Product Review: FC Datalogit

[Vaeth]

I am sure that many people here have the FC Datalogit, but since I don't see a product review on it yet, I figure I would right one. Now, my review is based only on my experiences to-date with the FC Datalogit people, and with the FC Datalogit support community. Other people might well have had completely different experiences with them, and hence have a completely different view of their product and service. I welcome those people to add their experiences and comments to this product review thread.

Obtaining an FC Datalogit:
Right from the outset, the service of the FC Datalogit people was miserable. I had several questions I wanted to ask about the FC Datalogit, and sent emails to them with such questions. Out of 4 or 5 emails I sent, I only got a reply to one of them. This reply took just under 3 months to arrive. The FC Datalogit website speaks of a "mailing group" for interested buyers, but I never received an invitation to this mailing group despite several requests. (In any case, as I will detail below, even if I had been invited into the mailing group, it would probably have been useless)

Despite all the above, I took a leap of faith and bought an FC Datalogit online.

For about a week and a half, there was no confirmation of receipt of my money, or even of acknolwedgement of my order. Suddenly, about 2 weeks from the day I paid, I get an email saying that my FC Datalogit is in the post. Relief!

I got my FC Datalogit, now what?
So now I have my FC Datalogit in my hands. Despite the fragility of the unit (it is basically a small plastic box) and of the CD it comes with, the whole lot just came in a DHL bag with bubble wrap on the inner surface of the bag. I was grateful for the bubble wrap, but honestly, if I were sending something like this in the mail, I would be using a cardbox box AND bubble wrap.

On the CD that came with the FC Datalogit was the Datalogit program itself, a manual, and several drivers for the Serial->USB connector.

The Manual
Let's talk about the manual first. The manual is hopeless. It does not really teach you how to use the FC Datalogit. Rather, it is a "definition" of what the different menus in the program do. The manual goes through each menu option (e.g. File->save, File->read,....Monitor->map, Monitor->log, ...Help->about) and very briefly describes what the function does. (e.g. File->read: Reads in a saved file). For some settings, there isn't even a description of what the settings do, nor how they work.

The classic example of an important setting that has no description of use in the manual is the "Accelerate Injector" and "Accel Inj vs. TPS1" settings. There is absolutely no description of how they work other than to "click your mouse in the box and use the keyboard to change the settings". Umm...thanks.

Datalogit Box
Rather flimsy looking. Imagine what "Made in Taiwan" type electronic products used to look like 10 years ago...the FC Datalogit box is about on par with those products....if you are lucky and get a good batch.

Drivers
They provide you with 2 drivers for your Serial->USB driver, but don't explain why you need two drivers. In fact, you don't...you only need one. But which one? Will it turns out that one of the drivers is for the USB1.1 converter, and the other driver is for the USB2.0 converter. Ok...easy, but which converter do you have? Let's go to the Yahoo Mailing Group for help. Ah ha! The Yahoo Mailing Group says that if your converter is black, you should use the USB2.0 converter driver. My Serial->USB converter is black...so I use the USB2.0 driver right? Wrong....for some reason, my converter does NOT work with the USB2.0 driver and only works with the USB1.1 driver. At this stage, I'm not complaining though...I'm overjoyed that it just works.

Joining the Mailing/Support Group
Ok, so I'm ready to try tweaking some settings, but the manual sucks dogs balls. Let's join the mailing/support group for more info! What an idea! Now the FC Datalogit websites says that if you bought your FC Datalogit directly from them, they will automatically send you an invite to join the mailing/support group. Otherwise, if you bought your FC Datalogit from some other site, you have to send in your serial number via email and request an invitation. I bought mine directly from their website, so I waited for an automatic invite.

I waited for 2 weeks and never got one. So I sent them an email with my serial number... I did not even receive an acknowledgement that my email was read. So I sent another one....same. Okay...now what? Let's try the japanese website since I can type/speak a bit of Japanese. I email their Japanese contact and get a reply!! OMG! He says that he's very sorry for making me wait (Japs are very good on service and apologizing), he will try to send me an invite by tomorrow. I reply politely that that would be very much appreciated. I wait a week...and still nothing, so I send him another email.

I get a new reply saying that the boss is away on a business trip to China, so I can't get an invite till he gets back. Hmm... Anyway...after a lot of waiting and emails I am finally invited to the mailing group. The total time it took to receive my invitation to the mailing group was 3 months 1 week.

Using my FC Datalogit
The Support/Mailing Group
Ok, so now I'm playing around with my maps and settings, and I'm wondering how to compensate for the temporary leaning of mixture when you stomp on the gas. I notice the "Accelerate Injector" and "Accel Inj vs TPS1" settings and figure that those settings are probably the ones I should play with. But well, I would rather know for sure than find out on my car. That's not so unreasonable is it? So I post a question to the Mailing Group and wait for an an answer...

...And I wait...

...And I wait...

...And I wait...

So I post again...

...And I wait...

...And I wait...

...And I wait...

Meanwhile, there is a hot discussion on the extremely important topic of "Should we create an unofficial FC Datalogit FAQ or Wikipedia Entry".

I am lucky, a friend from the Aus MR2 forum sees my question and contacts me via ICQ directly and teaches me how to use those settings. He also informs me that many people on the FC Datalogit Mailing/Support group are tuners who tune for a living, and so they want to keep their "trade secrets" to themselves. Very rarely is a question like mine answered. Oh I see...so, what is the Mailing/Support group for? For answering questions that I already know the answer for? Could be handy if I get amnesia one day I suppose...

Operation of the FC Datalogit
Thankfully, the FC Datalogit works as it is advertised...almost. You have to pray to the dark gods of decay and plague, and sacrifice a sheep every new moon in order to get your FC Datalogit to communicate with the Power FC. (Actually, you have to: 1) plug your laptop to your FC Datalogit, 2) Start your Engine, 3) Start up your FC Datalogit program, and 4) Connect to your Power FC from the FC Datalogit Program - IN THIS AND ONLY THIS EXACT ORDER). I note that their comprehensive manual failed to mention this, however. The editor must've been tired after going so far out of his way to make the manual so utterly useless.


Summary
The FC Datalogit works. It sure beats tuning your Power FC using the handheld. However, their customer service and support totally puts me off. What would I do if I had to make this decision all over again? I would not buy a Power FC and go instead with a Hydra Nemesis or HKS FCon. Better still, if I did not change to an aftermarket turbo, I would have chosen a tuned rom like the MINES or Blitz ones instead. If I did need or really want to buy a Power FC, I would use the handheld commaner. Whatever it is, no way in hell would I deal again with the FC Datalogit people for any reason. Even if that means smashing on the crappy FC Commander buttons till my fingers bleed and my nails crack.

Rating: -99 out or 10 (I give it one positive point for actually working)

--V

[DavidV]

Oddly, I disagree with this review and would say the Datalogit is a must for owners of the PowerFC. In the U.S., Ari Yallon of Rotary Performance provides great support (FC-Datalogit is a New Zealand based company). Also, although I have never used the forums to DL maps, and have never had good experience emailing the manufacturer, the product functionality makes an otherwise so-so standalone, absolutely the one I would choose again for the 3SGTE.

-- DavidV