Ash Powers of Ash-SPEC Performance has been hard at work getting the ZEMulator working in Maximas. Just recently, he brought it to my attention that the ZEMulator is working in the VE30DE ECU (my ECU BTW). And the VG30E ECU will support the ZEMulator system without any problems. Just plug and play!!



The ZEMulator has been recognized by Modified Magazine, January 2005 edition. The ZEMulator is what was solely used to tune the 1053RWHP Z32 that's on the cover of the magazine. Ash Powers wrote this software on his own! Here are some dynos of his work:

http://ashspecz.com/ashspec/zem/zem_dynocharts.htm

Here are some details on the ZEMulator tuning system:

http://ashspecz.com/ashspec/zem/zem_about.htm

How would you like to completely get rid of E-manage, SAFC, FMU, J&S, etc? Just contact Ash via email and he will hook you up!

The 4th gen Maximas are not left out! Ash is working everyday on making the ZEMulator system work in the 4th gen Maximas! That system will be right around the corner. But right now, VG30E and VE30DE 3rd gen Maximas are in business!

I know, you want to know the price? The price of the ZEMulator for z32s is currently $600 plus shipping. The official price has not been set quite yet for the 3rd gen Maxima ZEMulator system. But it should be in the ballpark of $800. What I do know, the 3rd gen VE ZEMulator system requires a little more hardware to enable the ability to emulate your EPROM. But, for right now, lets just say the 3rd gen VG ZEMulator system will be around $800 also. It might be cheaper though.

This is a HUGE breakthrough for full ECU tuning capabilities! A non-standalone system that allows full control over your ECU for under $1000!!!

Here are some pictures taken from www.ashspecz.com:

holy cr@p! aaron, is there an eta on the 4th gen stuff?

Is there a "stock" baseline program to get your car going right away? Or do you have to fiddle with all the ign/fuel maps first? Will the VE version reconize boost?

Not at the moment. But OBDI stuff is a GO! That includes SR ECUs and KA ECUs. As for the VQ30DE OBDII ECU, Ash has his sites fixed on that right now. He knows how much you guys need this system, so he is hard at work every single day making this work. And if a 4th genner steps up and offers to be a guinnea pig for Ash, that process will go MUCH quicker since he won't have to find a 4th gen Maxima himself.

the fs forum has had a lot for cheap lately.

Yes, there will be a stock baseline program. That is HUGE! I won't have to tune from scratch!

Since the ZEMulator was originally created for the Twin Turbo 300zx, yes, this VE version will recognize boost! That is the biggest reason I am so heavy into this ZEMulator project. B/c I know how useful it will be when I have my turbo running with my existing wideband o2 sensor. In the meantime, it will be a nice tool for me to fine tune my all motor setup for the track.

will it have a wideband input?

Oh yes, you can datalog up to 11 sensors!! One of which is my wideband o2 sensor.

cant wait until january is over.....

(read: cant afford it till the end of january)

good **** mang!!! this will solve A LOT of issues!!!

Yeap, I have been working on this idea for over a year now. Ash Powers deserves most of the credit.

hate to be OT but are there any good write ups or info of this being used on SR20DETs?? maybe I can convince my buddy to get this **** at his shop since we deal with a lot of local SRs.

i have been dreaming of the day this would come and it has finnaly came yippy

one question is there a way to disable the knock sensor

and as far as recognizing boost there is no way for the ecu to do that directly but im sure you can retard timing via MAF voltage. like as boost rises so does your maf voltage so the timing is then retarded.

AFAIK, there are no SR guys out there using emulation for tuning. All I can find on the SR forums are a bunch of info about chip burning. But that sucks, when you want to make a minor change and you have to burn a new chip. With the ZEMulator, I can make changes while driving down the road! It's all real time and on the fly! I would recommend looking at the road when you drive though, instead of your laptop screen.

But, the ZEMulator will definitely work in OBDI SR ECUs!

Oh man, I will be all over this when it is avaiable for the 4th gen.

The knock sensor can be quickly disabled through the timing map. Knock sensing is enabled in specific parts of the timing map of which you can change or completely disable in the ZEMulator interface.

As for boost: there's no reason for the ECU to have that information. The MAF is telling the ECU how much air is entering the engine and the ECU delivers fuel according to this and the fuel map revisions. When the boost pressure increases, it is because you are putting more air into the engine, of which the MAF will see and the ECU will know what to do.

Also, be assured that with the Z32 MAF, you can meter approximately 38psi worth of manifold pressure. That information came from Ash, the z32 tuning master, himself. lol

tell mr. powers he's got a market!

