Rad Fan addition

This is the KOYO radiator that is currently fitted in the car.  It was meant for the DC2.

The main fan is the original EG6 fan which will not bolt on directly to the radiator.  So it is recommended to get the DC2 fan to make things easier.  As u can see, in my case, "brackets" will made to fit the EG6 fan on the radiator.  

Additionally, I will added a 12" aux fan for the sake better air-con cooling as the condenser seats just behind the radiator.  This is not because of trying to lower the ECT further.

Just having the main fan and the upsized radiator maintained the ECT at about 80C (176F) in the hot afternoon sun (ambient temp. of 32C locally). 

The aux fan clearance from the stock exhaust manifold is about 15mm.  While the main fan shroud has to be cut slightly to clear the manifold.

Another to note about the DC2 radiator is that the return hose is lower that the EG5 radiator.  This causes the hose to stretch and rub against the gearbox mounting.  Therefore, I had a aluminum pipe machined to extend the length of the hose to over the rubbing.

EG6 Air-con part 1

Recently my air-con wasn't working well. So after a quick check, I found out that the air-con fan wasn't spinning.  So off the bumper!!

I was going to replace the fan, but after further trouble-shooting, it was actually just the relay that was faulty.. 

Anyway, I made use of the chance to tidy up the front - Did some rewiring and securing the air-con fan (It was really loose and was making noises before)

Although it cant be seen after the bumper goes back up, but it feels good to know that wiring are in order and the fan is secure :).

Anyway, some simple air-con trouble shoot tips before going further.

1) First check if the fuse are blown: 

Under dash - fuse 13 (7.5A)

Under the bonnet - fuse 35 (20A), fuse 39 (50A) & fuse 41 (80A)

2) Next check the two relays - one is for the compressor and the other is for the fan.

Hondata S300 and IAT compensation (IGN)

The previous article I mentioned that the Fuel Compensation for IAT was affecting my AFR readings.  After more datalogging and observations, I found that the bigger culprit was the Ignition Compensation for IAT.  Essentially it was retarding the ignition once the IAT sensor reads 51C and above, resulting in the leaning of the engine.  The leaning did not reoccur once I made adjustments to the compensation values.

However, the best way is still to relocate the IAT sensor to the air intake pipings like in the EKs instead of the intake manifold.

Hondata S300 and IAT compensation

More to share on tuning using S300.  

Background: I was tuning my car for part throttle (cruising) and managed to have a stable 14.7 AFR reading through column 1 to 5.  However after I shut down the engine for a while (couple of hours) and drove again,  I got lean readings (greater than 14.7).  I was expecting richer AFR than 14.7 rather leaner reading as the engine has cooled down.

I did a datalog and realised that the IAT readings were quite high which caused the ECU to reduce the duty cycle, resulting in a leaner AFR reading.  This might be the IAT sensor being heated up by the hot intake manifold.

2 lessons learnt:

1) When tuning your engine, try to make sure the IAT and ECT values are the same for each run as it affects the AFR value greatly.

2)   If possible, try to find a way to insulate the IAT sensor or minimise heat transfer from the Intake Manifold to get a more accurate reading.

Once u manage to tune your engine as desired (with constant ECT and IAT values),  you can adjust the fuel compensation for IAT and ECT accordingly since the default value may not be the ideal compensation required.

Hondata S300 closed loop operations

Since I had the S300 installed and tuned for more than one month ago, I have been trying to fine tune the fuel.  The main problem that I had was to enable closed loop operation after I have complete my open loop tuning.  The AFR runs really lean (17.0) after I enable the closed loop operation even though AFR reading during open loop operations were fine.

After going through the Hondata forum, I found some solution.

1) As the car was usually driven in closed loop operations, the ECU would have Long Term fuel trim inputs which will affect the duty cycle. The solution is to reset the ECU before tuning.

2) The symptoms above which I describe apparently affects only some ECU, the work around is to set the short term fuel trim settings under the closed loop tab to 0 for both maximum and minimum short term adjustments and tune the car in closed loop operation instead of open loop operations.  (remember set the values back to the original after completion of tuning)

3) Next is to adjust the Rate of change to the recommend setting by hondata as below:

This will minimise AFR fluctuations, thus improving drivability and milage.  The settings that I used was 5 for all slow value and 99 for all Fast value. 

Plse note: The tuning done on my car was based on the PLX wideband AFR.  Plse do not attempt to tune the car without at least wideband AFR, however u may try altering the rate of change even without a wideband AFR.

Definitions:
Short term fuel trim is the amount of fuel adjustment made by the ECU depending on the AFR reading

Long term fuel trim is the amount of fuel adjustment made by the ECU based on the average Short Term fuel trim made over a period of time

Rate of Change is the rate of change of fuel trim made by the ECU.

