[Guest]

Hi all and best of the holidays!

Just got myself an Apex'i Power FC ECU for my E5 RS (would have gotten a Motec, but simply can't afford one). I realize that this Apex'i box may not be used commonly in the EU, but since I live in Asia, japanese tuning parts are far more common. The Power FC is a fully programmable ECU that replaces the stock ECU... at about 850 quid, sort of a poor man's Motec I suppose.

The unit hasn't been installed yet, and currently, I've got the basic I/H/E mods, with stock turbo and internals. I got about 233 HP at the wheels on my last dyno run, with boost peaking at 1.1 bar. I've resisted setting my boost higher, for fear of fuel cuts or detonating (not to mentione the best petrol you can buy here in the Philippines is 97 octane, so I spend a lot on octane boosters!).

I bought the Power FC so that I could safely increase my boost to 1.3 bar max. Does this make sense, and can I expect some real power gains from this? If I can get an additional 20 BHP, I guess I'd be happy. Problem is that the chappy who does the tuning says that I may actually NOT get any increase! I'd hate to think I paid all that dosh for the ECU, for nothing!

I know a lot of folk on this board turn up their boost with the standard turbine and stock internals (in other words, with very similar set-up to my car). Can you let me know what sort of increases you've experienced? Thanks a million!

Cheers!

 

[Guest]

Just adding the Sport ecu enables it to run up to 1.5bar (I think) without overboost or fuel cuts and RC Developments run the standard ecu at 1.4bar with a boost and fuel controller.
The most important thing you need to run much more than 300 bhp is a bigger fuel pump otherwise you simply can't get enough fuel in! Once you've got that fitted and set up properly, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to run same boost!
Somebody else could give you more detailed info, but this is the basics of what I can gather.

Good luck, it'll be interesting to know how it goes!

Steve

 

[Guest]

Thanks, Steve.

My tuner's philosophy is to find additional HP from other places, rather than just upping boost. He feels that the stock turbine loses its efficiency above standard boost levels, and was willing to show me the physics of the whole thing, though I'm sure my brain would turn to much trying to get around the maths. |EQU|)

On the one hand, I'm confident he knows his stuff, as he's prepared a 460|PLS| BHP (wheel) RR-tested Evo. On the other hand, it seems so many people on this board have managed to get significant gains from simply playing with boost, so I'd really like to try that route first-- although staying a bit conservative by limiting boost to 1.3 bar to save the motor from too much stress!

By the way, you mention 1.4 bar with the standard ECU... I assume this is a remapped ECU, correct?

Thanks very much!

 

[Guest]

Hesperus,
your tuner has a good philosophy.often upping the boost just gives the impression of more power but really gives not so many gains.the power fc is a good ecu and i was thinkin of getting one some time back it is good value for money especially for you as u pay less taxes on parts from japan.there is no reason y u cant get results just as good as with a motec if its mapped right.u dont have to worry about fuel cuts because you can set the fuel cut to whatever you choose as the ecu is fully programable.upping the boost wont give much gain unless fuel,ignition etc is mapped accordingly.1.3 bar sounds like a good limit as your saving the engine to much stress and with the boost control on ecu you should be able to reduce boost on the move if you want to then switch it back up if you want to thrash it(assuming you have the FC commander,the in car adjuster for the ecu) also you could have it mapped for the type of fuel you use to get the most out of that type of fuel(say 97ron|PLS|octane booster).the power at wheels may not neccessarily increase by 20bhp due to drivetrain losses but im sure flywheel power would increase considerably,as well as driveabilty plus if mapped properly for the fuel you use then it will be safer for your engine.I think the most considerable increase you could get would be in torque which would improve acceleration.im sure it wont be a waste of money,if your tuner makes high power evo ([email protected]) im sure he can map your Power FC to give you good gains and extra safety if nothin else.dont go for more than 1.1 bar on a standard ecu as you will get detonation and comprimise your engines longevity. o yeh as Rosco says an uprated fuel pump is a must and ARP con rod bolts would also be a good idea.
Hope this is of help to you

Umreet

 

[Guest]

Umreet, yes that was very helpful-- thanks very much. I did get the FC commander along with the Power FC. But I didn't get the separate (optional) boost control unit because I already have an Apex'i AVC-R, and I heard/read that the AVC-R can be used separately with the Power FC.

With regard to the uprated fuel pump, RR-tuning of the car (once the FC is installed) should indicate if I really need it, right? Meaning, if I'm not getting the fuel I need, it would show up during the tuning session? I suppose I could always decide to get the pump right then and there. Reason I'm hesitating is that I know someone who actually had his Evo's power drop after fitting a bigger pump (he had a similar set-up-- I/H/E, AVC-R, but a Mines ECU).

As for the ARP bolsts, I'll get there at some point in the future, likely if/when I take the engine apart for repairs or internal upgrades.

I'll let you know how things get on eventually-- the dyno is broken and won't be fixed for another month or so! |EQU|(

 

[Guest]

Hesperus
No it isn't remapping the ecu as far as I know. Power Engineering say they are the only people for that!

That's why I say it will be interesting to see what results you get with the ecu mapped well and like you say, you shouldn't have to run as high boost to get good results and better driveability.

Regards
Steve

 

[Guest]

hesperus,
glad to be of help.i think the solenoid setup with the optional boost control is the same as with the AVC-R but is controlled by Ecu instead,so i dont see why the avc-r cant be used in parallel with the Power FC. your right sometimes adding an uprated fuel pump can cause power to drop as it can cause overfuelling which would reduce power.when mapping on the dyno your tuner will be able to see when there is not enough fuel,if he can map it to give good gains with the fuelling still being safe then you may not need a fuel pump.but as your friend was using a mines ECU it would be mapped in a certain way for a certain amount of fuelling and cant adjust for the extra fuel the pump provides,with a mappable ecu im sure you can map round this extra fuel and in the top end the extra fuel will be beneficial for more advanced mapping for more power.i know of people have got up to 350bhp at the flywheel while still using the standard fuel pump.
p.s i know i sound stupid but when you say I/H/E mods i assume I|EQU|intake E|EQU|exhaust but was does H stand for??

Umreet

 

[Guest]

Hi Umreet,

I think I'm the one who'll sound stupid, as I remember reading I/H/E somewhere and just started using it Like you, I have NO CLUE what the H stands for! |EQU|)

Now that I think of it, the only thing that makes sense would be headers , in which case that's not accurate for most Evo's, as what we usually change is the downpipe. So, that should be I/D/E then, right? hehehe!

Happy New Year!