EFI MODs

I am reading the December 2013 Motorcycle Consumer News and saw the article on EFI Mods. It talks about Booster Plug www.boosterplug.com and Accelerator Module by Solid Soultions www.sol2.be. Has anyone used either of them? They sound interesting.

They are suppose to smooth out the lean fuel mixture issues and reportedly increase mileage.

I ride a 2013 R1200RT Anniversary Edition

I have Booster plugs installed on both my ?05 1200GS and a ?10 F650Twin. In both cases it cleaned up the low end and, to some extent, the midrange. Saw a small improvement in gas mileage on the big GS, not discernible on the 650 twin. Throttle response is improved, especially off idle. On the 650 twin I was able to go back to the stock counter sprocket (had mounted one tooth smaller to improve low speed drivability), it improved the low end that much. It did not completely eliminate the surge on the big GS, but it?s better. Only drawback is the effects drop as the temp rises so once it gets above the 80?s you don?t notice the mid range improvements that much.
But, the off idle, low speed, drivability improvements were worth the cost.
Installation was less than 15 minutes total on each. I mounted the temp probe on the end of the air intake tube in both cases. Improvement was immediate.

A few thoughts on the Booster Plug, and Accelerator Module..

The effect of both is to richen the mixture by fooling the intake air temperature sensor when the engine is "out of loop" (ie - not controlled by the O2 sensor feedback to the ECM.)

You can experience much the same effect by simply starting and riding your bike in mid 40's temperatures. Mine feels particularly nice under acceleration at temps under 50F.

My question to both manufacturers would be - how is the device taken out of circuit when the actual air temperature IS low - such as the 40F temps I was riding in. I don't think we want the ECU to think it's 20F out when it actually isn't. While the engine controller does rather quickly on the R12 bikes switch back to closed loop mode - it would seem you'd experience a loss of fuel mileage and an excessively rich mixture at lower temperatures if the actual intake temperature isn't taken into account.

It's possible the thermistor in the booster plug (the temperature probe) DOES do this compensation. Dunno. Anyone know?

Sans temperature compensation - all you're doing is adding an in-line resistance to the NTC sensor circuit to the ECU telling it that the sensor is seeing colder temperatures. A clever person could do this themselves for about $1 for a resistor and some splicing components.

One thing the MCN article completely ignored when declaring them "equal" in performance is the effect that different temperatures might have on the two devices. That makes me question the article in it's entirety. It would be a valuable article if it had results under different temperatures, perhaps accompanied by dyno plots combined with mixture plots (something many DynoJet dyno's are capable of doing.) As it is now - it seems anecdotal to me, not really a factual article.

Temp compensate

My question to both manufacturers would be - how is the device taken out of circuit when the actual air temperature IS low - such as the 40F temps I was riding in. I don't think we want the ECU to think it's 20F out when it actually isn't. While the engine controller does rather quickly on the R12 bikes switch back to closed loop mode - it would seem you'd experience a loss of fuel mileage and an excessively rich mixture at lower temperatures if the actual intake temperature isn't taken into account.

It's possible the thermistor in the booster plug (the temperature probe) DOES do this compensation. Dunno. Anyone know?

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The Booster Plug site explains how they calculate the temperature compensation here http://www.boosterplug.com/shop/cms-24.html .

In a (non technical) nutshell the BP does not just always tell the computer it's 20 degrees cooler. If it did you are correct, it would run too rich at cooler temps. It adjusts the temp signal it sends to the ECU based on the outside temp.

Texpaul said:

The Booster Plug site explains how they calculate the temperature compensation here http://www.boosterplug.com/shop/cms-24.html .

In a (non technical) nutshell the BP does not just always tell the computer it's 20 degrees cooler. If it did you are correct, it would run too rich at cooler temps. It adjusts the temp signal it sends to the ECU based on the outside temp.

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My exposure with Booster Plug was part of the test group on Triumph Tiger modules. There is the negative slope thermistor that measures the temp in the air box which replaces the stock IAT sensor. There is another sensor that is put somewhere in the air stream. That one provides an ambient air temp reference source. That is the answer on what does it do when it is cold. Jens who makes the Booster Plug chooses the right thermistor for the range of operation. He is really sharp and does a lot of testing.

My experience was it didn't work that well for me.

Paul - it appears Booster Plug's Jens did a good job with the design... and it does compensate for temperature. The other device? To me it sounds as if it might help at an ideal 20C (69F or so) - but warmer or colder - it's going to detract from the performance. Too bad MCN didn't recognize that.

Last year I made a very long study of fueling on BMW motorcycles, first my R1150; and then a friend's R1200 GSA Camhead near the 2/3 point in the thread. Here: http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?56990-2004-R1150RT-Wideband-O2-Sensors

I can say with certainty because I've recorded it with my GS-911 that the effect of the BoosterPlug is such that the Motronic and BMSK always see a -20C temperature shift. I can also report that the BMSK is a very agile ECU and it is able to negate the effect of the 20C "error" the longer you ride.

