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The Brewed Group is not limited to the Motorsports Industry. Brewed consulting services are tailored to your organizations' goals for future growth in any market. Don't leave anything on the table when it comes to tuning your Power FC, a Brewed Etune will ensure your engine is running at peak efficiency for years to come. Engine mods, fuel grade and elevation all play major rolls in how an engine runs, there is no better way to ensure your engine is getting exaclty what needs than a Brewed Etune.
Brewed supports many international Shops and race teams with Tuners for all the most popular engine management systems. You can normally expect your updated calibration within 24 business hours however it may take 48 hours during race season. If this happens simply reset it. Have a read of My idle is really crappy and it hunts around a lot when on idle.
What can I do? A richer AFR such as The leaner the AFR the more exhaust heat there is and the more power you will make. Generally full throttle or max load AFR's are around An AFR of Light Load - Leaner use less fuel and make reasonable power Full Load - Richer use much more fuel to keep exhaust gas temperatures safe and make good power.
This is because the factory ECU is just dumping fuel to protect itself and make sure things are cool and hunky dory.
Watch the wideband sensor and get a feel for what the values are and how quick it reacts to throttle and load changes.
The sensor should react almost instantly to throttle changes and should be no more than 1 second off real time. Whilst on low load, light cruise goto Map Tracer and see what values are being read.
It should be somewhere around say rpm point 7 rpm and load point 3 or 4. Just watch it vary around as your driver varies the load varying accelerator pedal pressure. This is because as soon as the driver varies the throttle the engine loads up and takes in more air. The airflow meter see's this and increases its measured "voltage", which in turn adjusts what cell the PowerFC is using.
Ok now pick a cell area and get your driver to keep the throttle pedal the same so that you sit on the same Map Cell in Map Tracer. Watch the Wideband AFR lets pretend its We now know that the AFR is Now goto Setting, INJ Map and navigate to the cell that map tracer was showing you, 6x3 is the area in this example. Lets pretend that the cell is 1. Now we want to "lean" it out so we simply take some fuel out of the cell, so press NEXT and the press down say 5 times. This should now make the value around 1.
Once you are done press NEXT and the value will be saved. Now check the wideband sensor and the AFR should have dropped a little. Hopefully it has moved towards Keep watching the wideband sensor output and take out a few more cells, keep repeating this until you reach your desired AFR for that cell. For each of those cells highlighted, or even ones you wish only recommended to do the first 7x7 as an absolute maximum at this stage do the following procedure.
Whilst this type of work is possible and it can work there are some known gotchas and things that don't work so be sure to read it in full and understand everything before you go ahead and do it. It is in fact possible to interchange Apexi PowerFC models to suit other engines.
That is to, rewire an existing model to work on another engine and loom. Below is a list of the combinations possible and how to achieve the goal of making it work. You also need to run larger than rb20 injectors.
You should be able to swap to Rb26 cc injectors without much fuss and this should work, providing you dial in the correct injector latency and correction and use the resistor pack. The main differences between the two is Airflow meter and 02 sensors. The RB26 having two, and the RB20 having one of each.
If you are using two airflow meters you will need to run wiring for the second airflow meter manually as the RB20 loom only has support for one airflow meter. If you are using one airflow meter you can simply parallel up the airflow meter signal into the second input on the RB26 ecu.
The ECU will average out both signals despite it coming from the same airflow meter to work out engine load or airflow load. The RB26 uses two 02 narrowband sensors to run in closed loop correctly. It would be easier using one that suits the head you are using and loom. You don't need to worry about VCT with either of those choices. You have the following advantages;.
Choosing the RB26 version allows you to select. This usually takes around 1 second. Once this is complete the unit is safe to be powered off happens automatically. If your car has had an engine swap it is possible and likely that the standard ECCS wiring has been altered or is not the same as factory. This results in any changes made to be 'lost' when the power is off. Below is a diagram on how it should be wired in with the ECCS relay. Configuring larger injectors into the PowerFC is quiet simple and takes only a few moments.
