Building an M42

[I8UR911]

Need help tuning..... The Dbilas Alpha N control box doesn't have a USB port to plug in a laptop to. How are you supposed to tune this thing?

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[wazzu70]

Does it have any connection like an RS232/serial?

I didn't think the unit was able to be tuned. I thought it was a preprogrammed thing and thats it.

[I8UR911]

The car started!











........and then I saw 4+ qts of oil on the floor
:-(

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[mabeer]

I hope you just forgot the drain plug. I did that with 9 quarts on the range rover once. What was the problem? Hopefully an easy fix.

[I8UR911]

Didn't even notice that the machine shop didn't put one of the oil gallery plugs back in the head..... :-(

Got that taken care of and refilled with oil. Car fired up and backfired like crazy. Had 2 coils flip flopped....duh.

Just need to finish exhaust and do some fine tuning. Will post pics once the exhaust is finished..... kind of loud now.

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[decay]

Need help tuning..... The Dbilas Alpha N control box doesn't have a USB port to plug in a laptop to. How are you supposed to tune this thing?

you don't, it's static.

i suppose you could get an Ostrich.

couldn't get mine to run right so i went back to the AFM.

[I8UR911]

you don't, it's static.

i suppose you could get an Ostrich.

couldn't get mine to run right so i went back to the AFM.

What was the issue that you were having with the Alpha N?

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[wazzu70]

The Dbilas controller is not an Alpha-N box. Alpha-N is a tuning strategy based on the throttle position to indicate load. The Dbilas box is a speed density strategy which uses airflow through the AFM to determine load.

Decay was saying the Dbilas equipment wirked fine, but he had trouble getting the Ostrich working (I assume as an Alpha-N strategy).

I would never try to use the stock ECU with an Alpha-N strategy as the base code is not set up to work that way and you have to be creative to get it to "work". IMO cutting that many corners just isn't going to work correctly and its not worth going that route.

If you truly want an Alpha-N setup you will need to get a standalone as it has the proper control algorithms to work that way. You will have much more accurate control and no guess work.

[decay]

i'm sorry, i wasn't clear.

i've never tried ostrich- what i was referring to not working was dbilas' alpha-n box with motronic 1.3. as nick says, it's a poorly-advised strategy, but trying things is how you learn lessons... it "worked", but i was not happy with the drivability.

if i weren't in california, i'd have gone standalone long ago.

[wazzu70]

Ok, I got what Decay said all messed up.

The dbilas management is supposed to use the AFM still correct? Don't think I have seen any pictures without the AFM installed.

[decay]

the "alpha-N" box being discussed here is intended to be a replacement for the AFM.

what it does, basically, is take in signal from the TPS and a couple other inputs and uses them to generate the resistance value that it thinks the AFM "should" be putting out.

i haven't seen anyone else make it work in practice either.

[bmwman91]

Sounds like an old product called AFMLink (I don't think that it's been available for a LONG time). You would put it on to the stock sensor setup and it would "learn" the relationship between the AFM, TPS and RPM. Eventually you could remove the AFM and it would emulate the AFM's output signal to the ECU, behaving sort of like Alpha-N, excep tthe ECU still thought that it was reading an AFM.

[wazzu70]

Interesting, sounds like a really bad idea :)

Alpha-N itself when tuned on an algorithm meant for TPS based load maps is not exactly known for drivability. Its intended for race cats that spend virtually no time in the lower RPM range.

A friend of mine has an E46M3 with a CSL airbox and a tune to make it act like an Alpha-N setup. Seems to work fine, although that ECU is much smarter and utilizes many more inputs.

[I8UR911]

Thanks for all the input guys. Sounds like this Dbilas unit was a waste of money. Would getting the Ostrich system help?

Is anyone familiar with the AEM ems-4? I think this might end up being the solution if I can't get the Dbilas unit to run properly.

Thanks again. More pics and video to come!

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[decay]

i was suggesting the ostrich only if you really loved that dbilas alpha-n and wanted to keep it. advantages would be: you don't have to rewire anything. disadvantages: as discussed, it's using TPS and other inputs to make a best guess at how much fuel the engine wants.

i can't get away with running a standalone here in cali; you have that option, and in your position, that's the avenue i'd pursue.

i'll leave the discussion of "which standalone" to those more experienced. :)