EFI STANDALONE VERSUS REFLASH

[Kris from DRS]

Originally Posted by charliex

Yeah the DBW is not bad, it can snap open and closed faster than you can move your foot, lots of torque and precision in it.

Yes, I agree. I actually really like DBW over non-DBW for many reasons.

Kris

[Kris from DRS]

Originally Posted by CUP_240

haha Thanks Phil ,

Ive just purchased a used EFI standalone and i know it was removed from a DBW but im definetly going cable so just wanted to make sure it would all be ok ...

Also if i wanted to upgrade to the EFI dash display, does anyone have a link on what the specs are and also price please ???

Thanks again ...

Once you get your system installed make sure you also get the proper calibration for the non-DBW throttle. You can get it from Phil or myself, or anyone else that has it, but I do suggest having one of us look at the map closely before you actually run the car to make sure it is all ready to go.

Kris

[Kris from DRS]

Also, on a used system I highly recommend you upgrade to some type of wideband Lambda. We have calibrations for several, i.e. NGK AFX, AEM, EFI Tech, LC1, and Zietronics. The older kits that came with narrow-band sensors just can't offer the same level of precise fuel control.

We are going to release a new updated and price reduced wideband Lambda kit shortly. It requires no free-air calibration ever, will come w/ a durable NGK (NTK) Lambda sensor, and adapter harness that plugs right into any of our EFI systems. The operating range is from 1.6 to 0.6 Lambda so it is plenty wide for a variety of fuels.

Kris

[Kris from DRS]

Originally Posted by elise/europa

Robains,

Stock, I was all a time on rev. limiter, sometime to don't shift for only 100-300 feet. I did the calculation with the stock, and theorically, the valve are slightly floating. The Eiback spring compressed go to 144 lbs from OEM 122 lb.

Since the maximum rpm is now 8500 x sqrt (144/122) = 9250, 8900 is seafer than 8500 with the stock spring. I did also the complete calculation (more complex) and the result is the same.

I never changed the oil pump, and yes I feel a little bit affraid about it, I broke one on my Honda engine last year (H22A running at 8000 rpm on vintage Lotus Europa 69).

Best

P.S. I am living Montreal downtown.

Marc,

How do you like the rev limiter? One of things that we really like is how smooth it is compared to the stock limiter. You can actually drive on it without upsetting the car (although it's never recommended). You can also differentiate fuel limit from spark limit.

Kris

[elise/europa]

Kris,

The rev limiter is so smouth than sometimes I am not sure I am on it... feeling like not enough fuel... As is now, I presetted the rev limiter based on fuel, and spark limiter just slightly over by around 20 rpm. Is it the best set-up, don't yet, my track season is starting late this year (just one day left, and it was raining like hell).

Charlie,
About my friend having problem with his ECU, I don't want to talk too much about him. What I know is he sent you his ECU, you were hard to reach to have feed-back, after he received his ECU saying that it was OK, but the car was not running good at all, and after all, he just buy my ECU, which he was running with it during the time he was waiting for his ECU. Honestly, I did not understand, like a strange problem.

[charliex]

Well since i know who you mean, i think it was more a communication problem, i don't speak french and his english wasn't great, but regardless the ecu was physically damaged which isn't anything to do with me or my reflashes, and unfortunately there isn't much i can do with as the parts to repair it aren't readily available but i did what i could, i just don't see how that translates into me only helping out personal friends, if anything my friends get less of my time.

I do repair the ecu's for people if i have the parts, and i don't charge for it, but in that instance i had no parts to fix it.

I did actually get that ecu you sold him back too,i think, it'd been tampered with and 'investigated' as well , but i agreed to reflash what he needed on to it as well, i usually do, last week i reflashed an ecu for a customer that i don't know, and didn't sell a flash too, but he had some emissions problems with the readiness codes (which turned out was a decat) so it couldn't pass the test for registration, as it had been flashed by me with a previous owner, so i even look after the people that don't directly buy from me.

