dave1968 Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 My car has an r400 spec VHPD engine as built by Minister in 2001. It has an MBE ECU part# 72906 which MBE tell me is a caterham specific part. Ive seen lots of positive threads on here regarding emerald ECUs. Are there advantages of the Emerald over the MBE that I have? if so what? if there arnt id like to find somewhere to have my MBE re-mapped at some point, can anyone recommend anyone reasonably local to me? (Im based on Beds / Hetrts border) ta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Day Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Steve Greenald at Road n Track: 07774-773824. Basically just off the M25 at the north side of the Dartford Crossing. He can map upwards of 15 or so different ECU's including MBE & Emerald. No real benefits swapping to an Emerald; if the MBE is electronically OK stay with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobuy Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 If you have a MBE fitted, no reason to change to an Emerald. For me the biggest advantage for the Emerald, is I can map it myself. If I lived in blighty, no doubt I would take it to a rolling road. Duratec SV, built in Dubai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Plato Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 I dont think the plugs that you have for the MBE are compatable with the Emerald . The 2 systems simply tell the engine what to do - but the Caterham supplied map is not engine specific so there is scope for improvement especially in part throttle behaviour and general manners. You may also find some more power by tweeking the cam timing . MBE do also make other ecus that have lots more potential and features than Emerald - the emerald is falling behind now without features such as switchable maps , traction control , launch control ,self mapping, proper datalogging etc . But the upside is that Emerald's mapping sessions are cheap at £200- 275 If you want a remap then I would also suggest Steve Greenald too as he is close to you probably cost you about £300 - 400 here is C7 TOP South Wales AO Edited by - Dave Jackson on 26 Jul 2006 12:21:15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave1968 Posted July 26, 2006 Author Share Posted July 26, 2006 Thanks All, I shall give Steve a call Dave, the map in mine at present isnt a standard one, its was done by emerald some while back, but ive always felt the car runs a bit 'rich' and is occasionally a bit lumpy, could of course be something else... Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Piper Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Surely Dave Walker's closer to you...and since he builds Emeralds (OK, so Karl does, but you know what I mean) he is your obvious choice. He's in Watton (SP) near Thetford. IMHO the Emerald was far better suited to the 200bhp K I ran a couple of years ago than the MBE that car came with. Karl and Dave modified the plug to suit the Emerald while I waited Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Plato Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 But Dave68 already has a MBE ecu - there is little point in going and buying an emerald at £600 + £225 ish mapping when he can pop over to MBE mapper Steve Greenald with the present ecu the ecu is generally only as good as the map its running - any gains will only be as a result of more setup time on the rollers . here is C7 TOP South Wales AO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave1968 Posted July 26, 2006 Author Share Posted July 26, 2006 Mark, when you say the emerald was far better suited, what do you mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Durrant Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Dave68 I recommend you get the car remapped by Steve Greenald retaining the original MBE ECU. The important thing is the map and apart from making a bigger hole in your bank balance switching to an Emerald will not gain you anything Steve remapped my R500, it transformed the driveability, increasing both power and torque and the only point where the traces met before and after was at peak power. Mark D Comp Sec Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Ditto, a re-map is a sensible way forward. *thumbup* R500 Mango Madness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbo Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Changing the hardware isn't going to change the performance. Stick with what you've got... in the end its all down to the ability of the person who creates the map SV 2.3 Duratec and for the last time, no it is not a truck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nifty Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Hmmm ... interesting. I have an MBE that came with the R400 engine and I also have an Emerald. (I bought the Emerald because I was under the illusion they were better). Which should I use on the R400 engine when I install it, bearing in mind that the MBE will no doubt need to be remapped as the Emerald will 🤔 🤔 *confused* (Forget the fact that I only live 15 miles from Watton) With the Emerald will I be able to have two maps, one for track and one for road/MOT and change between them using my laptop 🤔 Keep off the straight and narrow 😬 Edited by - Nifty on 26 Jul 2006 19:02:30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rj Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Nifty, You can do the same with the MBE as long as you've got the PIN no for your map. I'm about mapping my own MBE. Most of it is fairly easy. I have never tried anything but the MBE though. /regin Growing old is mandatory - Growing up is