You can however install dual LC-2s (or LC-1s if you can still find them) or the AF-XIED for BMW and the BMSK will add a programmable amount of fuel that the BMSK will not negate. Either of these approaches leave they full functioning of the BMSK intact. I know of a few dozen BMSK bikes (r1200 and f800) that have installed these, including the owner or BoosterPlug (who runs his device and an LC-1 that I helped him install) and Mike at the Beemerboneyard who has it on a couple bikes now including his R1200R.

The AF-XIED for BMW was introduced this past summer, is made by Nightrider (produced a Harley version for a several years) and also sold at the Beemerboneyard.
RB

I can say with certainty because I've recorded it with my GS-911 that the effect of the BoosterPlug is such that the Motronic and BMSK always see a -20C temperature shift. I can also report that the BMSK is a very agile ECU and it is able to negate the effect of the 20C "error" the longer you ride.

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Could you clarify what you mean by "the longer you ride"? Do you mean at one sitting or over an extended period of time?

Texpaul said:

Could you clarify what you mean by "the longer you ride"? Do you mean at one sitting or over an extended period of time?

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A guy I know well in Georgia runs a 2010 R1200GSA. After I completed the LC-1 installation on my R1150RT, I persuaded him to add dual LC-1s. He also has a GS-911 and sent me about 50 hours or riding data.

The BMSK has something called Lambda Correction Factors (LCFs). They change very quickly and can be thought of as short term trims. The longer term trims move more slowly and depend on your riding style. As you ride steadily in various gears and RPMs, the BMSK uses the LCFs to create longer term trims so that the short term trims are smaller. These longer term trims get used more globally and outside the cruising range. The long term trims get created and modified slowly over minutes, hours and days. Mike F. of Beemerboneyard took a long tour with his R1200R this summer after adding AF-XIEDs and stayed in contact with me while he toured. He felt improvemts up to 1500 miles on his modified bike--longer than I expected.

So the longer term corrections occur in one sitting and over an extended period.
RB

Roger,

Please correct me if I am getting this wrong. You are saying that eventually the BMSK self corrects for any attempt a unit such at the BP makes to modify the mixture.

Texpaul said:

Roger,

Please correct me if I am getting this wrong. You are saying that eventually the BMSK self corrects for any attempt a unit such at the BP makes to modify the mixture.

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Hi Paul,
I'm sure Roger will respond in more detail than I can but my layman's understanding is that the O2 sensor signal is the final arbiter of the air fuel mixture and the BMSK will use data from the O2 signal to "adapt" out any attempt to change air/fuel ratio by fooling the air temp sensor. The AF-XiED uses a micro processor to create and provide the BMSK with the correct O2 sensor signal to insure the chosen AF ratio is maintained based on the setting you choose on the unit. All other functions of the BMSK are unaltered and the result is a 4-8% richer mixture based on your chosen setting. This is eventually carried over to closed loop fueling as well through the process Roger has described above. Hope this helps a little.
Mike

Texpaul said:

Roger,

Please correct me if I am getting this wrong. You are saying that eventually the BMSK self corrects for any attempt a unit such at the BP makes to modify the mixture.

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That's exactly what is happening, and that's what you can the designers would want. Here's a partial list of things that might not be precisely in spec: fuel composition +/- ethanol, fuel pressure, fuel injector flow rate, air filter cleanliness, carbon build up on the valves, pistion or CH, TPS reading, air temp reading, oil temp reading, battery voltage reading, injector dead-time vs battery voltage, on-board barometor, actual air humidity, etc. All those things can change, be inaccurate or have aged.

As a result of those possible variances, and give the high accuracy of the stock O2 sensor (by far the most accurate) and the position it has of measuring the actual result of combustion, the BMSK and Motronic both keep internal records of how much fuel was actually needed to hit an AFR of 14.7:1. Then it analyzes that deviations and comes up with correction factors that Bosch calls Adaptation Values--invented in the late 1970s.

As for any sensor, if it gives a signal that leads to more or less fuel than ideal, the BMSK learns that and saves up those records which it uses as corrections.

The Boosterplug is a well made product by a guy who knows what he's doing. It's pretty accurate too. It has an interesting application together with an AF-XIED or LC-1 (Jens at BoosterPlug runs both BP and LC-1). In tandem, the BP says the air is colder use more fuel and the AF-XIED when set rich says to the BMSK, that's the right amount--so it speeds the Adaptation Process. But if you give it time, the AF-XIED or LC-1 will do the job on its own.