HONDATA S300

I had the Hondata for a while, but didnt get to install it and dyno-tuned until recently. I was running on APEXI VAFC2 beforehand.  

(Yes I know, the wiring is kind of a mess due to the VAFC2.  I will be getting it tidy up soonest.)

I am impress with the S300 due to the amount of parameters that be controlled. through the ECU. Simple stuff like things like Fan operating temp, idling fuel trim with respect to coolant temp, A/C switch off rpm, datalogging etc.  (Note to POWERFC Fans: POWERFC may be just as good or better, but I didint get a chance to play with the Tuning Program ;p)

The result after the dyno-tune was 11hp increase in horsepower and 10nm increase in torque, but u will also notice the drop between 5000-6000rpm range, which most likely mean that I have to it road tune too.

At the same time, I did find the engine was running a bit rich beyond 5000rpm at AFR 12.0 (Although it was running at 11.0 - 12.0 with SAFC2 before the tuning), so I decided to lean the fuel over  5000rpm band to AFR 12.5 which resulted in better response and power (butt dyno ;p). 

I would like to lean it further to 13.0 but I will only do that when I am able to monitor the exhaust temp.

I must make it clear that the original SAFC2 in my ride was only road tuned and it was doing well in terms of power and fuel economy.  But I feel that due to the original ECU close-loop functions, any tuning done on the SAFC2 will not be accurate in the long run. (however, a simple reset of the ECU once in a while will overcome this issue I guess)

Air Intake

This is the previous air intake piping with APEXI air filter.

I was thinking of changing the Air Intake, until I came across a used PasswordJDM Kevlar Air Intake for a good price.  Initially, I was just going for the looks and I wasn't expecting any significant performance gain... Boy was I wrong!  The throttle respond improve significantly after the installation!

One thing to note though, the PasswordJDM Kevlar Air Intake is bit on the soft side. You can easily press down on the intake.  Anyway, I feel that any aftermarket air intake which is shaped the same will provide the same kind of throttle respond.  So if u wanna save cost, just get any cheaper alternative and couple with a good filter :)

Battery relocation - temp job

I was kind of busy and wasnt able to update much recently ;p

Anyway, I have connected up the batteries for the time being just to get it going.

Dont mind the messy wiring, this is just a temporary solution until the rest of the parts arrive. 

Basically, just connect the batteries in parallel. Positive to positive and the negative to the ground.  U can use any part of the chasis as ground, as for me I have choose to use the strut tower as my grounding point.

As what I had in mind, I was able to place back the 'boot box'.

Running the wires to the engine bay take a lot more effort as I had to remove all the seats to run the wires under the carpet. 

I had choose to drill a hole at the firewall to run the wire through. I have clear area just next to the air-con exchanger drainage.  Remove the glove box first to make your life easier if u want to drill a hole to run your wires.

I used a proper wire grommet to prevent water from entering the cabin and also to prevent rubbing on the wire.

View of the wire grommet from the engine bay.

Battery relocation to the boot

I want to relocate my battery from the engine bay to the boot to make space for a custom fuel surge tank and also for future ICE installation in the boot. 

Most battery in the market will be too tall or too big to have it installed in the boot and still be able to continue have the 'boot box' installed. Therefore, I ended up with two odyssey PC680 battery to overcome the problem.  Thanx to my mechanic cum fabricator, I was to have my design realised for the battery mount.

Fabricating the mount/tray

For my future usage (ICE). One PC680 may not be able to support the demands, therefore I went ahead and got two of  them. Even so, I am not confident that two of them will be enough.

But the PC680 are more compact and lighter than normal batterie, which makes it is easier to install.

Positioning the tray

The battery tray was constructed by welding L bars together.

Test fitting

Snug fit!

My mechanic/fabricator/friend at work.

Batteries Installed

I will update with a new post once I wire up the batteries.

Rear Stabiliser Bar (aka Anti-Roll Bar aka Sway Bar) link bushing.

I mentioned in my camber kit upgrade that it advisable to make use of the chance to change some of the bushing. The rear stabiliser bar link is one of the them. Just pics to illustrate what I was referring to.

Stabiliser Bar Link

 This is the rear stabiliser bar link unbolt from the rear lower control arm. The bushing is slightly worn and deformed.

Rear Stabiliser Bar End Bushing

Here u can see the worn bar end bushing.

Link Bush

The new bushing to be installed with bar link.  This is a pain in the ass to install even with the hydraulic jack.

Stabiliser Bar End bushing

Again the old and the new. This is quite simple to install as the fit is not as tight compared to the bar link bushing.

New Bar End Bushing installed

Part no.
Rear Stabiliser Bar End Bush: 53216-SA5-000
Rear Stabiliser Bar End Collar:52312-SE0-000
Rear Stabiliser Bar Link Bush: 52314-SH4-000