VelocityAP ECU Tuning for F-Type All Models

Hello Everyone,

You are probably familiar with VelocityAP to some degree. I know a lot of you have fitted our F-Type Lowering Springs, and several more have pre-ordered from our current production run. Thank-you all for your business.

We have also recently released our 200 Cell Catted & De-Catted Downpipes in prototype form. We’re just confirming fitment with the respective owners but will be putting those into production shortly as well, with pre-order specials also being offered.

Thought we would take a little time to introduce ourselves better, and to provide some information about our ECU Tuning program and capabilities. I founded the company in 2007 in the UK, but we are now based in British Columbia, Canada and we manufacture sport exhausts, catalysts, and headers here. In addition to our own brand, we also private-label some products, and recently became an original equipment supplier to Aston Martin Racing. Our V8 Vantage Headers, a special catalyst we make for the European race cars and some other exhaust components were recently homologated and are now fitted to all new GT4 Race Car builds.







Aston Martin V8 Vantage Performance Exhaust Manifolds / Headers Stainless Steel

We do some limited work on customer cars here, primarily for product development and testing. At present we have a 2007 Aston Martin V8 Vantage in the shop and are 2/3 of the way through designing a Twin Turbo conversion kit for the 4.3L and 4.7L Normally Aspirated Engines.









We started out tuning Aston Martin cars back in 2008, and quickly found that the commercially available map drivers for these vehicles were very under-developed and didn’t offer sufficient depth for us to write advanced tuning products. As a result, we began doing the work ourselves to identify the tables & functions we needed, not just to write better tunes, but also to allow us to completely integrate physical products like headers, where we were re-locating O2 sensors by several feet. Latterly, we have also developed enough expertise and capability to allow us to fully map the V8 Vantage ECU to run a 7PSI turbo package, entirely through the OEM computer, with no piggy-back or standalone.

Over the last few years, we have done a reasonable amount of tuning on the 5.0L Supercharged engines running the earlier Denso ECU types, so have a good understanding of what needs to be done on both the 5.0 & 3.0L engines to produce power reliably and improve drive-ability. In addition to this, we also have substantial experience with the ECU Type fitted to the Current 5.0 & 3.0L engines, as it is the same as used in the 2014/2015-on MY V12 Aston Martin drivetrain. When this was first released there was not an available protocol, so we worked with our hardware supplier to develop & test the protocol, and subsequently have mapped the ECU with great success. Here’s one that we did recently as a part of a full power pack(turn up your speakers):


We have a full databank of original F-Type Files, including Project 7 settings, and are currently working with a handful of F-Type owners to produce some concrete dyno data for you. This will demonstrate the HP gains available and the comprehensive integration of our mapping with additional modifications like decat pipes and so on. We will also be offering some more advanced tuning for these engines in time, as we develop more products. In 6-8 weeks time we will have a 2015 R-Coupe in the shop and will be getting stuck right into it!

The head of our Tuning service who has posted here recently, oversees all aspects of our software development and file writing. He is an ASE Red Seal Level 1 certified Technician, with 12 years of experience. In addition this extremely high level of general qualification, he also received factory training and certification from Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Bentley. You could not ask for a better qualified individual, with a more intimate knowledge and understanding of a Jaguar F-Type.

At present, we are limited as are most other tuners by the hardware & firmware available from our equipment providers. Our 2 current options are:

· Kess V2 + Laptop (we have multiple Kess Units available for use)

o The customer pays for the tune + a refundable security deposit covering the tuning equipment
o The Tuning Equipment is Expressed shipped to the customer or dealer
o Vehicle is ‘Read’ and the original file is emailed to our Tuning Support team.
o Modified File is created per the customer’s individual request & needs and emailed back
o Vehicle is flashed with the modified file
o Customer returns the Tuning Equipment or forwards to specified recipient and Security Deposit is refunded

· Bench Tuning
o Customer sends their ECU to our Facility in British Columbia Canada
o ECU is read and Flashed ‘on the bench’ per the customer’s individual request & needs (typically 24 hour service)
o ECU is return shipped to the customer

We have made multiple requests to our hardware supplier Alientech, to upload test firmware for the F-Type to their portable, single use flashing tool. As no doubt other tuning companies have similarly requested. As soon as it is available, we will be able to offer tuning service via this method:
· Tool Sent to Customer
· ECU is read and Original File downloaded to PC and emailed to Velocity
· Modified File is created per the customer’s individual request & needs and emailed back
· Up to 5 different modified files can be stored in the device memory, and each file or the original file can be selected and flashed to the car at any time

This will enable people to get stage tuning very easily – for example you could initially select a tune, but also request a second file for the addition of a pulley, and a third file for the addition of long tube headers (watch this space ).

