Quick Ecu questions
Discussion
I have an MBE Ecu
I disconnected the battery for a number of days
I was wondering all the stored historical info does that get wiped and does it start again by going through a few heat cycles to assertain new info. The fuelling map is obviously stored so no issues but all the trim info does it get wiped,,,, I’d speak to Jay but he don't work weekends
I’m obviously pretty dim about this stuff but what does happen to Ecu info when shut down and power supply removed.
One more numpty Q
With ignition off and car alarmed is the Ecu still recieving Power. If not then that’s just the same state as battery removed so info not effected,,, I’ve answered my own question,,, I think
Hahah
I disconnected the battery for a number of days
I was wondering all the stored historical info does that get wiped and does it start again by going through a few heat cycles to assertain new info. The fuelling map is obviously stored so no issues but all the trim info does it get wiped,,,, I’d speak to Jay but he don't work weekends
I’m obviously pretty dim about this stuff but what does happen to Ecu info when shut down and power supply removed.
One more numpty Q
With ignition off and car alarmed is the Ecu still recieving Power. If not then that’s just the same state as battery removed so info not effected,,, I’ve answered my own question,,, I think
Hahah
Hi Al, most ECUs have a permanent live and a switched live. So if you remove the battery the ECU is now dead. As far as I know this applies to the MBE. I don't know if your MBE is adaptive. If it is then you will lose the adapted settings but as you say the basic settings will always be stored. When replacing major components on modern ECUs (which affect fuel mixture and similar) you normally delete the adapted settings and then have the ECU re-learn the adaptives such as the throttle setting at idle, lambda value, airflow sensor etc. A 20 minute drive of mixed driving - around town and open road - is usually sufficient starting from cold so that all the ECU inputs can be learned.
ETA Steve beat me to it.
ETA Steve beat me to it.
Edited by N7GTX on Friday 10th November 23:17
Alun, it's just using solid state memory...... think SD card or a memory stick.
Your ECU learns nothing, the calibrations were written onto the solid state memory when it was mapped and that's where they stay. Power or no power, just like a memory stick, once it's there... it's there forever or until you write over it.
You could remove the power for years, plug it in, and it'll run the stored calibrations just like it had never been disconnected. Solid state memory is extremely robust and reliable, it also consumes tiny amounts of power.
When you turn the ignition key off with the Canems system, the power to the ECU is also removed, I would imagine the MBE is exactly the same. Anyway when I park my car in my garage I use my Battery Brain to disconnect the battery which obviously completely removes all power to everything.
Seriously mate, you have absolutely nothing to worry about
Your ECU learns nothing, the calibrations were written onto the solid state memory when it was mapped and that's where they stay. Power or no power, just like a memory stick, once it's there... it's there forever or until you write over it.
You could remove the power for years, plug it in, and it'll run the stored calibrations just like it had never been disconnected. Solid state memory is extremely robust and reliable, it also consumes tiny amounts of power.
When you turn the ignition key off with the Canems system, the power to the ECU is also removed, I would imagine the MBE is exactly the same. Anyway when I park my car in my garage I use my Battery Brain to disconnect the battery which obviously completely removes all power to everything.
Seriously mate, you have absolutely nothing to worry about
The adaptive self learning features discussed by others on this post do not apply to our rather simple breed of after market ECUs. The truth is it doesn't matter what after market ECU you have, what's generally available for our cars (Canems, MBE, MegaSquirt, Emerald, Omex ect) are really very basic when compared with modern OEM systems and some of the more sophisticated after market ECUs.
While the fuel only 14CUX ECU is just an 'old as the hills' licensed copy of the Bosch 'L' Jetronic system that lost some of the better features of the Bosch original
, in a number of respects it's actually smarter than the after market ECUs mentioned above. With the 14CUX there is a small amount of self learning going on but by modern standards its very limited, so when you disconnect the battery on a 14CUX it will need to do some re-learning, but the truth is you won't really notice it doing this because 98% of what the computer is referencing is hard burnt permanently on that internal EPROM chip.
