EFI control

[Shirley, Mark R]

Just goes to show that not everybodies definition of enthusiast is the 
same.  I don't like trailer queens.  I want my cars to be daily drivers
as well as my hot rods.  I have an engine in my truck that is so unusual
that it needed to have an aftermarket ECM to operate.  There simply was 
no other option.  It's intended to be a daily driver, but I'm always
fighting
the aftermarket EFI since it's not weatherproof.

I know exactly what it costs to design and build a hardened ECM for lower
volume applications.  It used factory sensors, was weatherproof, came with a

near-OEM quality harness, was programmable via laptop, etc.  In volumes
of 2000-5000 pcs per year it ran around $250 to produce.  The harness cost
$140 to produce.  That's a pretty tidy profit for the manufacturers if they
price it at $1000.  Heck, they could probably get $1200-1300 for it.  It was
that nice.  

All I am saying is that the aftermarket guys can do better, and there's a
market
for better quality merchandise without paying $4000 for a racing system like
a Motronic.  There's at least two of us here on this dinky little mailing
list.

If you give somebody decent quality merchandise for a decent price, it will
sell
itself and you'll put your competitors out of business.  The fact that there
are
so many little EFI systems out there shows that no-one has done this.

-----Original Message-----
From: James Montebello [mailto:jamesm at lapuwali.com]
Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2001 3:26 PM
To: 'diy_efi at diy-efi.org'
Subject: RE: EFI control


On Wed, 7 Feb 2001, Eric Bryant wrote:
> Well, I'm an automotive electrical engineer, and I do understand why the
> requirements have evolved to the point where they're at right now.  If
> you're only driving your car on the strip and it's being operated from
temps
> ranging from, oh, 40 F to 100 F, and only on dry days, then I can see
where
> you don't need the level of engineering that an OEM part provides.

So, since this all started with the SDS system, I looked, and couldn't
find anything on their site about defined temperature or humidity ranges.
Nothing on vibration or shock.  Nothing about using it in a daily driver.
Indeed, they specifically mention that you have to be careful about
using it in any street application.  They're targeting the low-end
racing market.

A quick check of Electromotive's site came up with the same result.

So, I don't see the aftermarket pushing insufficiently tested products
intended for daily-driver use.  I do see them pushing products intended
for enthusiast use.  Same sort of market where exhaust systems that always
need to be bent to fit are sold.  Same sort of market where air filters
that require regular cleaning and oiling are sold.  Same sort of market
where cams are sold that will just barely pass smog, not comfortably,
and only if the rest of the car is in top tune.  Same sort of market
where warranties are 60 days to a year, not 5 years.

You know, the sort of market that lives where the OEMs can't, with much
thinner margins of safety and quality (and profit).  If the OEMs pushed
the envelope as far as the aftermarket did, we'd all need to do a lot
more maintenance and repair work on our cars.  But the OEMs serve a wider
(sloppier, more careless) market than the aftermarket does.

If you took your current attitude and started an aftermarket company to
produce EFI equipment, you'd quickly find yourself out of business.
Give these people a break.

james montebello

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from diy_efi, send "unsubscribe diy_efi" (without the quotes)
in the body of a message (not the subject) to majordomo at lists.diy-efi.org
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from diy_efi, send "unsubscribe diy_efi" (without the quotes)
in the body of a message (not the subject) to majordomo at lists.diy-efi.org