Boost controller and mods

[db2boy]

Hi all,
I think you know my Cosmo is in the UK and I live in the US. Heading to the UK late July and plan isto use and play with her whilst there.
I'd like to get a boost controller on her and been eyeing up the Blitz SBC Spec-R i-Color. Reason is the dual solenoid, Blitz well proven on the FD
and I want to have display for at least water temp, oil temp and oil pressure. So a few questions:-

1) Anyone have any experience with the i-Color?
2) I know I can purchase the temp/pressure sensors to connect to it but it I can't find reliable info on if I can run all 3 of oil temp + oil press + water temp. Anyone know?
3) Thoughts on using on the Cosmo? Turbos are currently configured to run non-sequential.

Just had my friend in Japan pick up an AutoExe grounding kit (yes yes I know make your own, I did for my FD but time is short in the UK). Hoping this will help with intermittent
inhibitor switch starting until I can locate another one or find the time to investigate a repair. Going to do full fluid/filters whilst tinkering with her. Future plans will be cooling and
all that goodness but not now, again time is short. She has AutoExe air filter and I *think* plug leads, adjustable suspension all around and definitely cat backs and waiting
for a reply on other parts of the exhaust. Not sure what the state of the rats nest is but should be simple seeing as she is currently non-sequential.

In addition to the above, what other mods/changes would anyone recommend I plan for this trip to enjoy her to the full and safe guard her too? Anything else to ponder over
the Blitz i-Color bearing in mind I want a controller and I want to be able to monitor other data aspects?

Thanks

Ant

 

[frank20bcosmo]

Ant, Just be careful with the boost controller I have a blitz SBc type R, I overboosted and blew a tip hence rebuild number 2

I am going stand alone ECU and manual box at the end of the summer so I can set the Cosmo up to the max without overboosting and causing damage, cheaper than another rebuild!!

next year big single turbo all being well
Frank

 

[db2boy]

Frank,
When you say over boosted was this because you got too keen on the settings? My past experience (on my FD) was once set I never had boost creep or spikes, this was with Apexi kit.
If I had all my tools, the car in the US and time to play I'd get more drastic and look at piggybacking or stand alone - timing isn't right though. I have thought about chasing down a RE:A / Do-Engineering
ECU to have a little tinker with though. But then I need to fit a wideband and and and etc! These things are going to have wait for now.

Ant

 

[Berty]

I have run the DSBC for a while and it is similar to the i-colour main hardware. It is just the main unit which is different.

You can run around 0.7 bar of boost on a factory ECU but that is pushing it. You will constantly be hitting boost cut and that is not good for the engine. With the RE-A or Panspeed ECU you can go to 0.9 bar (depending on model). This is the maximum you should run AND it should only be run at this level with other supporting mods (intercooler upgrade, pod & exhaust). Without the ECU upgrade you are only going to get a negligible increase in performance, but that is my experience.

As far as your inhibitor switch problem, it is super common and a grounding kit wont help. Your best bet is to run a booster relay to the starter. This fixed my issue and it now kicks over 100% of the time.

 

[db2boy]

Hi Berty,
I was under the impression that the Blitz would maintain more stable and predictable boost than the factory ECU, is this not the case?
I have owned a lot of rotaries and did a lot of work on my FD - I would never push things without supporting mods

Booster relay = Direct 12v through relay to the starter and bypass the factory ignition wiring and switching? I did this to my RX-2 and
she starts like a champ.