EPROM memory chips in computing terms are prehistoric, EPROM stands for erasable programmable read-only memory, obviously the infinitely re-writable nature of modern solid state memory you find in the after market ECU offers many advantages over the dinosaur EPROM memory system, and is just one of many benefits offered by the after market ECUs we see fitted to our TVRs. Instead of removing and opening up the 14CUX ECU to remove that EPROM chip, then burning your new calibration to a new chip, then refitting it all (which is a massive faff), you either directly overwrite small elements of your calibration on your after market ECU's solid state memory on the fly, or upload a completely new calibration you created in the comfort of your arm chair which has the effect of completely overwriting the former calibration with your new one.
Once overwritten you will never get your former calibration back which is why its so important to copy and save whats on your ECU to your laptop for safe keeping, you can then go back and upload it to the ECU again at any time to take you back to your former calibration. I have literally hundreds of such calibrations on my laptop all with tiny little tweaks on them as I experimented with the many different settings available while I learned the Canems system and the process of mapping. Each calibration in my case is actually two calibrations, one for each fuel type, effectively I need to map the car twice over.
The wiping and overwriting of after market ECU calibrations onto their internal solid state memory is so fast you can actually do it while driving, this is not recommended but its definitely possible without barely feeling a thing. If you have multiple maps in your after market ECU, switching between them is even faster, seamless in fact. Indeed this (and many other things) is whats going on when I switch my Canems dual fuel ECU from petrol to gas, I can toggle back and forth between fuels on the fly as fast as I like and with the exception of doing it under full load hard acceleration (which would be retarded of me) I simply can't feel a thing.
In the case of multiple maps (calibrations) on a solid state memory ECU, its similar to dropping two or more files on a memory stick, actually with an after market ECU the two calibrations are held within one file, the ECU just has a separate mapped path to each which you activate with a switch... easy init
Finally a word of warning to those still on the 14CUX thinking of using the services of MA>
When I was still running the 14CUX I stupidly paid MA a considerable slice of my hard earned dosh to supposedly map my Chimaera, apart from catching the fekker snoozing in the drivers seat during the process he never once removed my ECU to fit a freshly burnt calibration on a new EPROM chip! How in Gods name that was I mapping session I will never know, quite clearly a complete rip-off as I left with the exact same calibration I went in with and the only difference I felt was the large hole in my wallet.
What I got for my money was a quite basic engine health check (ignition timing check, throttle butterfly rest gap check, TPS adjustment check, spark plug check ect ect), and him staring into his laptop (or sleeping) while the car was pointlessly on an ancient West Country based rolling road that must have been built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. I felt quite annoyed as I had done all these basic checks myself before employing the services of the so called expert that is MA, he obviously could find nothing a miss with my work so his health check was also a complete waste of money.
Then came the great injector cleaning scam, I was told my injectors needed cleaning, so I produced the printout from six months previous when I'd had my far superior Vectra pintle type injectors completely serviced, bench tested and flow matched... amazingly he continued to try to sell me an expensive injector cleaning session. I'll let you guess how all this ended, but suffice to say I'm not keen on being treated like a c**t!
By this time I knew what was going on so I tested him further, I asked him if there were any specific running conditions with my car he wasn't happy with, MA knew what I was hinting at so he's not that daft, however he went on to say he didn't really know why my car was hunting and he could fix it, some expert that is! I suggested the hunting was an exhaust restriction and he said this was definitely not the issue as the TVR catalytic converter was very high quality
, two weeks later I'd removed my main cat and the hunting disappeared just like I knew it would. But it didn't end there, when I'd been properly rinsed of my cash a rather nice Austin Healey 100/4 came through the door with a high idle and running issues, now I cut my teeth on SUs so I decided to test MA again, surely this supposed fuel injection wizzard could spot the problem on a simple set of SUs right?
WRONG!
MA seemed baffled with what amounts to the most basic of fueling systems there is, I reached over and wiggled the throttle spindles and said "There's Your Problem"... the spindles were worn to fek creating the classic SU induction leak, high idle and lean running condition. To be honest boys if the man can't spot such a common issue on such a basic system he really can't call himself an engine tuner, because all the laptops and software in the world do not maketh a mechanic, to be blunt if the man can't even diagnose/tune a set of SUs he properly needs to go back to school and re-learn the basics.