If anyone has any questions we’re available any time. I’m the President and founder of the company, but I’m sure our Tuning support guys will be able to answer any more technical questions in this thread as well.

 

Looking forward to the products you can provide me in addition to the upcoming springs!

Stuart has been very upfront and honest about all aspects of his company, I look forward to helping him develop some new exciting tuning options/performance parts for our platform!

 

Looking forward to working with you! :-)

 

Stuart, any updates on development?

 

Sure I can reply on Stuart's behalf..

We presently have 2 ftypes, a V6 and a V8 getting ready to be tuned and tweaked on a dyno.

Presently I've figured out what Jaguar did to increase power from the base V6 to the V6S, along with what was done from the V8 R to Project 7(same adjustment for coming SVR)...so without even touching afr and timing, I can match what Jaguar did from the factory..and also increase slightly on what they did for there is still room left.

Reason we've scheduled the dyno with the 2 ftypes engines platforms..is so we can tune in the afr and spark... We're presently just working out dates of availability among client/dyno shop/us to tweak upon demand.

 

Great, thanks for the update. I've been in touch with Stuart by e-mail already, so I imagine I'll be receiving some more detailed info from you guys soon.

 

Question regarding the tune/reflash on a stock car: will the car pass emissions tests (here in NV, that means throwing no codes related to any emissions system) with the new flash in it?


How soon will you know the average gains with a reflash?


What will the cost be?

 

If the emissions check is just a OBD scan to see if the drive cycles readiness is complete and that there's no emissions Dtc's stored...then your answer is Yes, it will pass a test that I described...if there was an emissions code stored, the MIL light would come one. Just clearly Ir before the test would fail because the readiness drive cycles would be reset and not marked completed..

If there's a sniffer test to complete, that I honestly can't say 100% it will pass..in theory it should pass a sniffer test unless high flow catalysts have also been installed.

We have a vehicle le going on the dyno in a week, should have results to share soon..

Cost, please send a email/pm to Stuart..he'll be able to get further details and pricing to you :-)

 

Curious to know what the stock dyno hp & tq numbers you came up with for the R. Were they higher or lower than the Jaguar claimed 550 & 502?

 

I've got to say that from the emails I received from VelocityAP on the topic of the F-Type tune, I'm hopeful that they will do some serious research and deliver an excellent product. Of course I tend to be on the positive end of the spectrum...no matter, I'll keep trying for the sake of the community. I've lost my own money in the Vmax debacle and I'll take that as a lesson learned. This isn't the first time I've been stung, but it hurts just as bad, every time. Better than a blown motor.....I've experienced that too.

 

When stuff like this happens the good company's will come out on top and just make our cars even better

 

Dates are being scheduled. We'll know soon enough, at the moment we've yet to dyno.. Keep you posted!

 

Yeah, I tried resizing the images already.

I welcome tuner input on the observed behavior seen on the dyno plot and log snapshots above. The explanation of dyno conditions have been posted in several threads, but I'll elaborate briefly. Hot day and engine fairly heat soaked due to multiple pulls. The tuned runs and stock runs were equally challenged by conditions and were run back to back. Car was dynoed on the stock and tuned file while I logged AFR and many other PID outputs from the ECU.

I've been told that there are multiple protection files that the ECU can default to when the engine is under high levels of stress. The response to stressful conditions includes the dumping of fuel to cool cylinders, and pulling timing if necessary. This seems to be voodoo to most and I've yet to get and adequate explanation of this behavior and if prevention/avoidance of it will do real damage to the engine. I invite ANY tuner to step up and explain what's going on, assuming the data is adequate. If not, I've got more...

-C

 

Actually, it makes perfect sense. There's a reason that factory tunes usually leave significant power on the table. They are conservative on purpose. Running on the rich side in extreme conditions has saved a lot of engines and/or kept them running a lot longer.