Thanks

Ant

 

[frank20bcosmo]

Frank,
When you say over boosted was this because you got too keen on the settings? My past experience (on my FD) was once set I never had boost creep or spikes, this was with Apexi kit.
If I had all my tools, the car in the US and time to play I'd get more drastic and look at piggybacking or stand alone - timing isn't right though. I have thought about chasing down a RE:A / Do-Engineering
ECU to have a little tinker with though. But then I need to fit a wideband and and and etc! These things are going to have wait for now.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ant

Not sure how it happened, I had only done 300 miles after it had been in for it's 1000 mile set up after the rebuild, got the boost controller fitted at the same time, it was set at 70% maximum by the shop as I believe the settings are in %s rather than psi,, anyway having a bit of fun I went to overtake a car got level with it and it was like hitting a brick wall it just stopped pulling, I had hit the fuel cut,, and bang that was it tip gone with just 1300 miles on a 4k rebuild Gutted,, hence why I am taking it easy this time with no gambles,, the exhaust has been heavily modified as well so probably didnt help with the boost spiking,, expensive mistake..
I have done 600 miles on this rebuild with no boost,, hard work but has to be done,, 400 to go then back in to WGT for the ECU and gearbox and another load of cash to part with,, thank god the wife does not read this forum lol

 

[db2boy]

Frank, that made me laugh - the wife part that is Yup it is pain, 1500 on both my FD and RX-2 when I did the work on each. I used to go out late at night and go for 2-3 hour drives to accumulate mileage slowly. The worst part is the boy racers at that time and having to be grown up and restrained, I would turn everything down on the ECU to make sure I didn't overload anything. No fun at all as you say but a must. I can't recall the setup you run, any data logging capabilities?

Ant

P.S. Been chatting with Dom as I think you have, trying to get together somewhere when I get back

 

[frank20bcosmo]

Frank, that made me laugh - the wife part that is Yup it is pain, 1500 on both my FD and RX-2 when I did the work on each. I used to go out late at night and go for 2-3 hour drives to accumulate mileage slowly. The worst part is the boy racers at that time and having to be grown up and restrained, I would turn everything down on the ECU to make sure I didn't overload anything. No fun at all as you say but a must. I can't recall the setup you run, any data logging capabilities?

Ant

P.S. Been chatting with Dom as I think you have, trying to get together somewhere when I get back

Ant, no standard ECU hence the upgrade needed,,

sounds like a plan for a meet up, looking forward to it

 

[Berty]

Hi Berty,
I was under the impression that the Blitz would maintain more stable and predictable boost than the factory ECU, is this not the case?
I have owned a lot of rotaries and did a lot of work on my FD - I would never push things without supporting mods
Ant

When I initially did this mod I was still running twin sequential so my experience might be a bit different. I used the DSBC to bring boost on earlier AND to level out the transition between primary and secondary. I did smooth out the boost curve a bit, but the increase in actual boost was negligible. Bottom line (from my experience) was that in hindsight, I wish that I would have done the ECU upgrade before the boost controller to get the full benefit. Some of those RE-A and Panspeed ECUs will also increase the boost in the same way the a boost controller will.

Booster relay = Direct 12v through relay to the starter and bypass the factory ignition wiring and switching? I did this to my RX-2 and
she starts like a champ.

Yep, that's the one. I tried all sorts of things and in the end, this simple mod fixed it - or rather masked the actual problem. If you read my build thread, you'll notice that when I was doing the wiring on my car, the actual wires were corroded inside the insulation and connectors were so brittle that they broke in my hands. To fix the actual problem would require a new wiring loom.

 

[db2boy]

When I initially did this mod I was still running twin sequential so my experience might be a bit different. I used the DSBC to bring boost on earlier AND to level out the transition between primary and secondary. I did smooth out the boost curve a bit, but the increase in actual boost was negligible. Bottom line (from my experience) was that in hindsight, I wish that I would have done the ECU upgrade before the boost controller to get the full benefit. Some of those RE-A and Panspeed ECUs will also increase the boost in the same way the a boost controller will.

Yep, that's the one. I tried all sorts of things and in the end, this simple mod fixed it - or rather masked the actual problem. If you read my build thread, you'll notice that when I was doing the wiring on my car, the actual wires were corroded inside the insulation and connectors were so brittle that they broke in my hands. To fix the actual problem would require a new wiring loom.

Thanks Berty,
I'm torn as there is a good priced i-Color on Ebay US atm and whilst I might not really need to take advantage of its full capabilities today from a boost control perspective I really do want to get oil, water temp and oil pressure gauges and the i-Color seems a neat way to do this and have control for later. Any(one) thoughts on another nice compact way to display aspects such as oil/water/boost data (and others if easy) these days without having to have a z bunch of gauges everywhere?

