Ecu upgrade, what to expect ?

[ClassiChimi]

Here's a few shots of the install









Sorry the cars dirty, it sat at my mates place for awhile and rusted.

You can't see much but then there's not much to see,,,,,,

I dared pulling the foot guard to reveal battery and there's nothing there,,,,,,,well the battery is but where's the Ecu,,,,,
Hardly any wiring and my carpets have been stuck back on,
Daren't look any further so pushed foot plate thingy back and just smiled.

Cor blimey govner you've gone and done it this time me old China
I've not thought about the possibilities much,,,, but now it's all reality this is funkie stuff, mapping ,,,,, man o man, total confidence in the signals the Ecu receives,
I had a fairly Modern Jag a few years ago, coil pack V8 and it was good.
My engine feels more refined now, very close if not as good as those modern V8's
It's a gem all of a sudden. I've been in some of the best V8 Tvr's and I was worried mine would never excite me again, with the knowledge I now possess and having not touched my car in ages wait for it,,,,,haha hey it might not have massive hp figures but it feels proper fast, not that slow let's put it that way
I'm well chuffed.
Trouble is I now have to devote the rest of today cleaning the blighter,,,,
Arrrr she loves me as I do her,,,,

[ClassiChimi]

Those pics are naff, I'll try getting the car into a better position to catch the sun.

[davelittlewood]

Can't believe it I've got 'under bonnet' envy!

Let's go down to Junction 1 retail park. We can sit in the car (next to the Citroen Saxos) with the bonnet up and some banging dubstep on the stereo!

Oh wait, no, I'm not a spotty 19 year old any more

[Richard 858]

Cracking result Alun, can't wait to get mine back.

[ClassiChimi]

Dave I emailed you my number the other day, bell me and we can meet up to discuss, don't get envy get even old chap
Richard, let me have some time in the car to really get the vibes then I'll give my opinion,,,
Can't see it changing much cos it's brilliant so far anyway.
I'd read all about the alarm issues and considered replacing the alarm, well if this has cured the issue I had which used to send me half insane then I feel like I've saved over 500 quid already, what a bonus,,,,,,,
So a new beefed up starter cable seems like a good place to start regards alarm woes.
Sorting that issue out has re ignited my love for the car just as much as mappable fuel/ ignition.
I'm still cautious cos I don't quite believe it and I'm still expecting the starter system to fail but so far it's magnific
Yippidy doo da, bum bum, ha ha ha you know wot I mean Harry, ha ha ha.

Edited by ClassiChimi on Sunday 16th August 15:15

[MPoxon]

Very tempted to book mine in this winter. What is up with Dom's Rolling Road?

[Richard 858]

Hi Matt, regarding Dom's dyno, the braking mechanism has failed and is currently being rebuilt with another new one on order. He told me this is partly due to increasingly powerful cars being run on it so when the new one arrives both will be fitted together to increase capability. I believe it should be up and running with a single brake at the beginning of September, as Peter said earlier. This should be just in time to get mine mapped

[SILICONEKID345HP]

Looks a very neat job

Do you know what wide band controller and sensor Dom uses ?

When does it go from closed to open loop ?

I`ve always wondered why it can`t be set on closed loop right to the top of the rev range .

Has it been mapped by using TPS ?

[ClassiChimi]

Sorry Daz, I have no idea I just drive the thing!
They seem like good questions so why and for what purpose do you ask these techi questions !
I will find out though.
What difference does it make, I've never read up on open and closed loop to be honest.

I've been thinking long and hard about my car, chasing another 50 hp doesn't interest me, it's all bks
for the costs involved, I have no need to prove I'm the fastest out there, I already know that

Seriously I like my car as it is, I like baffled exhausts, I haven't done this to go FI
I've done it simply to add reliability and a more enjoyable driving experience in all conditions over many years.
Does any of that make sense?

[gacksen]

SILICONEKID345HP said:

Looks a very neat job

Do you know what wide band controller and sensor Dom uses ?

When does it go from closed to open loop ?

I`ve always wondered why it can`t be set on closed loop right to the top of the rev range .

Has it been mapped by using TPS ?

why would you run closed loop until the rev end ?

[Bassfiend229hp]

I'm sure that generally all are similar so I'll give you the info that I know on mine...

SILICONEKID345HP said:

Do you know what wide band controller and sensor Dom uses ?

Not sure but mine is an AEM one...

SILICONEKID345HP said:

When does it go from closed to open loop ?

On mine it's 3,500rpm...

SILICONEKID345HP said:

I`ve always wondered why it can`t be set on closed loop right to the top of the rev range .

It can if you want but the wideband lambdas are quite slow to respond to rapid changes in AFR and so you could end up running massively over rich as they caught up or - more worryingly - massively overlean.

SILICONEKID345HP said:

Has it been mapped by using TPS ?

The TPS (or more specifically rate of change of TPS) is used to modify the map - the map is generally based on Manifold Air Pressure vs RPM as MAP tends to give a better indication of engine loading. You can map on TPS if you wish but I believe that more a track day / race car thing and for road use MAP is the norm.

Phil

[ClassiChimi]

Thanks for that Bassfiend, I've written it down, I'll find out.