You need to know the following information before you can continue. Once you have switched to larger injectors you should still check your AFR's with a wideband to ensure they are safe and acceptable. Bolt-on turbo spec. This is why "1. If you switch to any other type of injector, be sure to perform the calculations below and input the correct values.
Be sure to double check these numbers and consult your tuner if you are unsure. Most people simply assume you can make power and expect rwkw. They will both make very close to the same amount of power if both have been tuned correctly. But clearly the PowerFC winds hands down if it has been tuned correctly and has a bulk of its load points tuned. The main difference is the PowerFC will support more mods and if tuned correctly will feel like a new car to drive.
The truth is that car 2 isn't likely to make twice the power as the ecu costs twice as much. It all comes down to tuning and how the car drives, average power is the key here. I would expect the power difference to be 5 to 10rwkw at the most in the midrange and top end. The main problem with an SAFC and increase power levels is that its still a piggyback and when you tune more and more, it's still a compromise.
As you try and lean it out more, it the stock ecu advances the timing as a result, which results in more detonation. The end result is it has to be richer than is needed, to avoid detonation. This would certainly give a good power advantage in the midrange and top end.
The airflow meter percentage or "correction" per AFM voltage bracket is simply that, a correction for each voltage range. This allows the tuner or operator to show more or less Airflow to the Load map, which in turns moves it final load bearing on the load map. You won't have less or more power as the same amount of airflow comes into the system, it just affects how it is represented on the load maps.
This allows the tuner to move the load bearing around on the map quickly and easily to effectively shift the map up and down. The benefit of doing this is you can quickly shift the load bearing around without adjusting 60 odd load points on the load map, for IGN and INJ settings for a given AFM voltage bracket. This is one of the more common methods for quick tuning of the PowerFC but certainly not the only one.
This is by no means a true relationship to the AFR's that come out in the end. It is exactly that, a guesstimation or rule of thumb. Having since worked out the mathematics behind the Load axis calculations for both the Ljetro and Djetro versions of the PowerFC I can show you how they are both calculated.
Voltage Ramp for Airflow meter load signal. Infinitely scalable, as we can rescale any given airflow meter. Seemingly all the Apexi Power Intake does it alter the ramp values, which should yield slightly higher airflow load values, which should drop them on the map 1.
Voltage Ramp for Map Sensor. Each sensor has a single Offset and nothing more. Fixed offset value. The Apexi one is in fact a Denso unit. The only map sensor supported out of the box is the optional Apexi one denso rebadged.
We lookup the Airflow value from the Airflow ramp table viewable by datalogit and use this value. More and more air comes into the system and thus airflow load will always keep increasing until redline. There have been doubts over this as many people see bog stockish R33 GTST's drop to load points 15 and shoot across. This is because the Djetro version uses air pressure and runs a guesstimation method to calculate airflow. As the engine speed increases more and more air comes into the system, pressure remains the same and the load axis remains the same.
These are much like Airtemp correction or water temp correction, they affect values but don't adjust load bearing. If you stay with an airflow meter maxing out stockish GTST customers then you basically have the same load bearing as Djetro customers. Once you peak or reach max airflow the most the AFM can show then Load doesn't increase anymore.
I opened up the PFC and found a burnt track. I resoldered the burnt track and all was well. I encounter loud clicking noises from the PFC, and garbled text and characters on the hand controller when the IGN had power.
This topic is currently under discussion and there is possibly a pattern among R32 GTR owners. An intermittent misfire problem when coming on full load seems to be the common factor.
I installed a new engine cover the bit in the middle that covers the coil packs - this allowed me to move the ignitor pack back up on top of the engine cover. I took that opportunity to make sure I had a good earth when I moved it which I assume the guys from Mercury have not Prior to having the engine cover on - the coils and the ignitor pack shared the same earth - and I was just using one of the screw holes that holds the coil pack plug leads in place I plan to make a dedicated earth strap over to the -ve battery terminal over the weekend.
