[RETed]

Originally Posted by classicauto

I just said that the TEC coils work GREAT without it - which is entirely true.

There were implications that CDI is not needed or inferior.
Mazda even went into great lengths of R&D to document that CDI ignition produced more power on a 13B engine.
CDI has it's place.
Why do you think the HKS Twin Power is so popular with FD owners?
Are they all wasting their monies?
Also, your above comments also implies Electromotive has some special coil that works wonders...
In fact, it's just a typical inductive coil.
So why not an aftermarket MSD / Crane Cams / Mallory coil?
Haltech has no problem fire any of those options...

How many different setting do you need to have in a haltech to make it work perfectly?

Technically, you only need one setting.
You're trying to take a Haltech advantage and twist it into a disadvantage.
The Haltech was designed to adapt to almost any available ignition triggering mechanism out there.
Hell, if you want to, you can slap an Electromotive 60-2 trigger wheel and magnetic pick-up's onto your engine, and the Haltech can be confirgured to read this perfectly fine.
So where is your superior accuracy now if all you're touting is the higher resolution trigger wheel?
It doesn't work the other way around.
In general, the Haltech can be installed, adapted, programmed for almost any engine out there, which means it'll be up and running faster than any Electromotive system due to the fact that the TEC systems *require* you to retrofit their ignition trigger wheel and mag sensors.

None of these issues exist with the TEC, you install the wheel, mount the mag sensor and it just works - flawlessly.

There is one flaw...
Since most of the time the Electromotive trigger wheel and magnetic sensors are mounted out in the open, if you're in an extremely dirty environment, it's possible to cause misfires from debris flying into the wheel and / or sensors.
I've heard of this happening on road race cars.
Flawless?
I don't think so.

With my previous Haltech if the signal wasn't good, the spark would jump all over the place and the tach would go nuts.

E6X, right?
If so, then I'll give you that.
If it's an E6K, I would suspect user error.
Even with the newer E8 / E11V2, adjusting GAIN and FILTER settings is key to getting everything to work nicely.
I don't think Electromotive has this kinda adjustment on it's software?
Electromotive had (has?) gap specs for it's wheel to mag sensor spacing.
Off by a few hundredths of an inch can make for inconsistent ignition input.
So do I rather have software adjustment or f*ck with feeler gauges?

Also flexibility can be a good or bad thing. Email haltech and ask for settings for X and Y coils and boxes. Unless you talk to matt you'll get a different answer everytime. I'd rather have a system that I know works to full capacity out of the box with little guess work.

The hardware is only as good as the tuner's ability (and it's tech support).
There's a lot of Haltech resources out there.
There's enough experience to handle the majority of coil (set-up) questions - I don't see that as a problem.
(Personally, I believe heavily in CDI, and I like the option to use it on my installs.)
Most standard CDI single-channel installs have standard settings.
(Aftermarket) inductive coils are all the same with the exception that you can play with the coil dwell time if you want to.
GOOD aftermarket CDI multi-channel boxes (i.e. Autronic / MoTeC / etc.) are all set the same - just like the single channel stuff.
Hell, if all of that confuses you, just keep the ignitor(s), install the CDI betwen the ignitor and coil, and you don't have to change a single setting!
Most tuners want additional flexibility - not the other way around.

Every system has its quirks, none of them are perfect its just a matter of what works for you.

Funny you say that, cause your replies are saying just the opposite.
I've been chanting this mantra for years now:
"Your EMS is only as good as the tuner's abilities and tech support."
Arguing superiority of one EMS over another is a royal waste of time - this very swap of replies in this thread is a good example.
So please, don't tout how your Electromotive is better than Haltech blah, blah, blah...

My replies end here.
Big apologies to charlie7 for soiling your thread.
I just hate it when people spew misinformation.
Anyone wanna debate my points, I welcome them through *PM*.


-Ted