Sharkvelocity

I got the thing installed, but definitely with some hiccups along the way. Keep in mind (one thing i was not aware of before i purchased it) this unit is EXTREMELY universal. The software allows you to reprogram it to great extents, depending on your application, but as I found out, even that wasnt enough.

The module is defnitely cheap. $235 for the unit & $10 for a COM cable to plug into your PC's serial port. The unit I bought (SMT-5i) also has the capability to control a 5th injector for F/I apps. It is possible to get a basic SMT-5 for $225. So at $245 its a good 30-50 dollars cheaper than your run of the mill S-AFC and it has the potential to do ignition mangement.

Unfortunately, I have to say potential, because I cannot get the ignition feature to work for our cars as of yet. It may take some reprogramming of the box itself (this means breaking out an oscilloscope and possibly getting down and dirty with the crank sensor signals themselves, measuring some wavelenths and freq ranges). I have other things in life to worry about right now, so I've just left this feature hanging for now.

The fuel management capability of the unit works AWESOME with some minor adjustments to the module. I had this feature up and running 2 weeks ago and have played with my fuel maps for a while. You can get your fuel setting fined tuned to a level that you could never reach with just an S-AFC. Perfect Power came through with what they promised on this part.

Now for the major hiccups. Putting aside the ignition management issues, I had the unit installed and mounted and I was playing with my fuel maps like a champ. Subtly leaned out at higher RPMs and lightly richened at low RPMs, I cruised around for a total of 5 days without a problem. Then randomely a check engine light happened and backfiring galore! To make a long story short, the SMT unit completely failed. Just flat out died and stopped sending signals to the ECM. After a quick email session with perfect power and my local distributor, I acquired a new unit free of charge under warranty. In this case I was helped without a problem, but you start to wonder about the qulaity of the circuits on these modules. I also have the plain model for now (thats all the US distributor had in stock), and will get a SMT-5i directly from Perfect Power in a few weeks.

In a nutshell, is this unit potentially more tuning efficient than an S-AFC? Yes. Is it cheaper? Yes. Better warranty? Well, my local distributor and the people at Perfect Power did not let me down.

On the flip side, the unit is more difficult to install. If you can't DIY, then I hope you have a fat wallet. Having a tuner install it @ a regular $60/hr labor fee may cost ya ALOT of cash. Took me over 16 hours (over a 3 day period) and some serious beer consumption to get it installed and mounted. And thats not even counting the labor involved to get the ignition setup working. I still have to cross that hurdle myself. The SMT-5 is also not trustworthy to me yet. I'm still sketched out and expecting it to crash on me. I may be wrong and it'll take it a while of good performance to shake that perception of it off. I have strong hopes that I just got the crappy one out of a batch, and its not a trend for these units to fail randomely.

On a side note, I know there are a few high dollar cars down here that are using them, have been using them for a while, and no such manufacturing problems like the one I experienced have emerged. One mustang in particular has gained over 40hp to the wheels with just some fuel and ignition tuning with this little black box. I've seen that stang run, its evil.

Alright, I think I've babbled enough about it. I think the SMT-5 is worth it in the long run for me, and I'm glad I resisted the temtation to get an S-AFC with all its pretty lights. smile.gif I will let y'all know when I get my car dyno tuned and how my turbo project is going. I know its going VERY slowly right now tongue.gif By January or February I hope to have the Tib going psssshhhhh and running low to mid 14s without going boom. wink think i ask for too much?

Any questions on the SMT-5 unit, please do not hesitate to ask. I will try my best and answer it or find the answer for you.
Peace!

Decker

good job, how mutch re-wiring did you have to do?
let us know what gains you get from it. Have you done a dyno before?

Denisst99

Sounds good, at least they didn't let you down when you had problems
I would also like news about the Power Commander that Cheuck mentionned a while ago

Denis

Sharkvelocity

the hardwiring process was just plain tedious. You have to wire up the power, ground and TPS wires just like the S-AFC, and then u have to deal with the Air flow and Crank sensor input wires. Its just one big tedious mess. Especially when the wiring diagram that you get is for a euro spec Tib! Yup, I had to get REAL familiar with Webtech wink Which in the long run is a good thing.
I've never had my Tib dynoed before. I don't want to until my turbo setup is complete. In reality that makes the SMT-5 kinda useless for now huh? I can always use the track for some rough tuning of the unit (and of course my butt dyno tongue.gif ), but I just hope temptation doesnt get the best of me and I end up doin a pre-turbo dyno session anyway.
Either way, I'll keep y'all posted

[ September 26, 2002, 10:56 PM: Message edited by: Sharkvelocity ]

Shadohh

Personally. I am surprised you expected better help. I cant think of a single ECU or PiggyBack out there, that plugs into our stock wiring harness.

I dont think the wiring is a reall big problem "getting friendly with webtech" as you put it, is not a bad thing. Smt5 is not a drop in chip instant 50hp. This needs to be tuned and wired. IF one does not have the simple skills to be able to install. Its probably not something you wil be bale to tune. Or let alone put in a turbo.

also, I would recomend a dyno beofre you put the turbo in. Do things right. Base pwoerlines are always helpful.

edit- Where did you put the location of the smt5 unit itself?

[ September 27, 2002, 06:20 AM: Message edited by: Shadohh ]

Sharkvelocity

Thanx for your input shadohh, I appreciate your opinions, but PERSONALLY i think you assume to much about me, my tuning knowledge, and my plans for my car. You have a private message.

Shadohh

I apologize if this seemed a personal attack on you.

You have a PM in reply.

Still can you answer my question. Were is your smt5 located?

JAWS 021

if you were able to tune timing... i would definantly consider this

i have about a month and a half
right now... ill probably be sticking to the unichip

Shadohh

I am still waiting on mine, stupid SCCA, get in gear dood! But I have played with a few , some local guys use them.

JonGTR

Shadoh: It's under the driverside dash. You can mount it anywhere by the ECU. We don't have a dyno in town. Nearest one is in Austin, little over an hour away. Who knows what they charge to dyno AND tune it at the same time.

Jaws: It does have timing control. I also got an email from a rep stating that it has a window switch for eek! ****NITROUS****. I hit one of your buttons didn't I? tongue.gif

SAFC for A/F=$300
MSD for timing adv./ret.=$320
Window switch for nitrous=$77

Total for all these items=$697

OR, you could get only the SMT+cable=$245

You do the rest of the math

[ September 27, 2002, 11:21 AM: Message edited by: JonGTR ]