"G4 RX wire in. I'm anti plug-in because I've seen stock engine harnesses in terrible condition.

Worth noting - the G4 RX has peak and hold injector drivers, while the Storm and Extreme have saturated drivers. If you want peak and hold drivers in the Extreme Link will supply a Vipec V88 (it's essentially an Extreme just with peak and hold drivers and a different name)."

yes, some thought should be given to the fact most of our wiring harnesses are getting near retirement age and given the fact that the FD underhood AIR temperature is 150+ F are getting crispy.

i have a new harness in my car as of last July and it was, um, needed.

as far as the Link options...

the RX is slick as it was designed for the rotary....

controls the external oil pump (though i suggest you ditch the pump unless you like adding dirty carbon filled 4 cy oil to your motor's interior)

internal 29.5 psi MAP sensor

individual rotor tuning

super duper active knock control on each rotor, w the RX you need to add a module

4 Peak and Hold injector drivers so it runs stock and aftermarket injectors

huge tuning and internal logging

autotune

etc

the other Link option is the Extreme

controls 8 injectors (saturated? you will need an AEM 10 injector Peak and Hold convertor or go w the ViPec 88 which is similar to the Extreme only peak and hold)

contains all the knock stuff internally, no need for an additional module

similar to the RX only just more of everything...

i believe logging sample rate is Significantly higher than my 11 per second Power FC.

both Link and ViPec have interesting forums.



hc

 

I've pleaded with the powers to be for a Link/ViPec forum section as I've got basemaps and other things I've wanted to post, but it seems that request has fallen of deaf ears. For the money the Link G4 RX is an amazing piece of kit and software solution for 13B RX-7's. Howard the upcoming traction control and built in flat shifting would be just the ticket for the Texas mile.

 

Okay, since we are talking about the link here, I am looking into ECUs for my build. Really interested in this ECU and just curious if it matters that there are less cells for tuning than with the PowerFC. Would that make it less capable of fine tuning. I think the link has 19x20 cells for adjusting fuel.

 

The Link has higher resolution 22X20 (440 Cells)vs 20X20 (400 Cells) for the PFC. Not to mention up to 6D tables. It's a much more advanced ECU. The PFC is great, but it is dated and it's starting to show it's age. With the Link you can have sophisticated boost control, flex fuel, flat shift, traction control, methanol injection, barometric correction, built in data loggin, etc... It's a whole new ball game. Download the software and try it out.

 

Seems to me that newer ECUs' integration is a big plus. While the PFC's nice enough, it's a lot less elegant once you add Datalogit, wideband, AI controller, FJO injector driver, Racelogic TC, etc.

 

Correction...Datalogit only adds to it's elegance

 

I run the ViPec V88 , its the ABSOLUTE BEST bang for the buck IMO !!!

 

subscribe

 

lol, I got excited when i saw this bumped up...o well lol

 

it of course seems like a lifetime ago i was on the rollers, Jan 16. i have been pretty busy during the interim and just want to give anyone interested an update.

i did a complete A to Z on ECUs and today bought a Link Xtreme. according to Link it will be in my hands approx a week from Monday. i have loved my Power FC since 2000. when combined w a Datalogit it is amazing, especially when you consider it has been essentially unchanged for over 10 years. i have the 15th PFC to enter the country and it runs no differently than my other PFC that was brand new 10 months ago. and a similar thumbs up for the Datalogit... the ability to log EIGHT channels.

but the tech wave rolls on and when you are running 9000 and pumping out over 500 hp you need all the help available.

and wow is there more help available... i will get into the details later but i am excited.

i am switching out the last pair of old school (850) injectors for a set of EV14 primaries. i will now be running 6 EV14 1000CC injectors... of course 2 are in my elbow delivering 100% methanol magic. instead of being wired parallel to my two secondary injectors each will be directed by a discrete channel. the Xtreme can run 8 injectors.

i recently purchased Full Function Engineering's Primary Rail. it is exquisite. pictures will follow, definitely best in class. as soon as their secondary rail is shippable it will join the primary.

in addition, Full Function has a beautifully engineered 36 tooth crank ignition pickup which will be fixtured w a Hall square wave pickup. the stock mazda item is a 12 tooth, produces an AC current that is later converted.