AVOID!
While the fuel only 14CUX ECU is just an 'old as the hills' licensed copy of the Bosch 'L' Jetronic system that lost some of the better features of the Bosch original
, in a number of respects it's actually smarter than the after market ECUs mentioned above. With the 14CUX there is a small amount of self learning going on but by modern standards its very limited, so when you disconnect the battery on a 14CUX it will need to do some re-learning, but the truth is you won't really notice it doing this because 98% of what the computer is referencing is hard burnt permanently on that internal EPROM chip.EPROM memory chips in computing terms are prehistoric, EPROM stands for erasable programmable read-only memory, obviously the infinitely re-writable nature of modern solid state memory you find in the after market ECU offers many advantages over the dinosaur EPROM memory system, and is just one of many benefits offered by the after market ECUs we see fitted to our TVRs. Instead of removing and opening up the 14CUX ECU to remove that EPROM chip, then burning your new calibration to a new chip, then refitting it all (which is a massive faff), you either directly overwrite small elements of your calibration on your after market ECU's solid state memory on the fly, or upload a completely new calibration you created in the comfort of your arm chair which has the effect of completely overwriting the former calibration with your new one.
Once overwritten you will never get your former calibration back which is why its so important to copy and save whats on your ECU to your laptop for safe keeping, you can then go back and upload it to the ECU again at any time to take you back to your former calibration. I have literally hundreds of such calibrations on my laptop all with tiny little tweaks on them as I experimented with the many different settings available while I learned the Canems system and the process of mapping. Each calibration in my case is actually two calibrations, one for each fuel type, effectively I need to map the car twice over.
The wiping and overwriting of after market ECU calibrations onto their internal solid state memory is so fast you can actually do it while driving, this is not recommended but its definitely possible without barely feeling a thing. If you have multiple maps in your after market ECU, switching between them is even faster, seamless in fact. Indeed this (and many other things) is whats going on when I switch my Canems dual fuel ECU from petrol to gas, I can toggle back and forth between fuels on the fly as fast as I like and with the exception of doing it under full load hard acceleration (which would be retarded of me) I simply can't feel a thing.
In the case of multiple maps (calibrations) on a solid state memory ECU, its similar to dropping two or more files on a memory stick, actually with an after market ECU the two calibrations are held within one file, the ECU just has a separate mapped path to each which you activate with a switch... easy init
Finally a word of warning to those still on the 14CUX thinking of using the services of MA>
When I was still running the 14CUX I stupidly paid MA a considerable slice of my hard earned dosh to supposedly map my Chimaera, apart from catching the fekker snoozing in the drivers seat during the process he never once removed my ECU to fit a freshly burnt calibration on a new EPROM chip! How in Gods name that was I mapping session I will never know, quite clearly a complete rip-off as I left with the exact same calibration I went in with and the only difference I felt was the large hole in my wallet.
What I got for my money was a quite basic engine health check (ignition timing check, throttle butterfly rest gap check, TPS adjustment check, spark plug check ect ect), and him staring into his laptop (or sleeping) while the car was pointlessly on an ancient West Country based rolling road that must have been built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. I felt quite annoyed as I had done all these basic checks myself before employing the services of the so called expert that is MA, he obviously could find nothing a miss with my work so his health check was also a complete waste of money.
Then came the great injector cleaning scam, I was told my injectors needed cleaning, so I produced the printout from six months previous when I'd had my far superior Vectra pintle type injectors completely serviced, bench tested and flow matched... amazingly he continued to try to sell me an expensive injector cleaning session. I'll let you guess how all this ended, but suffice to say I'm not keen on being treated like a c**t!
By this time I knew what was going on so I tested him further, I asked him if there were any specific running conditions with my car he wasn't happy with, MA knew what I was hinting at so he's not that daft, however he went on to say he didn't really know why my car was hunting and he could fix it, some expert that is! I suggested the hunting was an exhaust restriction and he said this was definitely not the issue as the TVR catalytic converter was very high quality
, two weeks later I'd removed my main cat and the hunting disappeared just like I knew it would. But it didn't end there, when I'd been properly rinsed of my cash a rather nice Austin Healey 100/4 came through the door with a high idle and running issues, now I cut my teeth on SUs so I decided to test MA again, surely this supposed fuel injection wizzard could spot the problem on a simple set of SUs right? WRONG!