For an ongoing discussion you view it here. This has been seen by quiet a few users with reproducable results. You should read the Skylines Australia thread above for known workarounds and fixes etc. As an unofficial replacement hand controller screen you can check out here for a suitable x backlit LCD. It even comes in different colours to be cool. I am unsure if this model works OK with the apexi hand controller. I have tried using the Sieko screen on my personal hand controller work bench and it did not work.
The screen simply refuses to power up and light up. Try it yourself if you wish - you might get lucky. We have seen on a few occasions that an Apexi PowerFC is in fact fixable and can be repaired. The usual suspects are burnt tracks, fried chips or damaged circuits on the board itself. The shop ran a multimeter debug and replaced a few capacitors and resistors.
The unit now works and remains to operate correctly. Previously the unit would not power up at all blank screen and no fuel pump. The original fault was caused by a mismatched wiring configuration which shorted out a few fuses and the PowerFC failed at this stage.
Your last resort would be to try a local electronics shop to try and debug what is failed or damaged. The other option is simply to buy a new or used PowerFC. The factory knock sensors are exactly that, small microphones attached to the outter casing of the block and they listen for certain frequencies. The frequencies they detect are those heard when detonation occurs.
Hence the name, knock sensors. The knocking level found in the Apexi PowerFC refers to the level of knock detected not the frequency. Higher voltage indicates a bigger knock has been heard or detected and it is displayed on the hand controller. You cannot alter the sensitivity of the knock sensors. You can alter the flash sequence or how often it should flash when a certain knock level is reached using Datalogit. A knock or 50 when the engine is on small amount of load at rpm is much different to a knock of 50 when the engine is on full load at rpm.
The higher the load and RPM the harder the engine is working, the more likely detonation is going to occur, and the severity of it also increases. Knocking in low rpm can often be overlooked or just accept the fact and move on with things, but knocking under full load near mid to high RPM is a concern and always should be. Do NOT ignore detonation - it can be an engine killer if ignored and the driver acts like a stupidhead - always check and find the cause or speak to your tuner.
If the engine light is flashing its for a reason - get it sorted or be prepaid for heavy rebuild costs etc. It is better to be over-reactive when dealing with knocking than to ignore it and play the dumb driver "i didn't know". There are 5 methods that come to mind immediately when dealing with knocking and their approaches are listed below. Before you go ahead and try to be a cowboy fixing knocking if you aren't comfortable etc or don't know what you are doing go and see your tuner.
Tell them all the information you have and get it sorted - Don't ignore it or just hope for the best. Either fix it yourself or speak to your tuner. Drive around and replicate the concering knock levels, be sure to note roughly where it happens rpm or load etc. This drops the IGN map 3 degrees timing temporary will reset when car is powered off.
Drive around and try to replicate the knocking levels again, be sure to try and reproduce the engine load and rpm you did previously. If the knocking has dropped considerably or has gone away completely very likely then it is simply a few cells on the IGN map have too much advanced timing. The tuner then has enough information to drop onto the IGN map and take out 3 deg timing where and max load lands on the IGN map. Should take no more than 5 minutes to correct and all be happy.
The blanket and braindead approach is to drop the whole map 3 deg either using Datalogit or dialing the crank angle sensor backwards a notch, this is NOT recommended as its braindead. You have stand alone engine management, it should be used like one. Find a local service station with really high octain rated fuel, Shell V Power Racing is a good one. Plonk in a full tank of V Power Racing in and drive around for about 5 minutes to get the fuel flowing. If the knocking has dropped considerably or has gone away completely very likely then it is simply a few cells are possibly too lean on the INJ map could also be IGN timing.
Running a much higher octane rated fuel is almost guaranteed to take away some detonation. I am using Shell V Power Racing ron and its fantastic as a detonation killer highly recommended. The tuner then has enough information to drop onto the IGN map and take out 2 degrees timing where your driving conditions land you on the IGN load map.
Lowering IGN timing is likely to take away any detonation but will certainly give the engine a flat and empty feeling not recommended. That should complete eliminate any knocking, that is it is not humanly possible for it to knock now. Do a max load dyno run damn it will be boggy and make jack all power and see what knock levels you get now. If you still see knocking then its likely the sensors are picking up other mechanical noises in the engine bay.