The BMSK is so clever that if you disconnect one O2 sensor, it will use the estimates from the connected cylinder and apply them to the other side. I have the data, watching the mixture and seeing it happen. If you disconnect both, it still tries to keep the Cat working by varying the fueling on its own but that leads to a messy, wide fueling spread, which is why the PC V isn't a great pair with the BMSK. The PC V instructions say to get rid of both O2s and the BMSK says, okay then deal with this fueling spread. Not a good combo.
RB

Hi Roger, I've read all the threads on the AF-XIED and plan to buy one early next year for my '12 R1200 GSA. I have one question that I have not seen answered. How does the AF-XIED work at high altitudes? I noticed last year while riding Independence Pass (12000') my GSA would flood easily on cold start and would like to know how the AF-XIED would handle this given the bike is already running 4-8% richer than stock. My guess is that the BMSK would eventually reduce the AFR due to the altitude. But, would that be quick enough prevent starting problems at altitude. BTW, I live on the SC coast and normally ride at sea level. Thanks for all your time on this product.

Dave

Hey Dave, my guess is that you know that your GSA's BMSK has a barometric pressure sensor built in. The idea is that the amount of oxygen in the cylinder is less as you increase in altitude, or on a stormy day while a low pressure system is around. It's part of a group of sensors--IAT, TPS, RPM and Barometric Preasure--that allow the BMSK to estimate the amount of oxygen In the cylinder and then make a reasonably good estimate of the amount of fuel that will be required.

No sensor is perfectly accurate, so Closed Loop helps the BMSK to hold a tight AFR in cruise and also to learn corrections, including errors in the air pressure sensor.

So a problem of riding through a pass is that there isn't a lot of time to learn any corrections that are required based on barometric sensor inaccuracies and since starting is an Open Loop condition, your engine counts on the sensors. I don't know how accurate the sensor is and therefore how well it initially compensates. At 12000 feet the engine requires 40% less fuel, which is a huge difference from sea level. The BMSK never changes the AFR based on altitude, just the amount of fuel delivered to reach its AFR targets.

Regarding the AF-XIED, basically if you have it set for 4% enrichment, that is the new standard for all altitudes. However, the barometric pressure sensor and closed loop are still fully functional and your engine should run fine and eventually adapt to the conditions.

If you've had trouble at 12000 feet, you will probably still have trouble. I think at that altitude I would consider cracking the throttle 5 degrees for cold starting. (I don't know if the idle stepper motors do that automatically at high altitude.) The rationale would be that starting with the throttle closed doesn't allow much air in even at sea level. At 12000 feet it only gets 60% of that small number.
RB

Thanks, Roger. That is what I thought based on my experience last year. BTW, I was amazed at the power loss at high altitudes while riding in CO.

One other issue I'm hoping the AF-XIED will solve is that at high ambient temperatures (90+), my GSA will occasionally stall if the throttle is opened just a percent or two while starting from a stop. Normally this will happen after idling for a minute or two after the bike has been fully warmed up. Unfortunately this seems to happen when riding in traffic and only happens a few times per month. In cooler temps, below 50, this is not an issue which is what I would expect. Others with the camhead also experience this condition and there are several threads on ADVRIDER about this. I did talk with my dealer but, of course, they never heard about the problem.

I am really looking forward to using the AF-XIED!

Thanks, again for your work in this area.

Dave

dstelow said:

...
One other issue I'm hoping the AF-XIED will solve is that at high ambient temperatures (90+), my GSA will occasionally stall if the throttle is opened just a percent or two while starting from a stop. Normally this will happen after idling for a minute or two after the bike has been fully warmed up. ...

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I'm an advocate of finding a way to take measurements of problems so that their root cause can be determined. So I can't simply say that it will solve the stalling problem. That said, many internal combustion engines idle better when the AFR is richer than 14.7:1. On my 1150, when I richened the mixture 6% it idled 150-200 RPM higher on the same amount of air. Every so often I'm out for an around town ride, taking data, and I'll wind up in second (and a couple times third) gear. I don't usually notice until the clutch is out, so it seems possible yours will improve.

I sent Jens at Booster Plug an email asking about the BMW's systems ability to compensate for the Booster Plugs inputs, and here is his reply;

Hi Doug,

The discussion about the BMW ECU's ability to update its own basic fuel map is a long term rumor, but with the usual narrow band lambda sensor that every manufacturer (including BMW) is using, this is not possible at all. The narrow band sensor is very digital (on/off) in its behavior, so it's impossible to use the sensor information to update the fuel map. To do this you would need a wide band sensor, but this technology is certainly not for production bikes as they are fragile and expensive. I've been experimenting a lot with adaption and narrow band / wide band sensors, so I know in details how they works (and destroyed quite a few wide band sensors on the way??).

Think about it for a minute: If the lambda sensor was able to provide information that would allow the ECU to update it's own fuel map, it would override it's own temperature and air pressure input signals too, meaning that BMW is just spending lots of money on useless sensors. Also it would override all kind of fuel remapping attempts: Power Commanders, BoosterPlug's, even the factory's own software updates. This is obviously not so.