MA seemed baffled with what amounts to the most basic of fueling systems there is, I reached over and wiggled the throttle spindles and said "There's Your Problem"... the spindles were worn to fek creating the classic SU induction leak, high idle and lean running condition. To be honest boys if the man can't spot such a common issue on such a basic system he really can't call himself an engine tuner, because all the laptops and software in the world do not maketh a mechanic, to be blunt if the man can't even diagnose/tune a set of SUs he properly needs to go back to school and re-learn the basics.
AVOID!
That's a poor experience you had there! Shortly after getting my car, I rang Lloyds Developments about disconnecting the battery and they underlined that it is perfectly fine. The settings are stored as you describe.
On my last Chimaera, cleaning the injectors did improve the cold running of the car and add about 8 bhp (rolling road tested before and after), but it still wasn't anywhere near as smooth as the Canems system on this one.
On my last Chimaera, cleaning the injectors did improve the cold running of the car and add about 8 bhp (rolling road tested before and after), but it still wasn't anywhere near as smooth as the Canems system on this one.
ianwayne said:
That's a poor experience you had there! Shortly after getting my car, I rang Lloyds Developments about disconnecting the battery and they underlined that it is perfectly fine. The settings are stored as you describe.
On my last Chimaera, cleaning the injectors did improve the cold running of the car and add about 8 bhp (rolling road tested before and after), but it still wasn't anywhere near as smooth as the Canems system on this one.
If I was still running the 14CUX and dizzy Ian, and there's nothing wrong with that, I would avoid MA like the plague. these days Jools of Kits & Classics offers 14CUX mapping, I've never met the man but there's no getting away from the fact he has an excellent reputation amongst the TVR community.On my last Chimaera, cleaning the injectors did improve the cold running of the car and add about 8 bhp (rolling road tested before and after), but it still wasn't anywhere near as smooth as the Canems system on this one.
Most revealing is on his website Jools offers a carb tuning service too, this to me says the man likely cut his teeth on carbs and distributors where all proper engine tuners should start in my opinion. If the most basic of fuel and ignition systems defeat you, best you put your laptop away go back to school!
Carbs and dizzies was my formal training, I did study Bosch 'K' Jetronic but that's where my fuel injection learning started and ended so I'm revealing my age now. When I bought the Chimaera I found I was stuck down a 14CUX rabbit hole, at the time only MA was shining a light at the end of it with the promise of a better running TVR. I soon discovered the light was just his laptop and perhaps some very specific knowledge he completely failed to share with my car.
To be fair the bulk of my dosh went to the greedy fekker who owned the ancient rolling road, this guy did absolutely nothing for a healthy morning's pay, while at least MA (between naps) did a bit of light fiddling and staring into his laptop for my money. I'm not saying MA is a complete charlatan, he quite clearly has some very specific knowledge of a very old outdated lesser incarnation of the equally ancient Bosch 'L' Jetronic system, but he's certainly not even close to being a fully rounded time served engine tuner.
To be honest, what vexed me about the 14CUX at the time, and even to this day, was I would have far superior control over my fuel tuning if I just slapped either a Holley 390 or Edelbrock 500 carb on old Rover. That seemed madness to me, and I certainly wasn't going to fit a carb, although it's not an idea people should completely dismiss as they clearly have the advantage of simplicity, carbs still have their place in certain situations in my opinion.
Enter the Canems system, and I never looked back
, the thing is designed to be super easy to learn, when you get into it its like having the worlds biggest box of carb jets and distributor bob-weights/springs in the world that you can actually switch out as you drive. And no checking plug colour either, Lambda AFR feedback is like a live real-time window directly into the combustion chambers. For anyone like me brought up on carbs and distributors that's like the "Everything I've Ever Wished For" Holly Grail of engine tuning right there at your finger tips.Installing one of the many excellent after market ECUs on a Chimaera is therefore an absolute 'No Brainer'!
