[kverges]

Car warms up and idles fine; coolant system is now purged of air and the car will idle for a very long time and not overheat just from convection over the radiator (no cooling fans). The Hydra controls are incredibly detailed. For startup alone there is (1) primer control; (2) cranking enrichment; (2) post-start enrichment; (3) the fuel map itself; (4) temperature trim to fuel map; (5) idle speed target map; and (6) detailed controls for the ISC motor via pulse-width modulated output.

I was able to scavenge from the dash and engine wiring enough usable, non-CAN outputs to have warning lamps for (1) oil pressure; (2) ABS; (3) alternator; (4) brake; and (5) check engine. The latter is a Hydra output that warns of detonation, a nice safety feature.

On engine shutdown, if you key back on, the heatsoak pump runs with engine off until coolant temp reaches 85 deg C; the turbo is in the circulation path, so I can cool down without engine running (important due to lack of cooling fans). Better than a turbo timer IMO, although I will probably need to have an external power supply due ot the fact that I use a PC680 battery.

Got the AiM sensors mostly installed, and even have a custom channel for fuel level. I had the fuel pump module out of the car and for mine, with a 5V reference signal, the empty voltage was .3 volts and full voltage was 4.6 volts. AiM software allows the dash to take that voltage and display a percentage output.

AiM channels displayed are (1) water temp; (2) oil temp; (3) oil pressure; (4) lambda; (5) intake air temp; and (6) fuel level. I can log many more via either the AiM dash or the Hydra itself.

I have been playing with the basic fuel map and the start/idle controls to get a decent idle and it is pretty good, especially when warmed up. It never gets old to sit a few feet from the car and make it do things just by pressing buttons on the computer.

Now back to mechanical/cosmetic things including (1) finish cage and bond to chassis; (2) make body less ugly; (3) mill front steering arm for anticipated camber; (4) fabricate splitter; and (5) miscellaneous details.

Then the real tuning under load, boost and to alter the VVT map for a turbo.

At least the thing runs, which was a real challenge when you physically cut off the stock ECU connectors, a very scary point of no return.