Well this is to kind of go along with Jason's Turbo kit thread. Aaron has been working closely with Ash to bring us the Zemulator, and the last time I talked to him, he was very very excited about his results.

At first my questions were more inline with the Zemulator type of setup and if we could solder the Z32 chip onto a Maxima ECU, but it appears that wont work.
So it looks like right now we are going to have to use a Z32 ECU (modified with the socket) and a Z32 MAFS (until Aaron and Ash can get the VE MAFS worked out).

Anyway, I just wanted to make this thread for people to ask questions and give answers in.

 

some of my questions were about the difficulty of using the program, do I have to be a mechanical whiz to be able to use it or just have someone who knows what there doing tune it for me?

 

I'm sure with a laptop and the knowledge of the board it would be easy to tune yourself, esp. with Aaron .

 

Well, if you can use a Z32 ECU, there are programs for free out there on the net. One of the one's I have has rom files for Rb's, Sr's, Ca's, Vg30dett's and other Nissan engines. After reading up on it, doing some stuff like recalculating your whole A/F chart for the entire powerband of the car, in order to use a different size MAF, is actually not as hard as you would think. Check out 925 Style That's the editor, and they have most of the Nissan address files for previously mentioned engines. Also, check out the following for info on tuning eproms, making your own eprom etc!

Boost Cruising

Make Your Own Eprom Burner


I'm going to use it to reprogram my brother's CA ecu for using my Maxima Maf, due to the fact that the stock CA is so ridiculously small it's only rated to about 190-200hp (the Maxima maf is literally twice the size).

 

what questions do people have exactly??
(BTW Jason I'll get back to your PM and Shawn, contact Red92se )

 

my main thing is I want some 3rd party opinions on tuning and what to use as far as safc and fmu because I saw you said they were just band-aids, when I do this I want to do it only once, and I want it to go as smoothley as possible, I talked to millenium about some of it but to be honest not much of it makes sense to me lol, they said I should go with either the external fmu or if I understood him extra injectors in the intercooler piping (im not positive thats what he said so dont jump down my throat.) but he said that would be more than just a fmu or safc.

I really like the idea of what Aarons doing the more I talk to people about it and read about it.

Ive been talking to one of Dsta's freinds and got some good info from him he said I should look into getting a thicker head gasket, I know someone made the intake one I think.

Da-max thanks for the pm too

 

best way to do it is to put larger injectors IE 370cc from a 95-96 z32 (the conectors are different on older z32 injectors) in the stock location and either get a jwt ecu or z32 ecu + Zemulator or greddy emanage to controll them. theres no need for more injectors in the intercooler pipeing.

no maxima has ever installed thicker head gaskets to lower compression. is it posible yes but thed be custom and your valve timing would be slightly off which is why they make ajustable cam gears but obvously not for the VE.

and if you go here http://www.z1motorsports.com/Product.../zemulator.asp
to Z1's website you can download a zemulator demo to play with its pretty neat the way it works 9ive played with it alittle and its pretty cool and seems very easy to work with)
oyu can also get the 30 page manual for it which explains how to tune it best and what not

 

NO GREDDY EMANAGE....that is if you don't like headaches trust me.....its a nice unit, but CHRIST!!!!!!!

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=279207

 

haha i read that last night sounds like it sucks but you know its just something stupid that youll figure out eventually and its been done before so you know its posible

 

yeah I know...I was just being an *** about it since it was so late...I'm about to go back over today. but yes, its a nice unit, the datalogging is pretty sweet..I was at least happy that was working. I have a few htings different o try today...hope I don't blow Redmax's car up *knock on wood*

 

I dont like the fact that the Maxima ECU is not being used. It would be awesome if Ash would actually use the Maxima's that way us 5 speed guys dont have to use a harlan shift doo dad whatever majiggy like the MEVI 4th gens do.

 

i personaly don think the varable intake matters

its diferent than the 4th gen MEVI

our variable intake gives us low end torqe

4th gen varaible intake gives them high end HP

i could careless about low end my car has plenty to spare plus i think with the ECU we will get even more with just mid range timing advance

 

is there an extra chanel or something that would let the program do that?

 

I thought the Z32 had a Power Valve?

 

Nope z32 doesn't have VI. The Maxima VG30E has VI though.

