By Staff Writer
Jun 24, 2020
Sponsored video presented by AEM Performance Electronics.
Understanding data can be just as useful as driver skill when it comes to competitiveness, no matter the discipline. Formula Drift champion Chris Forsberg sat down with the performance experts AEM Electronics to discuss the best modules for recording easy-to-interpret data that can help ensure peak performance on the track.
7/6/20 10:22 a.m.
Is it just me, or are drift cars just so, so, so cool for some reason?
7/6/20 11:25 a.m.
Uh, I would have a major issue with one of the statements- where the AEM dude suggests that the EGT sensors are more robust then the O2 sensors. The ONLY time I would say that is if leaded fuel is used- which is really hard to get for a car these days. Otherwise, the WBO2 sensor is a far better choice than just the EGTs. (this happens in the 2:10 range) Heck, for what the car is doing, to really get useful power out of it, you'd want 1/16" T-couples- so that you can get the really quick transients to see if there's a problem. Which are not exactly robust- 1/8" is probably what they are using.
7/6/20 11:47 a.m.
This turns into a little bit of a rant... sorry:
I have a mixed relationship with the AEM Infinity ECU. While it seems to run the engine well, it has issues logging data, as in, about 20% of the time, it simply doesn't. I'm using their recommended thumb drive and cable, so that's off their list of excuses. My irritation peaked when during a trackday, the engine grenaded connecting rod #3 through the block at well below redline. I was extremely interested to see what the logs showed, and surprise, it didn't record the run, so it was all guesses after that.
Another annoyance is how secretive the support staff is with the hundreds of logger variables: their definition, how they interact with other variables, and their scaling. I posted several times on their forum about it and was ignored. It's like pulling teeth to get them to clearly define a variable, then you have to repeat the process for every other variable you're interested in. (Part of the reason may be that AEM didn't actually develop the ECU, they bought the design from a third party).
The other annoyance is that, even though I run it on a 100% completely legal car (via SB100 in CA), they absolutely made it clear to me that they do not want their name associated with my car. I can understand it only a little, that they're worried about being flagged by the California Air Resources Board, but like I said, my car is 100% legal, but they didn't care.
So yeah, recording and interpreting logger data is important, bue doesn't matter if the device doesn't! Did I mention that I'm over that?
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