Question about BD Enthalpy tuned ECU

[jmwenick]

Hello, I was just wondering if the car was setup with the stage 1 or stage 2 turbo kit, also how much horsepower were you making? And how much could we expect at 10PSI, 12PSI, 15PSI?

[boostdesigns.com]

Scott tuned me one according to our stage 2 kit specifications we will have it up and running very soon then we are taking the car to Tampa FL about 4 hours from us and have him do an even more detailed tune. then this will be duplicated for future customers with the stage 2 kit. true every car is different but we still believe this will be the best tune possible for this kit you can possible get through the mail becouse it will be based on our kit with our products.

[WDRacing]

Got a website for info about Enthalpy?

[turtl631]

You might want to check on FA or zilvia..he frequents one of those. He has some good dyno posts, his tune vs. jwt with everything else the same, before/after a fullrace exhaust mani, etc. This is all for SRs, but he's getting into KATs too. Same price as JWT pretty much but a better tune it seems.

[Jookmasta]

so will BD be selling these ecu's separately? or is this still something that we would have to contact enthalpy to do?

[Jeff240sx]

Ya, you need to contact Scott if you have an S14. And you'll probably need to get a z32 maf, as I don't think he'd bother tuning off stock, and he detests the cobra pos.-Jeff

[Jookmasta]

ok so i was just looking at BD's site and here's the description:Newly released ENTHALPY tuned ECU's for boost designs. these are plug and play ECU's that offer the most exact tune you can get with your boost designs turbo kit. the program you recieve is being copied from our own test car so there is no need for a dyno or retune to up the boost. These ECU's are setup with a 7000 RPM redline 52# injectors and a Z32 MAF. Turn around time is normally 1 week and they require no dyno tuning or fine tuning with an SAFC like other retuned ECU's systems on the market. Core charge extra if ECU is not provided for retune.

i guess this means that u need 50lbs injectors and a z32 MAF to use one of these enthalpy tunes. Maybe PJ will chime in to clarify but i assume that the one week turn around would only apply to that specific program since it is already set????

[fiznat]

Enthalpy does all kinds of custom tunes, you can contact him if you want something special and I'm sure he will hook you up.

The Boostdesigns' Enthalpy ECU is tuned, like Boostdesigns said, for THEIR kit. It is tuned for 52# injectors because the stage II kit has 52# injectors...

As far as the turnaround time I'm not sure-- you'd def have to conact Scott but he has done a lot of tunes before so unless your setup is completely out of the ordinary I'm sure the turnaround would be fairly quick.

[boostdesigns.com]

Scott can make a tune with the 370CC or waht ever you want to use. but in my opinion if your going to be boosting your motor and paying the fee to have your ecu tuned, it makes more sense to have it tuned to as large as you can... i mean you can never have to much injector. boost is adictive and we all know 8PSI to begin with will end up being 16PSI befor the end of the year. your going to get charged the same amount either way at least doing it at 50# the first time saves you later and 50# injectors offer a pretty broad power range.

[turtl631]

I'm surprised he's doing it with top feeds, he told me he hates them and prefers side feeds.

[WDRacing]

Why would anyone prefer sidefeeds??? They are twice as expensive and come in a crap for sizes. I could see if the worked better. Not to mention the lack of aftermarket fuel rails.

[jmwenick]

How much horsepower were you getting with the kit and the ECU??

[hannibal]

Enthalpy (Scott) is in Tampa?? Is he one of the secret service guys?I wanna look into this some more. I'm glad there's a JWT alternative AND he's on the East coast!

[fiznat]

Good info on Enthalpy tunes can be found here: http://forums.freshalloy.com/u...40855

Quoted from that page:

well i finally got a chance to back-to-back test vs. the competition. A customer wanted to see what gains i could offer over JWT. So we did a comparison.

The JWT ECU was programmed for 72# injectors, Cobra MAF, t3/t4 turbo, 93 octane.

Enthalpy ECU was programmed for 72# injectors, Z32 MAF, t3/t4 turbo, 93 octane.

Boost was identical on both runs (18-19 psi) and ther was no way i could go more due to a soft wastegate spring (7psi) and a maxxed out Profec B Spec 1.



