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aem vs hydra

4K views 15 replies 12 participants last post by  Matt [exz3owner] 
#1 ·
im trying to decide what ecu to go with. my original plans were to go with the hydra nemesis but the aem is about 800 dollars cheaper. is the hydra better or are they both about the same?

ps. im gonna be running a turbo setup.
 
#2 ·
I am running mp62 currently and like you want to purchase something that can allow me to tune and control additional fuel. To this end I do would like to understand peoples thoughts on two ecu's

T
 
#3 ·
The only ECM I've used is a Haltech, so I can't speak to either the Hydra or AEM units from personal experience.
I do know that the Hydra has a nifty self-tuning feature that just aims all of the a/f maps to a standard 12.5:1 or so across the board. Outside of that, it also offers more "resolution" in the various tables, though I don't recall the exact numbers. Something akin to a typical ECM's tables giving you tuning options for every 500 rpm, where the Hydra lets you work at every 250rpm or similar. Sadly, I didn't take notes at the Open House... :(

Have you considered the MegaSquirt units as well? They seem to fit into a nice price point, are stupid popular, and have a ton of online support out there.
 
#4 ·
Hey Mazdakid89, what year is your car? I think that will really determine which ECU options you have out there. The Hydra is a really nice ECU, I have friends who have used them on STi's, it gives you a lot of options, the questin is do you need them. For me, because I have a 2001 w/ the VVT, I'm pretty limited to having to use either the Hydra or a Freedom, or get creative. I'm personally going toward the Hydra, my question is, does anyone else sell the darn thing in the US besides FM? But I guess you get what you pay for... (i hope)....
 
#5 ·
The AEM can also use a A/F target map to "tune" the car. I would say the AEM and Hydra are pretty equally matched standalones. I am not sure if the AEM has anything setup to control the VVL, but I am sure you can set one of the outputs to control it. I think the biggest difference would be tunability. I have my car tuned on AEM, and it took 20min to have the street-tune finished. It takes about 5min to fix the tune for higher boost, too. Of course, I also have a good tuner who has been working with AEM for years, and knows all the tricks.

So now I am gonna sound like a MS supporter....AEM is cheaper, so use it.
 
#6 ·
I have an 89 with a 92 engine. i have fully rebuilt it, everything from oversized valves to a rebalanced crank. Im leaning towards FM's top turbo kit. Fm suggests the hydra, but if the AEM is just as good why not? I plan on having my car for a while, and i like having optioins when it comes to tuning, so if thats what the Hydra is gonna give me, then i think its worth the extra couple of hundred dollars.(do i need all the options, dont know :| you tell me) so, to anwser your question drft mx5, yes, its an NA
 
#9 ·
Hey Mazdakid89, what year is your car? I think that will really determine which ECU options you have out there. The Hydra is a really nice ECU, I have friends who have used them on STi's, it gives you a lot of options, the questin is do you need them. For me, because I have a 2001 w/ the VVT, I'm pretty limited to having to use either the Hydra or a Freedom, or get creative. I'm personally going toward the Hydra, my question is, does anyone else sell the darn thing in the US besides FM? But I guess you get what you pay for... (i hope)....
AEM's FIC piggyback worked on my 2001 LS. =D>



my AFR @ 6 lbs and stock injectors... of course with the hydra i couldve done something about that VVT around 4k but still good none the less. especially for 400.
 
#12 ·
can you speak to why you believe haltech is the way to go. Funny I was leaning there but am a novice. Is this something a newbie could install? I have a supercharged NA with 99 head. Want to up my power via fuel and pulleys and have tunability so I am maximizing what I have?
 
#13 ·
hey emmi...how did you get the aem f/ic to work....i was reading some threads over at mt.net about it and so far from what i've read there has only been one person to get that to work and they have had way to many problems with it....p.s if i remember correctly, he was using it on a 99-00 NB
 
#14 ·
Looking at Emmi's screen shot of AFR's, I wouldn't be in any hurry to use the FIC. That's a pretty erratic plot, nothing I would want in my F/I motor. After messing with piggyback's in my NB's, I'm sorta done with them. You just never get the repeatability, flexibility or resolution you get with a standalone.

Of the two ECU's in the OP, the AEM is my personal choice. I run one in my NB. I do, of course, sell the Megasquirt Plug and Play which is sorta like a simplified down AEM and about $600 cheaper. That's what's in my trackday project car.
 
#15 ·
^ make me a pnp megasquirt for my car! ^_^. and besides, my afr lines might have been better if i had mt.net support like with the emanage. PIONEER! lol


superman. i remember that guy. i exhanged pms with him a couple of times asking about it. the only difference was that aem couldnt supply a wiring diagram on where to hook everything up.

church's automotive used a MAF clamp as opposed to the o2 clamp that everyone is used to. which was weird... so far i have only seen mine. and project car magazine's 92 turbo project running fic successfully
 
#16 ·
it looks like Emilio is the only other person I know that has owned and tuned both.

I ihave used and owned both as well, but my perspective is a little different. FM will unlock the features or options you want unlocked. They just won't sell a fully unlocked ecu to keep owners from getting into trouble. (as well as probably also keeping a "lock" on the Miata Hydra biz.)

I am now running a Snow water injection kit with fail safe off the hydra, and my AIM dash and data logging is all done off a pin out on the Hydra.

I found the Hydra to be a pretty powerful ecu, and the support can't be overlooked. I frankily thought that AEM abandoned the miata ECM they used to build because they didn't sell any. If you feel you want someone to help you with your tune for free, then you can't beat the hydra.
 
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