and other forums to ensure my understanding of what each individual EMS brings to the table. Some top contenders in my book are MoTec, MegaSquirt, and Haltech. This is not to discount other EMS boxes such as MicroTech, Wolf3D, and others--but to show my specific inclination based on past conversations.

What the biggest thing you should consider is what you plan on running and how you plan on running it. If you need specific functions or are only able to run specific devices with the use of a specific ECU you may wish to hunt around to see what one can do the job.

This and of itself could be it's own write up, and maybe some one will one time in the future. But this is just to give you a basic understanding. So we'll go over a little more detail later on in the write up.