Using a chassis ear tool would assist in debugging where the noise is coming from. So it certainly is possible for other external factors to cause "knocking" and thats the Ground Zero, rule out everything else approach. First when dealing with a new PowerFC install and the car does not start there are a few basics to check;. Finally we have seen on a few skylines that the car works fine with the stock ecu but not the with PowerFC.
It has been traced back to a missing fuse. According to the diagram it is Engine Control. Somehow the stock ecu works if this fuse is missing but the PowerFC doesn't. The PowerFC itself does not know the octane count of the fuel you use, that is it will not know if you put in 95,96, or 98ron and so on What is likely to happen if you put in lower octane fuel is that it will detonate lots more, commonly known as knocking.
This is completely unsupported and excessive detonation can make your engine go bang, using 95 ron or low octane fuel is NOT a good idea. You can then slowly decrease the ADJ value to a negative value in small increments. It would take out around 7 degrees so -7 then drive around and see if it knocks. If knocking levels are normal around 20 odd then its fine and keep it that.
You can then slowly increase the ADJ value to a positive value in small increments. If you see black smoke then you have richend it up too much, take some out. If it doesn't idle properly ie coughing or spluttering you have richend it up too much, take some out. If you do both of those when you put in lower octane fuel then the car should run fine and should have minimal knocking. You should only use this sparingly as its still much more likely to knock with lower octane fuel.
Whilst you are doing this unsupported function you MUST watch the knocking levels on the hand controller at all times. Press UP to get a digital readout figure highest value. Anything above 60 is bad and can be causing damage.
IE: Don't use this every day. If you are out of fuel, then put in say 20 lites of 95ron or crap fuel and find the nearest premium outlet. You should not use lower octane fuel and octane booster as a compromise for premium 98 ron fuel, instead it is much safer to use the above procedure.
When you use an incorrect model hand controller on a PowerFC unit the hand controller will freeze at the Apexi Logo. I believe this occurs as during boot up the hand controller sends a "hello,ping" to the PowerFC using a specific CRC function or possibly a shared key based on the model.
The PowerFC replies with a preset "shared key" to suit that unit, such as an rb26 skyline shared key. If you are using a different hand controller then the packet is scrambled or fails CRC and boot up fails, the result the Hand Controller stays on the Apexi logo. The PowerFC will still work, it just means that you can't use the hand controller. The most common "in the wild" occurence of this we have seen is the first generation PowerFC's 2.
There are quiet a few version "variants" in the wild and below is a list of them. This is taken from my own "in the wild" experience and what's on the Apexi site. The Hand Controller versions for these units should 5. Units that are sold as Version 2 seem to be expansions of the Version 1 run but with more cars supported. This is likely to be version 3. The PowerFC also has an internal model or board number.
My Skyline has FCB for its main board version. The main thing to note here is the sticker or product code on the PowerFC Shell. My skyline has ECR Its a little white sticker on the outside of the case. Newer generation R33 were known as ECR33 and this is present on the sticker also in the same spot.
Most suppliers dont stock the older versions cos they don't carry them anymore. Our main supplier Nengun. So if you have 3. Whilst there is no official Apexi plug in Anti Lag and Datalogit Antilag is broken you can do a "poor mans antilag". This is at zero cost and is merely amusing and a bit of fun, I don't think it does any good and might not be safe. So the result is, the engine drops to 0deg IGN timing for a split second and it pops and backfires on gearchange, race car style.
This may not be safe and suitable for ceramic exhaust wheel'd turbo cars as it could cause exhaust wheel failure from heat. Logic says it should bring on boost a bit quicker but it doesn't appear to do squat. Traditional anitlag backs off timing on gearchange and dumps fuel, but keeps the throttle nailed so keep exhaust gas flowing. Anyway try it and impress your friends. I have this applied to my car still after about a year and everything is still fine - standard turbo is still in tact etc.
