AROSC Big Willow Oct 1&2

[sdcat]

Anyone thinking of going to the AROSC event at Big Willow on OCT 1&2? I am going to try to get the time off.

Justin

[sdcat]

I am signing up for Saturday, and maybe Sunday. Very few drivers, so a wide open track for those of us who are still learning this track.

Justin

[sdcat]

Had a very fun day today! Set a new personal best time by four seconds, and the car is working great with one exception. When I hit the rev limiter, it pulls spark (or something) for a few seconds. I know I shouldn't be hitting the rev limiter, but in the heat of the moment it's not always possible to avoid! I had a few times where I was passing cars, hit the rev limiter, and then the car dogged for a few seconds and they just ran right back by me! It's not the typical loss of power you get in most cars on redline - it is pretty dramatic, with the engine acting like a brake for a while.

This will give me an excuse to get the programming code from Caterham.

Hope we can get a few folks out to Laguna Seca!

Justin

[Doug Liedblad]

Some ECU's have a soft cut and then a hard cut rev limitation. It may have a lower resume RPM.

Do you have a shift light that tells you when you're getting to the rev limit?

[sdcat]

I do have a shift light, but I guess I'm not giving it enough attention!

[magnusfeuer]

What's the rev limiter set at?

You should not have a second or so of hesitation after you come off the gas. The two-step cutout is there so that you don't spin out if you hit the limit while pulling Gs.

As soon as you come down under the initial soft cutout limit, you should have full power again.

/Magnus F.

[rzempel]

Does the hard rev-limit cut the fuel pump? If it does, that might cause the lag you're experiencing.

[sdcat]

Thanks for the ideas. I would think it wouldn't cut the fuel pump, since that would cause a lean condition that might be harmful, but don't know much about the ECU's programming. I will have to try to talk to Caterham this week about it. My mechanic has the cable and software for the computer, and I have been told that the ECU is not locked, so will see if he can sort it out too.

[magnusfeuer]

Ping me if you need help with the rev-limiter.

/Magnus F.

[JohnCh]

There may be other ways to do it, but the in the Emerald, the soft limiter cuts spark and the hard limiter cuts spark and fuel. The latter is accomplished by turning off the injectors (cutting of the fuel pump wouldn't be fast enough due to residual fuel and pressure in the lines).

Even if the spark wasn't cut, I doubt this would lead to a lean condition. If there was zero fuel, then there wouldn't be a combustible vapor in the cylinder to pre-ignite. It would just be filled with air.

-John

[Doug Liedblad]

I have EZmap 6 for the MBE on my laptop and it does have a hard and soft cut.

There shouldn't be more than 100 rpm difference between the two at least according to the instrucitons.

It doesn't mention an engine cut reinstate RPM.

[sdcat]

Well, I discovered the "cutout" was actually my launch control somehow engaging. I had a friend driving the car this weekend, so I was riding along. I noticed it happening to him, and the launch control light going on! So it looks like all I have to do is de-activate or disconnect the launch control. It is just a gimmick anyway, that I only used once for fun! How many times do you take a Caterham to the drag strip?