Trail Rider Magazine

32 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com years in development, the hardware was refi ned and miniaturized un l it was of similar dimensions as the original ECU, while retaining all the features of the fi rst prototype. In essence, it's a computer with a highly versa le and powerful CDI module, hence the name PowerCDI. The spark it produces is stronger than the original CDI. During the years that followed, every possible idea was tried, even those that wouldn't have brought op mal results. Thanks to this process, the inventor has gained experimental knowledge in the deepest aspects of combus on, je ng, and engine control. Although the no-compromises and powerful hardware device (a 64-bit computer into a CDI) was born for the maker's personal use, his closest friends (many of whom were enduro riders as well) were following the progress and soon, they too, became users of the system. This benefi ed the project because it increased cumula ve tes ng hours, number of supported bikes (4 strokes were fi nally added), ideas to test, and every kind of requests to the inventor that boosted the need for development and forced it into a full- me ac vity. The next step was a natural shi into a commercial product, retaining 100 percent of the original hardware and so ware design, features, and components' quality and sacrifi cing nothing. Unfortunately, this refl ects on the selling price, but the product is aimed at off ering the best a CDI/ECU could off er, now and in the future (with free upgrades in fi rmware and func ons), so it's a sophis cated and expensive (but not much more than other ECUs) hardware. PowerCDI features many unique func ons. It off ers a USB cable- interface (and a Bluetooth module in the making) and so ware as standard. With it, every user can modify or even make from scratch his/her maps, upgrade the fi rmware and record telemetry. The control unit itself helps in development of the maps because it features a unique dynamometer func on that exploits the same physical principles behind iner a dynamometers. Instead of accelera ng a roller, the rider accelerates the bike on a straight, fl at-paved road while recording telemetry. As full engine data is recorded on every engine revolu on, with nanoseconds precision in measuring the me elapsed between each and every engine revolu on, the so ware extrapolates how much torque the engine produces during that engine revolu on, since the increase in RPM, revolu on a er revolu on, is directly propor onal to the torque (and thus accelera on) in that engine revolu on. Simply speaking, you make an accelera on test in third or fourth gear while recording telemetry and the so ware extracts a torque and power curve from it. Now, to get actual TQ (and HP) you'll need to input data like total mass (weight), total transmission ra o, exact rear wheel circumference, aerodynamic losses, air density, etc. But this is usually unnecessary because what you need to know is how much has been gained or lost and where (at which RPM's) from an engine modifi ca on, be it a change in the engine map, or a diff erent je ng, or powervalve se ng, or exhaust pipe. So, by making a "dyno" run, then applying the engine modifi ca on you want to test, and making another "dyno" run, you can get two dyno graphs that once overlaid will immediately tell you if you managed to linearize the delivery or increase the torque down low or whatever was your goal. This is a rela ve comparison and doesn't need to input any data. So, it's simple to use and an invaluable tool, especially if you don't own a dyno yourself. The precision is comparable and it is repeatable, as long as you're serious in your selec on of a proper, fl at and straight-paved road without manholes that would unavoidably refl ect as li le bumps on the dyno graphs. If you own a real dyno, you'll probably use that, but not everybody owns one so this innova ve func on can prove invaluable if you're a serious tuner or if you'd like to become one. Moreover, it allows you to test accelera on (full thro le or otherwise) under real condi ons; thus it's possibly even be er than doing it on a roller with an iner a that maybe was chosen to test a car instead. Not everybody wants to make their own maps, of course, and PowerCDI comes with a lot of

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