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Gentlemen, Hack Your Engines!
Les Gasser writes "Ahh, drag racing! If you've never experienced the scent of nitro or
the flashing flames of a top fueler running 320MPH+ in 4+ seconds in a
standing-start quarter mile run at dusk, you're missing world-class
performance art. (See 'High Performance' for the classic on drag racing history and
culture). Now the NYTimes (registration needed) has 'Gentlemen, Start Hacking Your Engines,' an article on
're-engineering' engine control computers for maximum performance,
combining the drag racing and tech-geek traditions." Having learned everything I know about racing from Gran Turismo, I'm amazed to learn there's more than just buying a "racing chip".
You may find this interesting, particularly if you're into rallying at all and have heard of both Subaru and Prodrive, who prepare rally subarus and also make a performance pack for road-going cars.
:-)
The new high performance Impreza (STI VII) Prodrive Performance Pack uses a piggy back chip to "fool" the ECU into allowing more boost on its turbo.
The reason? Prodrive don't know how to re-program the OEM ECU correctly.
A third party has hacked a tool to reprogram the ECU - something no-one else has managed. This largely is the work of one guy, who has done something that is apparently not possible
Rumour is that Prodrive will be using the ecutec tool to reprogram ASAP.
Another mate has reverse engineered the ECU for older models and is blowing chips to give increased performance...
Ah, but the article was about drag racing. Where's the skill in that? Okay, sure, you have to be able to get a good launch, and shift properly. Otherwise, "Keep the throttle wide open, and don't touch that steering wheel." Of course, I agree with you 100% with respect to wheel to wheel road racing ("road" as in "race track with lots of nifty turns", not "main street").
Of course, the real fun is driving on road tracks yourself. Nothing quite like learning the limits of your driving ability (for most people out there, the capabilities of their car will far exceed the capabilities of the driver, so they'll be limited by their skill before they're limited by their car). Leave the computer stuff for things like RARS (Robot Auto Racing Simulator), and enjoy the skill it takes to drive a car fast in the real world. Call your local track, see when they start doing DE (driver education) days. I'm already signed up for lapping at my local track, are you?
Those are called sequential gearboxes.
But don't F1 teams use gearboxes which are operated via two paddle switches (behind the steering wheel)? These gearboxes are semi-automatic: there is no mechanical linkage, the gearchange and clutch are operated under computer control. The driver does select the gear.
Carsten "Russ" Meyer, editor at German c't magazine, has a few pages (in English) on hacking his Chevy Camaro Z28:
Tuning the PROM
Diagnosing the ALDL
Cool.
I'm not planning to go that far, but I'll be buying an Auterra OBD II Scan Tool interface for my Palm. Lots of interesting information about what's going on under the hood.
"There are already a million monkeys on a million typewriters, and Usenet is NOTHING like Shakespeare." - Blair Houghton
It could even have a special emmissions test mode
;-)
Some cars already have this built in. Sorry to harp on about the Subaru Impreza turbo, but it's what I know about
Hold 3000 rpm in second gear for 5 seconds, then floor the accelerator. You'll find boost is capped at around 11PSI as opposed to the normal 15PSI.
Reason? The car thinks that it might be being subjected to an emissions test, and opens the wastegate at lower boost. Lower boost = less air = less fuel = better emissions (verrrry simply put)
Tiptronic gear changing, most luxury cars have it like new Porsches etc.
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The manufacturer I work for wants to know what the aftermarket shops are doing to change the performance of the engine. -- And before you ask, no it isn't so the manufacturer can copy their techniques. Believe it or not, we know what we're doing when we design these things! We want to know how the modifications will affect the drivability and warranty rates on these vehicles.
Fair warning -- watch for manufacturers to increase pressure on dealerships to detect people using aftermarket computer chips, so that they can start denying warranty claims for people who do foolish things like burning up their turbochargers by requesting too much boost.
Some of the technologies we've already implemented will be able to supply information to dealerships about whether any of the data on the computer has been changed, and when the computer was last re-programmed. That will allow the dealerships to catch the people who re-program their PCM (Powertrain Control Module), and then return it to the original program before bringing it back to the dealership for any repairs.
Help find a cure for Gidget.
before you rank on all cars from the land of the rising sun, keep in mind that not all of us who drive them want to put stickers all over them. I have a Nissan 240SX that i'm in the process of building up, and it hasn't got a single sticker on it. Not gonna, either, unless i can get sponsored.
