Would you explain further how to utilize a Unichip for folks with an HDFT? How does it work and what is required? What’re known benefits (real world examples with their effects) of using the Unichip on a mechanical FT in an 80 series? Very interesting opportunity.
Yeah I can try to. With Unichip things can get a little long winded so I do apologize for getting ahead of myself with it. But the possibilities of what it can do is only limited by the imagination of the guy behind the laptop.
So essentially the unichip is basically a signal modifier usually used on EFI engines. However it also has built in driver for running solenoids, stepper motors, injectors basically anything you could want to use on ANY type of engine.
As with all control units It wants to see Engine Speed (RPM). And a load axis of your choice (Throttle Position or Boost usually)
With that data being fed into the unichip you can then build 2D & 3D mapping to run what ever you choose to.
So lets say you Feed the tacho signal into the unichip and wire yourself up a 4 bar map sensor and plumb that into the manifold.
You can then have a 3D table for boost control with the unichip controlling the Mac valve/Boost solenoid. You can even do a PID Strategy with a target boost pressure table and have the unichip target a boost rather than running it in an open loop style with just a set duty cycle % at each RPM/TPS point.
A second output can be used to run the same type of solenoid leading into the boost compensator. Obviously with this method we cant increase the fueling over what it would ever be but we can certainly reduce it if we want to. So instead of reducing boost in the hope of cooling EGT's with the compensator taking the fuel back.
We could make the compensator take the fuel back while maintaining whatever boost pressure is required.
Even better than this is the fact that each table you build has 4 additional inputs that can act as individual compensation for that table.
You could have an EGT input. Coolant temp, Air Temp, turbo speed, vehicle speed literally anything you want that can be provided by a 0-5v sensor can be used.
So we could build a target boost and fuel table. Then lets say EGT starts to exceed 700deg. We can have it bleed fuel comp pressure off to bring that back to our maximum allowable of 650deg. These settings are all infinitely adjustable so we could give it a limit of 700 and target of 690 if we wanted and the unichip would just continually cycle the boost comp pressure to keep it in that window while under load.
Can do the same thing with air temp, but have it bring the boost back down if post-intercooler air temp starts to exceed 120deg Or activate a water spray for the intercooler at that point and if that doesnt drop it, then have the boost lowered.
Coolant temp gets to 100deg, back the fueling off to get that back down. Or we could even use that 100deg coolant temp to trigger an additional fan, Anything you can think of is possible.
You could setup over boost protection if a wastegate hose fails, it just kills all boost to the compensator.
That is barely scratching the surface of what you could do even on an old mechanical pump 80s Cruiser!