optional Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobuy Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Nifty, with the Emerald you can have as many maps on your laptop as you like, its just a matter of taking the 5 minutes needed to load them. I am sure the MBE is the same. Duratec SV, built in Dubai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Plato Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 Nifty - which ecu you use will be determined in part by the wiring loom you will be using . If you have the EU2 loom then the emerald is simply pluged in and away you go The MBE has a different plug so the wring will need to be altered to suit . either will run the engine but how well is determined by the suitability of the ecu map for your particular engine . The R400 is supplied with a generic map which is not always optimal for each and every engine. A remap will optimise the settings . here is C7 TOP South Wales AO Edited by - Dave Jackson on 27 Jul 2006 07:59:58 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver-7 Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 i decided to stick with the MBE ecu that came with my R300 when i upgraded to 1.9K for several reasons, 1, cost and it works well ! 2, mech repairs in cheltenham did an excellent remap of a friends R400 (MBE). 3. I could keep the same loom, although Emerald now do a connector 4. Its easy to swich maps, just splice loom and fit a pc connector. mapping the MBE costs about £400 to £500 not cheap ! Ive swapped maps & engines 😬 several times recently, i have a copy of the R300 & the 1.9k on laptop takes just a few mins to down load the map. So if you have an MBE make use of it dont spend when you dont have too ! 😬 cheers Alex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannylt Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 Nifty - does Dave Walker refuse to map MBE now then? I'm sure he can, but maybe chooses not to. Steve Greenald & Steve Pitcher do a great job on any ECU - there are certain benefits on the MBE but none that really matter for an R400 (e.g. closing up of lowrev sites for example). I only switched to Emerald from MBE because it was a cheaper way of doing 8 injectors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Piper Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 Sorry, I read the post as meaning that he wanted to switch to an Emerald. The MBE in Andy Murphy's car, that I ran for a year was dreadful - I believe (but could be wrong) that Steve did ttry to map it to that engine but couldn't. We switched to the Emerald and it transformed the car. So I concede that this particular MBE may not have been at its best, but can vouch for just how good the car was post its upgrade to the Emerald. Incidentally Mark Durrant, did your MBP remap sort out the irritating "bunny hopping" at low speed that my R500 exhibits?...and how much did the remap cost? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nifty Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 Right, since I already have two MBEs (didn't sell on the one that came with the VHPD) and an Emerald I will not be spalshing out any more money on ECUs .. just the mapping. On the grounds of the above remarks and my proximity to DW I'll probably stick with the Emerald and sell the MBEs on. I have an EU2 loom on my 1400 SS ... can I use this on the R400 and thus save mincing about with the existing R400 loom to fit the Emerald 🤔 Keep off the straight and narrow 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rj Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 Nifty, I may be interested in one of the MBE's subject to the software version and of course ... price /regin Growing old is mandatory - Growing up is optional Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Plato Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 I have an EU2 loom on my 1400 SS ... can I use this on the R400 and thus save mincing about with the existing R400 loom to fit the Emerald yes - but you might have to alter the injector sub loom depending on the year of your 1400 SS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Wilson Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 I would be interested in an MBE ECU if you are selling one, 07971 270088 Cheers Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 Mark Piper, yes we both had a re-map on our R500 at Steve Greenaulds and has transformed both cars. The bunny hopping has gone and you can now drive it in 6th at 10mph!! Drivability has been improved 100%. Certainly worth every penny. Time spent on rollers is around 4-6 Hours dependent on tea breaks, budget around £400. *thumbup* R500 Mango Madness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Piper Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 Cheers Peter - looks like I might be making a trip to Steve's then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nifty Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 Regin, Dave, I will almost certainly be selling at least one of the MBEs, if not both. One came from a road going VHPD and one from a race R400 so maps will be different. I've no idea what they are worth but would like to ask a fair market value since I need to offset some of the cost of the R400 installation. If you have any ideas of value/cost then drop me a Blatmail. I may hold onto the R400 one until I've installed the engine just in case I want to run it before I can get an Emerald map sorted (mid to late autumn). The other one is ready to go. I'll post a "What's it worth?" thread. Regin has first dibs and Dave second Keep off the straight and narrow 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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