I am just about half way through the testing of 'Zoomers Fuel Computer mod, and I want to report how it's going , so far....

First, let me state that I had never met 'Canzoomer' before I bought my shiny gas cap from him a few weeks back, and that is the only business dealing we have ever had.

But who could resist when he offered to let me test one of his Mods?..... I had already read his proposal to reduce fuel back to optimum above 7000 rpm, and wanted to see how that would work in practice.

Average gas mileage for the period has been around 18/19 US, (22/23 UK, 12.3 litres per 100k) including some full bore runs, lots of revs, (and more than a few 'Borla flames!') bearing in mind that my mileage has always been right around these figures, lots of highway, so I would say I am not seeing ANY change in fuel consumption.

I was certainly not decided on buying one, I was really only interested in the mod to return my car to the 'original design/JDM' spec, and wasn't too interested in using the new peak power, since it would be at the highest revs, where I rarely go, and only useful for extreme acceleration, or dyno runs.

The night 'Zoomer and his techs installed the equipment is one that will not soon be forgotten -They put an Air/Fuel test meter bung in the exhaust and then slipped the computer mod into the wiring harness (there is a scary amount of wires going to the stock ECU!) then we each test drove both the cars, to see if the Borla would affect the mixture or the engine behavior.

Any RX-8 pilot knows the slight hesitation of the 'runner changeover' during full throttle, at around 4000 rpm, then again just above 6000, and WITH the mod these are still present, HOWEVER, right after the first dip, as the engine approaches 5k, the car LEAPS forward as it never has before, then 6k, 7k, 8k, BUZZER!, all follow REAL quick!

It is like night and day from 5000 up!

This I did NOT expect....I was ready for the acceleration to be still strong above 7000, to not go limp as it approached redline, but instead, the entire second half of the rev range was transformed. Not even like a V-TEC peak, more of a step change from there on up. During full throttle runs in third gear, the tires where breaking loose every time we hit that '5K leap'! Obviously this was partly due to the cold road, but I never had to back off the throttle at 5000, going uphill, before......

I am over fifty, a previous rotary owner, and not easily impressed, but I felt recent new forum member 'AZIZA K' said it best......."Like OMG this is SO amazing!!!!!"

I haven't yet seen a dyno run or been told how much more power there is, and as I said, peak horsepower at the top of paper charts is not worth squat to me, but the immense mid-range push I experienced is EXACTLY where, and what, was needed.

I don't know the extent of the changes they did with the new fuel computer (and if I ask, I may go missing!) but I will be looking for some assurances that THESE settings will be in the production version, because I will definitely be installing this, and I want it just like this tester!

THIS is the car I bought and paid for!

THIS is the way it should have been from day-one!

It is going to be SO painful to return the test rig......

S

 

Sounds really promising , canzoomer i am waiting allbeit not very patiently.

 

Very good news indeed.

How is the drivabilty so far?

Vince

 

.

 

StealthTL took me for a ride in his modded 8 tonight! What a difference!! The car is a beast. Once it hits the 5000rpm mark your head snaps back and you are flying. It feels stonger than VTEC machines that I've been in (including the S2000). It's almost turbo-like. Thanks for the ride Doc. I will definitely be ordering one. This is the now the car that I expected and paid for.

 

hopefully these mod chips will not harm our engines in the long run, but I am very interested in purchasing one dynos will be greaty appreciated

 

...now, who was it that said it was fixable anyways... hmm???

Mo-dawg |20><0|2z !! and Stealth Pounds of Torque man is the luckiest bastard on earth right now... *bright green tear of unbelievable jealousy*

 

*Sigh*

IMagine me sitting over here bouncing up and down saying "I want it, I want it!" a few thousand times.

Thats me for the next 4 weeks

 

good work cz ... and now let this be my christmas present... any idea when it will be ready for shipment?

 

Man, I can't wait to hear from the turbo econo-box crowd on this deveopment. Mr. WRX and all the other haters will really have a reason to hate the RX8.

 

This sounds like a great add on. But what IF AND WHEN mazda comes out with a new upgrade/program for the ECU. Since carzoomers piggybacks on the stock one, would it work with a different stock chip?

My terminology my be wrong so here is an example. Say I have the mod, have to take the car in for service and remove the mod before going in. Then say the serivce dept goes ahead and upgrades/reflash my stock chip. Will the mod still work when put back on?