my wheel was a tad out of shape and the slight bend contributed to the one data point boost spike. the mazda crank pickup wheel needs to be no more than .006 from straight. here's a pic of the FFE pickup...



everything (fuel and ignition) starts w TDC... especially w the rotary where every pass by the sparkplug is ignition and it is easy to run 8-9000. the FFE 36 tooth setup locks it down.

i am also revising my manifold. the same exact design w 70% more runner area. velocity may (or may not) be down but spool will be up and EGTs & backpressure will be down. it will be very interesting to me to see the difference.

so, more delays but lots of new stuff to test.

one item that will not be tested will be plastic fantastic diffusers. they don't mix w meth.

we are not dallying at this point. i expect the manifold will be complete by the time the Link arrives and the engine/turbo should be close at that point.

i will be lobbying for a Link Engine management Section and will have alot to say about it going forward. many of you will be blown away by the scope of expanded control available.

Link also makes the "RX" which is a plug in for the FD.

full disclosure... i am buying everything i run and i am not nor will i ever be a dealer...

howard

 

Damn howard. now you make me want to buy a link, sooner then i was planning.

 

Are you going to use the ECU's boost and rev limit features?

 

Wasn't Link the company that Chris Carlisi used when he built his FD (Now in Ray Crowe's hands...)?

Looking forward to the results Howard.

 

Chris used Pectel.

 

Howard, are you going to be keeping your stock harness or running a custom harness with the link ECU? Is there a patch harness for this, or is custom the only option?

 

"are you going to be keeping your stock harness"

yes i will be using much of my stock harness which is close to new. there will be a few additions such as i will be running two Bosch knock sensors and a different crank pickup.

the other Link (RX) is I believe a plug in.////////edit: the RX is also a wire in/////////////

howard

 

???

 

"Are you going to use the ECU's boost and rev limit features?"

my apologies for missing your post. yes, i plan to use the Exteme boost controls. the Xtreme requires an external MAP sensor, i will probably stay w my GM 3 bar as it works perfectly.

all sensors on the Extreme are configurable. just enter the V and the temp/pressure etc. you can use the Mazda sensors if you wish. the boost control gives you every conceivable option.... gear, RPM etc.

Rev limit, i will just have to take a close look at the options as there are many ways to skin the cat.

"just curious if it matters that there are less cells for tuning than with the PowerFC."

22 X 20

i will in the near future post a comprehensive list of what the Link Xtreme offers in terms of management.

hc

 

link rx is not a plugin, its is a full stand alone and has its own harness. I have one.

 

"link rx is not a plugin, its is a full stand alone and has its own harness."

thanks for the correction... indeed it is a wire in.

howard

 

i always though if backpressure goes down then spool should go down. it's the pressure that makes the wheel spin. i wouldn't think velocity would change if the piping diameter is the same but adding length would add more pipe to bring up to pressure and slow down spool.

something i wondered about the original manifold design would be with the start/stop of flow between combustion cycle could interupt flow with a shorter manifold. so longer piping could smooth out flow and have less of a jerking effect but could create pressure drop. i think it would be a give/take situation between smoother flow being nicer on the turbo and longer pipes needing to come up to pressure.

or i'm just totally wrong and in that case, disregard.

 

update:

first a brief additional look at what happened on the rollers Jan 16 w re to the Borg Warner S300 63.

here's the compressor map:



our two (last) runs were at 24 psi. that is 2.6 on the Y scale. looks like about 70.5 pounds per minute at the right side of the map.

70.5 X 14.471 = 1020 CFM/ 1.92 or 531 max SAE rotary rwhp.

we made 514. i know we weren't optimised on that run so there clearly is more upside as i am confident we will demonstrate next time.

the compressor map shows max air at 3.4 pressure ratios or 35 psi. as long as we have knock and other metrics under control we will go there and see what things look like.

i was not happy w midrange. one of the reasons i selected this turbo is that it has a unique trim for its size.... 52. this should favor spool/mid over top end V all the other TO4Z/GT500/PT67 turbos that have 63 trims. i think i have the fix for the midrange. meanwhile for having a trim favoring mid range this BW ripped on top end... so if we get mid fixed it will be quite the package.

when running 20 psi or higher i expect to see 400 SAE at 5500. i am pretty sure i know what the fix is and am optimistic that we will hit the number.

