from reading all he threads im very loath to put a Decat D/pipe on without doing the knocklink first, is it really that much of a problem ie blown engines and have people who have the knocklink fitted managed to save their engines due to the warning - there seems a very fine line between being warned and BANG???

What is AFR (yes very ignorant to tehnical details)

Since being on scoobynet all ive heard is nightmare stories about blown engines on imports (Mines a - MY96 WRX)from fueling probs etc etc all such negative feedback, i was led to believe they are reliable to just over 320Bhp is it ALL bad news or is there some light at the end of the tunnel????

[Edited by Graybr - 10/10/2003 11:47:13 PM]

 

Well I had no AFR (Air Fuel Ratio) meter or knocklink fitted to my 1995 WRX import. 6 weeks ago my no.4 piston went pop. On inspection it was found to be running lean, the timing belt was incorrectly fitted (2 yrs ago) and there was a performance Japanese ECU fitted. The car was run on 98RON Otpimax with NO octane booster.

The engine is currently being rebuilt and will have oil pressure, temp, AFR & knocklink gauges all fitted prior to restart. The ECU has also been returned to standard.

These are brilliant engines but you must be very cautious.

 

As has been said before people always post problems but never post to say that their car is fine

 

Regarding knocking doesn't the OEM sensor take care of things when it detects anything ?

Is fitting an AFR meter enough ?

Cheers

Mark

 

OEM sensor tells the ECU to back off. It will retard the ignition, but it is all damage limitation: the ECU can only do so much.

Any imported car is maped for Japanese roads and Japanse fuel. A remap will set you car for UK fuel, cost about the same as a decat exhaust and will improve driveability, reliability and if you ask anyone who has had one is generally worth every penny.

A knocklink is essential on almost any turbocharged car.
Turbocharged cars, especially japanese ones, tend to be fairly sensitive to things like poor quality petrol etc.

 

No. As Steve says all the ECU can do is retard the ignition at the load points knock is detected according to input from the sensor, and within limits set in the ECU.

The trouble is that the OE sensor isn't sensitive enough, and has real trouble distinguishing knock from engine noise at higher RPM's. The knock correction limits of the Japanese spec ECU's are often simply inadequate for UK specification fuel.

The Bosch sensor and KnockLink display gives you a real-time warning that your car is detting, so you back off right there and then. This is infinitely preferable to trusting the ECU and carrying on regardless (or until it goes boom).

No. If you only had one or the other, the KnockLink would be the one to have.

 

Just be extra safe and have both meter's

 

i am not wanting to hijack this thread, however what i want to ask follows on from this thread and with the huge numbers of threads i have read this weekend and perhaps this will help to keep it all in one place for a bit!

I recently bought the knocklink on the group buy and attempted fitting this weekend.

after looking through all the threads i have put the sensor on the block under the intercooler almost centre of the car (my98 V5)

I have setup the knocklink, however i can only get the sensors to light at all when i tap the engine with a spanner, i was led to believe that you should be able to get to light up the two green ones with the standard engine noise? can anyone correct me there?

on driving the car, the lights only ever light up the scale when over 4000 revs in 4th and 5th gear, so for a type r, very high speeds so not too worried about that. i have not got the top LED to light, so no danger, but i do get the caution LEDS every now and again.

again i am hoping from my reading this is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about, just wanted any opinions.

the car is a type r, running full de-cat, standard ecu, with no re-map, always optimax. defi EGT, oil temp and pressure to follow soon

any comments?

 

Sounds correctly set up cactusjim . I would suggest an Octane booster+Optimax if it hasn't been remapped and you are getting the 'caution' lights showing though.

Rgds
Steve

 

cool, which ob would you recommend. i take it i dont have to put it in EVERY tank, surely i can just add in once a month to assist.

 

Nope .. Nitrous Formula every tank appears to be the consensus . I can't remember the dilution ( as I don't need it ) but if you do a search I'm sure it is here somewhere ..

 

Thats an excellent way to describe it G.M.

 

Good move. This box and its associated sensor gives you confidence that your engine is running within safe parameters (or lets you know that it isn't). Japanese market cars are critical in this respect and information like that is your friend.

Depends what you mean. It doesn't happen very often. but if it does, rebuilds are always expensive. Much better to be safe than sorry.

Certainly should be. A bright red flashing LED is a real attention-grabber, and if you don't back off the throttle immediately on seeing it, your eyesight is not all it should be!

Not really, there's quite a big gap where you can eliminate forseeable circumstances - by running the KnockLink, AFR, boost gauge etc, using appropriate levels of a quality octane booster (or geting car remapped), making sure your oil is changed regularly and properly, stuff like that. If you do all that and you still get a failure, you can either put it down to bad luck or damage caused by a previous owner.

Air to fuel ratio. AFR meters read the output of the lambda sensor, which gives you a general idea of the air-fuel ratios your car is running on a wide-open throttle. Again, like the KnockLink, knowing your car is running in the correct AFR range is excellent insurance against an expensive failure.

In fairness a lot of the relatively recent ones have been owner screwups - primarily running the wrong fuel. You can't blame the cars for the stupidity/ignorance of their owners.

That's a little bit unfair. Don't forget the thousands of happy customers who are too busy driving their cars to post here. The only "fuelling problems" the Jap market cars have are caused by the difference in octane rating between UK and Jap fuel. If you take steps to counteract this, your car should be safe - although the KL, AFR etc. will give you reason to be certain.

The standard internals will reliably cope with considerably more power than that. The important thing is that the extra power is gained safely.

Of course. Lighten up a bit!

[Edited by greasemonkey - 10/11/2003 8:18:13 AM]

 

Erm, no, not sure how you worked that out. If you pour a glass of orange squash, drink it all then refill the glass with plain water, it won't taste the same as the first glass, will it?

The correct amount every tank is the right way to do it.

[Edited by greasemonkey - 10/12/2003 11:25:58 PM]