Razor2001

Just wandering as there is no one in The Bahamas that does it. Is there a piece of hardware I could buy and attach to car and map my own car or would I probably blow something up ? Is it really that hard to learn how to do it ?

Cheers,
Ray

dowser

If you understand how the engine and ancillaries work mechanically, then you *can* teach yourself. However, it's not a task to be undertaken lightly and you need to be cautious and methodical or you'll get in a right mess.

Better to pay for someone to come out and do it for you perhaps? I'll volunteer, lol

Richard

Razor2001

LOL.....hmmmm, plane ticket would be over $500.00, plus hotel, plus hardware etc etc....sounds expensive

cheers,
Ray

hopefully the plug and play scoobysport ecutek for the new sti's will be good enough !

mutant_matt

How does that work Ray? A whole replacement ECU?

Matt

Razor2001

Matt,

Not 100% sure but I think they take the oem ecu and map it. So if you want to buy one you have to give them your old ecu or you can pay more and get one while keeping your old one. Again, not 100% sure. I think the plug and play ones will be mapped specially for scoobysport full turbo back decats.

Cheers,
Ray

ps: Pete, sorry if I am incorrect on any of the above

LG John

Don't know but John Banks makes it look easy! I'm guessing its not though and I'm guessing the man sees engine maps in his dreams at night

Pavlo

Not unlike playing battleships, except your engine might go bank instead of your aircraft carrier.

Paul

john banks

Like all things, easy when you know how Try reading a few books first and see if they make any sense to you.

Maximum Boost, Corky Bell
21st Century Performance, Julian Edgar
Engine Management Performance Tuning, Dave Walker

If you read and understand everything ECU related in these books and have a good eye for attention to detail and are the sort that no error in a data table would get past your eyes and if possible get some hands on training from a supplier or mapper then consider having a go, but accept that you are putting your engine at risk if you get it wrong.

It won't save you any money with all the time you put in.

Overall I think I am on map number 200 or so on my car now, but I have learned from scratch everything on my engine rather than on others, and my engine is still fighting fit

The main challenges are when things don't go quite to plan with a map and there are problems - anyone can tweak the boost and boost limit up a bit, correct timing as per knock correction, add a bit of fuel during spool up and take some off from peak torque to peak power. That is the easy bit.

ozzy

OK, here's an idea.

Get yerself a laptop and either the EcuTek mapping software or a Link ECU. Now connect a mobile phone to the laptop and use that to connect to the Internet. Install some remote control software (like RealVNC) and John could map your car while your driving along in the Bahamas

Stefan

Razor2001

lol...sounds good, is it possible, feasable...can good results be acheived ??

LG John

So whats the hard bit?

Sam Elassar

it is not that hard actually. otherwise you would not have got so many people doing it. you just need to get a good starting point. find couple of friendy poeple that know what they are doing. read couple of books as JB suggested. and voila!


start with low boost and learn to map it this way. and move up on slow step at the time.

i would suggest getting link. easy to system to learn and most of the idling parameters are already in. the standard iginiton map can be optimistic though.

sam

john banks

I find the difficult bit is when things don't go as expected trying to work out why. It is usually a sensor, spark plug problem or a leak. Leak are a PITA.

Sam Elassar

i also highly remcommend leak and potato

john banks

Andy.F

You 'new age' mappers don't know how easy you've got it

You should try setting up 4 x twin choke carbs, selecting main and idle air correctors, emulsion tubes, idle transition jets, main jets, choke diameters, Booster length/diameters, acceleration pump stroke, flow and bypass metering, air horn length and diameter, high speed enrichment, float height, bowl jets, distributor timing, 1st and 2nd stage centrifugal weights, stg 1 and 2 balance springs, end stops, vacuum advance/retard.

No lamda sensors to work it out for you, no knock senors to keep you on the straight and narrow, no temperature compensation, no ghost tracing via laptop.

Rearrange following words >>> park walk the in

LG John

I think John makes an interesting point. Its all very well getting the computer side of things licked and you can be a whizz mapper but when somethings not quite right you'll still need to have the know how to get under the hood and get your hands dirty - andy F style - to find out whats mechanically wrong. I'm sure with a few books and practise I could pick up basic mapping but I wouldn't have a clue about all the various engine bits and their functions.

john banks

Andy you remind me of an old surgeon teaching medical students, "Now you did anatomy far more recently than I, in my day we had to cut up pigs in the scrub room to know what we were doing next"

So one of these old school systems relied more on "feel" and artiness, had crap resolution and low reliability Bring on the digital age, better active knock correction and wideband lambda on the car so it does even more for you. Laziness

You sorted an ECU yet ?

Edit to say Wallace Performance do the Apexi stuff was talking to him today with T-uk.

[Edited by john banks - 11/30/2002 6:29:15 PM]

Andy.F

Tuning >>> Thinks of fine musical instrument, touch, feel, sound.

Mapping >>> Thinks of hillwalking, mud, puddles & typing.


Re ECU, I'm slowly disabling my existing one It can no longer interfere with idle speed Thats in addition to the knock control, boost control, closed loop cruise and overboost cut which were previously withdrawn from active service
Thinking of fitting a big carb next

[Edited by Andy.F - 11/30/2002 8:59:36 PM]

john banks

Big carb I bet you are half serious! Books are written on converting to EFI and you go the other way

Simon Lines

A couple of nice big Dellorto 48's sealed for boost that'll do it...

Simon

MorayMackenzie

...And who really needs the starter motor and battery? That's just too much excess weight! Time to replace them with a cranking handle, just like they used in the good old days!