Awesome job Aaron and Ash.

ashley is an incredible innovater to say the least. i followed his progress when he started to make this and it was astonishing how well it turned out. the price is incredibly cheap and his stuff is very well done. i had ordered the zemulator for my car but i ended up not using it because i needed the money to fix more broken sh*t on my z. i am running his regular ecu though and it is better than jim wolfs in my opinion. and i am a big fan of jim wolf. i actually planned to adapt his system to my fourth gen but it seems as though others are cutting to the chase which is fine by me... less work i have to do

Good work Aaron! I know you said Ash has done the foot work but you got his attention. Keep us 4th gens up to date. Hopefully by spring I will have another option besides JWT of e-manage.

that is some really great news! 400hp here I come

wait does this also increase the rev limiter too? i seen a pic with 7200 rev limit. This is jwt, emanage and all that stuff put together in 1?! madness. Well worth 600 if thats the case.

good eyes there mecca... this is going to be awesome just by looking at the range of features, can't wait to see it in action

i like that he is already working on the vq

I;m pretty sure that this reference of "VQ" (ie-VQ map) is what contains the address files, it doesn't pertain to anything relating to the VQ30DE

whoops! now i know (and knowing is half the battle)

good basic info here...we are all learning

http://www.boostcruising.com/silvia/eprom.asp

I downloaded the all the stuff for the Zemulator and have it installed but it's asking for a password or somthing.. Is that when I call and pay for it? Get a pass word? is there more hardware? Does it have real time map tracing? That'd be huge. I've got a 89 Maxima.. Who do I contact about purchase? Phone#'s? I remember looking at the site for one and didn't see any phone number.. ?
Bernnard and I got most of my problems with Live Edit worked out on the phone last night (thanks!!!!!) so when I get my laptop to quit barfing the program I'll be atleast tuning! But always interested in different programs to help!
~Scott

Slimer, the VQ table pertains to the mass airflow sensor. Not to the VQ30DE motor.

Boosted Maxima, yes, the ZEMulator is an entire tuning system. It includes ALL nessecary hardware for you to start tuning right away. It includes the ZEMulator emulator, the labjack (used as inputs for your computer and datalogging purposes), and all the cables and software needed. And for the full version of the program, you will need a serial key that Ash will provide to you at the time of purchase. There is a demo version of the program that you can download if you do not have the ZEMulator tuning system.

meccanoble, yes, you can dial in ANY rev limiter you want. Are you giving your car to valet or a shop? Dial in a 30mph speed limiter and 3K rev limiter and you've shut their hopes down of racing in your nice ride at 7K rpm! And it's WAY more than emanage and JWT put together! This is an entire tuning system that allows FULL control over your ECU. Since the ZEMulator has the ability to datalog 11 sensors, it does more than an AEM full standalone system.

And it has boost safety features also. If you start making too much boost at a certain rpm (high engine load), you can set when you want the ignition cut to occur. This will save your motor was boosting too high at a certain rpm.

Also, Ash is programming a feature in the program to allow to tune your variable intake release point! If the ECU can do it, the ZEMulator can alter the settings. So the VE 5 speeds and the VGs are in luck since you have a variable intank system stock. As for the MEVI 4th gen guys, Ash is working on it.

Does it have a two step system for launching and building boost?

Does it have full throtle shifting via a second rev limit?

Either way it seems awesome, but need a VQ application.

You mean a VQ application as in making the system work with VQ30DE motors? I agree!

It does have a 2-step function that is being worked on right now actually. That is the no-lift-shift. So it's the same function. That feature will be in the next public revision of the program, which will be out in January '05.

Boosted Maxima, yes the program has real time map tracing along with complete datalogging capabilities! Also, Ash does not have a contact phone right now. Email him and he will be sure to return your email.

aaron, i've probably asked you before but is there any way to adapt boost control into the zemulator? if i were to get a MAP sensor and related hardware to do it..perhaps limit boost at a certain rev and speed?

The ZEMulator doesn't have a boost control feature. But you can easily limit engine load at a specific rpm. It's an entire table that allows you to set the max TP parameters for all the rpm ranges. So, if your boost starts to rise or creep, then your engine load will be higher at that specific rpm. So you can set the Max TP so that ignition cut occurs when the boost rises above what you want it to. But as for an electric boost control feature, that is not a feature, but I will check to see if Ash has any plans to incorporate this in the program.

So what exactly can this do besides datalogging and raising the rev limiter, that Emanage cannot? If I was starting from scratch I would definately get this, but since I have an extensively tuned Emanage already installed, what additional benefits does this give me?

Kind of a noobie question, but does emanage allow you to map ignition timing to whatever you want, like the zemulator does?

it does if you buy the ignition harness

Okay, forgive me for another noobie question. I thought emanage allowed you to retard the ignition timing that is mapped in the oem ecu but not advance it. So this is totally wrong and it does allow you to completely remap ignition timing?

yes, emanage will not allow you to advance

I think in Neals case he should stay with what he has since he clamins he has a pretty well tuned map from Hals beast...IMO the key would be to compare the two setups as far as the resolution and how well they respond to the tuning in the high HP ranges. IMO though from my own experience a piggyback will never beat an OEM ECU based or standalone tuning system. if starting from scratch I'd hold out on Emanage and see what develops from this.