Yes, it would be VERY nice WHEN Ash gets this working with a VE ECU. He is currently working on making a Zem for thr 95/96 z32, which is an ASIC ECU. That means it doesn't use a daughterboard nor does it have an EPROM so you can emulate it. Once he gets this working for the 95/96 z32, then that means, the VE is ready to go. It should work just fine with the VE ECU since we have almost identical units. But, that is in the designing and thinking phase right now. So don't hold your breath.

But, losing the VI function shouldn't be your main concern. It's such an insignificant thing compared to what you get. And beside, get a Summit racing RPM switch for $50 and you are set. I hear it's better than Harlan. BUt that's off the subject.

 

When i first got the Zem, I truely didn't know the first thing about tuning a car from scratch. But it's WAY easier than you think. It's as simple as this.... get wideband o2 sensor capabilities... datalog the readings during some WOT runs and partial throttle runs. Change fuel readings in the map, do another wideband run, change more fuel, etc. Once you get optimal AF ratio, you are ready to play with timing. Advance the timing until you hear the first audible knock and then back the timing down a few degrees for safe measure. That's pretty much it. Your goal is to have perfect AF ratio and to run as high timing as you can without the possibility of knocking. The Zem is the geatest thing to ever come across earth. If you do the EPROM burning, you will need to learn so much more about hex values and stuff that I don't understand. The Zem is cheap and easy to use.

 

I see the ZEM costs $750!!! Do you guys realize that it's basically a "rip-off" of the free Rom Editor I gave a link to. The Rom Editor performs the same basic functions. I looked at the zem demo and it is more organized, easier to use since the rom editor is converted from Japanese (a little confusing), and has some extra tuning capabilities. Though, I wouldn't waste my money. $750, is getting pretty close to the price of a Haltech, which is much more bang for the buck. Though if it were me, I'd just save up ~$2k for a TecIII and call it a day.

 

when your talking in terms of thousands of dollars for the whole thing $750 isnt that much more, in the scheme of things, Aaron thanks for answering my pm, Im definately leaning towards what your doing, let me know if I can help with anything to help it along ( I doubt it but if you do let me know )

 

i would rather spend the money and have somthing proven to work and easy to tune

there was a guy with a 4th gen who try installing a stand alone on his car but after 2 years he could not get it working so he scraped it and went back to the stock ecu but who knows if he accualy knew what he was doing

anyway a stand alone would put just about anybody on this board way out of there leage when it comes to tuning since it comes with no base line unlike the z32 the car will start and run all you have to do is plug it in

 

the time it takes to get a Haltech to do the same funcions as the PLUG AND PLAY Zemulator as well as maintain the STOCK functionality....Zem(or any chipped ECU) come out on top. thats why programmable OEM ECUs will always have a leg up! Haltech will be far more expensive than the $750...Zemulator = plug and play, Haltech(and other seperate standalones) = headaches and more money and time spent on these cars for setup! plus its doubtful the Haltech has anymore resolution or features than the Zem anyways. just wondering if you've had any experience with actually running/tunig any type of rom editors in the past or you're just assuming?



on a side note I got the Emanage partly working Redmax is on the road!

 

for the stuff I've seen from Aarons zemulator, I'd park my car in his driveway, take his and go play.

 

congradulations

what did the problem turn out to be

 

well still couldn't get the ignition prob sorted out just yet, we're calling tech support today...but the car idles and runs 370s FLAWLESSLY and from what i could tell after a few short runs...car DOESN'T stall with open atmosphere BOV , pulls strong through first and second(thats all I had room for), its running rich, but of course once we tune the basemap it should be pretty nice!!! plus he drove it to work last night when we finished around 2am..and seeing as how I didn't get a "man the cars not working" call I assume all went well.

luckily his compression on the new motor is 8.5:1 so the timing/coil problem that I can't solve isn't my biggest concern now, so stock timing for now(but when we tune for 20 psi I should have that worked out by then)....but I have to say for an auto @ 4-5psi redmax's car pulls now!!! Emanage isn't bad so far...the live datalogging owns!!!

 

I guess I just like to do stuff myself. Though, I also know some programming, so it's much easier for me to pull a rom off an eprom and work from scratch than most people who don't Still, I would just go standalone so you can have complete control over everything.

