Turbo Dynamics Z1/F1100T ECU reflash with four switch positions

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Hugo Hensley
5 years ago
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1 Turbo Dynamics Z1/F1100T ECU reflash with four switch positions Gary Berwind bought the Turbo Dynamics Stage 4 tune for his 2010 Z1 SnoPro. He had considered all the current reflash and piggyback tuning options, and really liked Ben s switching device and deto light so that s what he went with. He brought his sled to dyno test each setting on 93 octane 8% ethanol fuel that he had just purchased. All of these tests were done with normal unshimmed wastegate. The other performance mods Gary opted for were: *BMP large intercooler and charge tube. *BMP divorced turbine outlet pipe and TD stainless turbo force muffler *Cooling-Mist water/methanol system w/progressive controller We used our Arctic Cat diagnostic system to monitor the engine. F1100T owner Pete Nixon came with his stock ECU so we could get an accurate assessment of Gary s performance mods alone. Pete also monitored the ECU info as provided by the AC diagnostic system. We primarily watched coolant temp to make sure it was degrees F beginning each test, then watched for signs of detonation/ timing retard during each test especially at higher boost levels. And we also listened for detonation by attaching our copper tube to the exhaust manifold. I was interested in the question about knock protection at higher revs. When TD Ben was testing here we heard some very nasty snaps of deto on our copper tube on one test at 8500 RPM, but Ben told me he saw no deto on the Cat diagnostic system. I later got clarification that the knock sensors are ineffective above 8300 from a top level Arctic Cat engineer. He responded: The knock control system is not active above the stock rev limiter due to the inability of the hardware filter to isolate "normal" engine noise from knock at high RPM. The AC diagnostic tool will not show knock there because the ECU is not looking for it. So when dyno testing the Cat turbos at revs higher than 8300, we must use our ears to hear deto then back off.. But in the field, extending revs to can actually lessen the likelihood of knock since torque is lower there. Also deto is time-dependent so low rev operation gives knock more time to occur. But anyone trying to make max HP on minimum octane is wise to keep revs at 8300 and lower to take full advantage of the stock deto protection. And since the HP curves are more of a flat plateau, keeping revs low shouldn t be a power or acceleration hindrance. In this case, Gary wisely opted for the water/ methanol injection so he could safely make big power on pump gas. An inexpensive system that can use cheap blue windshield washer to keep engines free of deto using pump gas is in my opinion a must-have. For our testing on this day, Gary used 50/50 water/ methanol. But we would begin our testing without the water/ methanol and only energize it when we encountered detonation.

2 So here we are, beginning with Pete s stock 2012 ECU. This should give us an idea of the effectiveness of the large BMP intercooler and higher flowing exhaust compared to the stock parts. Also I should note that the TD SS muffler was very quiet considering how much power we would eventually make with it. STOCK 2012 ECU TD ECU SWITCH POSITION 1 Eco Trail RPM CHp Clb-ft lb/hph lbs/hr SCFM Ratio psig psig Next when we tried switch position two in the Performance 91 mode, we could not load the engine at 7000rpm to begin the sweep test severe knock that we could hear audibly and Pete could see timing being pulled at the same time. But sliding the begin test RPM to 7700 allowed us to test knock-free at nearly 18psi boost! And note here, that our injectors are about tapped out only higher fuel pressure from the stock rising rate regulator would increase fuel flow.

3 TD ECU SWITCH POSITION 2 Performance 91 RPM CHp Clb-ft lb/hph lbs/hr SCFM Ratio psig psig For Gary s pump gas, 17.8 psi boost proved to be the limit. When we tried to load the engine at 19psi boost, even at 8000 RPM, we encountered severe knock so we had to turn on Gary s Cooling-Mist system. Now with water/ methanol cooling charge temp knock was gone, and we made lots of power still incredible numbers on 93 octane fuel! And in the field with very light clutch weights it s conceivable that the engine can buzz up to 8600 where torque and time are reduced (149 lb/ft vs 165 lb/ft with identical HP) and run there knock-free without water/ methanol but why risk that? TD ECU SWITCH POSITION 3 Power Trail On switch position 4, which is intended for race gas, we encountered severe knock even with the water/ methanol, loading at We had to drill out the orifice in the water/ methanol injector to about 3 or 4 times larger area, and the deto subsided. Now, we could load the engine at 7800 and make 280 HP knock-free on $3.69/ gallon pump gas with a squirt of windshield washer fluid! And note that the wideband still reads 11.5/1 because the extra fuel provided in the 50/50 Cooling-Mist mix. TD ECU SWITCH POSITION 4 Race Fuel