The Lambda sensor is installed to correct the Air/Fuel Ratio error that comes from the production tolerance of sensors/ fuel pump/injectors, and the lambda sensor is necessary because the law demands that the Air/Fuel Ratio is kept borderline lean.
Tolerances of different components are being summed up, and if they all go in one direction, you will have a bike with really poor (lean) fueling and lots of stalling problems. If they all sum up in the opposite direction, you would have a bike that was running a little richer and you would have better running bike. This is why otherwise equal bikes are behaving differently, and the Lambda sensor is doing it's best to fix the problem, but can only do this in closed loop situations, not in open loop. This is where the BoosterPlug is a good fix.

The Lambda sensor will provide a real time fuel correction when you are riding in closed loop conditions, but this is just a final adjustment to the fuel injection calculations - there's no fuel map updates being made so the BoosterPlug is not being cancelled out over time.

Sorry for the rather technical answer, but there was no other way I could explain this.


Best Regards


Jens Lyck
BoosterPlug.com
Lillemark 17
4990 Saksk?bing
Denmark

Mail: jens@boosterplug.com
Web: www.boosterplug.com

Since adaptation values are described in the R1150 BMW manual in many places, since the GS-911 reports the short term fuel trims for the BMSK, since the GS-911 can reset adaptation values for the BMSK, and since all closed loop adaptation is done with the stock Narrowband O2 sensor for a broad range of motor vehicles including motorcycles, the argument in the prior post doesn't really hold up.

The effect of adaptation values can be measured by equipment like the GS-911 and LC-1 and can be felt by the rider. Without adaptation, since there are so many sensors in a fuel injection system there would be a wide variation in driving characteristics without it.

Simply, adaptation values are calculated in those areas (which are very broad) of the fuel map where the BMW ECUs can run the closed loop program. By using the stock narrowband O2 to calculate the amount of fuel to hit lambda=1 (14.7 for gasoline) and comparing it to the open loop calculation the ECU can quickly arrive at the difference between the two. After getting those differences in broad areas of the fuel map the ECU can apply them where it wants to. For instance if the ECU finds that the average correction in the closed loop area (using the narrowband O2 as a reference) is +4% it can add that amount in the non-closed loop areas too. That is a simple explanation of a more complex process.

The technology of closed loop adaptation was invented in the 1970s and has been used since. There are hundreds of patents by German, American and Japanese automotive electronic companies on adaptation. You do NOT need a Wideband O2 sensor to calculate Adaptations.

While one could debate adaptation's coverage or effectiveness, its existence is a simple fact.

ordered a AF-XiED for my '13 R1200RT from BeemerBoneYard yesterday....should have it mid-next week...will install the following weekend and report seat of the pants findings....

looking forward to this...

wyman

If you've got a GS-911 you can log before and after data, export it to a spreadsheet and play with it on charts. And you can send it to Roger who might be willing to highlight some spots in the data for you that illustrate its effect.

Having used the device on both Motronics and BMS-K bikes I suspect you will have no problem noticing the difference. The "low end" of what I noticed is ending the herky jerkies of FI on my K1200GT. Better roll on and roll off, The effect was much more dramatic on the R1100S (Motronic) where the powerband width, throttle response and perceived total power under the curve are all significantly improved. Need to get that one to a dyno some time to see if the felt effects are easily measured. Bottom line is the device has the ability to make an FI bike run as smoothly as a carbed one but with more immediate and smoother response than any carbed bike I ever owned.

I've played with a range of devices on all many of motors- mostly cages for track use- that started in the early days whe you had slow chips by todays standards, had to develop your own maps from scratch, and were restricted to 8X8 tables to cover all operating conditions. That moved eventually to self learning devices than can develop thier own basic maps. Included use of a vriety of piggyback boxes so one could maintain all the programming of the stock ECU while adding lots of boost to create a strong turbo motor. IMO, this device is the best, simple, relatively inexpensive approach to correcting driveability problems with modern FI motors that I've seen with minimal impact to engine tailpipe output. In principle, it can of course be applied to many things with oxygen sensors though I suspect widespread use on cages might bring some ire from regulators- though the device does not remove any pollution control hardware, by richening mixtures and therefore changing combustion temps it would be expected to have some sort of measurable effect on engine output. If I had to guess, I'd expect a possible rise in unburned hydrocarbons/ CO especially when all metal parts aren't up to full operating temp (the cat will mitigate a lot of that), and a probable decrease in nitrogen oxides which are promoted by higher combustion temps. But that's just speculation- note that typical tailpipe sensors are not a good way to measure such effects (one of many reasons tailpipe sensors aren't used for most state inspections any more)- more sophisticated tools are needed and those are beyond the reach of hobbyists.