For some bizzare reason you may want a lumpy 'cammed' idle. To impress your friends, for kicks or to sound tough on the streets at the traffic lights against that Clubsport R8. When the PowerFC runs it's idle loop it plonks itself onto cell 2x2 and stays there. You may notice if you dial in more or less IGN timing on that cell, that it is ignored for idle loop.
That is, it will always run 15deg IGN timing no matter what you dial into that cell. An alternate "hack" is the following. If you observe lumpy idle then note the number ie: -1 If you don't observe lumpy idle, press DOWN again. Keep repeating until you get lumpy idle, don't go past -3 or -4 it's too much. Now with that number in mind do the following.
This is by no means a supported feature and it might not even be a good idea. It's just something I observed and thought of with my car. By all means try it but do so at your own risk, if you blow stuff up or cause problems then its your own fault, you were warned.
The problem with this swap is the throttle body opens backwards on the XF unit so the TPS signal wont match. Presumably this would be in the case of an auto car that needs auto shift logic control. There was an article in autospeed about it. I don't see why anyone would want to piggyback it with another ECU, but it could certainly work.
This is your new launch control rpm limit. If you floor it the revs will fly to rpm and stay there it should also spark cut - aka flames and bang bang.
As long as the car isn't moving your RPM will halt at rpm or whatever you set and stay there. So as you take off the car will launch etc and your RPM limiter will be say rpm or whatever you set for the other RPM limit.
Kashima is very clever in this area - you should read some of his pages if you are intersted in his work etc. There is another guy who is pretty darn clever in terms of the PowerFC and how to play with it - he is Goblin on the Rx7 forums. He originally wrote the "Hacking the PowerFC" documentation and it goes into detail about the datalogit system etc.
A bit controversial sure - but worth a read and some interesting things to note in there too. From time to time there are various rumours or confusion over specific ECU models.
The Apexi drag car is believed to run a Djetro PRO version which gives it spark cut, 0kmh launch control and djetro. I believe Apexi have simply modified the mainboard firmware to include both chipsets, being Apexi they can do whatever they like. I have also seen someone run an rb26 Djetro PFC on a zx as they are compatible with changes.
The Djetro and Boost Control Kits use standard mainstream map sensors to provide manifold pressure in digital output. Here is a short list of known working replacement map sensors;. To install the new map sensor you need to rescale it correctly. You can do so here. Some members have been looking for a replacement air temp sensor to avoid heat soak or show faster changes in temperature.
Some of the guys from the Rx7 club have found a suitable sensor and are trying it out. The company is in Victoria which is handy. More news when they test it out and get it working correctly. As everyone knows the PowerFC's future is in doubt. Apexi have had some financial issues and now there are delays with ordering models. Some units have been scrapped and wont be made anymore. But nevertheless the are still thousands of second hand units on the market.
There are still plenty of tuners around and still plenty of workshops who support it. So needless to stay its not like all the PowerFCs in the market will magically vanish or disappear tomorrow so keep on 'trucking'. There are however some alternatives to the PowerFC on the market and we should not be biased here, as that is not fair. This is by far no means of a technical comparison or tuners views on each of them.
That is, its a generic remapper for stock ECUs. Its a stage 1 interceptor which intercepts IGN, INJ, and all the main sensors to control the car and let you "tune" the main system.
The stock ecu is still present so complex things like 4wd, traction control, abs systems etc work just as normal. The unit needs a main harness to suit your car but the unit is generic so you can sell or buy it from it to anyone. There are some limits into the size of the injectors you can run and other changes as its an interceptor but all in all a good unit. AFMS, Map sensors, twin kits, everything is virtually supported and it includes a 32bit ecu with 32x32 map area.
Tuners need to be official HKS pro tuners to get the software. Much like a mines ecu, no local tuners. These two little brothers are like pea's in a pod. You cant link them together directly but they give a good comprimise for standard ecu owners. These two mates are favourable among the Auto market which the PFC does not support Auto cars well nissan anyway.
