Race Dynamics : The tech review

[mclaren1885]

Looks like someone did beat me to posting a thread on this wonderfully architectured piece of electronic gizmo. Karthik, congrats on the wonderful job and wish you many more satisfied customers.

A complete thumbs up for this product from my end. Will pen down my review soon.

[heavy_foot]

One question Psycho..Slightly O.T maybe.. How does the other parts on the car hold up with such amount of torque and wheelspinning? like the drive shafts for instance.

[ram_hyundai]

Psycho,good review buddie.As heavy foot has put in what is the after effects.It was wonderfully written and hope a long termer is in the queue.
ram

[IronWolf]

Originally Posted by Psycho

Now how do you review an ecu that sits behind the dash and can hardly be seen.
Even better how do you review a piece of hardware that depends on the tuners skill to make it perform to the best?

......

Added an upgraded turbo went to Chennai and lost to Karthik's NA car due to 2 key reasons:
1) Excessive wheelspins at 12 PSI
2) Insane torque steer
3) Missed a gear

Funny thing is just this morning I was talking with blueraven and we were speaking about the chennai drag which you mentioned.. I was just asking him how come your TC got to see the rear of Karthiks NA car with just a ECU and no air filter... well your thread has cleared quite a bit up for me and others for sure.

Build 3) Forged setup with upgraded turbo

Almost wheelspun all the way to the finish line this speedrun and still managed to better my last years timing at 18 PSI.

Dont worry I wont ask you for a Test drive, however will be coming to SAG shortly, if I see you there, I humbly ask thee to let me ride shotgun on a nice blast down banaswadi road / ring road.

Also are you getting some good drag spec tires for the next speed run? after reading this I am sure thats exactly what you need next.. not even a better clutch.

Now here comes why:

Karthik upgraded the map sensor to 1.5 bars due to my incessent ranting on wanting more and we took out the car on my base map to about 21 PSi.
Then I brought it down to 18 PSi with my boost controller and it held all the way to the redline (8K RPM)

I dont believe it but I did understood most of that! atleast I think I did.

Hmm it is pretty close to any worldwide ECU out there.

We have since used the ECU in some more cars and have come back with very satisfying results with the installs and have never had a chance to find an error on the installs.

Would however love to have closed loop operations to be made available for turbo cars with target afr's and a wide band as a permanent option on each car and with the newer option of the UI, datalogging, launch control and valet mode it just keeps getting better.

So you guys at Race Dynamics listen :

"You guys are headed in the right direction and keep the good work going"

I am sure I am not the only one to voice this opinion but hundreds others out there using your ecu's.

Karthik, am saving up to pick up one of your RD ECUs.
I wish it was a lil cheaper? How about a (extra) good deal for Team-Bhp boys?

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Wonderful review, psycho. Pardon my ignorance, but are you still having the turbo or is it just the ECU swap now ?

Heheh - you're kidding right?

[nitroxx]

brilliant review...My only question being, do we now have both options with Kartik? As in standalone and piggy>?

[nitrous]

Originally Posted by kiran

Psycho / RDKarthik, do you guys have anything for the Palio 1.6? I would be interested if the factory wiring harness can be left untouched?

Get a matching harness for the factory ECU and the match it to the RD.

[ananthkamath]

Nice review. Psycho, how the hell did you manage to tune at that power level without using atleast a lambda sensor? Without blowing something up?

I am unable to tune even my idle without feedback for godsakes. And I have tuned carbs by ear for some time now. Data, please!

EDIT: some more questions for you if you dont mind: which model of the 601 are you using? and how about a comparison with the greddy emanage since you've used both of them? Only trying to start a healthy technical discussion here....

[Psycho]

Originally Posted by ananthkamath

how the hell did you manage to tune at that power level without using atleast a lambda sensor? Without blowing something up?

heh heh heh well havent used a wideband or a dyno as yet as i was all out to prove that it could be done, my wideband kit is at home lying unused. It is as easy as tuning carbs excepting you start richer. Maybe I am lucky too and yes you can get better gains with the right tools.

[vikram_d]

First of all thanks Psycho for writing this review. I had to write a review too but was just not able to do it for lack of time.

