Joined
·
2,468 Posts
www.nutt.us/Mustang/bigpicture.jpg
I'll be the first to admit, this is not for everyone. But if you have a nitrous setup (or are thinking of getting one) and you like computers (or just want to protect your valuable engine), then this might interest you. I started out with a ZEX nitrous system which I really like, but it is lacking a few features that I really wanted so I integrated an FJO Racing 2-stage nitrous controller. Here are some of the reasons I was looking for a nitrous controller.
1) You should never inject nitrous at low RPMs, usually you hear not below 2500 RPM. With the ZEX system it is very possible to turn on nitrous below 2500 RPM since it is based on WOT only, and not RPMs. If you put the pedal to the metal the nitrous will shoot no matter the RPMs, potentially causing engine damage like can happen if you get bogged down on the line due to a bad start on the clutch.
2) You should never inject nitrous as your reach the RPM limit. When the Mustang computer senses that the max RPMs have been reached (around 6000 RPMs for stock configuration) is shuts down the engine by shutting off the fuel. But the ZEX system is not RPM aware so it keeps pumping nitrous as long as the pedal is to the metal, again potentially causing engine damage.
3) As many of the drag racers on this board have posted, nitrous during launch is not always a good thing since it can be difficult to launch without spinning tires.
4) I also wanted a shift light so I can maintain consistant shift points.
With the FJO controller I can eliminate all of these probems. Since the FJO controller is aware of RPM it turns on the nitrous only after the lower limit has been reached. But here's the best part, if 2500 RPM is NOT safe for nitrous injection does that mean 2501 RPM is safe for a full shot? Probably not, so I programmed the controller to slowly ramp up the delivery of nitrous during the grey area between 2500 RPM and 3300 RPM. So at 2600 I'm only delivering 5% of the nitrous flow, at 2700 RMP about 25% as so on up to about 3300 RPM and above where 100% of the nitrous is injected. I also have it programmed to ramp DOWN the nitrous delivery as the RPMs get very high. (www.nutt.us/Mustang/stage1-RPM.jpg) I've set my engine cutoff at 6400 with my Predator tuner. So I set the nitrous to ramp down from 100% nitrous at 6300 RPM to 0% at 6350 RPM. So when the fuel is shut off at 6400 RPM the nitrous is safely turned off 50 RPM before that. I did have to bypass the ZEX electronics to make the solenoids pulse fast enough for the FJO controller.
To handle the problems of spinning your wheels during a nitrous assisted launch there are a couple of approaches I can take. The FJO controller has a first gear lockout so I can totally eliminate the delivery of nitrous until I am in second gear. Another way is to delay the delivery of nitrous until a certain RPM is reached or even for a certain time period. I can begin ramping up nitrous at mid RPMs, let's say starting with 1% at 3700 RPM and ramping up to 100% at 4000. This gives me a chance to get the wheels hooked up before nitrous is delivered. I can also delay the delivery by time, like delay nitrous for 1.5 seconds, also allowing me to get hooked up before nitrous is pumping. (www.nutt.us/Mustang/stage1-TIME.jpg
Since the FJO controller is programmed using a PC I decided to set up my PC in the car so I can easily make changes between 1/4 mile runs. I also mounted my Diablosport Predator next to it so I can make tune changes as well as logging engine data such as MAF, RPM, spark, etc and save this data in real time to the PC for later analysis. (www.nutt.us/Mustang/screen.jpg)
Eventually I will use the 2nd stage of the FJO controller to contol a second nitrous bottle giving me even more flexability delivering nitrous but for now I am using it to drive a STEALTH shift light. I made this from an ultra bright single LED. I just pull it our of the ceiling liner and BAM, instant stealth shift light. (www.nutt.us/Mustang/shiftlight.jpg www.nutt.us/Mustang/shiftlightin.jpg www.nutt.us/Mustang/shiftlightout.jpg) If you don't think an LED is bright enough you'd be wrong. Most LED have a brightness between 2 and 100 millicandellas. This LED is 18,000 millicandellas. It's bright enough so you get a spot on your eye for a few minutes if you look right at it for more than a second or two. Not only that, because of the way its mounted, it's barely out of your line of sight so your peripheral vision EASILY sees it when it comes on. This picture is not of the inside of my garage door, it's to show the placement of the shift light at the top of the picture. (www.nutt.us/Mustang/shiftlightview.jpg)
The actual unit is installed in the center console. This way I can easily access it to connect to my computer between runs. These two pictures show the FJO controller connected to the nitrous system and the computer. (www.nutt.us/Mustang/fjocontroller.jpg www.nutt.us/Mustang/controllertocomputer.jpg)
I'll be the first to admit, this is not for everyone. But if you have a nitrous setup (or are thinking of getting one) and you like computers (or just want to protect your valuable engine), then this might interest you. I started out with a ZEX nitrous system which I really like, but it is lacking a few features that I really wanted so I integrated an FJO Racing 2-stage nitrous controller. Here are some of the reasons I was looking for a nitrous controller.
