Fuel Injection?!?!?
11-01-2003, 09:36 PM
#16
Nope the regulator takes control through out the whole power band. Just back out you top needle about a turn. It does have a temp sensor. Here are the actual words that was in the ad when I first purchased the units.
Wouldn't it be great if your mechanic could tune your engine perfectly every time, and you wouldn't have to worry about whether or not your engine was too rich or too lean? Even better, wouldn't it be great if your mechanic could ride along in your model, and adjust it for different conditions that would allow the engine to accelerate and perform better? Sounds like sci-fi stuff ? Enter PC/RC.
PC/RC has been manufacturing hobby electronics such as the Digi-Temp digital temperature probe and Digi-Tach tachometers for years, and realized that if they could put all of that technology into one magic box and add a little software, a system could result that could automatically tune your R/C gas engine. After more than a year of testing and development they had a product dubbed the Electronic Fuel Regulator, or EFR, which was light, performed as expected, and had minimal draw on the battery pack.
Now the average or expert racer can have his engine tuned precisely, while in the heat of the competition, and without worry. How does it work? Think of the EFR as fuel injection. Simply stated the EFR consists basically of three parts - the valve, the controller, and the sensor. The sensor transmits information back to the controller, and tells the valve the proper amount of fuel to allow, based on the carburetor opening. The carburetor opening is sensed via the servo output from the receiver.
Installation Pick a suitable location for the processor, and mount it securely. A small hole is necessary in the exhaust manifold, about 1/4 inch (6mm) from the mouth of the manifold where it attaches to the engine.. The valve simply installs in the fuel line between the fuel tank and the carburetor inlet. Now plug the unit into the receiver and plug the throttle servo into the controller and you are ready to program.
Why is the engine running at a cooler temperature? With manual tuning, a mechanic is trying to find a compromise between two needle valves. The transition from low to high requires a richer setting in the middle, to overlap and a leaner setting on the top needle. This leaner setting on the top is what causes most high temperatures, and premature engine failures. Using the EFR is like having many synchronized needle valves, and since they are not compromising, the results are settings which are more precise and not as lean; therefore cooler.
Another thing which has been observed and could be very important to many drivers is the ability to spot a problem before it becomes a bigger problem. If the engine has been running fine and then suddenly starts to run richer and richer you can bet that the rod bearing or something is going bad inside the engine. In testing there was enough advance warning that complete piston/sleeve replacement was avoided by a simple change of the rod. How many good engines will this save? There will also be an occasion when the unit fluctuates between rich and lean. A check of the fuel tank for leaks or the muffler coupler for rips will usually find the culprit.
The biggest difficulty with gas R/C is the inability to get engines to run right. Some have actually quit altogether because of the frustration of trying to tune the carb or finding a mechanic that could tune it well enough to be competitive. Using an EFR is going to change all of that. The EFR, with its enhanced car programming, will extend the life, and increase the performance of car engines as no product has done before. This same thought process is exactly what R.O.A.R. saw as a good enough reason to approve the product for racing.
The future is here and your radio-controlled model can now benefit from a technology that will not only increase your enjoyment and satisfaction, but ultimately improve the hobby.
EFR 801 benefits are :
Optimum mixture throughout the varying throttle setting
Improve fuel management
Reliable engine performance in varying weather conditions
Consistent performance throughout operation
Increase engine life
Automatic shut down on power failure
No adjustments necessary
Maximizes performance
List Price: US$159.95
Wouldn't it be great if your mechanic could tune your engine perfectly every time, and you wouldn't have to worry about whether or not your engine was too rich or too lean? Even better, wouldn't it be great if your mechanic could ride along in your model, and adjust it for different conditions that would allow the engine to accelerate and perform better? Sounds like sci-fi stuff ? Enter PC/RC.
PC/RC has been manufacturing hobby electronics such as the Digi-Temp digital temperature probe and Digi-Tach tachometers for years, and realized that if they could put all of that technology into one magic box and add a little software, a system could result that could automatically tune your R/C gas engine. After more than a year of testing and development they had a product dubbed the Electronic Fuel Regulator, or EFR, which was light, performed as expected, and had minimal draw on the battery pack.
Now the average or expert racer can have his engine tuned precisely, while in the heat of the competition, and without worry. How does it work? Think of the EFR as fuel injection. Simply stated the EFR consists basically of three parts - the valve, the controller, and the sensor. The sensor transmits information back to the controller, and tells the valve the proper amount of fuel to allow, based on the carburetor opening. The carburetor opening is sensed via the servo output from the receiver.
Installation Pick a suitable location for the processor, and mount it securely. A small hole is necessary in the exhaust manifold, about 1/4 inch (6mm) from the mouth of the manifold where it attaches to the engine.. The valve simply installs in the fuel line between the fuel tank and the carburetor inlet. Now plug the unit into the receiver and plug the throttle servo into the controller and you are ready to program.
Why is the engine running at a cooler temperature? With manual tuning, a mechanic is trying to find a compromise between two needle valves. The transition from low to high requires a richer setting in the middle, to overlap and a leaner setting on the top needle. This leaner setting on the top is what causes most high temperatures, and premature engine failures. Using the EFR is like having many synchronized needle valves, and since they are not compromising, the results are settings which are more precise and not as lean; therefore cooler.