[SILICONEKID345HP]

Bassfiend229hp said:

The TPS (or more specifically rate of change of TPS) is used to modify the map - the map is generally based on Manifold Air Pressure vs RPM as MAP tends to give a better indication of engine loading. You can map on TPS if you wish but I believe that more a track day / race car thing and for road use MAP is the norm.

Phil

Does map need an AFM ?

[ClassiChimi]

MPoxon said:

Very tempted to book mine in this winter. What is up with Dom's Rolling Road?

Do it Matt, with your engine and sorted car and especially as you like to rev her on track knowing what the fuelling is upto at those extremes is a no brainier really especially if your keeping and developing your car as you go along.

finite throttle control is a must when putting the power down, Cux sort of just chucks loads of fuel at it, this the tiniest of throttle position change and the engine responds accordingly,,,, very fine tune indeed.

I'm saying all this and I've only just got it back.... Time will be the test,,, not just this year but can my MBE go say 15 years because my Cux did!

Logic says it will, the wirings got to be better, the Ecu software should operate without fault, hopefully the sensors work well over time and the trigger wheel stays true.

All I know right now is, it's no longer a Tvr, I have a totally different feeling about the car, it's an amazing Tvr, I believe it's going to run,,,,,and properly, I ain't fearing a poxy coil going down,,,,,, I grew up around wreck motorbikes, non of them ever working properly, coil,,,, always at the top of the list when they had no spark,,, it's a bug bare to see it in my engine bay,,,,

Well now it's gone and I'm not looking back.

[SILICONEKID345HP]

ClassiChimi said:

Do it Matt, with your engine and sorted car and especially as you like to rev her on track knowing what the fuelling is upto at those extremes is a no brainier really especially if your keeping and developing your car as you go along.

finite throttle control is a must when putting the power down, Cux sort of just chucks loads of fuel at it, this the tiniest of throttle position change and the engine responds accordingly,,,, very fine tune indeed.

I'm saying all this and I've only just got it back.... Time will be the test,,, not just this year but can my MBE go say 15 years because my Cux did!

Logic says it will, the wirings got to be better, the Ecu software should operate without fault, hopefully the sensors work well over time and the trigger wheel stays true.

All I know right now is, it's no longer a Tvr, I have a totally different feeling about the car, it's an amazing Tvr, I believe it's going to run,,,,,and properly, I ain't fearing a poxy coil going down,,,,,, I grew up around wreck motorbikes, non of them ever working properly, coil,,,, always at the top of the list when they had no spark,,, it's a bug bare to see it in my engine bay,,,,

Well now it's gone and I'm not looking back.

I can`t see the cold start being perfect ,that will take a few more tweaks over time .. Do you have an afr gauge ?

[Bassfiend229hp]

SILICONEKID345HP said:

Bassfiend229hp said:

The TPS (or more specifically rate of change of TPS) is used to modify the map - the map is generally based on Manifold Air Pressure vs RPM as MAP tends to give a better indication of engine loading. You can map on TPS if you wish but I believe that more a track day / race car thing and for road use MAP is the norm.

Phil

Does map need an AFM ?

No - it uses a MAP sensor...

Phil

[Bassfiend229hp]

SILICONEKID345HP said:

I can`t see the cold start being perfect ,that will take a few more tweaks over time .. Do you have an afr gauge ?

Cold start is p*ss easy to get right on them ... Mine was done in summer and took one tweak to get so that it started first turn of the key every time when we hit winter.

Phil

[ChilliWhizz]

Pleased for you Al, sounds like a right result :thumbsup:

[ChimpOnGas]

ClassiChimi said:

Here's a few shots of the install

Super mega nice

May I suggest a JE alternator bracket and a full ACT induction pipe down the N/S inner wing for that OEM engine bay look perfection.

After that I'll be happy to pay you many beer tokens to detail my engine bay, which is what you might call neat but well used

Great job

[ClassiChimi]

I'm lucky as Doms place is only down the road, if the map takes a few tweaks to perfect that's ok by me,
I was thinking I'd probably have to go back when the ambient temps are low, I'm not sure but can Doms road create a cold climate, unlikely but I've got full confidence, Jay helped to create the system, they know there own diagnostic equipment well, I've got a re built engine, what could possibly go wrong that can't be fixed!
People say it's expensive,,,, well using a rolling road isn't cheap, Dom will put my car to test until it's right,, maybe map it once and it's spot on, if it needs tweaks it will be mapped again until it's right.
That's what I'm paying for not just a loom and box of tricks,,the service to work on it until it's correct, not everything goes right first time but mine seems fine at the mo, map def needs tweaking, Dom mailed me and said Drop it back tomorrow and hed do it! I can't get there until at least the weekend but the offer was instantly made
I'll get to understand the Ecu but I'll let Dom and Jay sort it first, finally I like the idea of watching some mapping and getting some understanding but I'll leave an expert to his work before I fudge the waters

I don't think I can ever hope to or even want to have the knowledge to map my car better than a mapper,,,
Maybe I'll look into it and change my mind but if my map works for the car, looks after my engine and stays true and I can put 100,000 miles on the clock before a re build then it's rather a cheap price to pay.
My alarm issue is still fixed,,, how much is it for a new alarm again!!!