WTB Wolf V550 ECU
 

Am looking towards an ECU replacement so that I can tweak my motor with a mild cam replacement.

The standard Ford AU ECU can't be easily tweaked and won't run even the mild E303 cam.

Bit of a long shot but I might as well ask if anyone has a Wolf V550 they are looking to sell or know of someone selling.

Let me know please.

Cheers

Steve

What about a Mircotech? I have done all these ECU's and although they work they are never perfect. I'm removing my Microtech LT16, msd 6al and MSD twin sync dissy. Problem with the wolfs and microtechs and other cheapies is they struggle with OE Falcon sensors hence me using the MSD twin sync dissy.
I am changing to the Motec M84 which can run off the factory sensors fine. Anyways hope this helps.

Steve, what about a Ford eec out of a TE50/TS50?
got to be some around now or something out of a AUII with the EEC-V rather than the IV I'm guessing your using. Honestly those ford EECs are amazing kit. Trouble is they're harder to tune than the GM ones but are so much better in what you can do with the right tools. The States are way way ahead of us in using it.

TI performance sell a chip you put in the ford Ecu which allow you to program it. I use their chips to bypass smart lock, turn off BCM and so on....they also have all the ford tunes so can put a 200kw or 225kw tune on the chip....food for thought and only $165

The ECU came out of a 220kW S2 AU matched with the engine. This is the EEC-V variant ECU.

I was also fortunate enough to bump into a young Ford drive train engineer who turned off the smart lock gear and other accessories not needed. But I've been told you need the Ford gear to really do any work inside the box.

Rog if you know of anyone that has the true capability to play inside a standard EEC-V and get tuneable results, I'm all ears.

What I've also been told is that the Wolf just plugs and plays with the existing Ford plug and loom and then it is just a tuning exercise from there. This greatly simplifies the initial plug connection to start with.

But I do want this tuning to cover a minor cam upgrade as part of this exercise too. Am also looking at other long term mods that I am also told the Wolf will handle.

I looked around on Wolfems.com

All there options seem to delete the MAF and convert to MAP. They seem to cater to the needs of drag racers. Racers are interested in making as much power as they can, and are not interested in everyday driving manors. That would concern me.

In the US, Mustang 5.0 last year to use MAP was 1988. I know GM and other manufacturers stayed with MAP way longer than Ford, but I think they have all moved to MAF, now.

MAP cannot handle wild cams. If your manifold vacuum is lower at idle than it runs above idle, MAP systems cannot make sense of that. MAP is estimating the air flow based on throttle position and MAP. At least that is my understanding.

I have no idea what ECU went into the Australian market. In the US, up to about 1996 Ford used the EEC 4, after that it was the EEC 5. Moates quarterhorse chip can be use on these, provided there is a Bin file that someone has figured out for you.

I have a Mustang 1989-1993 EEC 4 A9L ECU. The quarterhorse chip let's you do anything you want. Look on Moats.net and see if this would work for you.

You may want to look at this.

Pro-M EFI Universal Hotrod Engine Management System - Pro-M EFI Engine Management Systems - Pro-M EFI Engine Management Systems

I would have went this route, but I have EEC4 and this replaces EEC5. I would have had to change out my wire harness and a couple sensors, which put this option about 3X the price of the Quarterhorse chip.

Hmm seems I need to do some research.

But I was of the understanding that the Wolf ECU would just plug into my current system, and with tuning be a going concern.

Realise the tuning is a big effort though to get the parameters right but there are no other parts and modification needed - I thought.

However is there any disadvantage or risk to buying a second hand ECU over new?

I just had a look and it does give that impression but small print also says ignition modules need to be wired in so pretty close but not quite. I like the idea but at $2095 you can get a Motec M84 $1905.

Heres the best advice i can give with aftermarket ECU's. Find yourself a local tuner, ask around to see if he is any good. Then go see him and ask what ecu he likes to work with. Go buy that brand and install what ever brand that is.
Honestly this will get you the best result. A super expensive computer will still drive like a dog with a bad tune and the cheapest of ECU's can run like a dream if tuned correctly.