Another thing which has been observed and could be very important to many drivers is the ability to spot a problem before it becomes a bigger problem. If the engine has been running fine and then suddenly starts to run richer and richer you can bet that the rod bearing or something is going bad inside the engine. In testing there was enough advance warning that complete piston/sleeve replacement was avoided by a simple change of the rod. How many good engines will this save? There will also be an occasion when the unit fluctuates between rich and lean. A check of the fuel tank for leaks or the muffler coupler for rips will usually find the culprit.
The biggest difficulty with gas R/C is the inability to get engines to run right. Some have actually quit altogether because of the frustration of trying to tune the carb or finding a mechanic that could tune it well enough to be competitive. Using an EFR is going to change all of that. The EFR, with its enhanced car programming, will extend the life, and increase the performance of car engines as no product has done before. This same thought process is exactly what R.O.A.R. saw as a good enough reason to approve the product for racing.
The future is here and your radio-controlled model can now benefit from a technology that will not only increase your enjoyment and satisfaction, but ultimately improve the hobby.
EFR 801 benefits are :
Optimum mixture throughout the varying throttle setting
Improve fuel management
Reliable engine performance in varying weather conditions
Consistent performance throughout operation
Increase engine life
Automatic shut down on power failure
No adjustments necessary
Maximizes performance
List Price: US$159.95
11-02-2003, 07:31 AM
#18
It seems to me that OS now owns the design and will be the first manufacturer to start equiping the engines from the factory with it. With the addition of a computer radio capable of reading the sensors it would be possible to tune on the fly... There's no reason why you couldn't have your temp readout right on your controller, there just has to be an interest and a market for it.
Good this for us with RC cars that the Airplane, Helicopter and Boat guys all have a need for a system like that too, more so than us. I'd love to be able to adjust the mixture on my ariplane or heli while it's in the air instead of having to land and in the case of the Heli, bring the motor down to an RMP range that'll stop the rotor blades... I constantly lie on the ground below a pair of spinning rotor blades that if something went wrong would seriously put me in the hospital...
RC's could get a whole lot more interesting in the next few years... Electric's running on Brushless and LiPoly batteries and Nitro's being able to adjust on the fly and tued properly at that...
I've been in this hobby with Nitro and Electric for well over 20 years... I want better than I had then now and in 20 years I want even better stuff...
Good this for us with RC cars that the Airplane, Helicopter and Boat guys all have a need for a system like that too, more so than us. I'd love to be able to adjust the mixture on my ariplane or heli while it's in the air instead of having to land and in the case of the Heli, bring the motor down to an RMP range that'll stop the rotor blades... I constantly lie on the ground below a pair of spinning rotor blades that if something went wrong would seriously put me in the hospital...
RC's could get a whole lot more interesting in the next few years... Electric's running on Brushless and LiPoly batteries and Nitro's being able to adjust on the fly and tued properly at that...
I've been in this hobby with Nitro and Electric for well over 20 years... I want better than I had then now and in 20 years I want even better stuff...
11-02-2003, 03:45 PM
#19
Tech Adept
All I need is a unit that can hook up to my reciever and allow me to set the mixture with my 3pk while driving. That would be so sweet if you could rig that up.
I just cannot imagine messing with mixture while trying to drive!
11-02-2003, 03:49 PM
#20
On the pc/rc one it adjust it for you. You will not have to do a thing once you program it. If the weather changes then it changes accordingly.
Why bother with a remoted needle and worrying about adjusting it on the transmitter. This one will work off a 2 channel system.
Why bother with a remoted needle and worrying about adjusting it on the transmitter. This one will work off a 2 channel system.
11-02-2003, 03:52 PM
#21
Tech Adept
On the pc/rc one it adjust it for you. You will not have to do a thing once you program it. If the weather changes then it changes accordingly.
I may want to ease up on teh car and run the motor a little leaner for better mileage, or I may change my mind and run the piss out of it and need to fatten it to keep it safe, temp wise.
I'll make my own adjustments thanks!
11-02-2003, 03:55 PM
#22
That is why it had dip switches on it. So you can tell it what you want. Program to what you want and your done. That is how it know what you want. You told it.
11-02-2003, 03:56 PM
#23
Tech Adept
Cool, thanks!
10-17-2013, 01:10 PM
#24
IS this thread still going?I just came into two of these and would like some more info.
10-17-2013, 01:47 PM
#25
I do not think the device is being made anymore, have not seen one in ages.
I know Art Carbonell was testing the device way back when but it needed a lot more development to be of use and reliable in a competitive situation.
10-17-2013, 02:53 PM
#26
While the pc/rc unit was pretty trick for its time, it really wasn't a fuel injection system rather a automatic carb mixture adjuster. One of the big road blocks to fuel injection on our model engines is the stratospheric RPM levels our engines turn. It will take pretty sophisticated components to precisely inject fuel on every up stroke of our engines when they are turning 40k. Maybe some kind of mechanical injection might work, but I think the friction losses from running this type of system would outweigh the benefits gained. Components for this type of stuff are getting smaller,faster, and cheaper all the time so who knows we may wake up tomorrow morning and it will be reality.
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