It's not like I have much experience with rom editing, however I just re-tuned my brother's ecu for his Ca18det to use my Maxima maf and it is running fine so far. Though, I have the original rom files so I am going to go back to stock, dyno the car then re-tune the ecu for the Maxima maf, and then dyno it again to see if anything is being affected (any fluctuations in power, etc).

 

The Zemulator gives you complete control over EVERYTHING on the motor.

BTW everybody, my wideband o2 sensor came in today. Hehe... I dunno if I can install it tonight. But will start hooking up the wires.

 

Aaron are you still going to use the stock O2 also or does this one have a narrow band output so you only need one

some of the ones ive been looking at have the capability of eliminating the stock O2

 

Z1 built my Z32, and if time permits, i'll be leaving them my 92SE with a spare engine and transmission for Ash to tinker with. I've seen first hand what Ash can do with a Nissan ECU, and all of you doubters are going to be awfully quiet in the next few months : )

 

im not doubting this at all i personaly cant wait to try it out myself cost permitting

 

who's doubting?


Aaron about how much did it cost you to swap over to the z32 ecu not including the ecu itself?

 

It has a narrowband output which allows you to replace the stock sensor. I got the wideband o2 sensor today in the mail and it turns out it won't thread into my stock sensor bung. So either they sent me the wrong sensor or I need to weld in a new bung.

In order for you to get the setup I have, it will be:

$750 for Zemulator
$100 for z32 MAFS

 

aaron- you'll probably have to weld a new bung.
the max uses a smaller than "normal" o2 sensor

 

I just found out that the stock z32 o2 sensor threads have an OD of 18mm. Stock VE is 12mm. Ouch! I guess tomorrow I will weld in a new bung. Probably very close to the stock sensor.

 

VE and VG are small (on the maxima)
BTW the altima is the same way (small o2)

 

http://twinturbo.net/net/viewmsg.asp...msg_id=1128527

This was all done with the Zemulator by Ash. Gotta love it.

 

Did yours come with a gauge, or does that extra box thing for datalogging take care of that for you?

also did that box come with the Zemulator?

hehehhhe

 

My wideband o2 sensor came with a display for showing AF ratio, wire harness, wideband sensor and instructions.

http://www.plxdevices.com/onlinestore_domestic.htm

 

wow 811whp @ 36psi DAM thats one mean Z

that thing should be capable of 9's if they slap some slicks and get a decent driver behind the wheel

maybe even low 9's high 8's if they spay a 150shot

i wonder whats done to the rest of the drive train to take that power

 

okay i change my mind....dyno tuned the car last night and figured out the ignition porblem....we made decent numbers(check the FI section when Corey posts them) even with the crap Turbonetics Deltagate leaking @5psi and got AF down from 13.8 to the low 12s across! at this point I will say Emanage is a very nice unit and a viable option for people gogin turbo and wanting to cut costs of more complex and $$$ ECU upgrades!! but again this is only a piggyback and not a full standalone or chipped ECU.

 

could someone list the benifits of using something like the zemulator as opposed to a s-afc and fpr?

 

IMO...

the AFC will only perform to a certain extent, optimizing the A/F with 370s will be rather tedious, doable, but tedious...and truthfully on the 2 Hondas I've "AFC hacked" to run 450ccs hesitation and part throttle are horrible...jerkyness out the butt. but once again AFC tuning is possible. BUT the difference with the Emanage is it starts you with a nice basemap and alters the maps for you after you enter what injectors you are using, then from there simple tuning is all you need(only took us 3 runs last night for a nice ~flat AF) its more like an "advanced piggyback"

timing control...you'll have retard the timing to a set point and thats it via the CPS. on the other hand the Zem(or chipped ECU) should allow to to retard degrees per pound of boost across the entire range...which is more efficient(and easy to tune) cause in vaccum, timing will remain stock, but ONLY begin to retard in boost thus the car will not be a slug when driving in vacuum(which will happen if you retard to much at the CPS).

lastly IMO FMUs suck ....anything that FORCES the injectors beyond their means by simply skyrocketing the pressure according to boost is scary. yes they are proven to work, but can eventually lead to leaks and burnt out injectors


for you all Emanage(least $), JWT(a little more $), Zem($$$$)...IMO ZEM is the best choice if you're going BIG(full ECU control and map editing), but so far my experience with Emanage puts it in the running as well for a nice entry level "advanced" piggyback that will control both fuel and timing aspects