I think it’s the simplicity of these systems I like.
For some time I’ve concluded the less it does the better.
It needs to be able to adjust the map for fuel and spark in various conditions and that’s about it.
The biggest thing I notice is how I feel more connected directly to the throttle butterfly and a sense of less things between me and the throttle setting.
As timing is doing most of the work it’s also seemless from cold to hot.
I’m still using a throttle cable but you could easily imagine it’s fly by wire.
Growing up around two stroke bikes I was removing choke as soon as the engine would tick over or just run high throttle applied idle without stalling, this to me was cleaner, used less fuel and my spark plug lasted longer, seemed a good idea, I was very young but it stuck with me.
I think this is where my resistance to high idle comes from. It needs to warm up with as little load as possible and the sooner it will idle at standard revs the better, yes it needs some revs for the cam but I find within 10-20 seconds from start up enough heat has been generated and the car will happily idle at your preferred setting.
Again the extra timing that after market Ecu offer is doing a great job here to help ease the engine over with cold oil etc.
Getting a reading on engine load as in a map sensor understanding inlet vacumn pressure seems to be a no brainier too.
I often think the CUX over thinks it and just getting it mapped bespoke rather than what is a generic chip in most Tvr is half the battle.
I do sometimes wonder how good my CUX could have been with Joolz at the wheel.
But it would always have so many items it doesn’t seem to need and failure always on the cards.
I think my biggest worry is simply a sensor failing or the trigger signal getting dirty and screwing things up.
I’ve realised I have less things to go wrong on the system and it’s actually easier to understand than CUX. I think fault finding should be simpler when that day does arrive.
One other thing I notice,,, it always seems like the first time, everytime I start it it’s like a big surprise and gives huge satisfaction.
Getting this part of the car sorted then makes every other change big or small a great addition. You are on an upwards curve continuously.
For some time I’ve concluded the less it does the better.
It needs to be able to adjust the map for fuel and spark in various conditions and that’s about it.
The biggest thing I notice is how I feel more connected directly to the throttle butterfly and a sense of less things between me and the throttle setting.
As timing is doing most of the work it’s also seemless from cold to hot.
I’m still using a throttle cable but you could easily imagine it’s fly by wire.
Growing up around two stroke bikes I was removing choke as soon as the engine would tick over or just run high throttle applied idle without stalling, this to me was cleaner, used less fuel and my spark plug lasted longer, seemed a good idea, I was very young but it stuck with me.
I think this is where my resistance to high idle comes from. It needs to warm up with as little load as possible and the sooner it will idle at standard revs the better, yes it needs some revs for the cam but I find within 10-20 seconds from start up enough heat has been generated and the car will happily idle at your preferred setting.
Again the extra timing that after market Ecu offer is doing a great job here to help ease the engine over with cold oil etc.
Getting a reading on engine load as in a map sensor understanding inlet vacumn pressure seems to be a no brainier too.
I often think the CUX over thinks it and just getting it mapped bespoke rather than what is a generic chip in most Tvr is half the battle.
I do sometimes wonder how good my CUX could have been with Joolz at the wheel.
But it would always have so many items it doesn’t seem to need and failure always on the cards.
I think my biggest worry is simply a sensor failing or the trigger signal getting dirty and screwing things up.
I’ve realised I have less things to go wrong on the system and it’s actually easier to understand than CUX. I think fault finding should be simpler when that day does arrive.
One other thing I notice,,, it always seems like the first time, everytime I start it it’s like a big surprise and gives huge satisfaction.
Getting this part of the car sorted then makes every other change big or small a great addition. You are on an upwards curve continuously.
I've read many thread on here from owners trying to get their car running smoothly. They are often advised that apart from the obvious spark plug / fuel supply /distributor cap & rotor arm, it could be the water temp sensor, AFM, throttle position sensor (TPS), stepper motor or other things I may have forgotten at the moment.
What I like about the Canems I have fitted (and the same goes for other aftermarket ECUs presumably) is that the AFM, stepper motor and distributor have all been removed, and all the other sensors can be checked for correct readings by plugging a laptop into the ECU. No removing sensors and heating them up in a saucepan and / or checking with a multimeter etc. You can even calibrate the TPS with 2 clicks after refitting if you have removed it from the plenum.