I think i've been pretty good about helping people out by and large, i can't please everyone all the time, and i'm just one guy, but its not for want of trying.

I have ended my other companies to work full time on the car stuff, i have some backup from a busy few months but i'll start getting on top of it soon. I'm usually flying out to do tuning for a few hours and end up staying up til 4am working on cars with pre existing faults, even staying extra days which makes me even less available, but its just part of the business. However even with that , i think i'm doing, i have been hard to get hold of recently, but i've either been at the dyno, travelling on a plane, or getting the little sleep i have been able too. As i said i maintain a calendar, and a GPS system to let people know where i am, i post my cell phone number and if you can get through to me (as i'm often on the phone with other people, you can get me 7 days a week, i doubt you can say that of many companies), people don't seem to realise though that i do spend most of my day on the phone as it is, i'l help anyone i can, even if its not a problem, related to me, if its a cluster reset issue, a decat problem, need to diagnose an obd ii ,circuit diagrams etc.


But it seems you yourself didn't have any issues with me or the reflash i did for you, and this is a comparison on the efi standalaone and my reflash ?

[elise/europa]

Charlie,

Don't take that too personal. Everyone knows how hard you pushed to get the reflash, which is a very nice solution. And I appreciated a lot my Reflashed ECU, and again thanks for that. I was feeling also more confortable at that time to have a fully proved solution when I did the installation of my Katana kit, taking one problem at the time. Since I am broking everything I touch, I want to move sometime slowly. On my Katana, first two week, I had trouble with major limp mode (throttle body loose screw inside affecting the TPS read out). After I cracked the steel bracket, broke the oil gage support at the weldment, broke one intake bolt, broke the 2 screws at the steel bracket with the aluminum one, collapse my catalyser, expanded 2 stocks mufflers, broke the pusher plate...and more probably, and I did NOT have issue with the reflash... cool.

And also, you saw that I pointed also Kris that he's hard to reach sometime. Kris and you have started your busyness, and when we start it is all a time more difficult to support everyone.

For sure, for me and myself, I was feeling trapped with the reflash, not because he was bad, but just because I like to modify (sometime slowly) my car. And since I am living up north, it is no question to ask you to come here to adjust my car on dyno when I want to change something, like every month.

The point of this thread was just to say, now, the EFI is very nice and work as great as the reflash, with more flexibility. For me, my dream was to have a standalone working as good as your reflash, your reflash as a reference, not bad...

Very best regards

[charliex]

What problem did you have with the reflash ? ( Other than not being able to tune it yourself, which its not sold as anyway)

[robains]

Kris,

Loaded up your Accel values tonight and went out for some testing -- you HIT the NAIL on the head, amazing!! My car is better than stock, much better. I didn't think it could make that much of difference but dang, it's perfect!! My car just accelerates like bat out of hell while retain exceptional street manners -- I've had to adjust my shift reaction time between gears it's that much better. Sure I'm on my 100 octane map right now, but I'll paste those Accel values in my 91 map. Street driving is dead spot on.

It'll be a cold day in hell before I give up my DBW now. This same time a year ago and I was thinking of replacing the DBW, now I'm glad I didn't.

Perfect timing too, I'll be at Infineon in a few days.

It would have taken me considerably more time and testing before I would have come up with those values, Great job Kris, and thank you.

Rob

[elise/europa]

Sorry Charlie, I forgot the NOT into my text about the Reflash, text fixed, sorry again

[Jean]

I don't know anybody here in Québec who have had any issue with Charlie's tune. My Katana was running great, as my VF II does. When my ECU has fried, it took time to be sure it wasn't something else...
And now, you're happy with your EFI, and I am happy with your "old" ECU and Charlie's reflash for my VF II...
Wish you to win on the track !

[Kris from DRS]

I can relate to Charlie's situation. I've had people complain about not being able to reach me easily. Sometimes people get the wrong idea and think that the business they are trying to reach is not willing to help or neglecting their duties. In my situation it is just a result of being busy sometimes with very time sensitve projects and being short the man power we need to help everyone as quickly as we'd like to.