Bottom line is, i bought the car because it was cheap, efficient, very reliable, looks mighty nice, and handles like a dream (they hit it really well with that chassis; it's a lot more compact and nimble than the 300ZX while feeling a lot less claustrophobic inside). i want to make it into a ripping fast sports car, although on the track instead of the strip, and since i lack the money for an M5 (damn straight - if i buy a BMW it will seat 5 comfortably), i settled for the best available solution.
ps - imprezas aren't slow, i thought they sold the WRX STi Type R 2-door over there for awhile?
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. - Aldous Huxley
Interesting to point out that when my partner and I started decoding the ECU in the '95 Mitsubishi Eclipse, the OBDII section was particularly useful to us. It gave us right there in the code all the conversion factors necessary to get the internal ECU variables converted to human readable form.
Thomas Dorris
The article talks about Hondata which works on Hondas. An example of almost the exact same thing in the Mitsubishi world can be found here:
http://www.dsmlink.com
That software was derived entirely by brute force decryption of the '95 Mitsu Eclipse turbo ECU code. We actually wrote the thing before we knew anything about Hondata. Once it was released and I started looking around a bit more, I realized the Hondata guys had done something almost identical with the Hondas.
Thomas Dorris
So, I was looking out of the window at the traffic down below, and I've come to the following conclusion: tune your car all you want. They all wait at the lights at the same speed!
OK, I know... racing tracks, Autobahn etc. I've noticed that most cars seem to be capped at 250-270 km/h (155-170 mph). Mine certainly is, but that's actually fast enough for me. I don't drag race - if anything, I end up sitting in a jam on the Autobahn, at the same speed as everyone else - zero (see first paragraph). So much for having no speed limits. :-(
Now for something completely different: Audi is taking the record industry to court.
It seems that customers have complained that certain CDs won't play in their cars, and Audi wants the record companies to pay to have the car CD players fixed/changed, as they are producing non-standard CDs.
I heard that two days ago from an employee of said company. It must have been an internal announcement; haven't found anything on the web about it yet...
-- Steve
.. Mostly if you have a turbo. Or, in my case, two.
My S4 has gone from about 250hp to 330hp. And I can feel it all. Before and after - the change was amazing.
Sure, I need to be a bit more careful warming up and cooling down the car. I can live with that. And actually, ever since I've gotten the increase in performance, I put the pedal down LESS. That's weird.
There's also some other very cool tuning.. I have a Vag-Tool which allows me to hook my laptop up to the car and monitor (and change) settings/data in realtime.
Since I've had that, I've made the following changes:
- Holding down lock on my keyfob for about 3 seconds will roll up all windows, close the moonroof, *and* lock the car
- The other way around - holding down unlock for a while opens up all the windows, etc.
- My tiptronic transmission now will not automatically shift out of first gear. (VERY NICE)
- My tiptronic transmission now lives in a non-stop "sports mode"
Now, only if this company that makes the interface/tool would provide hooks into the data collection portion of their app - I could write some realtime graphing utilities..
that immense boat you've wrapped yout 883hp in probably weighs around 4000 lbs, while my little ricer is more like 2500lbs.
Shelby Cobras ran Ford 427 side-oilers and they weighed under 2,400 lbs.
2500lbs. Means i only need 550hp to have the same power-to-weight ratio, and therefore the same acceleration,
And how are you going to get 550hp out of your "normally-aspirated" engine, Ricer X? If you want to see what big-blocks can do with blowers, nitrous, etc., just watch any drag race. Have you ever seen a car turn the 1/4 mile in 5 seconds at over 300mph using a hot-rodded Honda Civic engine? Didn't think so.
Now let's talk drivetrain. Have you ever tried to get 550hp to hook-up with front wheel drive? Your only hope of beating the aforementioned 427 is if you race on snow.
and i still probably handle better.
Than a Shelby Cobra? Are you on drugs?
Front wheel drive cars with high horsepower handle horribly. That's why you don't see Indy, Formula 1, or other race cars with front wheel drive. Ever wonder why Ferraris, Corvettes, Vipers, and even Honda S2000s all have rear wheel drive? When you use front wheel drive, you are prone to all kinds of handling problems when you try to apply power while in a corner.
Starting with a Honda Civic in order to make a performance car is like starting with a 68K-based Mac to make a high-performance computer.
Get a 502 fom any Chevy dealer.
883hp would be 1.76 hp per cubic inch.
That is VERY doable for a big block Chevy.
As for 700hp imports, I'm calling BS on that one. Prove it.
