hydra nemesis

[Gamesy]

I've heard people on here swear by the HN ecu system but seems like everyone else I talked to...even the tuner for my obsti says they are garbage.

anyone care to way in?

[shotgunslade]

Garbage is a very relative and non-descriptive term. i will admit that after the initial dyno tune of my car after the YT rebuild, it had serious driveability issues, stalling, starting difficulty, hestitation prior to full warm-up, etc. However, after YT reprogammed the fuel and timing maps for cold and low rpm operation, the engine has performed very well. I think that the Hydra provides such complete control over engine operation that a very skilled tuner is requried. The default fuel air and timing maps may be inappropriate for many applications. The performance we achieved is undeniable, 246 WHP and over 200 lbs/ft of torque at the wheels between 3000 and 6200 rpm from a 3.3 ltr, NA streetable engine can't be sneezed at.

Gas mileage isn't wonderful, however.

[LetItSnow]

Couldn't find anyone in a three state raduis who'd tune it. Mike at Innovative (2-2.5 hours away) said he'd hook me up with dyno time, but he didn't have any interest in touching it.

This may weigh into your decision!

[shotgunslade]

These guys are listed on the the Hydra website, but some posts on another forum suggest they dont have an AWD dyno.

Planet Motorsport
Location: 5725 Watson Road North, Guelph, Ontario N1H 6J2
Email: iain@planetmotorsport.com
Tel: 519-826-0311
Contact: Iain Fraser

This shop did my work. The certainly got the power out of it, but left me with an engine that would hardly run except at full throttle.

Precision Tuning
Location: 1206 RT88/Ocean Ave., Lakewood, NJ 08701
Website: www.precisiontuning.com
Email: info@precisiontuning.com
Tel: 732-942-0020
Contact: Rich Ellis

There there is Vinny Ten, the import drag racing god, builder of the world's first 6 second 1/4 mile Nissan and the worlds fastest Toyota Supra:

Vinny Ten Racing (Nissan 350Z and G35 exclusive)
Location: 110 Field Street, West Babylon, NY 11704
Website: www.vinnytenracing.com
Email: vinny@vinnytenracing.com
Tel: 631-414-7590
Contact: Vinny Ten

the Hydra must be OK for his purposes.

[SilverSpear]

Wow... never knew it was that difficult to deal with. I was honestly planning to install one on my car, but now I am starting to doubt it.

Why should gas mileage be bad? Isn't a standalone supposed to deal efficiently with all variables of the engine?

[shotgunslade]

Wow... never knew it was that difficult to deal with. I was honestly planning to install one on my car, but now I am starting to doubt it.

Not simple for an SVX because there is really no baseline fuel/air/timing map for the Hydra for this engine. There are out of the box kits for STI's, 350Z's, etc. These will need dyno tuning to extract the best out of the engine, but the baseline maps for start, idle, cold running, etc are probably pretty good. Those don't exist for the EG33, just some generic maps, that may not yield the kind of driveability characteristics you would like to see. YT sat there with his laptop, with the wideband O2 sensor plugged in, modifying fuel air and timing maps, then checking how they affected starting, idle, etc. Trial and error business by someone who knows what he is doing.

Why should gas mileage be bad? Isn't a standalone supposed to deal efficiently with all variables of the engine?

You don't get somethin for nuttin. I'm making 40% more horsepower, makes sense I would be using 40% more gas. Also, the engine runs richer to improve driveability with the big cam overlap and very ligh lift.

[icingdeath88]

Tuning for low rpm, startup, and regular driveability is not so easy, as I'm finding out with the Megasquirt programming. Maybe more difficult than tuning just for max power. The hydra evades the wiring difficulty, though, which is a good thing.

My advice would be to make sure that you have someone close by who can tune it for you before you buy one. And collect as many maps as you can to start with.

[RallyBob]

Originally Posted by icingdeath88

Tuning for low rpm, startup, and regular driveability is not so easy, as I'm finding out with the Megasquirt programming. Maybe more difficult than tuning just for max power.

Such a true statement. I got to see a master Motec tuner work his magic on a Porsche 911 race car. Spent 20 minutes on the dyno and got his max power number. Spent the next 8 hours dialing in the driveability and torque curves. Doesn't matter what the ECU is, time is time.

[icingdeath88]

Originally Posted by RallyBob

Such a true statement. I got to see a master Motec tuner work his magic on a Porsche 911 race car. Spent 20 minutes on the dyno and got his max power number. Spent the next 8 hours dialing in the driveability and torque curves. Doesn't matter what the ECU is, time is time.

It is pretty daunting, and I haven't even gotten to that part yet with the megasquirt. Still trying to get the wiring and basic settings just right so I can get some actual tuning done. I really hope it pays off...

[smc]

The Hydra system is by no means garbage. Its more like, the fear of the unknown by tuners. If you are used to a certain system, ie setting up, tuning, wiring, fuel maps etc. They clearly anything else is garbage in your eyes. The hydra system is Highly tunable. Granted, ANY fuel injection system takes a steep learning curve to get correct. Keep in mind that some people train and configure ecu's for YEARS before they get One system down pat. If you have never used Hydra before, it can be overwhelming.
In the end, its all just fuel maps and o2 sensor configurations. It takes time, effort, testing and more testing to get things just right. Its not like a carburetor or throttle body injection. Its an exact amount of metered fuel per cylinder, exact spark timing all of which have to change depending on engine load, engine temperature, altitude and ambient air temperature. Not for faint of heart.