EFI misconceptions and rumors

[Kris from DRS]

I think this is long overdue, and my effort in this post is to put these rumors about the EFI systems to rest.

There is a certain individual who has taken it upon himself to go to what seems almost any level to defame anyone involved with EFI (DRS, FF, BWR, and EFI themselves). He will claim that he has no agenda, but his agenda is so obvious it’s laughable. Unfortunately there is a small segment of people who are probably brainwashed by his antics, but with time they will see the truth.

This individual used to frequent our facility almost weekly for tuning of his piggy-back system, prior to getting full support from his friend’s flash service. Ironically, at one time he was very interested in purchasing the EFI system he now so adamantly despises. Of course he will have all his “facts” to support why…but he has never actually used a system, or has a knowledge base of how ECUs or tuning software works.

The real reason why this person does not like all things related to DRS is because I declined my services to him when he was trying to help his friend get his flash tuning out of the garage at home and into the mainstream. I never did anything disrespectful to him, I simply told him “no”, and like how a spoiled child does not take well to the word neither does he.

As a desperate attempt to gain revenge he has used information about engine failures and manipulated the facts in effort to discredit our effort and champion his own. Here are the real facts, and the owners of these cars are free to comment on this if they like.
Kaz:
His first engine failed due to low oil level.
His second engine failed due to an aluminum oxide that was the result of corrosion in the water/methanol. This substance acted as a media blast and allowed the rings to wear through the cylinder liner and into the aluminum.
His third engine failed due to an assembly error by a third party who I will leave nameless.

JP:
His engine failed due to a lack of proper ECU control with a piggy-back system prior to the EFI system for the Lotus even existing.
Once the EFI system was installed on his new engine he had no engine failure. End of story.

There are honestly no other engine failures that I know of, except for the pending situation with Robains. We are all waiting to find out.

It is becoming common to see valve train related failures in many cars that are driven on the track, or are driven in higher revs frequently. And most of these failures are occurring in cars with stock ECUs.

I have been mapping engines for nearly 10 yrs and I have used a number of different fuel injection systems and engine control systems. I have probably tuned more cars in the last 2 months than our nemesis has in his entire life. Their experience is with one car and one engine, and yet they are the “experts” on everything. They can conjure up any rebuttal (or ranting) he wants, but this will always remain true.

We are fully aware that these EFI systems are not for everyone. The masses will get by with a re-flash, and we offer something for everyone outside of the “set if and forget it” format.

We have been in business for over 6 years, before this I worked for a performance shop for 5 years. Within the last 11 yrs combined I have worked directly with some very professional firms and met some great people along the way. I have been fortunate to have these opportunities and always make effort to apply the knowledge gained from these experiences to our work. My resume consists of working with teams in Speed World Challenge, Grand Am Cup, SCCA, NASA, Land speed cars / motor cycles, Formula Extreme motor cycles, and contractual work with the US Dept of Defense.

Our team here at DRS is growing as well as the spectrum of our services and we have a strong interest in the support of the Lotus community. If you have formed skepticism due to these rumors created by uneducated individuals please forward your comments and questions directly to us here at DRS, 562-694-2226 or email sales@racesolutions.com.

Regards,
Kris Valdez
Dynamic Racing Solutions

[Chris Mackey]

The estrogen on this board is quite thick, sometime. No offense, OP.

[Kris from DRS]

Originally Posted by Chris Mackey

The estrogen on this board is quite thick, sometime. No offense, OP.

no offense taken. I'd rather it be that way, estrogen for everyone -- J/K. I think sometimes people take this stuff too seriously, and/or are too sensitve (including me)...unfortunately at the end of the day when all the fun and games are over, this is what we do for a living.

[robains]

Gosh, I hope I wasn't fuel for this fire.

I'm confident that my situation will be resolved with full satisfaction for all parties involved. Hopefully no one is posting anything about my situation, because my situation has NOT even been diagnosed yet.