OK great I can hook that up easy and quickly and was going to slap a beefy earth strap across box and engine - all helps! I'll know the state of wiring etc in a month when I finally get to see her in the flesh for the first time. People I know and trust tell me she is very good.

Oh and getting my Japanese friend to pick me up a Carbing front strut, did anything ever come of the AutoExe under braces?

Thanks

Ant

 

[frank20bcosmo]

Japanese friend Ant,,, that could be interesting,, mind you I have bought parts from Rotorzilla as he lives in Japan,, but another contact could be interesting addition in cases of need (eyeballs)

 

[db2boy]

Japanese friend Ant,,, that could be interesting,, mind you I have bought parts from Rotorzilla as he lives in Japan,, but another contact could be interesting addition in cases of need (eyeballs)

Good friend of mine, he is Japanese and used to race rally RX-3s and 323s etc. Been shipping parts and cars with him for years and been to visit etc. Helped me out many a time over the years with all my rotary and Japanese needs

Ant

 

[db2boy]

When I initially did this mod I was still running twin sequential so my experience might be a bit different. I used the DSBC to bring boost on earlier AND to level out the transition between primary and secondary. I did smooth out the boost curve a bit, but the increase in actual boost was negligible. Bottom line (from my experience) was that in hindsight, I wish that I would have done the ECU upgrade before the boost controller to get the full benefit. Some of those RE-A and Panspeed ECUs will also increase the boost in the same way the a boost controller will.



Yep, that's the one. I tried all sorts of things and in the end, this simple mod fixed it - or rather masked the actual problem. If you read my build thread, you'll notice that when I was doing the wiring on my car, the actual wires were corroded inside the insulation and connectors were so brittle that they broke in my hands. To fix the actual problem would require a new wiring loom.

Hi Berty,
I'm getting ready to fly to the UK this weekend to meet the Cosmo and have some R&R. I plan to do this mod whilst there. Would you happen to know a guide or have some pics on correct connectors etc to achieve this? Including if I need to strip interior pieces how to do so? Never worked on a Cosmo before and 1) I don't want to harm her in any way 2) I would like to get this done ASAP and with minimal fuss so I can enjoy polishing and driving her

Many thanks

Ant

 

[Berty]

The usual DIY disclaimer applies; I did this a while ago and it worked for me, but make sure you have someone helping who knows there stuff to avoid any damage.

It takes a little longer to install a boost controller on a Cosmo simply because the wastegate actuators are hard to get to. This the basic procedure...

1. Jack the car up and remove the under tray. You will only be able to access the actuators from this side. You can use this thread here...
http://forums.teameunos.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3339&p=51746&hilit=DSBC#p51746 to figure out what vac lines need to be removed. DSBC uses the same system as you i-Colour. You'll need two t-pieces from memory. (this VAC line is the output of your solenoid)

2. Once you have plumbed that vac line on, you can now intercept one of the vac lines coming off the front turbo cover this is what needs to go to the input of your solenoid.

That's pretty much it for the solenoid lines.. next you have to worry about power and a vacuum source to the main unit.

3. You can use any of the VAC nipplies on the manifold to send a VAC source to the controller box. I am not sure if the i-Colour needs this, but the DSBC did.

4. The easiest way to get wires into the cabin on the drivers side is to remove the rubber grommet where the accelerator comes out. You'll have to remove the radiator overflow bottle to do this. The BEST way to do it is to route everything to the passenger side where you can take advantage of the main ECU harness rubber grommet. BUT you'll need to extend your wiring loom a lot to do this as well as remove the cruise control motor AND vac box.

5. Run your wires into the cabin using whatever method you want but if you go through the accelerator cable opening then make sure you seal this correctly with silicon to avoid fumes entering the cabin. I ended up drilling a 20mm hole in the drivers side firewall for cable routing and using a rubber grommet from another car to seal it. I only needed to do this because I had a lot of wires coming in on that side.