On the BMW mailing lists a few years ago, there was a guy who posted often about such issues. His name is Jim Conforti, and he makes one of (if not the) top aftermarket engine chips for BMWs. We are talking uber-geek here. He is one of the most knowledgable on the subject, and had to "defend" himself several times on the list to know-nothings who were spouting off. He was a nice guy, but if you riled him he could absolutely bury you with his depth of technical knowledge. Just seeing the information that he posted to the list, and knowing that he had 1000x more in his head, I realized that engine management isn't something you should just play around with. Maybe this is just from the BMW perspective, but I'll bet it applies to any engine.
One last thing - all the high-tech tuning won't do you much good unless you have a well engineered engine to start with. I have a 1988 BMW M3. 2.3 litre 4cyl naturally aspirated, with 198 BHP. (chipped to 210) This was made in 1987 folks, and there are few cars out there today that are engineered this well. In competition the engine put out well over 300 HP, and that was without any type of forced induction. But engineering something like this isn't cheap. But I have never driven a more fun car. On the track it is simply amazing.
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
Oh really? That's a bit broad of a statement don't you think? Miata with turbos are making 1/3rd more power witha turbo on stock guts - no problem. Mustang Cobras are making about 50% more pwoer on stock guts. Toyota Supra make about 100% more power on stock guts if not more. you don't always have to jump into the engine and swap things liek cams , pistons, and rods! Tune it RIGHT and you're fine.
Also realize that auto manufacturers often do things in the tuning to compromise performance for political and warranty reasons. Look at the 93-95 ford Cobra fro instance. GT40 heads, intake, 65mm throttle body, 1.7 rockers, and revised cam got them what - 35HP more? Gimme' a break! The Cobra ECU had a crapy timing map in it because Ford knew that those parts would make mincemeat out of the glass T5. They even retarded timing WAY back on shifts and speeds over 85mph. The Miata has a funky tip-in timing issue too but for no known good reason. Manufacturers aren't perfect in their programming either - they actually make mistakes occasionally. Ask any FD3 RX7 owner if they've ever experienced a hiccup around 3K at part throttle. The inejctors actually will shut off under the right circumstances at that RPM - it's a BUG. These are the kinds of things that reprogramming will fix...
Build it, Drive it, Improve it! Hybridz.org
http://astro.temple.edu/~kmr/Chauffe2.mp3
Way back in 1983, Saab introduced a system called APC (Automatic Performance Control) which controlled boost from the turbocharger. If it detected knock, it could open the wastegate until boost descended to a safe level.
The coolest thing about the APC is that it's an analog computer. Want to turn up the boost? No problem! Just grab a screwdriver and crank the potentiometers a bit. Lots of fun.
"he only thing these chips will do is sacrifice fuel efficience for short term performance"
Not true. By all accounts, chipping a Passat for an extra 40HP *improves* fuel economy. This assumes you drive as you did before. Of course, I'm sure people get worse economy as they will be flooring it a lot more to feel the extra torque.
Why is this? Because VW detuned the engine so that it wouldn't compete with higher cost Audis that use the same engine. Reprogramming it improves the air/fuel, mix extra (as well other things like allowing the turbo to spin up further).
The old "riding mechanic" wasn't there to tweak the engine while underway as to act as a lookout so the driver could keep his eyes on the road/track ahead. That was why Ray Harroun was able to replace the extra guy in his single seated car with the very first rear view mirror and win the inaugural Indy 500 way back when.
In top-fuel the driver doesn't press buttons - he pulls three levers - one for each gear.
Some interesting factoids that are almost 10 years old:
- topfuelers burn 10 gallons of nitro-methane just on the burn out
- the engine pumps enough air in the 1/4 mile run to inflate the Goodyear blimp
- your cars fuel line is about 3/8" inner diameter and pressurized to about 30 psi (IIRC). A topfueler's fuel line is 1.5" inner diameter and pressured to 170 psi!
- a topfuel motor's horsepower is estimated at 5000 hp because no dynomometer can measure that much power (again this was 10 years ago)
I'm not really a fan of drag racing (I prefer road racing myself), but those factoids I've remembered for tens years because they were so impressive.
-tim
What do you think a 350Z looks like from behind a radar gun?
Cops don't even see my little, dark blue nondescript-mobile even though I'm passing people. How much top end speed is realistic, anyway? Is a 180 mph car actually faster than a 120 mph one? Performance below 100 is what matters. Taking corners, accelerating out of them and accomplishing passes don't happen over 100. I'll let you drive the radar magnet, pal.
I spent a year in Iraq looking for WMD and all I found was this lousy sig.