You can just call me Rob, not Robains

[Bender Rodríguez]

+1

[Bender Rodríguez]

I think Charlie does a great job, there are tons and tons of very satisfied elise owners but he’s not the only possible solution for a FI vehicle. I can’t speak at all to the engine failures, but just listening to our individual talk you can tell he doesn’t understand the subject matter enough to be pushing so hard that there is only one viable solution.

[Kris from DRS]

Originally Posted by Bender Rodríguez

I think Charlie does a great job, there are tons and tons of very satisfied elise owners but he’s not the only possible solution for a FI vehicle. I can’t speak at all to the engine failures, but just listening to our individual talk you can tell he doesn’t understand the subject matter enough to be pushing so hard that there is only one viable solution.

I dont know how good or bad of a job Charlie does from personal experience. I don't have anything against him, and I think it's great that he does what he does. It's all about people having choices...it benefits everyone overall.

[fzust]

Very happy with my DRS tuned EFI. From 370CHP with custom anti-lag map on the turbo to the 350 or so CHP on the custom twin-screw. Its all gravy. The EFI is a very powerful tool.

[Kris from DRS]

Originally Posted by robains

Gosh, I hope I wasn't fuel for this fire.

I'm confident that my situation will be resolved with full satisfaction for all parties involved. Hopefully no one is posting anything about my situation, because my situation has NOT even been diagnosed yet.

You can just call me Rob, not Robains

Rob, you didn't fuel this at all.

It was the toughest man in the world behind a keyboard that started all this.

Kris

[2-Y-CHROMOSOMES]

Originally Posted by Kris from DRS

Rob, you didn't fuel this at all.

It was the toughest man in the world behind a keyboard that started all this.

Kris

I did not type that

[Dave]

I for one am a very satisfied EFI customer. For those who want to tune, it's a fantastic device. Been running about 3 months now and it's been great getting back the horsepower that the stock ECU 'learned-out' from my bolt-ons - over 15HP and that's just with the base tune (with much more to come). Kris has been a true professional and went well out of his way to make sure my base tune was spot-on.

[robains]

Hey guys,

I've been reading up more on EFI and it's tuning abilities and even logging abilities. And I must say that I am impressed with what EFI can do.

From what I've read so far (and information gathered from others using EFI products), it appears to be CRITICAL to get a good base map.

My sources so far:
DRS Info
EFI Tech Info
EFI Mapping

Closed Loop
The closed loop lambda control is a very useful mapping tool and once a base map has been established it can be used at the track to further fine tune your calibration. It is not recommened to use the lambda control on the track as a means to correct a poorly defined map. Corrections of greater than 5% indicate that you base map needs some further tuning and allowing adjustments greater than this can lead to oscillation, transient rich/lean conditions and poor throttle response. A little extra time spent tuning on the dyno ensures optimum tuning and best performance on the track.

The more I read about EFI, the more I like it -- I'm still NO WHERE NEAR a position to actually think about making adjustments myself, but I hope to get to a point where I can talk more intelligently about this subject matter.

Unfortunately I have not found any info on how EFI works with Drive By Wire units so this aspect remains a complete mystery to me. Still hunting ....

[EBTurbo]

Originally Posted by Manny

Back slapping much!!?? shheeeshhh


WOW good one..that's the first time I've heard about this one!!!
And you're sure it wasn't detonation, poor filtration unit, or to much boost on stock pistons?

First, We never worked on that vehicle in that configuration. Yes, that vehicle was running EFI but, DRS never touched it. The only reason we know of this failure was because the owner himself told us.

Originally Posted by Manny

Being in business for so many years and have tuned so many cars doesn't make you or your team free of any major fu ck up's.

Please tell us who's engine expired from our faulty engine building or tuning. All of our engine and tuning customers are completely satisfied.

Originally Posted by Manny

I bet the EFI is an amazing machine....but.....the tuning has failed miserably and thus has dented the product.

We have no control over who tunes what. We will not be responsible for anyone tuning mistakes except of our own. It is not fair to put down the EFI because your tuning skills are not up to par. From my experience the EFI has been very easy to get accustomed to. We are one of the best EFI tuners in the nation. We Frequently fly around the nation to support Lotus customers and professional racing teams.