6. Next step is to locate your IGN and 12v. My CCS was not working so i just traced the wires from that using a multimeter. The other method (which I haven't tried) is taking a 12v signal from the fuse box on the drivers side foot well. There are lots of unused fuse holders that could be used for this purpose, but once again I haven't tried it.

7. Once it is all hooked up, set up the i-colour. Sorry but I can't give you any exact settings here because I have never used one of these. My advice though is if you are running the stock ECU set the upper limit to something like 0.9 bar. You will most likely find that you will get an odd hesitation around 0.7 to 0.8 bar and that is the fuel cut. FUEL CUT IS BAD! Although it is meant to save your engine in the case of a boost spike, constant fuel cutting will lead to a lean condition which will damage your engine. This is why I recommend using an RE-Amemiya or Panspeed factory ECU at the same time. Again, be very cautious in the tuning stage and always use some type of professional wide-band device to make sure the Cosmo is happy.

8. Enjoy the feeling of your transmission and tires screaming for mercy.

 

[db2boy]

Berty thanks that is awesome, so much so I now feel I must get the i-Color.....

....I should have been more specific, I actually meant the connectors for the relay to help with the starting - sorry for the confusion!
To avoid further confusion, I know how to wire up the relay etc just looking for guidelines on which connectors to tap into or bypass
and how to get to them.

Ant

 

[Berty]

Okay, so you need a 40AMP relay and some relatively chunky wires.

1. Run a wire from your battery to pin 30 of the relay (use a fuse, i think that 20 amp is fine).
2. Disconnect the spade connector on the starter solenoid and run this to pin 85 on the relay. (This will act to open the relay)
3. Run a wire from pin 87 to the spade connector on the starter solenoid. (basically where the original trigger wire was)
4. Run a wire from pin 86 to a grounding point.

Done!

Edit - oh and make sure you disconnect your battery before doing this!

 

[db2boy]

That simple on the Cosmo then! When I did this to the RX-2 I went all the way back to the ignition switch and ran all new wiring to bypass as much of the original as I could (including fuel pump and ING).

If I had stopped and thought about the Cosmo for a minute and stopped working this late it probably would have been crystal clear. My mind was thinking of coming back up to the ignition switch blah blah!
Thanks for making this obvious and me feel stupid Off to order some more parts so they are waiting when I get to the UK.....

Thanks Berty

 

[cosmojc]

Thanks Berty,
I'm torn as there is a good priced i-Color on Ebay US atm and whilst I might not really need to take advantage of its full capabilities today from a boost control perspective I really do want to get oil, water temp and oil pressure gauges and the i-Color seems a neat way to do this and have control for later. Any(one) thoughts on another nice compact way to display aspects such as oil/water/boost data (and others if easy) these days without having to have a z bunch of gauges everywhere?

OK great I can hook that up easy and quickly and was going to slap a beefy earth strap across box and engine - all helps! I'll know the state of wiring etc in a month when I finally get to see her in the flesh for the first time. People I know and trust tell me she is very good.

Oh and getting my Japanese friend to pick me up a Carbing front strut, did anything ever come of the AutoExe under braces?

Thanks

Ant

There is a neat way to add extra gauges that I have been planning for mine. Go to the "my Cosmo" thread in www.dmrh.com.au and go to the page dated Jan 05. There is a detailed description there of installing similar looking gauges to the OEM dash behind the dash Perspex in the dash itself.

Kramer

 

[db2boy]

Hi Kramer,
Thanks for pointing that out, I have seen this too and did consider doing it.

I am currently leaning towards something like the Blitz i-Color as I would like to have a more compact way of displaying multiple readings without the the need to install a bunch of gauges.

Thanks

Ant

 

[db2boy]

First added the AutoExe ground kit to the car, this definitely improved the starting but was not a 100% fix. For anyone looking at this kit it is extremely well made and a very nice addition. I then installed the relay to go direct to the starter, this seems to be a 100% fix now and she starts every time, first time.

Ant