That's right! I completely forgot about the newer megasquirt 3.

I guess I never really looked into it much because it's too expensive for my blood.

Sequential coil-on plug and sequential injection would be cool though.

 

Well, I guess we'll see what develops for us diehard 4th genners...

I'm almost finished with installing the Maximizer 4. Today I mounted the Max 4, built and tested the Max3-Max4 relay switching unit, and just need a few more things done before going out for a test. Until I get the new PLX A/F installed - then I can test that part of the Max 4. Once that's all debugged, then it's time for some E85! Dang, I think that's ten computers in the car. I also have a cool 3-gauge pod that mounts on top of the speedometer bump - I want to be able to SEE the A/F display realtime. Logging is like an autopsy - you can examine the records after the patient has died. There is also a way to mount another 3-gauge pod above the center air vents on that part of the dash - gotta have some engine/tranny temps and pressures.


"Born in Japan but raised in the Heartland"

 

Sounds involved. You're the maxima.org electronics genius.

 

Not me - I'm just one of lots of guys that tweak software and hardware that contribute to this forum - and it's great here.

Photos of the "Maximizer sammy" that I finished this morning - except that I can't get my laptop to connect to the Max 4. If I start up the Max 4 module while connected, it tells me I don't have a USB driver installed - and I don't see one in the Programs listing of folders, unlike the other NX modules I have installed. If I plug into the Max 4 when it's powered, I see a screen asking me to install the Max 4 module, but the PC can't find anywhere to load up - not off the CD or from the installed program. Weird- maybe something is missing - I'll have to contact NX.

This is actually a double-decker sammy, with the Max 3 below the aluminum plate and the Max 4 up on top. Also on top is the transmission monitor that controls the two big relays that will switch solenoids from 1st-gear Max 3 to 2-4th gear Max 4 spraying. If I could get to the insides of the Max 4 to set internal functions I could use the new bottle I also installed to go play tonight. Guess I'll have to wait...

I still have to install the PLX A/F system, but the temps are in the high 90s now and the car is in the sun - that will also wait. The coil of green wire at the top of the pix is for the Max 4 A/F connection.






Yes, I do believe in keeping wiring info where its needed- so I write on white paper tape and stick it nearby, then cover the paper tape with clear shipping tape to keep out the water. Works for me.... and it's easy to charge/update.

 

It's the spaghetti monster!

That's some good progress. When you taking this bad boy ot the track?

 

Want a little sauce with that ball of wires? I went out for a drive, and came back with a big grin! Just using the Max 3 with throttle control, the car now launches much harder and goes up through the gears pulling very strongly - all on a 70-shot programmed maximum (WOT) spray. LOTS of screaming tires - those 10.5" M/T DRs couldn't hang on tonight, and it's HOT (90*)here right now.

I also figured out how to talk to the Max 4 - I had to upgrade my XP SP3 laptop with all the MS .NET upgrades - especially the .NET 3.5 packages - then I could connect, but still had to go on the MS internet to get the USB driver, but it's all good now. This means that by moving around a few wires I can spray both controllers using the transmission-gear circuits. That's next.

 

Nice! That sounds like fun.

 

I just finished setting up the Max 4 as a stand-alone single stage nitrous controller, running both solenoids and using the throttle as the input for spraying. It was more complicated than I thought - there are a lot of setup issues that the manual does not cover. I think it's a matter of getting used to it. It is more flexible than the Max 3, but also more complicated.

I still want to go out and run it - by itself, it seems - but not tonight. One step at a time.

 

niceee....

 

Interested to see how it works. Test it today!

 

I did that last night, and it was a bust! I went over the programming in my laptop and downloaded the changes OK - cocked and locked the nitrous, turned on all the electronics, just like I do with the Max 3, but no spray in any gear. Back to the drawing board.

 

That sucks. I'm sure you'll figure it out though.

 

Yeah - it was dark out, and HOT, and I didn't feel like troubleshooting the wiring because this Maximizer hasn't been run yet, so there could be a programming issue or a wiring issue. It was too hot outside to futz with it tonight, and supposed to be 103* tomorrow. Sigh.

The Max 3 works just fine, and until I get the new PLX installed I won't have a wideband output connection for the Max 4, so I'll have some time to debug.

The throttle-controlled mode is really different - it IS like driving a car with twice the size of engine you have.

 

Yesterday the temp was 108* - very hot for the last two weeks - and this afternoon, we got a cool front and dropped to 92*- wheee... but cool air should last for a week or so. Now I can work on the car. I got some wiring issues straightened out on Saturday and used up a nitrous bottle terrorizing some on-ramps. Wow...

It's time to convert to E85, so I went out today to get samples from the only two known E85 stations within 25 miles. The one in this town advertised E85, so I went out and bought 5 gallons, brought it home and tested it with a Summit E85 tester - and it was E15. Blea - I'll use this in my tow truck. This was from a dedicated E85 pump, not a blender. The other nearby station is in Lawrence KS (home of the KU Jayhawks), so I went there and bought another 5 gallons directly from the E85 pump. This tested out to be E75. This is not working well.