I think Charlie is a one man operation still, I at least do have 1.5 employees, and working on getting another very soon. My situation is different though b/c we are an actual shop with 2 full service bays, a partial fab/machine shop, a dedicated work space for wiring harness assembly, electronic systems bench testing, engine assembly work space that is divided from the workshop to keep it free of debris. On a typical day the phones are ringing a lot and it can be tough to keep up sometimes.

We've been in business over 7 years now and at one time had 4 other people working with me (but this was mostly b/c we were involved in the DARPA program then).

Charlie, I know all about the flights, the hotel living, the damn rental car companies that close when your flight arrives late and you have to take a taxi to the hotel and get your car in the AM when they open and you lost that extra 30 min of sleep you so wish you could have back only so that you can be at the dyno shop or track to work all day in the hot sun and tell yourself you'll get that nap on the next plane after a couple beers. Oh and how about the airport security that thinks your diagnostic equipment is a bomb I think I lost a few sets of basic tools b/c they thought I was going to highjack the plane with terminal extractors and wire strippers.

I've been doing this for a while and love it still.

So anyway, sorry for the long post and back to the topic...I'm glad we have another satisfied customer out there.

Kris

[Kris from DRS]

Originally Posted by robains

Kris,

Loaded up your Accel values tonight and went out for some testing -- you HIT the NAIL on the head, amazing!! My car is better than stock, much better. I didn't think it could make that much of difference but dang, it's perfect!! My car just accelerates like bat out of hell while retain exceptional street manners -- I've had to adjust my shift reaction time between gears it's that much better. Sure I'm on my 100 octane map right now, but I'll paste those Accel values in my 91 map. Street driving is dead spot on.

It'll be a cold day in hell before I give up my DBW now. This same time a year ago and I was thinking of replacing the DBW, now I'm glad I didn't.

Perfect timing too, I'll be at Infineon in a few days.

It would have taken me considerably more time and testing before I would have come up with those values, Great job Kris, and thank you.

Rob

Awesome Rob! I'm glad to see it working so well too.

It's one thing to tune for power...there's always going to be someone with more $, more Hp, more Torque, more bragging rights...etc.

It's another thing to strive for the perfect balance, best response possible, good power modulation, efficiency, and incorporate all these things into the racing car (or street car turned race car on the weekends) so that the end result is a car that is tuned to work well for you (the driver).

Kris

[E.D.]

Originally Posted by robains

Kris,

Loaded up your Accel values tonight and went out for some testing -- you HIT the NAIL on the head, amazing!! My car is better than stock, much better. I didn't think it could make that much of difference but dang, it's perfect!! My car just accelerates like bat out of hell while retain exceptional street manners -- I've had to adjust my shift reaction time between gears it's that much better. Sure I'm on my 100 octane map right now, but I'll paste those Accel values in my 91 map. Street driving is dead spot on.

It'll be a cold day in hell before I give up my DBW now. This same time a year ago and I was thinking of replacing the DBW, now I'm glad I didn't.

Perfect timing too, I'll be at Infineon in a few days.

It would have taken me considerably more time and testing before I would have come up with those values, Great job Kris, and thank you.

Rob

These accel values are aimed at EFI WITH DBW controllers only?
Or also for basic EFI w/o DBW controller?

[robains]

Enrico,

As far as I know, yes - for DBW controllers only.

Rob

[Kris from DRS]

Originally Posted by E.D.

These accel values are aimed at EFI WITH DBW controllers only?
Or also for basic EFI w/o DBW controller?

Enrico,

This new firmware applies to ALL Lotus systems, regardless of DBW w/ or w/out the controller, or non-DBW.

The new accel settings apply to any of the above mentioned as long as they have the new FSX file installed.

The only thing to be careful with is if you have an older system (does not apply to you Enrico) then you need to swap a couple pins around. I can elaborate more on this later.

I can email the firmware to you, or you can download from Phil.

Kris