Originally Posted by Manny

VVT and Lift has it's learning curve on a stock 2ZZ NA....but becomes a beast to tune in FI....there are so many variables to nail right when first tuning it..no wonder it has gone ape$hit.

We have tuned so many Lotus in so many configurations something like this is not a big deal for us. if you have any question or concerns about tuning your own vehicle please direct all questions to sales@racesolutions.com.

I find it funny that people who dont even own a Lotus or EFI system have such a negative opinion about the EFI system and us at DRS. or is it just the person that pulls their strings because he's not allowed to post on this board himself. IDK

EB Turbo
DRS

[dmh]

BGB Motorsports...nice win yesterday. My colleague is "involved" the Z4 engine in the car you beat to the line.

[EBTurbo]

A bit off topic but, yes. We are one of the strongest teams in the Koni Challenge. I have never been on another race team with such talent in the pits and in the car. A very winning combination.

EB Turbo

[fzust]

This is a re-post from elsewhere but it bears repeating:

With respect to the EFI ECU in the BWR XP car:

Kris has done multiple maps for the turbo and the fine tuning on the S/C have that have been awesome. The comments from folks watching at nationals said that NOBODY put down power and accelerated like the BWR XP car. We could not have gotten that kind of power to the road without DRS and the EFI ECU.

Folks, here is a datapoint about the EFI ECU. I have been running this on my car for 2+ years(long before involvement with BWR) that has seen hundreds and hundreds of autoX runs using 14psi boost on a STOCK motor except for stiffer valvesprings and headstuds. Using both the turbo and the twinscrew blower, the car was making over 350 crank HP. I have never had an engine issue with the car. Period. Nada. The EFI ECU is THE way to get the most driveability, tunability, and HP out of the Elise or Exige.

There are some folks that have an axe to grind and alot of time on their hands. But rather than conjecture and here-say, the results speak for themselves.

If you want to go faster than anyone else in a Lotus and want custom tuneability, Kris @ DRS is THE MAN. I've got the Championship Jacket to prove it! If anyone says otherwise ask them which races they've won or what their laptimes have been recently.

[robains]

When my motor is back together, it'll go to Kris for tuning. And although many of you are focused on track/competition events, the meat of this market is still in the "street" friendly car -- and that's a real challenge -- one I'm sure Kris can rise to

From what I've been told these "street" challenges:

1. Stalls on deceleration
2. Idle fluctuation
3. Shift run on
4. Delayed throttle response
5. Smooth cross over in constant throttle application

are very solvable with the EFI unit. I've even heard rumors it can be made to be better than factory spec ECU even on DBW cars. No pressure Kris

Rob.

[Dave]

My '05 EFI Elise runs fantastic and anyone is welcome to come by my place and give it a good spin. I installed the data logging option and email Kris @ DRS the files for tuning. Even being 2,000 miles apart, he has my tune dialed in at 250WHP/160TQ with conservative a/f's and spark. Spark plugs look nice and compressions are still high and uniform.

Most rumors and misconceptions are started by Ronin (banned here ) who has always been an expert in his own mind. He's set up a slander thread on the other channel based on rumor, as he has zero personal experience with the EFI. I'm guessing it's a jealousy thing (or business matter?) - he's well versed at blowing his own motor (current state) mostly due to his lack of tuning ability.

Anyway, again I welcome anyone interested in the EFI to stop by for a test drive and check out the EFI software/system...it's really amazing. And no, I don't have any financial interest in this, just wanting to share what I've learned with other members who want to do their own tuning. Cheers.

[jim-clayton]

My 05 Elise EFI is still running great. Big thanks to Phil (turbophil) for
great maps. I'm getting full benefit from my header, intake, and smaller pulley. I also have the data logging.

[fzust]

Originally Posted by jim-clayton

My 05 Elise EFI is still running great. Big thanks to Phil (turbophil) for
great maps. I'm getting full benefit from my header, intake, and smaller pulley. I also have the data logging.

Yeah, I wanted to get the data logging, but Kris refuses to give it to me. (Inside joke)