Aps/c&v New ¼ Mile Record

[Guest kula]

Big congrats to all involved.

heres one of my pics of it:

[aps]

Peter, how do you tune a chasis???

And as ownaXRT6 asked can you achieve 100Ron with just optimax and octane booster? If so will this have any benifit to any of our T's that either do not have chips or have only gone to stage one?

Chassis tuning is different on many cars and it depends on a number of factors. In order to achieve good weight transfer from the front to rear of the car, generally the rear springs are softened and the shock absorbers are re valved to assist weight transfer from front end to the rear end. This weight transfer to the rear of the car assists with more pressure and better contact between the tyres and the road/strip ( (hence better traction on a rear wheel drive car).There are many other ways to improve the chassis for drag racing the above is only one example of many.

With regard to your question on higher RON fuel this would be of little to no advantage for a street car unless you have the means to run a more agressive state of engine tune, that is higher turbo pressure and or more/additional ignition timing. Octane booster can be an advantage when only 91 or 95 RON fuel is available in remote areas and you want to retain maximum engine performance.

Peter

APS

[OwnaXR6T]

Thanks Peter,

and awesome pic Kula.

[wicksy]

I love that pic of the burn out

[TURBO4LT]

Love that pic its our new desptop at work

[JB]

Thanks for your response Peter, as always very informative!

See you on the open day!

[Rodderz]

Peter

If the ECU cods were to be cracked in the inline 6 engines, do you think much more power and opportunity would be avaliable, compared to the UNICHIP?

I think this is whats needed on the 5.4 Boss engines, once a ford style LS1EDIT is attained, there will be much more scope, and mods such as air intakes or exhausts will be able to be taken full advantage of, also diffrerent cams could be fitted

[aps]

Peter

If the ECU cods were to be cracked in the inline 6 engines, do you think much more power and opportunity would be avaliable, compared to the UNICHIP?

I think this is whats needed on the 5.4 Boss engines, once a ford style LS1EDIT is attained, there will be much more scope, and mods such as air intakes or exhausts will be able to be taken full advantage of, also diffrerent cams could be fitted

Hi Rodderz,

Good questions. Apologies up front for the long response….

Good engine tune requires the optimum air/fuel ratio, ignition timing and turbocharger boost pressure strategies at each combination of engine RPM and throttle position. That is what engine tuners strive to achieve. In addition each engine is different in its demands for those turning parameters, hence that is why a custom tuned solution will always be superior to the “one size fits all” approach from generic tune products.

Whether the optimum engine tune is achieved by using a standalone computer, remapping of the factory computer or an auxiliary computer such as the Unichip, the engine power, torque will be identical. In other words, you cannot get better than the optimum engine tuning parameters – so no matter which method is used, engine performance will be the same.

Where I see the major differences is with how quickly the optimum engine tune is achieved in addition to any additional features each approach offers.

There is no doubt that when tuning on a dyno, the vehicle works hard. When a tuner can make adjustments and instantly see the results in terms of engine operation, the tuning time will be quick. Basically, this is how the Unichip is tuned (and we will be covering this in detail during the fordxr6turbo.com information days 13/3 Melbourne & 27th/3 Sydney). Any tuning approach that is not real time will result in longer time on the dyno. This is because the vehicle is held under load, changes made, downloaded to the computer and the vehicle run again to check the results is not only hard on the vehicle, but also expensive in terms of dyno and tuner time.

So, in a nutshell, given the optimum EFI strategy, engine performance is essentially the same, but achieved quicker with Unichip and with less stress and strain on the vehicle.

With regard to additional features, reprogramming of the factory ECU has long had limitations particularly for high engine power applications due to the fact that the factory computer can only control the stock equipment. Items such as additional injectors, intercooler water spray, 2nd ignition map for race fuel, NOS or LPG cannot be accommodated without additional computer equipment and compromising the level of control of the engine – when you need the highest level of control.

All of the above also applies to the 5.4 BA XR8 and GT Falcon (except for mapping the boost pressure ;-) We have tuned a good number of XR8 and GT cars with a variety of engine enhancements - with excellent (optimum) results. The use of high performance camshafts has long been the bane of engine tuners because of the affect aggressive camshaft profiles have on air/fuel mixtures particularly at low engine RPM. The Unichip is used with good success in correcting the air/fuel ratios (and other engine operating parameters) to allow correct closed loop operation so that the optimum fuel economy and crisp throttle response is achieved. High flow air intakes and exhausts are rarely if ever a problem to tune with Unichip technology.

In addition, the clever aspect of the Unichip computer is that all of the desirable functions of the standard Ford computer are retained whilst allowing the tuner to concentrate on the areas that are less than perfect - without having to worry about items such as cold start function, air temperature compensation, knock sensor protection etc. etc. To implement all of these features to the same degree as the standard Ford computer would take an expert many days to weeks using a standalone engine management system - in order to achieve the same high standard of drivability, engine response, fuel economy.

I guess that one down side to reprogramming the standard engine management system on any car is the fear that an authorised car dealer can unintentionally erase or clear maps that have been previously altered - maps that have already cost the consumer a fair sum of money to have created.

Ultimately, there are pros and cons to every approach. The interceptor style computer is a sensible approach to achieve optimum power and which is a efficient and safe and secure method of engine tuning that also offers a great deal of flexibility for future enhancements.

I'd like to say more, however I am doing my best to avoid potential conflict with others in the tuning industry :banghead:

I hope that this answers your questions and again, sorry for the long post.

Regards

Peter

APS

Edited 01/03/04 04:56 AM by aps

[Rodderz]

Thanks Peter, lot of worthwhile detail there! The points you raised about the wear & tear of vehicles whilst being on the dyno, are something I hadn't thought about but are an important point.

Only thing, I've heard (through other people) that some people are experiencing problems with aftermarket piggyback devices on the BA xr8 and GT's with the factory ECU actually "outsmarting" the chip...how true I'm unsure of the details, 1 guy lost 24kw's. Could be other things on the car (or the ECU) but could this at all be possible whererby the ECU interrupts the loop?

cheers for taking time to write such an indepth reply!

[CSV_LS1]

Looking at the experience that people have had with unichip prior to LS1 Edit and the way it is now, the factory computer looks to be superior. The LS1 PCM is a very powerful unit, the ford unit I imagine would be the same. And just like LS1 PCM I imagine the Ford PCM uses similar drivetrain safety programs that would maybe reduce outright power and I imagine would definetly stop a tuned car with a pigback computer making it's power constantly without the engine making a 'dummy spit'. Just how powerful the LS1 PCM is shows when very large cams making 320rwkw+ can be used and the idle and low down delivery isn't suffering.