Yes, there is the Rovergauge adaptor to plug into the 14CUX loom but it has limited function as far as my reading into it seems to suggest. I stand to be corrected by those who use it a lot!
What I like about the Canems I have fitted (and the same goes for other aftermarket ECUs presumably) is that the AFM, stepper motor and distributor have all been removed, and all the other sensors can be checked for correct readings by plugging a laptop into the ECU. No removing sensors and heating them up in a saucepan and / or checking with a multimeter etc. You can even calibrate the TPS with 2 clicks after refitting if you have removed it from the plenum.
Yes, there is the Rovergauge adaptor to plug into the 14CUX loom but it has limited function as far as my reading into it seems to suggest. I stand to be corrected by those who use it a lot!
Rather than compare and Rovergauge has given CUX users a better platform to see problems than just Ecumate and for that it’s well worth having but yes, modern software on a modern computer allowing many changes at the press of a button using what should be more accurate readings from sensors running through non resistive wiring is bound to be a better option as is removing lots of other wiring and contacts. Coil packs and multi position crank sensor does offer a great fat spark at the appropriate moment.
Cog mentions how the CUX is basically the Bosch system and I had the very first XJ6 Jag fitted with it ( the Bosch system that is) A 1980 Daimler sovereign that I owned in the mid nineties and it worked gloriously well. I used that for work too,,,
But in this day of age some things are well passed their best it has to be said.
The mechanics of the cux, a distributor cap, I think the Chim design is still futuristic and can hold its own for a long time to come and giving it some modern electrics and a fast young brain to control it all is just something Tvr would have done if they could.
This aging car that gets younger by the day is just increadable to own.
Through these very pages and nothing much else I’ve Learnt all about them and frankly can’t find a car I’d rather own or work on more.
Having a fibreglass body is still one of the best things about these cars in my mind, if your paints good, largely mainainance free other than touching up stone chips.
Chassis is simplistic and effectively easy to work on,,,
Still a car for the future.
Ok heaters will fail, bits will tire out, but doing it the right way you have a car you can manipulate and I find it a very rewarding experience to drive what now feels like a modern car with modern levels of control yet still filled with passion and raw power and most of all character.
Replacing the Ecu has added lots of character,,
Trying to keep it simple,
Two stroke Race engines on carbs need to be jetted every race depending on weather conditions or they fluff up and it’s a royal pita to get them spot on some days.
As Dave says, we have that magic box of pilot and main jets already installed and waiting to be needed to give us that perfect firing condition.
It’s not rocket science.
This character shows itself in a bullet proof feel to your engines running conditions. I spent huge sums of money rebuilding the engine only for it to be getting over or underfuelled,, I didn’t really know, I went for a new Ecu for many reasons and looking after my sweet engine was mostly the reason.
All the benefits of reliability and consistent running just add to this great mix.
The futures here.
Owning a Tvr isn’t cheap unless you leave it locked up. Even then that costs as they become more unreliable so as we spend thousands on shocks or whatever and wishbones and the like it just makes sense to me to remove the biggest problems first and then you have more time to do the other less problematic issues these cars can throw up.
It’s also about enjoyment and my age,,, faffing about with plug leads and dizzy caps trying to get a spark, enoughs enough already.
I think these cars deserve a good engine management system as they are the best of the breed imo and the engine curtainly agrees.
I used to carry a number of fear filled emotions over these cars, will it start, can I dare pull over for petrol, is it missing again, those plugs look a bit wet and black,,, will my stepper play ball today, my driving life controlled by loads of fear.
I’ve all but forgotten about that and only now am I reminded of the suffering, lol
It’s took two years to finally believe those things are long gone.
It went in with all the usual problems and came back with them all removed and it’s stayed that way.
When looking at the software plugged into my car one time I noticed how with the typical light throttle settings I usually employ even at 5000 revs it will still be adaptive and altering the mix slightly. It’s permenantly fine tuning other than flat out WOT so it’s no surprise it does such a good job.
