Apexi PowerFC Plug & Play ECU & Controller for Turbo Cars

10 July 2007 · Staff

What does the unit look like?

The PowerFC looks and is usually in the same ECU case as the standard ECU for your car. This is because it needs to use the same car loom adapter, same brakets etc so its usually the same physical shell & bolt holes for the ECU braket. The hand controller is a lightweight and ergonomic device with a backlit LCD screen. The screen is larger enough for most tuners and owners to use and operate. It includes enough functionality from the 4 main buttons and PREV and NEXT to control the car, make changes, update the tune etc. I would recommend all owners buy the PowerFC with the hand controller – It is very basic without the hand controller and you can’t update/change anything.

What does the unit do?

The unit is a full replacement ECU for your factory computer. It is not a piggyback system and as such allows full control of the engine and computer controlled systems. It comes with a base map of your cars computer with base map tuned for basic mods such as exhaust, boost controller, air filter upgrade. “The Power FC is a complete, stand alone, total engine management system capable of handling virtually anything thrown in its path.” – www.apexi-usa.com

Does the unit work on manual and auto cars?

The PowerFC only supports manual cars (excluding Toyota). It will work on an automatic car however it will not handle gear changes and simply keep the throttle nailed during a gear change. This will result in jerky gear changes and stress placed on the gearbox. The factory ECU during a gear change will communicate with the auto box and drop timing, ignition to ensure a smooth change. For those wishing to use PowerFC with auto you should consider a mechanical auto gearbox instead of an electronic. The PowerFC should work fine with a mechanical gearbox such as power glide, transbreak etc.

This is because the mainstream ECU’s in Nissan etc rely on the main cars’ ECU for gear logic change control and functions. Cars such as the Toyota have a seperate ECU for the gearbox change logic and control so it’s not affected. Apexi chose not to port the Automatic gearbox logic code (as its very long and complex) into the PowerFC because I suspect they found its simply not worth it & too complicated. You can buy an Automatic PowerFC for a Toyota Chaser for example and it has auto logic control under SETTING, you can set the shiftmap, ramp up speeds etc as it has the code to interact with the Toyota AUTO ECU that is seperate to the main ecu. So in summary – Auto PowerFC’s exist & work but only for Toyota. We have seen quiet a few Auto R33 Skylines with manual PowerFCs – some report they work fine etc and there is no difference – do so at your own risk.

How much does the unit cost?

The unit currently retails around $900 AU delivered from Japan for a new unit. However as Apexi have altered their production plans this only applies to some select models. Other models must be sourced 2nd hand from forums, ebay, other members etc. For AP Engineering models they are more expensive as they are a custom made model and retail is around $1500 AU or even higher. Recent pricing indicates around the $920 mark is more realistic. There are some workshops or resellers that list they have the “Australian” version of the Apexi PowerFC. This is simply the same PowerFC but sold with an Australian delear or reseller warranty. Normally your PowerFC needs to be sent to Japan for a warranty claim and/or testing. With an “Australian” version it can be done locally supposedely.

There are also unconfirmed rumors of the local distributors being able to supply the latest firmware for the PowerFC. To date the latest firmware I have seen on ECR33 is 5.11 which was from Mid Oct 2006 build. The price of the “Australian” PowerFC is somewhere near $1500 so its not even worth the cost, given the mean time between failure of the PowerFC’s. Basically if it fails, you’ve done something wrong or have a dodgy wiring loom / hacked up loom.

Lately it seems everyone is cashing in on the “discontinued” situation that the PowerFC is in.
The main models are still in product, its just slower and takes longer to get one on order new from Apexi.
I would be careful in how much you pay for a PowerFC these days. I have seen upwards of $1600 AU for a used unit these days on Ebay.
The places I would look for 2nd hand PFC’s would be your local car club, Ebay and Yahoo Japan auctions (lots on here usually).

REFERENCE:-

This information is a very small part of the extremely comprehensive FAQ by Paulr33 from the www.SkylinesAustralia.com Forum at the location below:-

http://paulr33.skylinesaustralia.com/docs/powerfc-faq/powerfc-faq.htm

I recomend you cut & Paste the URL above into your browser to read the comprehensive information compiled by Paul for the benefit of all.

What cars is the PowerFC supported on?

Standard Versions

Honda Civic Type R 97/6-98/8
Honda Integra Type R 95/9-01/6
Mazda RX7 Series 1-3 91/12-95/11
Mazda RX7 Series 4 95/12-98/12
Mazda RX7 Series 5 99/1-00/9
Mitsubishi Evo V 98/1 – 98/12
Mitsubishi Evo VI 99/1-01/1
Mitsubishi Evo VII 01/2 – 02/3
Mitsubishi Evo VIII (EVO VII PFC + 4E73G013 EVO VIII Harness) – VIII MR might not be supported
Nissan RPS13 (Black Head) 94/1 – 96/7
Nissan RPS13 (Black Head) 96/8 – 99/1
Nissan RPS13 (Red Head) 91/1 – 93/12
Nissan S13 Red Top 91/1 – 93/9
Nissan S14 93/10 – 96/5
Nissan S14 96/6 – 98/12
Nissan S15 99/1 – 02/7
Nissan Skyline BNR32/BCNR33
Nissan Skyline BNR34
Subaru WRX Ver1,2 92/11-96/8
Subaru WRX Ver3,4 96/9-98/8
Subaru WRX Ver5,6 98/9-00/7
Totoya Mark II, Chaser & Cresta JZX100 manuel 96/9-01/7 1JZ-GTE
Toyota Altezza SXE10 01/5 3S-GE
Toyota Altezza SXE10 01/5 3S-GE
Toyota Altezza SXE10 98/10-01/4 3S-GE
Toyota Altezza SXE10 98/10-01/4 3S-GE
Toyota Celica ZZT231 99/9 – 2ZZ-GE
Toyota Mark II, Chaser & Cresta JZX100 Automatic 96/9-01/7 1JZ-GTE (Mark II only to 00/9)

Djetro Version

Mitsubishi EVO V CP9A 4G63 98/1-98/12
Mitsubishi EVO VII CT9A 4G63 01/2- 02/3
Nissan 180SX RPS13 91/1-93/12 SR20DET (Red Head)
Nissan 180SX RPS13 94/1-96/7 SR20DET
Nissan 180SX RPS13 96/8-99/1 SR20DET
Nissan Silvia PS13 91/1-93/9 SR20DET
Nissan S15 SR20DET 99/1-02/7
Nissan Skyline BNR32/33 89/8 – 98/12
Nissan Skyline BNR34 99/1-02/8 RB26DETT