The principles are the same as when I grew up messing around w/ carburetors, but unlike today, that was a real guessing game. Engines didn't last nearly as long as they do today, and a lot of that has to do w/ the precision of today's ECUs and programming. It's entirely sensible to program the ECU to pull timing and make the AF richer under extreme conditions.

My biggest concern about tuning in addition to being unlucky enough to have a random engine failure is whether an aftermarket tune keeps the fail-safes adequately in place.

 

+1! And that is totally dependent upon the integrity of the tuner versus the tuner's desire to make big power claims.

 

Yes, raising torque limits to hit numbers without fail safes in place is a dangerous game. I agree, which is why I am waiting for a tuner to jump in and explain how this will be done......

 

Playing with the torque limits is not the primary issue. "Desensitizing" the knock sensors and allowing excessive spark advance is the real danger.

 

There's a large amount of torque limiters, you could be banking off one..really hard to say until the file is looked at, basically to understand what they're set at vs. at what power the car maxes/collides with...That stock file though, does look like a limiter had been run into..the tuned file had this limiter removed..

Usually on a dyno, there's a wideband sensor installed and synced with the graph to align the data for us to read better..I see the arrows and notes, but did you get a printout of the there wideband? Sometimes the vehicle commands 12.5:1, actual lambda pid reads 12.7:1..but when measured with a calibrated wideband will give 12.0:1...all values used as example but sure you get the idea.


The lambda ratio: First, afr is not wrote as a ratio in the file, it's in decimal format. So afr 14.7:1 = Lambda 1, 10.78:1 = Lambda 0.73..

Looking at your data log, nothing really jumps out besides the afr commanded and actual, both doing as request..just the "why"? Along with the stock file hitting a limiter or reading high knock..see the timing at 14degrees versus you first log at 21 degrees.

To try and answer your question on lambda protection table:

Bosch uses maps for lambda for component protection..some cars can have 3, 4, 6 maps..and some can have much as 8, 10 maps..doing the same thing. each map for a particular way to not cause a part to fail..kind of like a fail safe procedure to prevent a possible issue. It won't turn on a MIL light yet, being there is no current issue, just an issue that needs to be resolved. If these maps do not correct the issue, thats when the pcm will diagnose rich/lean conditions...and go forth to diagnose the possible issue to flag a DTC.

Your datalog doesn't show stuff like EGT, Catalyst temp, atmospheric pressure(baro sensor), knock detection, and also knock counts from dyno operator

As an example of Lambda correction: Lets say your simulated catalyst temp was reaching +1,600degrees and your file has a max safe temp of 1,500degrees..your pcm will then dump fuel to cool the catalyst temps and get them back into a "safe zone". (values just used as simulation, I've not looked at the code for catalyst temps yet in MED17.8.31).

You could cool the car down, try again..and same zone is breached. It could very well be a glitch from the factory...or a design flaw of the temp naturally getting too hot because of a confined space. Jag could of set the glitch intentionally.....If this WAS your issue, which I'm not stating it is..especially since catalyst temp isn't on the log...Only the engineer would know that answer as to "why".

Sometimes we have to reverse the code and find out which map is being defaulted too, then back track right to the sensor picking up an issue...this could take minutes, hours..days..MONTHS!!

So, there's a work around..and it's one of the main reason for dyno AND street testing. If all our values look good..even in a traffic condition or rpm high and max load, just car keeps defaulting to a table we don't like..we can raise the values in that table not to dip into a too rich or too lean range.

Here's an example of a protection table(1 of them), we'll use this and pretend it was your table causing the lambda commanded:



So the left axis is RPM and to top axis is the amount of air in %. If this was your car and you had the 10.78:1 = 0.73, you would see near the 100% of air..there's you ratio range vs. RPM of 3,900 (your log commanded this around 4045rpm, 3,900 is the last value till 4,250rpm)

So being your turning 6.x psi at the time of the richening..you should be over the 100% range(that's if this was your file/map..under boost I've usually seen these values always over 100%..So an N.A car will only go to 100% air). Your file should be similar just the top axis would be different to make 10.78 commanded above 100%.

Not sure if this answers your questions..just let me know and I"ll try my best to help

 

my brain hurts.

 

Ha! Come live in my shoes for a day! I could swear when I look at the hex file..I could start to see a hot brunette woman in a red dress.. :-P