Running both of these lets you bend IGN timing to your hearts content and make the ecu think your AFM is drunk to get some more power in and out.
All in all not a bad compromise if you dont have a choice or cant go for a good supported stand alone ie: auto ecu etc. Cheap, cost effective and works well. You will be limited by this setup so be careful.
The bad boy of the ECU market that dominates all. The Motec is a complete stand alone ECU for any car, any setup, any scenario. You can choose inputs, outputs, engine control, batch or sequential fire, anti lag, fuel or spark cut, complete map control and 3rd dimension selection. There is nothing the Motec cannot do. It is mainly used for rally and race cars but can be used on a street car. This ECU costs a fortune and is the ultimate stand alone ecu. I would not recommend it for a mild skyline but you certainly can use it, it will just cost a lot.
There are lots of local tuners so that shouldn't be an issue and everything is supported. I do not have much to say about the Autronic as I know very little about it. As far as I know its a stand alone mutli-purpose ECU to suit most cars. It has good local technical support and a range of tuners as well. I believe you have options of AFM or Map sensor and it also enters the 3rd dimension letting you tune in 3d via Throttle Position Sensor maybe others too?
The Autronic has things like antilag, launch control and a few other cool features so its not a plain vanilla ECU. The Wold 3d has been one of the older generation ECUs for generic cars. It has been locally supported and developed in australia for some time now. I dont see any issues with running a wold 3d, but like most ECU's you need to find a range of good local tuners to sort it out for you.
Running a remapped ECU is cool and cost effective. It lets you tune the stock ecu providing its supported and doesnt cost a bomb and gives you good bang per buck. You can support almost anything within reason, such as larger AFMS, bigger injectors etc and still retain factory control. The main issue with remaps is you cant adjust jack shit once its remapped and most tunes are expensive each time as they do a complete burn of the chip.
Ie; its not like they can just change timing via a hand controller each time. The user also has no control or real time interaction with the tune. So there you have it, a quick glance over some of the more common ECU's and what they have to offer. If you disagree with any of these comments, please send me a pm on SAU or email me paul paulr I am happy to correct any incorrect info, mistakes or bad opinions.
If you have an ECU you think should be on this list let me know also. If you are maxing out the factory map sensor supplied in the Boost Control kit for your car you'll need to install a larger unit.
These units are commonly used in the "wild" but feel free to find your own if you wish;. Here is a list of what you need to upgrade your Map Sensor. You put the info you gather into this sheet and then play with Scale and Offset until it matches your experimental data. Don't bother downloading this unless you have all the items listed above in 1, 2, and 3. This was taken from the Rx7 forums as they often have to upgrade their map sensor. Wargasm is the author of this content so be sure to check out his thread if you have questions or issues regarding this.
Main Thread on rx7club. There was a limited build run of approx units of the D1 Limited Edition D1 style hand controller. This was a gold stylish hand controller and worked just the same as the normal hand controller units. I Suspect it was a plain run of X hand controller to suit most models as there was only made.
From all that I can see its simply a gold case - I have no working photos of the unit in action etc. Courtesy of the New Celica forum they have provided some fantastic in-depth documentation on PowerFC tuning. This is coupled with screen shots for datalogit, diagrams and lots of technical information.
If you are interested in engine management tuning this is an absolute must. Other than that, same tuning idea applies. Utilising calculated offset value, add positive or negative without changing sign to each set of highlighted cells. This is the more difficult readings to obtain as variable throttle control is required. You will then be left with the following results: RPM LOAD - - - - - Boost psi - - - - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - AFR act - - - - Minimum boost must between 7 psi and 10 psi.
If minimum boost within this range cannot be achieved, road-based tuning should NOT proceed. Cells must be identified in each of the 3 sessions to determine range of cells to interpolate.
Tuning AFM: Ignition: Tune Session 6 - minimum full boost Tuning ignition can be performed during injection tuning if knock levels above 10 are detected. Otherwise, a separate ignition-only tuning session should be performed. It is best to set knock warning light to 20 or
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