speaking of 35 psi... i will be significantly changing my systems/setup and among other things will be running a 4 Bar Map sensor... it is a Link proprietary item. i don't expect to do much running over 29 but we will have the ability to properly control boost in that neighborhood. i am not going to run racegas so all this will be done w 93 pump and 31% (by BTU) methanol.

overall i am delighted w the BW 63. given we weren't quite there yet tunewise, it did make 500 OB from 65 to 8500 and showed no signs of giving up. it is valuable to be able to run higher RPM as the FD wide ratio trans gives up so much on upshifts... the motor can start to rock at 5500 so you do not want to be looking at less than that after you shift.

yesterday was an especially fun day for me. my car has been sitting at BR and i retrieved it yesterday so it is home where i can work my will on it.

my evil twin has taken over since Jan and i have re-examined my options.

while my main focus is, and will be, turbo evaluation (and this gets done before the Texas Mile) i will have to say that above the turbo project has always been attempting to optimise my FD.

as you get into above 20 psi and in the 500+ range things have to be really right. a review of 21st century engine management systems really opened my eyes. i do love/have loved my Power FC/Datalogit but there is so much more available.

there are a number of options and of course everything looks good on paper. then there's the reality... i paid particular interest to the content on the ECU forums... (not our engine management section, although i did look thru it, but the manufacturer's site forums.) what were the owners contending with after the purchase.

i did like what i saw on the Link Forum posted by Link owners and i really like the features.

the unit i have on the way can control 8 injectors separately. it accepts 2 knock sensors so i will have knock readings from the front and rear rotors. i can configure what is knock and then create a response any way i wish including fuel and timing. of course i can eliminate the waste spark from my leading plugs and only fire them when they are actually locked and loaded. that doubles dwell time which is 6.6 Ms at 9000 RPM. oh, and speaking of coil dwell, there is an X Y chart so i can run it at coil friendly numbers around town and crank on it when the right foot is on the floor.... saves coils, saves plugs and adds elec output when needed. very cool.

the autotune is amazing. on an X Y grid (22 X20) i can stipulate any AFR i want, go for a drive, push a button and all of the fuel cells logged will automatically adjust to get the stipulated AFR. it also takes into account where you actually were within each cell and adjusts neighboring cells. there is a You tube video of it doing it's thing which is amazing.

the unit is a "wire in" which might sound daunting but isn't a big deal. you use most of your Mazda wire harness and just redirect the wires to the appropriate inputs to the Link unit. i will have to run a few wires outside the harness but most are already run thru my chassis... they would be all the Datalogit wires.... EGT, AFR etc. the only new wires would be for the new Full Function Engineering crank fired ignition pickup.

the regular Mazda air temp, water temp etc are usable. i will be switching to two Bosch knock sensors.

i also have switched my fuel system to the FFE rails which are really nice. i have swapped out my 850 primaries for another set of EV14 1000 CC. i would expect to be able to dial in a really nice (lean) idle as i can dial down the ontime way below the Power FC limit.

i bought the Link DisplayLink which is something similar to the Commander but w alot more capability. i think it has a 6 X 4 inch screen. it can do anything, display anything as a connected laptop.

logging speed was an important consideration. 100 parameters at 50 data points per second for 14 minutes!

the softwear is called QuickTune and can be downloaded off the site for inspection. it is a wow.

other items... 5 D boost control (gear, rpm etc. antilag, flatshift and launch) individual rotor tuning as far as fuel and ignition, individual gear related control of fuel, igniton, boost, 4 MB internal logging memory, tons of inputs, outputs to run just about anything.

of course it will be interesting to see if it all works and if so what does it mean...

we will be answering these questions as soon as possible. i am really happy that Luke will be at the master controls. i will initially transfer my Power FC map into the Link, head for BR where Luke will do his thing.

it should be interesting.

howard

 

If you want mid range I say try stock exhaust ports!

 

^1+++++++++ or properly sized turbo for midrange.

 

saying "midrange" could, and apparently has, led to confusion. my apologies for not defining better what i mean when i use the term.

stated simply: 400 SAE at 5500 when running 20 psi or more.

my objectives w a midsize turbo, such as the current BW, are 400 SAE at 5500 and 550 maxed out. i also want peak torque at as high an RPM as possible and 9000 as redline.

my entire system is designed for these objectives including the ports.

of course to others midrange may mean something different.

howard