Bout time I stopped waffling and got my cap on and have another drive,,, just to be sure
Cog mentions how the CUX is basically the Bosch system and I had the very first XJ6 Jag fitted with it ( the Bosch system that is) A 1980 Daimler sovereign that I owned in the mid nineties and it worked gloriously well. I used that for work too,,,
But in this day of age some things are well passed their best it has to be said.
The mechanics of the cux, a distributor cap, I think the Chim design is still futuristic and can hold its own for a long time to come and giving it some modern electrics and a fast young brain
to control it all is just something Tvr would have done if they could. This aging car that gets younger by the day is just increadable to own.
Through these very pages and nothing much else I’ve Learnt all about them and frankly can’t find a car I’d rather own or work on more.
Having a fibreglass body is still one of the best things about these cars in my mind, if your paints good, largely mainainance free other than touching up stone chips.
Chassis is simplistic and effectively easy to work on,,,
Still a car for the future.
Ok heaters will fail, bits will tire out, but doing it the right way you have a car you can manipulate and I find it a very rewarding experience to drive what now feels like a modern car with modern levels of control yet still filled with passion and raw power and most of all character.
Replacing the Ecu has added lots of character,,
Trying to keep it simple,
Two stroke Race engines on carbs need to be jetted every race depending on weather conditions or they fluff up and it’s a royal pita to get them spot on some days.
As Dave says, we have that magic box of pilot and main jets already installed and waiting to be needed to give us that perfect firing condition.
It’s not rocket science.
This character shows itself in a bullet proof feel to your engines running conditions. I spent huge sums of money rebuilding the engine only for it to be getting over or underfuelled,, I didn’t really know, I went for a new Ecu for many reasons and looking after my sweet engine was mostly the reason.
All the benefits of reliability and consistent running just add to this great mix.
The futures here.
Owning a Tvr isn’t cheap unless you leave it locked up. Even then that costs as they become more unreliable so as we spend thousands on shocks or whatever and wishbones and the like it just makes sense to me to remove the biggest problems first and then you have more time to do the other less problematic issues these cars can throw up.
It’s also about enjoyment and my age,,, faffing about with plug leads and dizzy caps trying to get a spark, enoughs enough already.
I think these cars deserve a good engine management system as they are the best of the breed imo and the engine curtainly agrees.
I used to carry a number of fear filled emotions over these cars, will it start, can I dare pull over for petrol, is it missing again, those plugs look a bit wet and black,,, will my stepper play ball today, my driving life controlled by loads of fear.
I’ve all but forgotten about that and only now am I reminded of the suffering, lol
It’s took two years to finally believe those things are long gone.
It went in with all the usual problems and came back with them all removed and it’s stayed that way.
When looking at the software plugged into my car one time I noticed how with the typical light throttle settings I usually employ even at 5000 revs it will still be adaptive and altering the mix slightly. It’s permenantly fine tuning other than flat out WOT so it’s no surprise it does such a good job.
Bout time I stopped waffling and got my cap on and have another drive,,, just to be sure
Tekno said:
I'm in the south east - who is best to install, calibrate/map Canems do we know? What's the drive in/out cost roughly?
Thanks...
Lloyd Specialist Developments are people to talk to:Thanks...
http://www.lloydspecialistdevelopments.co.uk/
You will need to travel to Warminster in the West, but whatever engine management system you choose, it will likely involve some travel.
Lloyd Specialist Developments are by far the most experienced Canems dealer/installer in the country, this is irrespective of marque as they've installed the system on all sorts of cars, saying that their primary market is TVR so you'll be in safe knowledgeable hands.
Think yourself lucky these ECU's are so basic you could be converting a BMW auto to manual trans and having to then code out the transmission from the engine ECU/DME......... 
....... with Megasquirt and many others are stored in the flash memory 
OE stuff tends to have adaptive values stored fuel trims, knock adaption's etc e.g like mentioned the CUX Lucas unit and just about everything on our roads at present
....... with Megasquirt and many others are stored in the flash memory OE stuff tends to have adaptive values stored fuel trims, knock adaption's etc e.g like mentioned the CUX Lucas unit and just about everything on our roads at present Edited by Sardonicus on Monday 13th November 22:21
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