I'm going to check with the Midwest distributor of VP Racing Fuels and see if I can get their C85 racing blend of E85. I need a reliable source of E85.

 

Tonight I went back to the only local station selling E85, to get another sample for a sanity check, and I find over 1/2 of the pump heads bagged off! The manager must have had more complaints yesterday about his E85! I bought about one gallon from a still-working pump and brought it home - it tested E74. Still not good enough - but if it's consistent I can jet for it.

Then I uploaded another configuration to my Maximizer 4 configured to run both stages as throttle-control, going from 40% at 1/2 throttle to 70% at full throttle. The stages are still selected by by transmission solenoid monitor, so that one stage is selected in first gear and the second stage is running the show in 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears. Before, it wouldn't work anywhere in the 2nd stage - now it does! Yea... I did have a couple of programming problems that I solved by trial and error.

For your entertainment, I just made screen shots of the Input stage, 1st stage and 2nd stage setting, to give others (taz394 ?) some clues. I couldn't do exactly what I wanted with the screen copy, bu you can read the setting if you squint.
EDITED 7-14-2012 with better screen shots...

INPUT:




STAGE1:



Stage2:

 

Seems like a really cool program. I want it.

 

It's not a program - it's a NX controller - but you knew that, didn't you?


This is a complicated SOB - and I still need to install the new PLX A/F system to test that part of the Max4. And convert to E85 - after I find some..

 

Of course I knew that.

The a/f part seems like a cool option. What would be really awesome is if the controller could somehow add or subtract fuel if the system goes lean or rich. Kind of like auto tune.

E85 seems to be really inconsistent. Have you looked into getting it from a racing fuel company? I'm sure it's more expensive though, never looked into it.

 

Smart azz.... The A/F function in the Max 4 actually adjusts the real-time nitrous and fuel solenoids to keep within a range that you program into the 4. That's why it's worth the work in figuring it out. Plus, if the real-time A/F goes out of your defined limits, it shuts down both solenoids - a fail-soft function.

Yup, it turns out that pump E85 around here is actually E75 - in the summer - at the moment. No guarantees it won't charge, either. That's why I have a call in to my local VP contact to get me a couple of VP C85 5 gal cans for startup. These are now listing again on the VP web site, and show a retail price of $58.00.

Now if you would go west of where you are to the Kansas Ethanol LLC refinery in Lyons (620-257-2300) and see if they will sell a drum of E98 fresh from the still, I'll be right there to buy one.. www.kansasethanol.net

 

I started on the PLX installation tonight. I connected the whole system together on the garage floor and powered it up - everything checked out, so the hardware is good to go. Question is, where to put things? I'm gonna leave the old one in place until the new one works OK. I dug around under the dash for awhile, looked over the 3-gauge bubble pod for the top of the dash, but that looks like too much dash surgery. I remembered I had an new original 3-gauge A-pillar pod around somewhere - finally found it in its bag in the bike barn. I checked the PLX clearance, and with a little trim with a "dremel" it fits in the bottom pod, and the original A-pillar came off OK, so I tested the new one. Fits great, and the wiring looks to be much easier.

I went to Summit and ordered two Cyberdyne electric Prism gauges, for fuel and oil pressure. These should fill out the 3-gauge pod just fine. I can add three more gauges in a center-of-dash pod if these work OK. Temps in the 80s sure makes it easier to work outside. I'll do some more tomorrow - this is coming together nicely.


EDIT 7-11-2012 The VP Racing C85 is available but must be ordered in 5gal cans, and will take 1-2 weeks to ship to the regional VP distributor. I ordered two cans - and they are $79.50 each.

 

Wow that's expensive.

I'm back in california for the summer but when I get back I can see if that place has E98. That would be awesome stuff because you could probably run a ton of timing with that fuel.

 

Lucky..... unless it's really hot there. Weather is going back up to 100+ temps next week, so we'll be back in the oven.

Ethanol is not gasoline - and the stuff will tolerate a couple of degrees advance over gasoline, but the percentage doesn't matter much above E50. Jetting is what's affected, since the percentage of ethanol and blender or stock gasoline changes jetting drastically. Finding a reliable source of E85 would be the best solution to stay consistent, but I'll have to look further for that.

A drum of E98 would let me blend my own fuel - using VP MS109 as the blender fuel - so that it will be consistent. It's funny stuff - I located a research paper from MIT on using ethanol in combustion engines, and there were surprises it the report. Motor octane of E100 is only 90.1, for instance, and yet ethanol is extremely knock-resistant. There's more, and maybe I should share the link - if anyone's interested. ???

Here it is, anyway:

http://web.mit.edu/mitei/lfee/progra...2006-01-rp.pdf

 

so when do you plan to hit the track

 

Right after aackshun gets off a track...

Actually, I'm bringing this project home with most things working as hoped. I just came back from an on-ramp track event, and I have the launch now working with nitrous with the TC stalled up to 3K. I can spin the big o' M/T DRs quite nicely at launch, now. The nitrous switches from Stage 1 to Stage 2 after 1st gear so I can run two programs in sequence. I even wired superbright LEDs across both solenoids and mounted them under the hood lip so I can see the solenoids pulse.