2nd hand Ecu's are ok if you know the history or the person selling it, some are locked and some like Microtech if set up for a rotary cant be changed to suit a V8 for example. So you need to know what you want and ask right the questions..

just swap to ls and get HP tuners. so much easier!

Some good and bad advice there.

An ls swap would need to come with a frontal lobotomy, oh and a Chebby badge to be fully sic, but as I can't afford one of those at the moment, I will have to stick with the Windsor.

The Wolf option did arise from talking with the club's resident dyno tuner who was the indicator that the wolf model identified, V550, is just a plug and play module for the ford. He is also a Wolf agent - lol

However I've busily dried up most funds I had and the $2100 odd cost for a new ECU wont see me starting any time soon.

I know of the exact same model I need for no more than $1200. It is is a couple of years old and has only resided in one car with a turbo 6 cylinder engine I think. But that's about the only history knowledge I have.

Anyway I'm guessing there is a bit of work changing settings and I don't believe there'd be any locked features but as an electronic item a few years old, does this pose any great risk of failure?

Clearly am at risk without a new item warranty but really what could go wrong with a second hand ECU?

Plenty can go wrong with a second hand ECU. Burnt out injector drivers, ECU being relied upon to drive the coils, poorly wired GPO’s etc etc.
I’m not sure how much you have invested in your motor but have a think abut this.
Your ECU is the thing controlling the fuel delivery to your engine. Would you trust a second hand part to do that job?

Who is going to tune the car for you? Go and talk to them, see what they like to deal / work with the most. If your guy is a dyed in the wool Motec guy and you turn up with a Haltech Elite 2500 he will turn his nose up at it even though the Elite is of comparable quality power to any Motec ECU. People just like certain platforms more that others.


I subscribe to the old adage of “Wolf,guaranteed to start 3rd time every time” lol.

Thanks Uncle

I am reticent acting on a S/H unit much for some of the reasons you have expounded.

The tuner is a Vic club member that has done plenty of our cars on his dyno.

He has worked across most ECU's but he is a Wolf agent and of course that is his recommendation.

I really doubt that any of the reputable ECU's will be an issue in my application and I thought Wolf were at least a decent option - am I wrong in that assumption?

And if tuned, tweaked and set up properly why wouldn't an ECU work correctly? ala reference to third starting?

I have noticed that no matter what is being sold, the person selling it recommends theirs, as the best. Life insurance salesmen will tell you that whole life is a great investment for retirement. A stock broker will tell you that the funds (that he makes the most commissions on) is the best.

The Wolf may work quite well and this guy will be very familiar with it. You want to ask some specific questions. Is it MAP and deletes Mass flow sensor? If yes why? What's the advantage to this? How big of a cam can it handle? Get more specific. Not how big of a cam can you make work, but make run very well on the street with good manors.

Does it use O2 sensors to trim in the fuel? Standard O2 or wide band? How much range can the correction tables correct for?

How does this system map the timing tables? What all factors does it use to adjust timing. You need more timing at light load and less at WOT. How does it calculate load. You need to know how much air is flowing into the engine verses what would flow at 100% VE to calculate this. Since they are deleting MAF sensor they have to estimate this with MAP, which is less accurate. Do they switch to a WOT timing map? Timing also needs to change with AFR. Do they bring this into the timing tables?

Does your engine have EGR and if so does the wolf control and use EGR correctly? Does it pull more timing in when EGR is being used? It should.

How does it control idle speed and how adjustable is it? The IAC controls air flow at idle, but this is a slow response. Ford also uses timing as a fast response to control the idle. Can you set a high speed adder on start and choose how long it stays high? Can you change the time based on engine temp? Can you control how fast the idle ramps down? Does this system take inputs from AC and Power steering to help control idle (if you have AC and Power steering)?

Anyway that is what pops off the top of my head. I hope it helps you to start thinking about the issue. The Moats.net site has tons and tons of learning material to help you to start understanding the questions you should ask.

I would guess that there are lots of hotrods out there that have some EFI system that claims to be self tuning wonderful things. I would bet that most are leaving a lot Hp unmade, while wasting fuel and polluting more than necessary, due to poor tuning and oversimplified control strategies that fall short.