1) You should never inject nitrous at low RPMs, usually you hear not below 2500 RPM. With the ZEX system it is very possible to turn on nitrous below 2500 RPM since it is based on WOT only, and not RPMs. If you put the pedal to the metal the nitrous will shoot no matter the RPMs, potentially causing engine damage like can happen if you get bogged down on the line due to a bad start on the clutch.
2) You should never inject nitrous as your reach the RPM limit. When the Mustang computer senses that the max RPMs have been reached (around 6000 RPMs for stock configuration) is shuts down the engine by shutting off the fuel. But the ZEX system is not RPM aware so it keeps pumping nitrous as long as the pedal is to the metal, again potentially causing engine damage.
3) As many of the drag racers on this board have posted, nitrous during launch is not always a good thing since it can be difficult to launch without spinning tires.
4) I also wanted a shift light so I can maintain consistant shift points.
With the FJO controller I can eliminate all of these probems. Since the FJO controller is aware of RPM it turns on the nitrous only after the lower limit has been reached. But here's the best part, if 2500 RPM is NOT safe for nitrous injection does that mean 2501 RPM is safe for a full shot? Probably not, so I programmed the controller to slowly ramp up the delivery of nitrous during the grey area between 2500 RPM and 3300 RPM. So at 2600 I'm only delivering 5% of the nitrous flow, at 2700 RMP about 25% as so on up to about 3300 RPM and above where 100% of the nitrous is injected. I also have it programmed to ramp DOWN the nitrous delivery as the RPMs get very high. (www.nutt.us/Mustang/stage1-RPM.jpg) I've set my engine cutoff at 6400 with my Predator tuner. So I set the nitrous to ramp down from 100% nitrous at 6300 RPM to 0% at 6350 RPM. So when the fuel is shut off at 6400 RPM the nitrous is safely turned off 50 RPM before that. I did have to bypass the ZEX electronics to make the solenoids pulse fast enough for the FJO controller.
To handle the problems of spinning your wheels during a nitrous assisted launch there are a couple of approaches I can take. The FJO controller has a first gear lockout so I can totally eliminate the delivery of nitrous until I am in second gear. Another way is to delay the delivery of nitrous until a certain RPM is reached or even for a certain time period. I can begin ramping up nitrous at mid RPMs, let's say starting with 1% at 3700 RPM and ramping up to 100% at 4000. This gives me a chance to get the wheels hooked up before nitrous is delivered. I can also delay the delivery by time, like delay nitrous for 1.5 seconds, also allowing me to get hooked up before nitrous is pumping. (www.nutt.us/Mustang/stage1-TIME.jpg
Since the FJO controller is programmed using a PC I decided to set up my PC in the car so I can easily make changes between 1/4 mile runs. I also mounted my Diablosport Predator next to it so I can make tune changes as well as logging engine data such as MAF, RPM, spark, etc and save this data in real time to the PC for later analysis. (www.nutt.us/Mustang/screen.jpg)
Eventually I will use the 2nd stage of the FJO controller to contol a second nitrous bottle giving me even more flexability delivering nitrous but for now I am using it to drive a STEALTH shift light. I made this from an ultra bright single LED. I just pull it our of the ceiling liner and BAM, instant stealth shift light. (www.nutt.us/Mustang/shiftlight.jpg www.nutt.us/Mustang/shiftlightin.jpg www.nutt.us/Mustang/shiftlightout.jpg) If you don't think an LED is bright enough you'd be wrong. Most LED have a brightness between 2 and 100 millicandellas. This LED is 18,000 millicandellas. It's bright enough so you get a spot on your eye for a few minutes if you look right at it for more than a second or two. Not only that, because of the way its mounted, it's barely out of your line of sight so your peripheral vision EASILY sees it when it comes on. This picture is not of the inside of my garage door, it's to show the placement of the shift light at the top of the picture. (www.nutt.us/Mustang/shiftlightview.jpg)
The actual unit is installed in the center console. This way I can easily access it to connect to my computer between runs. These two pictures show the FJO controller connected to the nitrous system and the computer. (www.nutt.us/Mustang/fjocontroller.jpg www.nutt.us/Mustang/controllertocomputer.jpg)
