Haltech interceptors

[Slinz]

So I've been looking into a Haltech unit recently, seeing as they are well-priced and seem to cover all the aspects of a piggyback along with boost control. A friend of mine who has his car tuned at Classic Performance (for those of you in SA) asked Ashleigh there about the Haltech units for Legnums and apparently the bloke could not bag the product enough. Things as small as forgetting its data right up to actually cranking the engine backward thanks to absolutely buggered ignitions. He recommends a vipec board to go inside the factory stuff rather than opting a piggyback...

Just wanting some opinions on Haltechs and some past experience. Basically this guy has labelled them 'un-tunable' so now I need to see if he's just one bloke with some bad experiences or if that is more common.

 

[leebutts]

I've got a vi-pec and it's rock solid - twice the price of a Haltech though. Mine was 2500 fitted and tuned.

I've heard mixed things - some people have no issue with the interceptors, others up here in QLD (VR4_Rocket, Shambam) have removed them after getting check engine lights and other issues.

 

[ygoslo]

I've generally heard nothing but bad about Haltechs from people who don't have a vested interest in them. You're better off just getting a remap. Probably cheaper than the Haltech, you'll retain all you factory cold start options etc, and a nice little bonus is that it is legal.

 

[unclepaulie]

i vote retune or adaptronic


PM rasi about haltechs hahaha

 

[Dr_Josh001]

I can't see how a interceptor could make the engine crank backwards if it's set up correctly. They are good for the price and extemely easy to install. I have had mine in for about 15 months and had no problems with memory or maps wiping. If they are tuned properly then good power can be made and better fuel eco will follow.

 

[jungle]

So I've been looking into a Haltech unit recently, seeing as they are well-priced and seem to cover all the aspects of a piggyback along with boost control. A friend of mine who has his car tuned at Classic Performance (for those of you in SA) asked Ashleigh there about the Haltech units for Legnums and apparently the bloke could not bag the product enough. Things as small as forgetting its data right up to actually cranking the engine backward thanks to absolutely buggered ignitions. He recommends a vipec board to go inside the factory stuff rather than opting a piggyback...

Just wanting some opinions on Haltechs and some past experience. Basically this guy has labelled them 'un-tunable' so now I need to see if he's just one bloke with some bad experiences or if that is more common.

Wow, thats fantastic, how amazing that he just happens to have something 4 times the price that will do just the same thing and won't have the cold start as good as factory. Sounds like a great idea eh.

I can't begin to tell you how many times i've heard the statement above. Its so pathetic. Anyone that bags a product to sell their own is worth walking away from.
If however he's given you the pro's and cons of both then thats different? Did he? I bet not.

Look Vipecs are certainly an option, they are very similar to Autronic. Designed by Ray Hall who used to be the guru for Autronic. Not surprisingly, the menu's and product is essentially Autronic with a few minor differences.

I'll give you an unbiased view seeing i have essentially both. (i have Autronic in another of my cars and Haltech in the Leggy.

Firstly ask yourself what you want it to do and realistically how much you are going to mod your car.

Pro's
Haltech, price, tuneability, installation

Cons, once power levels go up, much above 200ishkw then i'd give consideration to something like Vipec. Can't control bigger than stock injectors- but how many guys have that?? not many.

Vipec
Pro
massive sites for tunability, lots of options, very good for many different types of engines, uses most stock sensors. Needs external boost controllers. Can control bigger injectors
Cons Price, installation, overkill/capitalisation on a internally stock car, needs someone that can tune it, cold start will take a long time to get close to factory consistantly.

Example. I have a Haltech interceptor in the Leggy. 6 wires simple to install and tune. I bought it to tune out the stupidly rich mixtures most jap turbo cars of the era have and fix up light load mixtures and ingition. Mods exhaust, cooler panel filter thats it. 12 psi 175kw.

leebults has Vipec,, had car back a number of times to correct poor/shoddy install. Has similar power to mine, he's running around 14-15psi. Lee can give you the exact numbers and the blow by blow of install and tune by a company supposedly who knew what they were doing. Not sure how his cold start is now? In the end he went to my tuner.

Summary, Any tuner that bags another product to sell his own is someone i wouldn't deal with. Haltech is as easy to tune as any other product. tuning is tuning.

Shoddy ignitions???WTF it uses tha factory ingition mate. Clearly doesn't know the product or what he's talking about. Walk away. Go somewhere where they'll give you a balanced opinion

Good luck

 

[ygoslo]

Anyone that bags a product to sell their own is worth walking away from.

Strongly agree with the above statement, regardless of my personal feelings regarding Haltechs.

I should also say that my experiences with Haltechs have all been with standalone models, not Interceptors. And the cold start (if you can even get it to start) on them is atrocious... Not a problem that should affect the Interceptor.

 

[leebutts]

Viepc
Pro
massive sites for tunability, lots of options
Cons Price, installation, overkill/capitalisation on a internally stock car, need someone that can tune it, cold start will take a long time to get close to factory consistantly.

Example. I have a Haltech interceptor in the Leggy. 6 wires simple to install and tune. I bought it to tune out the stupidly rich mixtures most jap turbo cars of the era have. Mods exhaust, cooler panel filter thats it. 12 psi 175kw.

leebults has Vipec,, had car back a number of times to correct poor/shoddy install. Has similar power to mine, he's running around 14-15psi. Lee can give you the exact numbers and the blow by blow of install and tune by a company supposedly who knew what they were doing. Not sure how his cold start is now? In the end he went to my tuner.

