Eprom emulator (simulator)

[TurboGTU]

I've seen alot of them...even make your own type...but don't know which is best. I know DIYer are cheaper...but the time to make them  :?   and I don't have resorces to make a board. In your own opinion...which is the cheapest and best. Anyone selling one. Looking for one around free-$70.

Thanks for your time.

[Jeff M]

These can be pricey, even the cheap ones will hang the ECM processor, actually requiring you to first shut the engine off to make changes, not what you want when you are dyno'ing your chip changes to see hp gains and safe o2 readings at the same time as your changes.  The proper ones using dual SRAMs that I have seen start at $500 to $800, with good ones having a powerful front end running over $2,000.  Those cheaper dual SRAMs that do have a usable front-end, are still worse than a DOS screen.  Time always changes technology so this may change, been a while since I last checked too.  The one I use is one of the higher end units, allows me to jump around from different tables with the function keys (from fueling to timing etc), allows you to change single or groups of values, in increments from 1 to 200, shows the chip you are working on and the one you started with so you can see what you have changed, all 1-D graphically so it looks like it makes more sense than tying to decipher and work with a big 3-D graphs, though a 3-D allows you to catch goofs but one should be careful with what they start with and the changes they make to need this and its more show than tuner power, there is more trick stuff to this one and other powerful ones, these will also tune any chip out there from old eproms to the latest flash type, a little over kill but the power of it smokes my time getting results the old way.  Whatever it takes and whatever you want or can afford long as you get results, and useing an emulator really gets solid results from making fat injectors work/idle etc to dyno power tuning.

Jeff M

[TurboGTU]

Yea..that helps..I was going for a single ram...but I will go for the doual ram...with fast acces time. I thought I could make changes while the engine was still on...with the emulator having a reset wire to tell the ecm to reset while it was still on. Oh well...better than poping the memcal, erasing it and reprogramming...LOL. I'll see what I could find. Thanks.

[Jeff M]

Yep, dual if set up proper allows smooth changes, single ram that I tested made engine hick-up with small single value change, made engine die with larger changes (5 digit value change), even hick-up concerns me if I was power tuning (idling during that test).

Jeff M