Apexi i-Moni... Can this work on a FD?

[RemarkLima]

The unit here:
http://www.apexi-usa.com/product_electronics_detail.asp?id=250&pageNum=1

I know it runs off ODBII, did they put this on a 94 RX7?

Or is there a similar thing for the FD without having to go to a Power FC which I was tempted by but given that the car is running really rather well it seems excessive as I\'d rather spend the money a bigger rad, ARB braces and other handling mods

Cheers,
Mark

[Tintin]

I remember I looked into this some time ago , I don\'t think it would work on my \'95 so I\'m guessing it won\'t on a \'94 , it may be possible to rewire the diagnostic socket to one that fits but to be honest if your going to mod the car your going to need a new ecu eventually

[RemarkLima]

Probably not then... A shame really as I\'m not looking for many mods engine-wise, but would like to intake temp down with WI and really I\'d like to see what the ECU is seeing rather than an aftermarket sensor IYSWIM.

As the car is running well, maybe a little rich but otherwise sweet I don\'t see the need to go and get another ECU unless I do plan to get some more done to the engine

[Tintin]

I\'m not looking for many mods engine-wise

How many times have I heard that :Laugh

What is it you want to monitor

[RemarkLima]

Heh heh, true, there may a be a few changes but I\'m looking to do a few trackdays in the car, no don\'t need power, just need to sort the handling out and get my suspension refurb\'d.

But I\'d also like to keep those intake temps down as I may as well keep the power rather than make "more" power just to maintain what a cool intake would acheive IYSWIM.

I\'m going to add a seperate oil pressue and oil temp gauge, but if there was a way to read the ECU\'s intake temp, water temp and RPM without getting a commander I\'d rather go that way ideally... Saying that, I should decat and get rid of the airpump ideally, so would need the Power FC... Ah, decision decisions!

[Tintin]

If you decat I think you need a PFC to avoid going lean , You\'ll be surprised how many extra ponies and economy you can get out of having it remapped plus you know your running a safe map for your car , like yu said previous though its a fair bit of cash , if you get a PFC from a dealer then get it mapped your getting close to a grand ( there are cheap PFC\'s on ebay if you wanna risk it )

What mods have you got on at the mo or is it all standard

If you haven\'t thought about it yet IMO the best way to cool the intake and cool the engine is with a v-mount setup , only prob is you need a vented bonnet really , they\'ve come down in price quite a bit now with a few of the uk guys selling them other think to look at with intake temp is water injection

[RemarkLima]

Cheers TinTin

That\'s the thing a grand is a lot of trackdays and a decent set of semi slicks

It\'s got a cat back exhaust and that\'s about it engine-wise, but has had something wired into the ECU and the ECU has been apart, I\'ve been told that the middle button (normally the rear windscreen wiper, but as mine is a R2 it\'s not got on) is an overboost button, which add\'s up as there\'s a wire going to a small black box above the ECU from that switch... So maybe the ECU has been made to compensate for the exhaust.

I\'ve got a mate from the racing scene who\'s an electric\'s whizz so I\'m going to use one of his WI kits (people may say it\'s risky using something unbranded but he\'s got a load of these kits out there and he does some awesome work!), everytime I\'ve shown my gf a vented bonnet she turns up her nose LOL! And I do like the stock look... I was thinking of getting an better rad and I do like the 99 spec front end (and it has more cooling which is nice) so may ultimately go for that.

I do get a buzz out of keeping up with technically faster machinery on track with less power, so really not after massive power, just something reliable and consistant.

Can you actually pass a UK MOT with a decat and a decent map? Surely if it\'s not too far from stock the mapping session wouldn\'t take as long??? You may have changed my mind again

[Tintin]

I don\'t see owt wrong with home made kit , I make my own stuff when ever I can , I was going to do my own WI kit but after looking around I found the Coolingmist kits aren\'t much more than buying the bits , what pumps does your mate use at the end of the day you don\'t normally tune for WI its just a saftey measure so if something fails its gonna be no worse than someone whose not using it

If you still have the stock air box you could just mod that , I\'ve always been told that a modded air box with a performance panel filter and a cold air feed is better than cone filters , problem is there isn\'t much room for a cold air feed

If you know a good mot station you\'ll pass the emissions test cat or no cat , been told that a pre 96 car doesn\'t need one , failing that get them to stick the probe up a nice mondeo or summat

Your best bet regarding mapping would be to have a word with your nearest tuner , make sure they know rotaries though , best to use one of the usual suspects at the top of the page and explain what you want so you can get a quote

[RemarkLima]

Not sure what pump it is, when I find out I\'ll let you know... But he\'s even made his own controller which picks up the voltage from the standard MAP sensor and has a duty on the nossle set by boost, pretty basic but more than adequate for my needs, he is very very clever!

I\'ve never liked the look of the "performance" air filters, just far too exposed IMHO... But a performance panel filter would be ideal, any plug and play out there? What mods to the air box do people recommend? It\'s a bit weird how it takes it\'s feed from the IC...

And I\'m confident of passing a MOT Just wouldn\'t want it to be really outrageous!

Thanks again for all the info

[Tintin]

If you could get some info about his WI set ups that would be great , infact could you ask him how much he\'d charge to put one together for me

I\'ve never done a modded airbox but the theroy is you cut holes on the \'in\' side of the casing and duct it with cold air feed , basiaclly just gives more air flow into the box , any of the tuners should be able to supply panel filters . The air box doesn\'t actually take its air from the IC the black plastic piece that feeds the air box just allows it to drag air from the IC inlet , problem with this is its not very direct and the is some concern it can drag hot air back through the IC

The stock setup at the front of the car isn\'t a great design , the rad sends hot air into the engine bay , the IC inlet is small and the positioning means its subjuct to heat soak , there is no direct cold air feed to the air box and little room to duct it . I\'m so much happier with my v mount set up , the rad is angled the other way so hot air exits the rad under the car , the IC still sits above the rad but it gets a direct cold air feed from the front of the car and theres loads of room to allow cold air into the filters , once I\'ve made a couple of splitters to direct the air it will be even better

[RemarkLima]

Hi Tintin,

Sorry for the late reply But no probs about the pump, I\'ll probably get it sorted after xmas but will keep you posted!

I\'d love a v-mount, but they really are expensive! But when some of the other machines are sold we\'ll see what\'s going on then