This is going to be one of those informational "the rest of the story" type posts... I hope it fills in the blanks for some who wonder about these things.
I now have access to:
Disable deceleration fuel cut;
Pair valve disable;
Fan temp control;
VVT switching.
So of course, the big question for me (and should be for you) is how will this affect my flashes going forward. Let me share what I know now, after some pretty exhaustive testing.
1) Disable deceleration fuel cut. Intended to make off / on throttle transition smooth rather than jerky. Based on all the hype, I had some real questions about this one. Here's what I can tell you, after working with it a bunch... it does not make on / off / on throttle better than I already have in the Mountain Runner flash. Extensively tested... not better at all. On the other hand it DOES take away the off throttle deceleration I worked so hard for in Mountain Runner. I suspected this would be the case. It also is making the shifting not as smooth. I have worked and worked at trying to like this feature, but I'm thinking it's just not going into any Mountain Runner updates. Honestly at best, fuel cut disable makes the bike feel like it's going into neutral and coasting when you let off the throttle. Not at all what I want in Mountain Runner.
2) Pair valve disable. Intended to cut the extra air from the pair valve and help stop popping on deceleration. If you have one of my flashes, you know that's not an issue. I countered the popping with proper timing and secondary control. I will probably incorporate pair valve shut off in my flashes for no other reason than if someone wants to do a full exhaust change, or possibly fit the bike with an 02 sensor.
3) Fan temp control. Currently, the fan comes on at 203* and off at 195*. I can go up or down in 10* increments. Personally, i think the stock setting is fine, I'm a fan of setting up the coolant system properly for heat exchange and I don't think fan switch temp is necessary or wise. I think I'll leave this as an option for the person getting the flash.
4) VVT switching control. I won't be using this in my Mountain Runner flash, it's all about exceeding the stock redline. I will experiment with it for the Area P full system flash. I still advise caution or RPM'ing your c-14, the VVT module weighs 1.5 POUNDS and at 10000 rpm it's spinning 5000 rpm. That's a crazy amount of energy having to be harnessed during hard upshifts or downshifts , and all the work to control it is on the timing chain and the intake cam locating dowel pin. Failures can occur here. My advise on rpm... proceed with caution.
As far as how I will handle updates / upgrades... if I incorporate an update to your existing flash that you want, you pay shipping and insurance of 25.00; I'll do the update for free. if you want to upgrade to a different flash, it will be 75.00 which includes shipping and insurance.
Now on a more personal level, I am disappointed that all of the work and effort that went into getting some of these features, particularly fuel cut disable, are turning out to be "not all that". I think if this was back in the beginning with my first flash, it would have been a great addition. Not so now, with Mountain Runner. The fact is that I'm so far into this project that I've really gone "outside the box" to come up with the way Mountain Runner works. Whenever someone says "this is the only way" it's because they have become stagnant and complacent. In my case, I really had to take a step back and look at different possibilities to use the tools I had. I would not have done that if I had some of these features early on, just kind of "set it and forget it" and not take a new perspective because I wouldn't have to. So now I have mixed emotions... disappointed that all I hoped for isn't that impressive, but in a big way glad I was forced to work as hard as I did to get Mountain Runner where it is.
As always, I want to thank y'all for the support and loyalty... you've made Shoodaben Engineering a success, and I'm thankful for that everyday.
Steve
I now have access to:
Disable deceleration fuel cut;
Pair valve disable;
Fan temp control;
VVT switching.
So of course, the big question for me (and should be for you) is how will this affect my flashes going forward. Let me share what I know now, after some pretty exhaustive testing.
1) Disable deceleration fuel cut. Intended to make off / on throttle transition smooth rather than jerky. Based on all the hype, I had some real questions about this one. Here's what I can tell you, after working with it a bunch... it does not make on / off / on throttle better than I already have in the Mountain Runner flash. Extensively tested... not better at all. On the other hand it DOES take away the off throttle deceleration I worked so hard for in Mountain Runner. I suspected this would be the case. It also is making the shifting not as smooth. I have worked and worked at trying to like this feature, but I'm thinking it's just not going into any Mountain Runner updates. Honestly at best, fuel cut disable makes the bike feel like it's going into neutral and coasting when you let off the throttle. Not at all what I want in Mountain Runner.
2) Pair valve disable. Intended to cut the extra air from the pair valve and help stop popping on deceleration. If you have one of my flashes, you know that's not an issue. I countered the popping with proper timing and secondary control. I will probably incorporate pair valve shut off in my flashes for no other reason than if someone wants to do a full exhaust change, or possibly fit the bike with an 02 sensor.
3) Fan temp control. Currently, the fan comes on at 203* and off at 195*. I can go up or down in 10* increments. Personally, i think the stock setting is fine, I'm a fan of setting up the coolant system properly for heat exchange and I don't think fan switch temp is necessary or wise. I think I'll leave this as an option for the person getting the flash.
4) VVT switching control. I won't be using this in my Mountain Runner flash, it's all about exceeding the stock redline. I will experiment with it for the Area P full system flash. I still advise caution or RPM'ing your c-14, the VVT module weighs 1.5 POUNDS and at 10000 rpm it's spinning 5000 rpm. That's a crazy amount of energy having to be harnessed during hard upshifts or downshifts , and all the work to control it is on the timing chain and the intake cam locating dowel pin. Failures can occur here. My advise on rpm... proceed with caution.
As far as how I will handle updates / upgrades... if I incorporate an update to your existing flash that you want, you pay shipping and insurance of 25.00; I'll do the update for free. if you want to upgrade to a different flash, it will be 75.00 which includes shipping and insurance.
Now on a more personal level, I am disappointed that all of the work and effort that went into getting some of these features, particularly fuel cut disable, are turning out to be "not all that". I think if this was back in the beginning with my first flash, it would have been a great addition. Not so now, with Mountain Runner. The fact is that I'm so far into this project that I've really gone "outside the box" to come up with the way Mountain Runner works. Whenever someone says "this is the only way" it's because they have become stagnant and complacent. In my case, I really had to take a step back and look at different possibilities to use the tools I had. I would not have done that if I had some of these features early on, just kind of "set it and forget it" and not take a new perspective because I wouldn't have to. So now I have mixed emotions... disappointed that all I hoped for isn't that impressive, but in a big way glad I was forced to work as hard as I did to get Mountain Runner where it is.
As always, I want to thank y'all for the support and loyalty... you've made Shoodaben Engineering a success, and I'm thankful for that everyday.
Steve