That is a dyno comparison between a JWT tune and an Enthalpy tune.

I cant say anything for Enthalpy as a businessman, but I can definitely vouch for his character and tuning knowledge. Him and I exchanged quite a few lengthy emails discussing various aspects of tuning and I must say: he knows his **** and he is a very cool guy.


Modified by fiznat at 11:24 AM 2/5/2005

[turtl631]

Regarding topfeed vs. sidefeed, he told me that the spray pattern on sidefeeds is better/more consistent. That said, I haven't seen anything about the stock KA fuel rail being restrictive, and generally you can find a set of say 550s for the same price as 50 lbers and a top feed rail. My guess is that this is all splitting hairs though.

[MarkEmark]

Wow, the Enthalpy one made 42 more whp and 30+ pound foot of torque...that's a very substantiable increase.

Looks like I may need to switch to Enthalpy when I get the engine rebuilt and upgrade to a t3/t4 and switch to 52 lb fuel injectors....

how much do they go for?

[MarkEmark]

Nevermind, just found they're $650 ($150 more than an s13 ecu?!? damn, those guys get everything!!)

Those ECU's are also set up for what I'll be running....I'm glad I have some options now....i always hated how conservative the JWT was.

[fiznat]

I copied the info here Foster. You can't linking to the enemy like that. WD

I dont really feel good about taking Scott's work like that and then just posting it without reference. It may be Fresh Alloy, but it is still his work and I think he deserves credit for it in it's original context... Besides, this whole NICO vs. FA is BS. They are a very good resource for technical reference, and fellow nissan lovers!

Thanks for that link man!

Np dude

[klattr1]

Wow, the Enthalpy one made 42 more whp and 30+ pound foot of torque...that's a very substantiable increase.

Looks like I may need to switch to Enthalpy when I get the engine rebuilt and upgrade to a t3/t4 and switch to 52 lb fuel injectors....

how much do they go for?

i have to mention something as well. the Enthalpy tune did peak more horsepower and torque but you have to remember the intention of the tune.the JWT ecu is conservative (specifically timing in this case since both fuel curves were almost identical).so whats Enthalpy's magic?adding timing.the Enthalpy tune was a custom tune on the dyno in which he could change parameters (timing) to yield better results based on torque curve feedback.the JWT ecu is a general program which has been issued out to thousands of people in the US knowing they dont want any responsibility in blown motors. so in result, they alter the timing maps and enrichen the fuel more to make it safe and street friendly, especially with pump gas.

still, good results yielded and he does know what he's doing, but its more of a marketing comparision without mentioning differences in a custom dyno tune program vs a general conservative public program.

[Jeff240sx]

Scott's tune.. bieng 40hp higher shows what a margin of safety that JWT gives. Now, JWT is just being pompus cheapasses right now by not offering other tunes. Just because Cali sucks and only has 91 octane doesn't mean my tune in FL needs to suck. And because some idiots blow their motor bieng stupid doesn't mean that they can remove tons of power to ensure that I (not bieng classified as an idiot) don't blow my motor.Scott said in one of those threads that the dyno tune he did would only be ~10hp higher than a mailorder ecu. Maybe cali will get ~15-20hp less (I don't know on that one).And.. the reason the s14 ecu is +$150 is because you get an obd-2 to obd-1 conversion harness. And the core ecu needs to be an s13 ecu.Boost Designs needs to address these issues on their website. Just like they need to say the downpipe comes with a Dodge t3 flange, and not a standard ford t3. But I'm digressing.-Jeff

[WDRacing]

I dont really feel good about taking Scott's work like that and then just posting it without reference. It may be Fresh Alloy, but it is still his work and I think he deserves credit for it in it's original context... Besides, this whole NICO vs. FA is BS. They are a very good resource for technical reference, and fellow nissan lovers!

I guess your right Fizzle, If you want to edit your thread and repost that link it's fine with me.