4 Here s the same dyno test showing the readings of fuel flowmeter A (from fuel pump to the rail) and also fuel flowmeter B (bypassed fuel from the rail back to the tank). At 280 HP there is still extra fuel available if you run higher fuel pressure. As I recall, when Ben made over 300HP here he had to raise fuel pressure drastically over stock to get adequate fuel flow. A more sophisticated aftermarket fuel regulator like those sold by Bell Engineering can do this with adequate pump sizing, so boosted sled engines can be tuned dandily at up to 120 psi fuel pressure. I think that with the stock Z1/F1100T fuel pump at 300 HP, about 80 psi is needed, and see to max out the stock pump. EngSpd FuelA FuelB RPM lbs/hr lbs/hr Gary was pleased with the power we were able to make with the TD program, though he was a bit miffed that his pump gas limit w/o Cooling-Mist was lower than we made on Ben s 2012 F1100T. I think the reason we made so much pump gas power on Ben s sled w/o water/ methanol was that he may have had much higher than 93 octane in those final tests. After Ben left the dyno, I wondered about how we could run 28psi boost with no knock on my pump gas, when other turbo tuners of all makes and models have not been able to come close to that! Fortunately, there is enough fuel remaining in the four hoses that duct fuel to and from the two flowmeters to make a specific gravity/ ethanol % check. The fuel left behind in the hoses measured at.736 and 3 to 4% ethanol, but what I bought for Ben was.768 and 8% ethanol (there was enough 93 left in the jug I transported it in to get specific gravity/ ethanol %)! Somehow the pump gas I bought for Ben had been mixed with some higher octane, non ethanol fuel. I thought we had pumped out all of the gas that was in the sled s tank. I like to think that even though I thought we had the transfer pump at the bottom of the sled tank and we got it to suck air after filling a 5 gallon container (then dumping it into my Chevy Avalanche), perhaps there was still three gallons of much higher octane fuel left in there to contaminate (in a good way) my

5 pump gas. I m not even suggesting that while I was gone to buy 93 that Ben would have snuck some better fuel into the sled s tank, because what would be the point? If people think they can put 93 octane in the tank and run 28 psi boost they will know quickly that you can t fool mother nature! Ben is a good natured, smart fellow and I think he would agree that to run 28 psi boost in your turbo sled you must have race gas. But regardless of that, the TD program provides excellent performance upgrades for this incredible engine. Ben s tuning is dandy, delivering the pancake-flat HP curves as you can see in the following graph (I just realized I left out switch position 3 but it s quite similar to 2). There is much internet banter about this company vs that company and their tunes and means, etc. But in the end it s all about boost pressure, HP added per psi of boost increase, and what octane it requires to support what HP level. Yes you can retard timing but then you lose power and have to increase boost to maintain HP. Or you can advance timing, but then you might get knock so you must reduce boost! There s no magic. It doesn t matter whether you increase turbo boost by reprogramming your ECU or with a piggyback unit like the Power Commander, or EZ or HiJacker that can raise or lower boost one psi at a time. Boost is boost. Let the fun begin!

09 Arctic Cat Z1 turbo w/ D&D HiJacker boost/ fuel controller

09 Arctic Cat Z1 turbo w/ D&D HiJacker boost/ fuel controller Nelson Cadieux and Scott Brownlee of Carlson Sports (Arctic Cat) in North Bay, Ontario (www.carltonsports.com) made their fourth tuning trip