Nissan 200SX Club - South Africa

Hey guys, I mentioned the NISTune setup the other day in the Dicktator thread.

Have a look at the website there, with a daughter board the tuning is real time.

I downloaded the software to have a look at, it allows you to open a trial version that cant change or save anything, but the maps look to be 16x16 for fuel and ignition, and have all the parameters available in the factory tuning. It even has maps for fueling and ignition when knock is detected.

The maps can be scaled to whatever ranges you want and it has common changes from the standard configuration available as drop down boxes. So a simple change to a common larger AFM can be done just by selecting the correct AFM from the drop down box and the software changes the settings to keep the car running the same. It does the same for larger injectors as well.

The software is really quite a small download, have a look at it yourselves.

seen this the other day. Very cool. I would consider this on my s13.

On the sabre however I'm running ITB's so the std ECU no matter how much you map it won't work.

One thing about the std ECU's on the Nissans are that they have a self-learning fucntionality. Does this system stop that? Because if not then the parameters may change over time after you've mapped them...

Here is some more facts. Straight from Gotech and thank you Louis for your trouble in answering some questions.

Hi Freddie

1. What is the CAS pick up issue regarding a ca18det engine. How difficult is any modifications or how expensive can such a compatibility modification be.
We normally use a lazer cut 60 -2 tooth wheel that is fitted onto the front crank pulley. The wheel is + - 150mm in diameter and about 6mm thick. The wheel can be bolted onto the crank pulley or welded. We weld the wheel onto the pulley and then send it in for balancing. After the wheel has been mounted a bracket will have to be fabricated for the crank angle sensor.
2. Can we get rid of the 17 year old coils, If I wish to do so, and what you recommend we replace the coils and the method behind it.
The cheapest route is to use a universal coil pack that can be mounted in the engine bay with plug leads running to it. The universal coil range from R650.00 upwards. If the original coils are still working then use them.
3. We are also in different opinions about wasted spark and any negative consequences on the ca18det, because of the modification.
Wasted spark will not damage your engine in any way. As a matter of fact it does help to reduce emmisions as it burns any unburnt fuel.
4. We understand that we can get rid of the 17 year old afm too.
The air flow meter can be completely removed. We use a built in map sensor and throttle position for tuning. The map sensor also adjusts for altitude, so when you go down to the coast the mixtures will still be ok.
5. Can we trigger the high pressure water/methanol pump which currently triggers from the afm using the 0-5v afm signal to produce progressive w/m injection?
On the Gotech PRO X ecu there is a throttle switch output that can be used for methanol or nitrous. The output is configurable to swith on at a certain RPM or boost or TPS value.
6. What is idle control and do you provide for that and do you recommend such equipment?
The PROX ecu does have a idle control output for a 2 wire idle valve. The valve can be controlled to ensure that the engine will idle properly when cold/hot and when the aircon is switched on.
7. Of course the budget is always an issue.
Here's what you will be looking at price wise:
Gotech PRO X ecu: R4999.00
Universal 60 -2 wheel and sensor: R850.00
We can offer discounts for group buy's of 10 units or more.
Please contact me if you need any other info.
Regards Louis

Sokar wrote:Keeps things stock and tidy

TIDY???

have you seen the engine bay of a stock car??? no ways those things are neat - no matter how many engine covers you slap on top!!!

ok..

lemme see if i can lay this wasted spark thing to rest..

the individial coil packs on each cylinder of your nissan motor was a BRILLIANT decision by nissan engineers, a idea way ahead of its time , and
very expensive to implement. sure they give trouble 18 years down the line, but they tried to build the best performance motors they could..
why did they do it?
simple, as rpm goes up, charge time for the coil goes down.. so they used 4 powerfull coils, to maximise charge time for each spark event.. as a side benefit no HT leads ect. less rf noise too..

anyhoo, if you use these coils in a wasted spark setup (with which there is nothing wrong !) the only way to wire them is like this :



problem is, now you are splitting the ignitor current in two.. less current to charge each coil = less spark = misfires at higer rpm

this is why louis recomends coilpacks, these come from cars that was designed to run wasted spark, like some of the newer alfas, vr6 ect.
these are simply coils of which the secondary winding's both sides each go to a sparkplug , which has the strange effect of the spark on the one sparkplug jumping from center electrode to base, and from base to center
on the other
btw, this has absolutely no impact on the combustion process, a spark is a spark, no matter which way it jumps



on these coils the current does not have to be split, its kinda like a two pronged coil..