[MarkEmark]

i have to mention something as well. the Enthalpy tune did peak more horsepower and torque but you have to remember the intention of the tune.the JWT ecu is conservative (specifically timing in this case since both fuel curves were almost identical).so whats Enthalpy's magic?adding timing.the Enthalpy tune was a custom tune on the dyno in which he could change parameters (timing) to yield better results based on torque curve feedback.the JWT ecu is a general program which has been issued out to thousands of people in the US knowing they dont want any responsibility in blown motors. so in result, they alter the timing maps and enrichen the fuel more to make it safe and street friendly, especially with pump gas.

still, good results yielded and he does know what he's doing, but its more of a marketing comparision without mentioning differences in a custom dyno tune program vs a general conservative public program.

Well it's not just timing that's changed....according to the charts the Enthalpy runs a bit leaner at every RPM range (but never going above 12:1 or so). 12:1 is PLENTY safe still IMO. I still think it's amazing what a little bit of timing advance and a little bit of leaning can do for power on a turbocharged engine. 40 whp is A LOT.

Also, if you look at the charts, the power delivery for the Enthalpy seems LEAGUES more smooth and refined....whereas the JWT seems jumpy and all over the place, fluctuating quite a bit between power and torque levels all across the RPM band.

[Projex240]

I dont see a 40whp gain over a off the shelf JWT program being the norm. If scott can dyno tune a car, then of course, he can make more precise adjustments, but JWT doesnt have that option as they are strictly mail order for most of the us since he is in Cali. Scott is in florida, and has had the good fortune to dyno tune almost all of his ecu's.I belive there may be a *small improvement with scotts "off the shelf" ecu over JWT's, but not anything overa 10whp gain.The bets part about scotts, is that if you buy his ecu, then want to make the trip, you can get him to tune you on the dyno. Its onyl about 8 hrs from me--but only 30 mins from my parents. I make the trip 2 times a year.

-Josh

[300max]

semi-unrelated. Does anybody know if Enthalpy or JWT can compensate for an open BOV or do they need to recirculate?

[hannibal]

JWT is $600 for the off the shelf ECU.Enthalpy will dyno tune your ECU for $650?!? Sounds like a good deal.

I agree that the Enthalpy's off the shelf ECU may only be slightly better than JWT.

[240sxOwner]

only thing is that enthalpy's re-tune (if you change something) is 500!! That came straight from him to me. I don't know how much JWT is but 500 for a re-tune is a lot.

[WDRacing]

I'd rather add some base timing and get a SAFCII then pay 500 for a retune.

[SloMoe]

only thing is that enthalpy's re-tune (if you change something) is 500!! That came straight from him to me. I don't know how much JWT is but 500 for a re-tune is a lot.

JWT charges $100 for a retune of their ECU.

[MarkEmark]

I dont see a 40whp gain over a off the shelf JWT program being the norm. If scott can dyno tune a car, then of course, he can make more precise adjustments, but JWT doesnt have that option as they are strictly mail order for most of the us since he is in Cali. Scott is in florida, and has had the good fortune to dyno tune almost all of his ecu's.I belive there may be a *small improvement with scotts "off the shelf" ecu over JWT's, but not anything overa 10whp gain.The bets part about scotts, is that if you buy his ecu, then want to make the trip, you can get him to tune you on the dyno. Its onyl about 8 hrs from me--but only 30 mins from my parents. I make the trip 2 times a year.

-Josh

Am I missing something? The graph clearly shows 40+ whp and 30+ rwtq...if it were only 10 whp I wouldn't be impressed.

JWT ECU + S-AFC II is always an option, but that requires dyno time and/or a wide band 02 setup, as well as tuning knowledge...the plug and play of enthalpy's ECU, without it being conservatively tuned at all, is very attractive.

In any case, I'd never see the need to have his ECU re-tuned with a 72 lb/hr fuel injector setup....that leaves PLEEENTY of head room for more power. EDIT...Maybe I am missing something? This set up is for the KA-T, I take it, but the BD ECU is for the 50 lb fuel injectors (what I want), not the 72 lb fuel injectors. So I guess Enthalpy does both.

[WDRacing]

The Enthalpy tune was done on a dyno where Scott made ajustments as he went. If you were to let JWT do the same thing, the results would be far different. I'd like to compare dyno runs with the JWT car running another 2-3 degree's of advance.