SCS Delta Standalone Buyer Beware

[Eacpowr]

Hello all! I’ve been a long time lurker and have benefitted greatly from information on this forum so I figured I’d do what I can to hopefully help the community out.

I bought Specialist Control Systems GDI6 fiesta plug and play ECU earlier this year. It took over 2 months to arrive but that’s fair enough since it was built to order although communication during this time was slow.
When it arrived I was able to plug it in and start the car so credit where credit is due. Here’s where the problems begin to arise though:
USDM airbag controllers don’t communicate so there’s an airbag light on the dash all the time and I have been told there’s nothing they can do.
Cruise control does not work and this is not stated anywhere.
The brake position sensor is not wired into the patch harness so that had to be done separately to get autoblip working.
Only 32 variables can be collected at once unless you buy their $200+ SD card logger which is kinda shocking for a standalone (it was limited to 15 up until recently)
Documentation on what tables do and how to configure features like traction control or speed density airflow calculations is lacking.

These can be seen a relatively minor things in a racecar but for a plug and play kit I feel the support should be better.

tl;dr
Keep your accessport unless you have a full-on racecar and plan to do your own wiring.

 

[M-Sport fan]

When you say "stand alone" does that mean that this unit is a racing only, plug-in FULL replacement for the factory ECM (like a Motec, etc.), as in you actually REMOVE the factory unit from the car completely??

Or, is it a 'piggyback' system which retains the factory ECM, but over-rides it for the engine functions?

IF the former, how do you pass inspection for a street car, or do you not have any form of inspection at all where you currently live?

 

[Eacpowr]

It’s a full ECU replacement with some OE CAN bus integration to keep the factory gauges.
I don’t have inspections where I live.

 

[Eacpowr]

Update: ECU is defective. Fuel pump driver on one of the pins died. I've spent all the time since my last post convincing the manufacturer that it's faulty when the factory ecu would run the car just fine the whole time. So not only did the ECU failure cost me a track weekend, they (SCS) refuse to pay for return shipping on a defective product which is over $100 since it's a $3500 ecu. Do not buy anything from these people. It is clearly not run by enthusiasts.

 

[esp_martin]

did you buy a eurospec ECU and put it in an NA fiesta st? not judging, genuinely curious as the only "Specialist Components" company i could find that sells a Fiesta ECU is a British company. and they only advertise for the ST150, when our counterpart is the ST180.

edit: nevermind, found it on aj motorsport and it's definitely for the ST180 engine.

are you frustrated that they made you pay return shipping or did they fight you tooth and nail not to take the ECU back? if it's paying shipping, that's kinda normal (IF it's a British company) but if you had to fight for a couple months to get them to take the return, yeah that's BS.

 

[Eacpowr]

I got confirmation from them before purchase that it would work for a USDM car.

Ford Fiesta EcoBoost ST180 Kit | scs-delta

Email I received from them prior to purchase:

"To plug into the car, you will need the Fiesta ST180 kit.
All kits are supplied with the newer GDI6 ECU hardware.
We have supplied kits for international markets cars, and found all
systems work as intended."


For reference the email I sent:

"Hello! I have a 2015 USDM Fiesta ST and I’m considering your standalone ECU. I have a built motor, secondary fuel rail, and Garrett GTX2860R. I see two options on your site for the ST180 1.6 ecoboost so I’m curious which one I should order? One says it’s the GDI 4 ECU and the other says GDI6 ECU so any clarification is appreciated.

https://www.scs-delta.co.uk/product-page/ford-fiesta-st180-kit

https://www.scs-delta.co.uk/product-page/ford-1-6-ecoboost-management-kit

Also, confirming that this will plug and play with the factory cluster and CAN bus on a USDM car, correct?"

 

[esp_martin]

oof, that sucks.

for whatever it's worth, a British/European-based company is probably gonna make you pay return shipping. that's a very significant cost to eat. the fact they even offered to ship it stateside is not that common.

not trying to discount your frustration. just stating that most people who get stuff shipped from England kinda do it knowing they probably won't be able to send it back if it doesn't work out.

 

[Eacpowr]

Honestly, I understand. I'm just frustrated that I haven't been able to drive the car for months is all. Thanks for the reply.

 

[esp_martin]

yeah i get it. i thought about going down a less beaten path and getting an S270 (not a typo) and maybe being the only one stateside with that turbo but couldn't risk the same downside you're looking at now. props on the ambition though.

 

[jimaek22]

Update: ECU is defective. Fuel pump driver on one of the pins died. I've spent all the time since my last post convincing the manufacturer that it's faulty when the factory ecu would run the car just fine the whole time. So not only did the ECU failure cost me a track weekend, they (SCS) refuse to pay for return shipping on a defective product which is over $100 since it's a $3500 ecu. Do not buy anything from these people. It is clearly not run by enthusiasts.

Hi @Eacpowr , i am digging up the topic as i have the previous ECU GDI4 from SCS delta and face a similar issue. I have shipped the ECU to them since 30 of June and i am still waiting for a repair update. Did you manage to fix the issue with your ECU?