Thanks,

 

Canzoomer said in an earlier post that his company may offer updates and reflashes if Mazda does make a change. I'm not sure if that is still an option or his intent though...

 

This sounds GREAT! As always, I remain very interested in Canzoomer's mod.

I'm wondering, though, since the tires are chirping so much easier now, does this mod create a car that's a little more difficult to handle? Does the DSC still do a good job of keeping it in line with this mod?

Thanks canzoomer for all your work and thanks to StealthTL for this report!

 

Great report. Thanks Stealth dude. This is definitely something I'm getting when its available. Looks like CanZoomer's going to recoup his R&D costs with this one for sure.

 

Canzoomer's ECU piggyback augments the stock ECU on the car, basically intercepting A/F info and sending out it's own info instead of the ECU. At least that's my undertanding. So, if you did remove the Canzoomer piggyback and take you car in to the dealer, and they did a reflash of the ECU, you can just put the piggyback device back on when done. It will still perform the same function. It might not be as effective if the ECU reflash was a A/F fix, but it would still work.

Hope this helps.

 

Stealth,

Are we talking the Stage 1 or Stage 2 here?

-Mr. Wigggles

 

Heh, " (there is a scary amount of wires going to the stock ECU!)". Try building the cables! I did most of the prototype cables, and my eyes are still crossed . Glad you like it.

I'll put some words into Canzoomers mouth, as he's rather busy, as usual. There are still a few "i"s to dot, and "t"s to cross, but real soon now. The production parts are due soon.

I may have to sell my 3rd gen and get me an RX-8!

 

Thanks for doing all that soldering Mazdafriend, I owe you a beer!

This is the Stage one mod, fits between the ECU and its wiring harness, no ignition timing changes and no catalyst replacement.

Compaddict, I am not sure what you mean when you ask about 'drivability' - we were really thrashing it to find the differences, and the uphill 'full throttle' third gear runs (DSC/TC off) were getting pretty hairy on the frosty blacktop, losing traction as it passed the runner lag point, then came on hard at 5k/6k. I am a pathetic driver , so rather than handle it, I always chose to back off, but I know that a better pilot would have just yelled "WOOHOO!" and kept his foot in it!

Like I said, I was expecting a useless top end peak of power, but this 'leap' in the midrange was awesome....

S

 

Answering for Stealth (AKA The doctor) this is Stage1.
Fuel/air only, no ignition tune, mild temperatures.

We are running some fuel/air and temperature logs tomorrorw just to double check what it is doing and then as long as it is still working as designed within these two parameters, we are done, and starting to pack and go.

 

It should, as we are simply over-riding the stock fuel/air mixes.
IF Mazda does issue a new flash, I would still want to test it just to be safe and sure.
There is always the possibility that they add a whole big bunch of advance, and *maybe* with a leaner mix it *might* be more adventurous than I would want to use..

This is one of those classic predicting the future scenarios.
I can not give a final answer until I see it ( IF we see it of course!)

 

Reflashing ( actually we will physically replace the ROM chip as it is locked) will always be possible.

The cost will be pretty minimal ( the part is cheap) and the labour pretty small too.

I have not worked it out exactly yet, but I am pretty sure $100 (or maybe less) would cover it.

 

Maurice

It has been said that at 15000km the ECU improves the MPG by around 10% and there will be also an increase in power , ?.
If this is the case , how do you think it will effect your stage 1 modification??
At 1500km i have been told that the ECU will allow the rx8 to run leaner and with more power .( is this a concern to your modification s)

michael

 

I think that is total BS from what I have noticed.

 

Brother voodo

The information on the ECU was given to me by mazda tecknical support teck with over 20 years experience with rotaries currently racing his own rx7 and working for mazda head office .

He has no vested interest in telling any B/S .

michael

 

Brother Voodoo
I was bitching at my dealer about my gas mileage. I am getting 15-16 Highway 13-14 cities. He called Mazda Technical line he said after 15,000 miles the ECU go into a different mode, and changes the fuel maps for a 10%-15% increase in mpg and performance.( posted by eclpso under , some good news)


Personally i have only travelled 10600 km on my ride , so i cant tell if information is correct , but this infor mation is being told also by your mazda people in U.S .

michael