Hi comp with ITBs on AEM EMS 4 by ethergore2

7 minute(s) of a 30 minute read

I miss my car. 

4-23-2013

So I got a small update on the status of my car. It turns out AEM sold me the wrong coil driver for my car to run their pencil coils. So now I purchased some Toyota coils. I like how these will look better anyways since I can now get the Sam Q plate. I am sad that I wasted money though. Hopefully I can sell the pencil coils and get AEM to refund my coil driver since it was their fault. I doubt it though.

5-24-2013

So I got a small update on the status of my car. It turns out AEM sold me the wrong coil driver for my car to run their pencil coils. So now I purchased some Toyota coils. I like how these will look better anyways since I can now get the Sam Q plate. I am sad that I wasted money though. Hopefully I can sell the pencil coils and get AEM to refund my coil driver since it was their fault. I doubt it though.

I was emailing back and forth with the guys at FSR following the progress of your build before I knew you were a member and posting about it here. What Toyota coils did you go with and do they have built-in ignitors? I was thinking about going with S2000/RSX COPs since those have built-in ignitors for a much cleaner look.

Sam Q plate?

I got the 1NZ coils since they don't need a spacer. They include the igniter so you can wire straight from EMS without a coil driver.

With all the annoyance and unavailable tech support you mentioned, why did you choose AEM EMS 4 instead of haltech, TeC, SDS, or MegaSquirt? With the pricing you mentioned ($700) plus wiring and sensors, you can get any of the other ECUs.

I originally chose AEM because they are local here in SoCal. Many tuners use their products. Most of the annoyances have come from not many people using AEM on a 16 valve 4ag with ITBs. The most difficult part was getting the trigger to work which, now that I know what needs to be done, is actually simple. I never said that AEM customer support was unavailable but they weren't that helpful. 

The good news is they have a very good tech support guy named Beau now who has been very helpful. We have made some good progress and I should be able to finish up this build thread soon. Ie, about a month or two since my tuner is on vacation.

With all the annoyance and unavailable tech support you mentioned, why did you choose AEM EMS 4 instead of haltech, TeC, SDS, or MegaSquirt? With the pricing you mentioned ($700) plus wiring and sensors, you can get any of the other ECUs.

I don't think the question was originally directed at me, but a turning point for me very recently is I was over at AutoWave in HB (big NSX tuner) getting a service done on my MDX and a guy was working on his Miata in the parking lot trying to figure it all out. He walked in to the lobby holding a MS PnP unit and said that he was waiting on a replacement before he could get the car out of their hair. Turns out he brought it to them for tuning but fuel was literally pouring out of his exhaust pipe and it ended up being a faulty injector driver in the MS unit. This is after he already went back and forth changing out a whole new set of injectors and misc. fueling components.

Just seeing the frustration on his face and the mess out in the parking lot was enough for me to steer clear of any potential for that happening to me.

I'm running an AEM v1 and if anything, might later change to EMS-4.

I'm with you ridge racer. Megasquirt is for people who really understand stand alone systems.

Oh and how did you get the trigger inputs? Looks like 4AGZE CAS but did you have to use a trigger wheel at the crank too? Where'd you find a 4AGZE CAS?

No. We used the CAS for cam and crank position.

You know how some just use the distributor as a CAS? Does the stock 16v dist. have all the same pickups to use like you did with the CAS? I haven't looked myself, but I've seen pictures showing both a 4 tooth and 24 tooth wheel inside. I think people grind down 3 of the 4 teeth on the smaller gear.

was having to convert from falling edge to rising edge an AEM nuance or was it an error associated with the incorrect ignitor?

Yes. I think you are correct. I'm sure someone else can confirm since I'm not positive. I just like the clean look of a CAS. What I wish was that there was a way to get AEM's engine position module to work on a 4AG. Then I'd have all AEM sensors.

With all the annoyance and unavailable tech support you mentioned, why did you choose AEM EMS 4 instead of haltech, TeC, SDS, or MegaSquirt? With the pricing you mentioned ($700) plus wiring and sensors, you can get any of the other ECUs.

I originally chose AEM because they are local here in SoCal. Many tuners use their products. Most of the annoyances have come from not many people using AEM on a 16 valve 4ag with ITBs. The most difficult part was getting the trigger to work which, now that I know what needs to be done, is actually simple. I never said that AEM customer support was unavailable but they weren't that helpful. 

The good news is they have a very good tech support guy named Beau now who has been very helpful. We have made some good progress and I should be able to finish up this build thread soon. Ie, about a month or two since my tuner is on vacation.

Thank you for the information. I asked because I am looking for a good standalone for my new 16V engine using TRD individual throttles using the following criteria of quality, tuneability and user-friendliness, cost, excellent support and customer service. I was stuck between Haltech and TeC but since this thread I decided to look into AEM because they are available locally. Like you mentioned, I do not see most people use AEM on their A series motors.

Since you already know the problem, how much would be the total cost of equipment without counting the wrong parts to run AEM (AEM EMS 4 + flying lead kit + injectors + 1NZ COP + 4AGE CAS + other necessary sensors = ?

Lets see what I can remember:

I got the EMS, flying lead harness, map sensor, air temp sensor, and water temp sensor for $1350. If I was smart and didn't insist on all AEM sensors I could have paid $900 for the EMS and flying lead and found the sensors in the junk yard for cheap. 

The 1NZ coils were $125

The CAS was like $90 used

I found some 225 cc injectors for free and got them cleaned by RC for $100.

I had to pay to have my water neck re-drilled to accept the AEM threads- $50

All kinds of wiring supplies including expensive ratcheting crimpers must be totaling $300 by now. 

So for parts alone what is that? $2015

The most expensive part was getting someone to wire everything since I can't do it myself. I'm getting close to 3k for that since I'm paying by the hour. If you had my project as a guide or if you were lucky enough you could probably pay the guy who did my wiring to make you a harness and only have to pay for tuning. 

Like you are thinking, AEM is good in theory but carrying out this project with few references was expensive. Now that someone (me) has almost finished, it should be much simpler. 

I say you wait for me to finish and see how it turns out. If it works, I think it's the next cheapest way to go after mega squirt.