"PERFECT POWER EFI" Options

[Ray Warren]

Anybody heard of"PERFECTPOWER EFI"
Is it any good?
I was considering going with SDS but then I found this system
and I think it looks kind of intersting and the best thing about it for me would
be that the Canadian distributor for it is only 5 miles from my house and
they have a dyno.
I would realy like the KitCarlson but I am running out of time
if I want the car back on the road this spring.
I have to make a decision very soon.
What do you EFI guys think of this system?

[lapuwali]

QUOTE (airsix @ Feb 7 2005, 11:44 PM)

QUOTE (Mueller @ Feb 7 2005, 10:21 PM) big deal...you can do that already with the Megasquirt (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smile.gif) Yes, but you can't do it through the tuning interface can you? I thought you had to actually hack the firmware and reflash the chip. -Ben M.

Yes, you can do it through the tuning interface. The only time you have to "reflash" is when you're changing the program itself, not the data. Even then, it's something that can be done by just downloading stuff from a PC or laptop, as there's a bootloader. The only time you have to completely reprogram the thing is if you're changing the bootloader, which is a very rare event, or you're working with a completely blank processor. Doing THAT requires some special hardware, which can be assembled pretty cheaply (under $20), and special software (which is available free).

MS really is the ultimate in flexibility, and it has excellent support. However, the current hardware is still a tad flaky (read any of Mueller's recent problems with getting a clean tach signal) in some situations, and you really do have to do a lot yourself to get there. There's a new rev of the board coming out sometime in the spring, which should prove to be even more flexible and much less flaky (BIG improvements to the tach input circuit and heatsinking of parts that often run hot). It will have everything on board required to run fuel and ignition w/o hacking up the hardware or sacrificing some other feature for ignition (like fast idle control). The only remaining issue with the new board is that it will remain somewhat heat sensitive. The processor they're currently using is only good up to about 70dC, so hot engine bays can cause problems. It appears the 914 trunk gets this hot on a hot day, although the front of the engine bay doesn't get this hot. To solve THAT problem, they're introducing a plug-in processor replacement board which is MUCH faster and good up to 125dC. Plans for that are to have advanced things like knock sensing, advanced ignition systems, and the ability to do full sequential injection. Basically they'll bring it out of the 80s and into the 90s. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif)

Agreed on the data-logging bit, which is the main SDS weak point. However, they seem to recognize this, and they are providing SOME data-logging capability in the lastest units, but still using their hand-held programmer, which IMHO, is really holding them back. They used to be somewhat cheaper than other units out there, and that price differential seems to have vanished. Laptops are now cheap and readily available, which was not true when their unit first came out.

After all the earlier interest, I find it notable that no one has seen fit to comment on my mention of the Kit Carlson system and its price, which finally (quietly) appeared on Jake's new store. It's disappointingly expensive, doesn't seem to offer anything the others don't have, and it doesn't appear to be as flexible as some of the other units. There's still hardly any information available on it, so it's hard to say how it really compares.