I need to switch over to E85 next with new plugs and injectors., after installing the new PLX A/F and the two Cyberdyne fuel/oil pressure gauges. . Whew. This one has been complicated. There's an IFO in town on Sep 2 so I'd like everything tested at working 100 % before then. Heck, even the much-modified VLSD diffy works right.

Short answer - Real Soon Now...

 

Can't wait to see it run at the track!

Looks like you can run forced induction sport. Should be pretty competitive there!

 

I hear a lot of the KC krew will be there... the first IFO in Topeka - finally!

 

Nice that's cool. Topeka looks like a nice track. I've never raced there...yet.

 

You better be there in September. I just finished installing the 3-gauge pod on the driver's A-pillar, with the PLX and Oil/Fuel pressure gauges mounted. I did finish the fuel gauge sensor installation and it works fine. Too dang hot (99*F) to work out in the sun anymore today. Pix will wait.

I need to get the car up and look at how I'm going to get the Cyberdyne oil press sensor installed. I have a couple of adapters for that, but dunno how it's going to install. I think that if I put one more thing under the hood that I won't be able to close it. I was close on the FP sensor - had to extend the sensor plumbing to clear part of the hood.

"It's always something"

EDIT: Photos of A-pillar and fuel pressure sensor: (yes, I was sprinkling the desert - er, yard) (PLX is not installed yet)
There is a ground wire soldered to the FPR brass T-fitting)







Weird offset way I had to mount the sensor to clear the hood:

 

Those are some nice looking gauges. Yeah, I'll be back in september. Wouldn't miss it.

 

Septemburrrrrr is how I remember it in Kansas..... We'll see what the red car is up to around the end of August

 

It'll be hot in September - but you two are always welcome...

Original oil press switch.


Another view of the original press switch - with extension:


New extension: (this is two Stealth Performance oil pressure extensions)


Oil Pressure Sensor installed and clears everything:



Notice the TWO bungs - I can install the PLX A/F sensor here and leave the old one installed until I'm done with it.





Engine at hot idle: (Notice the white digits show up even in sunshine or a flash photo)


I also changed the oil and filter tonight - I had over 100 miles on the last oil change. This was with Mobil1 0W-40 EP oil, a Mobil1 shorty filter, and 1/2 bottle of Comp Cams zinc-phosphorus additive. Yummy....

 

Got thepod from Glow_Shift today. Set it on the dash for photos. Haven't decided what gauges I still need...

 

Opened up the space under the steering wheel:



Mounted the PLX module on the brace under the wheel:





Now it works - even in the sunshine: ( set to Lambda )

 

I'm trying to decide on what other gauges I really need. I'm thinking water temp, transmission temp and engine oil temp - but I'm not really sure about the last. I already bought an inline 36mm adapter for the water hose - it's in the mail. The transmission temp will also need an inline apapter - probably need to fabricate this one. Engine oil temp - no good place to mount a 1/8" NPT sensor that I can see. ?? Any ideas about where to mount a sensor ??

A really good OBD2 gauge display might be another way to get water temp, but I'm not finding any OBD2 gauge displays with more than three gauges ?? EDGE makes a pretty good one ($379) with three gauges - problem is that they all power off the OBD2 port, and the power pin is always ON. If I made that pin switched on when the ignition is on, then I could leave any OBD2 device permanently connected...

???

 

A few views of the oil pan and oil pressure switch areas:

Maybe take off the lower pan, drill and mount a bung for 1/8 NPT oil temp sensor? Looks like there should be space there somewhere....

 

I just took delivery of three filled 15 lb nitrous bottles and two 5 gal cans of VP Racing C85 (racing version of E85 - $75/can). Now the conversion can begin...

 

Stocking up with the good stuff!

 

I dunno - I just heard that because of the furnace heat wave we're in now, the price of corn is going up and up ($8.06/bushel today) and so the price of ethanol is also going up and up. The VP distributor in Manhattan said that this is the first order for C85 he ever placed - so it's new to the market, I guess.

He ordered a full pallet of C85 (5 cans) so I can get three more pretty fast. He really wants to know how it works for me - well, I'll be finding out soon. Ten gallons is really just enough for one track visit - so maybe I'll order the other three cans after I get the Shark running on ethanol. Shouldn't be too hard - I ran on ethanol for years and years.

 

This is the OBDII display I use http://www.scangauge.com/products/scangaugeii/ it shows any 4 gauges plus mpg and all that stuff, it also shuts itself down when car is off. The connector can be plugged into side or back so I have it poked through the vent below where you are thinking of putting you triple gauge, it just stays there with no adhesive etc.

 

Hi, Jim. I know about that gauge and one made in Canada as well, but what I meant was a true gauge display, with moving needles that you can interpret quicker. That's what the Edge does - you can select any three OBD2 parameters and "gauge" them, and have two or three other parameters show as digital numbers. Good luck on your new project.