Firstly, thanks to TTP engineering for sorting me out with the tuning equipment!

I have the ZT-2, Zchip, 3.5bar MAP sensor and Forge UNOS MBC. However, I have a few questions.

TTP say that the Zchip is designed to be mounted in the engine bay. It would indeed be difficult to pass the large-ish connectors through stock holes in the firewall. That's fine, but it's also difficult to pass RS232 (serial) connectors through. Am I missing something here or are people only tuning with this thing on the dyno? I was planning on road tuning. This is not a big deal - I can make a serial cable that I can pass through the firewall, but I was wondering what others are doing.

Secondly, the ZT-2 and Zchip both interface to a PC via serial. I was hoping that one device would connect directly to the other so they could combine logging data. I have not tried the ZT-2 software nor the Zchip's, so how does one log everything at the same time? I'm thinking you need to use two serial-to-USB adapters and that the Zchip software allows you to log simultaneously from the ZT-2. Is this true?

Passing the serial through the drivers window is the easiest way for this temporary connection. When you are done, the cover goes back on the ZChip.

USB to serial adapters recommended from Sewell and Dynex.

Both ZChip ZTuner and Zeitronix ZT2 can be used simultaneously.

Thanks for the reply.

I had my O2 bung welded on this morning and the sensor has been mounted. I realised that since the ECU is now in the engine compartment, I'll have to run long wires for the ZT-2 if I want to fit it in the passenger compartment. The other option is to leave it in the engine bay only when tuning and disconnect it when not in use, since it's not made for that environment.

Do not place the Zt-2 in the engine bay. You only need 2 wires to go to the ECU, TPS and RPM. Power and ground can be access inside the car cabin.
The Zchip is potted and can be located in the engine bay away from heat sources.

Thanks for the advice.

Hopefully there are no issues with noise, since the two wires to the ECU would introduce long wire lengths into the system. This was my primary reason for preferring to place in the engine bay, but since it is not designed for that environment, I'll avoid.

The Zt-2 has on board RPM signal conditioning circuit and it's designed to be immune to noise. Long wires are not a problem.

Congrats on your Zt-2. A quality stout piece of tuning hardware

Any further questions dont hesitate to call us.

Questions for Zeitronix.

I installed the unit today per instructions using shielded cable from the ECU to the cabin. The unit and software are both excellent and very well made - highly recommended.

After making a couple of logs, I noticed a couple of things.

1. Is it possible to get a better time value in the log? I am looking for milliseconds or better. The current format is HH:MM:SS with precision only to the second, and the unit will log approx 57 sets of values per second, but since it varies, I find this difficult to interpret using my own road dyno software.

2. The RPM values are somewhat unstable. I.e. when doing a 3rd/4th gear pull, they will not always increase - sometimes the RPMs in the log drop as much as 50rpms before going back up. As a comparison, logging directly from the ECU with EvoScan on my old VIII produced very stable RPM readings. I can try logging RPMs on another device as a comparison. BTW, I am using pin 4 on the ECU - the ignition power transistor for cylinder 1. BTW, I have a good ground sourced from within the cabin.

I suspect it might be better to get an actual tach signal, but AFAIK this is not available from the ECU.

3. Are the protocol specs for the ZT-2 available? I am looking at producing a Mac/Linux version of the software. I wouldn't mind discussing this privately if you'd prefer.

Most loggers offer only 2-3 samples per second at the same time averaging samples. With the Zt-2 70+ samples per second you notice smallest variations. One second is stretched quite a bit when you log using our ZDL logging software allowing you to see it all for good and for bad.
A coil driver is a good RPM signal source for the Zt-2.
Yes, serial stream spec is available. Contac us directly.

Thanks for the info - I'll contact you directly for serial specs. I really do appreciate the help!

In the meantime, I figured out the Zeitronix Data Logger file format and extracted the raw data for use in my road dyno program. The file does contain a millisecond timer, which is what I needed to correctly smooth the data for use in my program.

Here's my stock MR (well, for this pull I installed a WORKS air filter):



This is using the raw Zeitronix log data (which is great, btw, it contains everything I need) and it was converted into a chart using my own software which takes into account air density, drag coefficient of the vehicle, frontal area, wheel size, gear ratios and mass (including fuel & passenger).

This was a 3rd gear pull. Peak hp is 242 at 5619rpm and peak tq is 263 at 4227rpm. I am still working on the smoothing function, so the results are probably accurate within about 10% currently. Also, I didn't take the rpms very high for this run since I ran out of track. I suspect the hp may really peak a bit higher.

So what is the best opion for obtaining an RPM signal? Is it coil, injectors or something else?
What is the pin number for coil driver? Is this the one that is unstable?

Any one of the ignition coil drivers.

http://roadraceengineering.com/evox/...-ecuwiring.htm

Pin 4 - no. 1 ignition coil.

It's not unstable, the Zeitronix samples at a rate of 60-70 per second so it is just showing variances in the car's RPM. EvoScan doesn't log that fast so that's why RPM values on my VIII always increased. After I obtained the millisecond timer from the raw log, all was well.

Like Han Solo said about the Zt-2. "It's fast enough for you... old man"