Ducati 916 tuning intro
Hello my 2-wheeled friends,
a Ducati in the shed, cool! But could that Duc be upgraded to run smoother / faster / better (without sponsoring the local shop too much)? I’m hoping this quest will prove to be useful to myself and others that share my interest, now and in the future!
I’m planning the following steps:
Step 1, research:
- what hardware can i find to read / write eproms?
ebay? webshops? forums? reviews? - what software can i find to read / write eproms?
free? buy? list of different types? the best one is? Why? - what hardware & software do i need to monitor the Duc’s performance gains and possible screwups?
innovate LC1 wideband lambda just like the Saab? Do i need to beware of high EGT’s? Can i measure (nearing) knock? knocksensor?
Step 2: tuning (and a little background info for you to read):
Software tuning means optimizing parameters to get the result the user wants. This could be economics, power, torque, balance or a combination of some of these wants. The principle is relatively simple:
- Optimizing ignition advance.
The “big bang” of the combustion in the cylinder should take place just after the piston was at the top of the cylinder (TDC / top dead center). The mixture of air / fuel should be ignited before that time to achieve this result, this is measured in degrees before TDC. Modern injection engines have a sensor that measures where the camshaft is in its rotation as to determine the correct ignition point for each cylinder. To much ignition advance is bad as it causes the “big bang” to occur before TDC trying to force the piston the wrong way down, we call this knock. This can be caused due to to poor fuel quality (low knock resistance), heat or software error. - Fuel optimalisation.
The result of a combustion can be measured with a lambda probe. A lot of engines are kept at lambda 1 (stioch 14,7 on petrol) on low loads and idle. When a engine is expected to produce power it will heat up due to the combustions in the cylinder, when this heat reaches melting point of the cylinder wall or piston it will cause damage, that is why we want to inject more fuel then is necessary for a perfect combustion in the cylinder at high loads, to cool down the cylinder wall and piston. In my car i try to achieve lambda 0,8 (stoich 12,5) at full load. This is a turbo powered engine, i do not know if my Duc will need the same amount of fuel to keep her happy.
Adding fuel at the wrong time or adding to much / little fuel can cause missfires. missfires is when there should have been a combustion but it did not happen. Missfires are also bad, un-ignited fuel enters the exhaust and can burn in the exhaust where we don’t want anything burning. - Finding the hidden features.
Sometimes there are software developers features in the software, can we find them and turn them on?
In this project my one and only true friend will be Google.
I would love to get feedback / additions / help / links or just find online Nerds like me interested in tuning their Ducati and taking on this project together.
