differences between ECU's - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

SiX_iN_a_RoW · 02-14-2003, 21:45

Hi guys wondering if someone could help me out here

Can someone tell me the difference between an EA MPFI ECU and an EBXR6 ECU, both non smartlock...mostly interested in fuel/air/spark side of things

say if you wanted to put an XR6 cam into an EA, would just replacing fuel pump and regulator allow it to run properly, or would you need the ECU too?

ALSO

IF the ECU is needed, is it possible/cheaper to get the data "flashed" onto your standard ECU or just buy a secondhand XR6 ECU?

Thanks

EDFUTURA · 02-15-2003, 20:18

The XR6 ECU will make a difference to the fuel and spark and the XR6 ECU is of course programmed for the XR6 cam.

I've also found that the XR6 ECU is generally more tolerant of idle vacuum being low - so it's a good option for fitting an aftermarket cam (pretty much essential for a Crow one).

Keep in mind that the XR6 has 3.45 diff - but that might not be an issue for the EA? (ie. I think the EA has separate tranny ECU) - certainly won't be an issue for manual.

I'm running an EDXR6 ECU in my ED Futura - this replaced the original standard ECU and when I had the XR6 cam in the engine it went ok with the std ECU but definitely went better with the XR6 ECU.

SiX_iN_a_RoW · 02-15-2003, 22:23

Thanks for your reply ED, how did the car idle with the XR6 cam and standard ECU?

If I were to keep the standard ECU and fit a cam similar to an EDXR6 and also run the EDXR6 fuel pump and regulator do you think it will run ok?

BLWNEB · 02-15-2003, 23:58

Just buy a unichip, at do some mod work.

NZ · 02-16-2003, 00:05

Go find a wrecker that has an ef taxi or something and offer him $40 for the ef cam. Theyre the same almost as an ed xr6

SiX_iN_a_RoW · 02-16-2003, 02:09

hehe thats what I was planning to do karl

but what about the ECU? will it idle ok with just a higher pressure reg and fuel pump?

NZ · 02-16-2003, 02:11

i dunno but itll run like crap ask brent, I had the ef cam in with a normal ecu and it was pretty shitty

EDFUTURA · 02-16-2003, 18:19

SiX_iN_a_RoW - I always found that the standard ECU was ok with both EB/EDXR6 cam and EF std cam - the idle was a little lumpy but there was no problem with stalling etc. (it's an auto). The degree of "lumpiness" was such that you'd look at it and think "is there a cam in there or is it just badly tuned" - ie. it wasn't eyeball wobbling stuff.

I had a couple of instances where when fitting the std ECU back in it would be nasty and I'd have to do the reset thing (battery disconnected for a while) a few times to get it to behave - I actually had the XR6 ECU do that once too - perhaps those times I didn't leave it disconnected quite long enough?.

You'll find that the EF std cam will give a good solid torque increase (that's just the cam alone without the BBM sytem) - as the guys have said, it's specs are very similar to XR6 one - on the road the diference I found between the EF std cam and EDXR6 cam was that the EF one felt definitely torqier than the XR6 cam (lost less performance with load and temp etc.) but the XR6 one could spin up faster and rev a bit more freely at the top end.

Bottom line - the XR6 cam was beter for highway cruising (high speed acceleration - overtaking) but the EF std cam was beter for round town (point and shoot) and not far behind the XR6 one on the open road either.

SiX_iN_a_RoW · 02-16-2003, 19:42

well I think I will buy an EF cam soon, I will then try fitting it and see how it goes, if I am not impressed I will look into buying an XR6 fuel pump and Regulator, if I'm still unhappy I will buy an XR6 ECU..like someone said here on FF, experimentation is never a waste of time

SiX_iN_a_RoW · 02-16-2003, 19:56

Actually if I am using an EF cam wouldnt I be able to run an EF fuel pump and Regulator? I know the fuel pump will fit but are there any differences in the regulators which will not allow me to use it?