I have had ECU for quite some time now and it is an absolutely amazing piece of electronics. I used this ECU during the Coimbatore track day (have had it since before that but the tuning was not complete) and it made a world of difference in an NA car. A small example - on the coimbatore track with the stock ECU I was exiting the last corner on to the main straight at about 70 - 75kmph and hitting the brakes at about 110 - 120kmph into the bus stop series of curves. But with the Race Dynamics ECU I was exiting the last corner at 85 - 90 kmph and hitting the brakes at 130 - 140kmph. This amount of difference on a completely stock car speaks volumes about how good it is. And this difference in performance on an extremely hot day and with no altitude corrections in place.

And to top it all the after sales support (have had 4 upgrades all free of cost except the turbo upgrade) from Karthik has been absolutely amazing. Have not come across a more soft spoken and honest person. Well done Karthik keep it up.

[viper]

Hey Keshav,

Excellent review. Was going to put one up myself in a few weeks once it has been installed perfectly and tuned correctly(been having wiring issues).

No too much of a writer so will just pen down a few pros & cons as experienced by me in Mumbai.

Pros -
1> Full tuning flexibility
2> Very Easy to use
3> Performs really well if set up correctly
4> Value for Money

Cons -
1> OE Wiring has to be cut(snap on harness though expensive to make would help). Assuming I need one custom built what would it cost. If its reasonable would not mind spending as it simplifies life.

2> Installation & Tuning Support outside Banglore. - This needs to be an area that needs to be taken care of(RD you know what I am talking about).

3> Installer/Dealer has to make sure the product is optimally tuned for maximum gains.

4> Cant really think of anything else.



All in all great product.

Viper

[narayan]

Originally Posted by vikram_d

First of all thanks Psycho for writing this review. I had to write a review too but was just not able to do it for lack of time.

I have had ECU for quite some time now and it is an absolutely amazing piece of electronics. I used this ECU during the Coimbatore track day (have had it since before that but the tuning was not complete) and it made a world of difference in an NA car. A small example - on the coimbatore track with the stock ECU I was exiting the last corner on to the main straight at about 70 - 75kmph and hitting the brakes at about 110 - 120kmph into the bus stop series of curves. But with the Race Dynamics ECU I was exiting the last corner at 85 - 90 kmph and hitting the brakes at 130 - 140kmph. This amount of difference on a completely stock car speaks volumes about how good it is. And this difference in performance on an extremely hot day and with no altitude corrections in place.

And to top it all the after sales support (have had 4 upgrades all free of cost except the turbo upgrade) from Karthik has been absolutely amazing. Have not come across a more soft spoken and honest person. Well done Karthik keep it up.

after reading all posts - NA means ( a not modified car ?? )..

and Vikram - u just put this ECU in ur stock car and experienced the performance difference ? thats truly amazing and something very new to hear on - always thought u need to put "proper" modifications to the powertrain for these kind of improvements...

[vikram_d]

NA = Naturally Aspirated.

The performance difference was there because the stock ECU is tuned for maximum mileage where as the RD-ECU is tuned for maximum power. The point that I am trying to convey is that even on a completely stock car the difference was amazing. Imagine what it can do on a modded car.

[narayan]

so it all boils down to tinkering with the electronics to improve the performance of the car within the limitations of the mechanicals

so technically the RD ECU can also be tuned for mileage and in the same vein, can one tinker with the stock ECU for better performance ? or is the STOCK ECU is kind of covered by "firewalls" to prevent any tinkering ?

[Rehaan]

Great review psycho, and good to see someone like you playing around with this!!

RDK, can we get some screenshots of what the software interface looks like etc etc ?

Originally Posted by narayan

after reading all posts - NA means ( a not modified car ?? )..

N/A = Naturally Aspirated means the car "breathes" naturally, there is not turbocharger or supercharger which is forced induction (FI).

cya
R

[vikram_d]

Originally Posted by narayan

so it all boils down to tinkering with the electronics to improve the performance of the car within the limitations of the mechanicals

so technically the RD ECU can also be tuned for mileage and in the same vein, can one tinker with the stock ECU for better performance ? or is the STOCK ECU is kind of covered by "firewalls" to prevent any tinkering ?

Exactly. Most of the new generation stock ECU's today cannot be chipped or re-flashed. Hence the need for a new standalone.