if of course you have a ecu with four ignition outputs, this becomes a moot point.. bringing us back to the realization of how advanced this stuff was for its time.. why do oem not use this idea so often anymore?
not because it is a crap idea, but simply because it is expensive to implement (needs a complex ecu too)

yeah yeah , i know .. i love me nissan's

regarding prices,

the emulator mentioned in the begining of this thread set me back $175
shipping was $45 , duties was R175 so roughly, depending on the exhange rate about R1800 in my grubby paws..

the software, nistune is a bit overpriced, $200 for a licence..
so about R3500-00 all in.

for this money you gain full control over ALL aspects of your stock ecu.. remember the reason for going to aftermarket is to gain control over all aspects of running the motor.

this software gives you dropdown box control over any changes you may want to make:
example : you want to run a 80mm afm off a 300zx on your ca18det (flow enough for 500bhp) ?
select the afm from a dropdown box and the program does the rest for you, changing the code and maps for you ( remember the emulator keeps the eprom image in like a virtual space for you)
the ecu does not know its not reading from a eprom chip, so all your changes is live.. (obviously you will have to stop the motor running to make changes like different afm ect.)

now for the part i will get flamed for

IMHO a aftermarket ecu simply cannot yet match the sofistication of a oem
ecu.. nissan spent millions back in the day , fine tuning their stock control systems, refining every little aspect to be able to sell the car all aver the world..
this is in no way saying that systems like gotech, dicktator ect. is no good,
they have also spent a lot of money, and if the mods you want to do is not supported by a stock ecu, or your ecu is simply not known well enough
(where fuel maps are,what this does, what that does),
you have no choice, go aftermarket

just dont think that your stock system is inferior , it was simply just not built to be accesed by the end user.. (maniac behind the wheel)

guess this all comes down to personal choice .. i already have a gotech pro running in my 200sx , i am now trying this on my 300zx
two very different approaches ,time will tell ..

sheesh, im on a roll tonight

One thing about the std ECU's on the Nissans are that they have a self-learning fucntionality. Does this system stop that? Because if not then the parameters may change over time after you've mapped them...

as far as i know the older ecu's kept their self learned parameters in onboard ram, which is why if you disconect the battery, all learnt is lost..
meaning that this was more meant to compensate for wear of the cas, ect.
so the ecu cannot make changes to the fuel map ect, as stored in the eprom (cannot write to eprom) , newer ecu's (bmw for instance) use onboard flash memory ,and can so actually unlearn itself back to stock..
the bastards

Yeah I here you 300zx. Some sources I spoke to reckon the stock ECU on a SR20 is technologically the equivalent of a R15-R20k aftermarket system.

For my sx I think I will definitely look into this Nistune option as I'm gonna stay CA. As for the software license, heck we can get around that one right

i agree with you 300 - the stock ecu is very lekka.

unfortunately i didnt have one, or a wiring harness, so i was kinda forced to go with an aftermarket one!

as for making a plan - if enough people do that, then fewer and fewer systems will be available!!!

Doctor G wrote:Yeah I here you 300zx. Some sources I spoke to reckon the stock ECU on a SR20 is technologically the equivalent of a R15-R20k aftermarket system.

For my sx I think I will definitely look into this Nistune option as I'm gonna stay CA. As for the software license, heck we can get around that one right

This is what I enjoyed about the BIKIROM...

It was very affordable, like R2200 i think....
You can from there have full control over the stock ecu, and the software is free, download it from BIKIROM and have a look.

You can select injector size, even select what MAF you running, like sr20, or z32, etc. and then it works out a base map for you to start with.... from there you can fine tune etc.

You tune realtime via laptop plugged to USB. allows data logging etc.

very nice system.

you see now - if you had offered a wiring harness with that awesome deal of yours Mypro, then i def would've bought it!

300sx your ilistration of wasted spark is not correct for the CA18DET motor. I dont want to start a fight but here goes...

Each coil is only triggered by the ECU, it has its own 12v line directly to it. What you will be doing is firing it twice, not sharing the current but sharing the trigger. With a 4ms charge time there is no problem with the coils charging so you wont get any breakdown at high rpm.

Okay what I'd like to know is if I ran a bikirom or Nistune etc. Can I then ONLY run the std nissan coils? What if they die and I can't find decent replacements. Can I use a substitute system liek the gotech universal coils with plug leads?

veecee wrote:you see now - if you had offered a wiring harness with that awesome deal of yours Mypro, then i def would've bought it!

ha ha ha, o well.

My deal included the sr20 computer and the biki and the usb connection - software for free,

still have it if anybody interested.... 1080.

Why dont you just wire in MSD blaster SS coils with leads?
Google it... it has been done on the stock Set-up a number of time in AUS and he US

Then just Run "nistune" and sorted well maybe after a bigger AFM and injectors