Can't say I agree with you there Simon, I think the ViPec is a bargain compared to other standalones. True, I did get it tuned again at a different shop but the cold start has been excellent since the day I got it. Power has been a little disappointing (not that you can compare different cars on different dynos) but I don't think that is solely the fault of the ViPec. My Bunnings-spec intake could be costing me plenty of kilawasps, who knows!

I guess the morale of the story is that an ecu/piggback is only as good as the tuner who installs/tunes it. So find someone who you know/trust and go with what they recommend for your car.modification level and performance goals.

cheers

Lee

 

[jungle]

hmmm trolling the forums Lee
Thought you might seeing i'm "attacking your car". So how long did it take to install and tune and how may times did you take it back to the installer to change bits and so you can say you completly happy with the installer/tuner after handing over $2500??? Did that include my tuners dyno time as well??

 

[eddyvr4]

I can vouch for the haltech interceptor. Picked up 25 kw on tuning with my legnum - very similar result (and similar mods) to Simon. My only gripe is the help menu info in the software is not very explanatory, and toggling some of the pulldown options isnt intuitive.

But for most people they wont stike these issues, ive been fiddling trying to get water injection running of the 5th injector output and was also playing with the IC watersprayer output.

I think the haltech piggybacks are fairly widely known and used also so you should be able to turn around and on-sell if you need to fairly easily

 

[OVR444]

I can't comment for my legnum, but I have had A LOT of dealings with Haltec in the past with my rex (E11); which involved Haltec patching their own firmware about 5 times before the car would run properly; but cold start was a whole other story. Even with a very highly recommended tuner working on the base tune.

I have heard many good things about F-CON's, e-Manage and Autronic; I guess it comes down to the tuners skill, personal preference and vehicle application.

At the end of the day; I think weighing up the pro's and con's then making your own educated decision is the best idea. Talk with people who have done it and see their obstacles then decide if you will end up down that same path.

Nothing will be as good/consistently reliable as a factory tune; I mean how many hours and $$$ is spent on R&D for a new car. The advantage of an after market/piggy-back is being able to squeeze every last bit of power from your setup; this is not covered from the factory as there are laws and restrictions they have to abide to including leaving overheads for error to ensure they don't see a certain engine coming back with problems.

My 2c would be to shop around, talk to people who have done it and gather as much info as you can before heading down one path; also remember to well plan and stick to your budget; tuning and mistakes can become costly quickly.

 

[unclepaulie]

side note, does the interceptor remove the MAF??


does anyone here hav any experience with adaptronics or stinger ems's???

 

[jungle]

side note, does the interceptor remove the MAF??


does anyone here hav any experience with adaptronics or stinger ems's???

No and no

 

[Slinz]

Well this has been interesting! Sounds like the people with the Haltechs are pretty happy with it and the people with other units have had the same/similar advice as myself and have avoided them.

Might ring around some time in the new year and speak to some tuners about which units they have found reliable... If its simply this bloke at Classic Performance trying to oversell me on a vipec rather than me walking in with a haltech unit then there's not much point in opting the more expensive one. Won't be looking to larger injectors in the future, the car will still be a daily drive.

Cheers for the opinions and if anyone has anything else to add I'll be looking out for more because I really don't have much idea when it comes to these things.
Ta

 

[unclepaulie]

No and no

cheers simo

 

[jungle]

Well this has been interesting! Sounds like the people with the Haltechs are pretty happy with it and the people with other units have had the same/similar advice as myself and have avoided them.

Might ring around some time in the new year and speak to some tuners about which units they have found reliable... If its simply this bloke at Classic Performance trying to oversell me on a vipec rather than me walking in with a haltech unit then there's not much point in opting the more expensive one. Won't be looking to larger injectors in the future, the car will still be a daily drive.

Cheers for the opinions and if anyone has anything else to add I'll be looking out for more because I really don't have much idea when it comes to these things.
Ta

You've answered your own question then. For simple mods, like a cooler exhaust and some more boost the factory computer will be fine.
If you want slightly better throttle response and better fuel economy then go an interceptor.
If you're going to be modding the engine, bigger turbo's injectors etc go a replacement.

cheers simo

Sweet

 

[leebutts]

So how long did it take to install and tune and how may times did you take it back to the installer to change bits and so you can say you completly happy with the installer/tuner after handing over $2500??? Did that include my tuners dyno time as well??

Hmmm, he did have it for ages (3 weeks I think?) as it kept getting bumped by Skylines and it was the first ViPec to go into a Legnum. I took it back once to get the adapter fitted for the tacho signal and get a second tune.

I didn't say I was happy with the installer, just that the ViPec is a good piece of gear and not to write it off.

Obviously the $2500 was before taking it to PITS, he's an expensive bugger

 

[Buckas]

ill also vouch for the interceptor. my car was running extremely rich as a result of a suspect ecu and up to 21% of fuel was removed at certain points. i picked up a 72% power gain and my fuel economy has gone down from 14.8l/100 average driving to a 12.9l/100 on my first tank with the tune so a very hard tank. i paid 500 and something for the interceptor second hand and then the same again to have it installed and tuned

 

[Bennoz]

Yeah I cant say a bad word about them.

Got the Platinum Sport 1000 standalone & it see's me up to 247kws (front wheels only) & it starts & runs like a normal car all day, everyday.

Just in the midst of putting in a car computer so I can adjust the tune on the fly - ie have a track day setting, strip & streets settings that I can flick between. Also having all the digital gauges feeding from the Haltech to display on the in-car screen.

 

[ygoslo]

Heard information from a tuner that backs up the "forgetting the map" thing, but only after sitting idle for a few months.