Racechip piggyback tuner for 2.0 JL

[rommel102]

RaceChip let someone do a review / marketing video and published it on their channel:



It's definitely a marketing video, but I can confirm most of the points. Before you criticize it, I suggest you make your own (independent!) review about the tune.

Did they ever tell you how the chip accounts for the e-torque system?

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[Crusifix]

It doesn't do anything with the E-torque system. It operates per OE system settings.

 

[ebelp]

I haven't read all the way through this thread, but in response to people saying, "it feels like a different vehicle"....that's how I felt after installing the iDrive throttle controller on mine. How do we know this isn't more of an illusion created by a peppier gas pedal versus actual boost/AFR adjustments?

 

[Crusifix]

Someone putting theirs on a dyno and or a heads up race between stock and tuned. I have my own dynojet to test things like this, but I don't feel like I am at a point where I want to tune my JL yet.

 

[WranglerBoost]

I haven't read all the way through this thread, but in response to people saying, "it feels like a different vehicle"....that's how I felt after installing the iDrive throttle controller on mine. How do we know this isn't more of an illusion created by a peppier gas pedal versus actual boost/AFR adjustments?

It connects to the boost pressure sensor and manifold pressure sensor and not the gas pedal sensor such as your throttle controller.
RaceChip has a throttle controller, too. It's called XLR.

 

[WranglerBoost]

Someone putting theirs on a dyno and or a heads up race between stock and tuned. I have my own dynojet to test things like this, but I don't feel like I am at a point where I want to tune my JL yet.

Maybe you can dyno one for the community? You can send the product back within 30 days, so it would not cost you anything.

 

[Crusifix]

It's more of a "risk of losing the power train warranty", that worries me. I guess I just need to do more research into if it is in anyway detectable. I have a 120K mile warranty and I just don't want to screw that up. I'm not concerned with much that it covers other than the engine and transmission.

 

[rommel102]

It doesn't do anything with the E-torque system. It operates per OE system settings.

The E-Torque works hand in hand with the Turbo to provide power across all power bands, right? At lower RPMs before the Turbo spools the E-Torque assist adds power. From what I read it does so all the way through 40 mph.

So if you are changing the way that your Turbo works by adjusting boost or timing, wouldn't that potentially interfere with the factory programmed E-Torque settings?

The fact that they are focusing exclusively on the turbo and ignoring another crucial part of the engine that affects performance seems strange to me.

This isn't just a turbocharged engine. It's a mild-hybrid system.

 

[WranglerBoost]

The E-Torque works hand in hand with the Turbo to provide power across all power bands, right? At lower RPMs before the Turbo spools the E-Torque assist adds power. From what I read it does so all the way through 40 mph.

So if you are changing the way that your Turbo works by adjusting boost or timing, wouldn't that potentially interfere with the factory programmed E-Torque settings?

The fact that they are focusing exclusively on the turbo and ignoring another crucial part of the engine that affects performance seems strange to me.

This isn't just a turbocharged engine. It's a mild-hybrid system.

Well, it feels very smooth from 0 to max speed, so I guess they took the E-Torque into account. Furthermore, the dyno chart shows the effect of the overall system and it looks good. Not sure what they did, but I can't complain.

 

[Crusifix]

The E-Torque works hand in hand with the Turbo to provide power across all power bands, right? At lower RPMs before the Turbo spools the E-Torque assist adds power. From what I read it does so all the way through 40 mph.

So if you are changing the way that your Turbo works by adjusting boost or timing, wouldn't that potentially interfere with the factory programmed E-Torque settings?

The fact that they are focusing exclusively on the turbo and ignoring another crucial part of the engine that affects performance seems strange to me.

This isn't just a turbocharged engine. It's a mild-hybrid system.

No. The electric motor is going to do what the electric motor is going to do. It isn't changing anything about it. Torque added by the motor is torque added. Boost and timing has no effect on what the work that the motor is doing.

 

[rommel102]

Well, it feels very smooth from 0 to max speed, so I guess they took the E-Torque into account. Furthermore, the dyno chart shows the effect of the overall system and it looks good. Not sure what they did, but I can't complain.

The guessing part is what I'm not willing to do. Some clarity from the company would be extremely useful.

No. The electric motor is going to do what the electric motor is going to do. It isn't changing anything about it. Torque added by the motor is torque added. Boost and timing has no effect on what the work that the motor is doing.

I don't know enough about how the overall system works and I'm an amateur gearhead at best but I can see a dozen ways for it to go wrong.

For starters, if the e-torque was designed to work at low rpm and speeds and you engage the boost earlier without also changing it, you could overstress the e-torque system and cause excessive wear and tear or worse. The system gets hot, which is why it is liquid cooled...if you add too much heat to the system, it could end up in a very fiery demonstration of why not to tune the boost while ignoring the e-torque.

I would like to see at least an attempt at explaining the actual engineering before I screw with the turbo.

 

[Crusifix]

The guessing part is what I'm not willing to do. Some clarity from the company would be extremely useful.



I don't know enough about how the overall system works and I'm an amateur gearhead at best but I can see a dozen ways for it to go wrong.

For starters, if the e-torque was designed to work at low rpm and speeds and you engage the boost earlier without also changing it, you could overstress the e-torque system and cause excessive wear and tear or worse. The system gets hot, which is why it is liquid cooled...if you add too much heat to the system, it could end up in a very fiery demonstration of why not to tune the boost while ignoring the e-torque.

I would like to see at least an attempt at explaining the actual engineering before I screw with the turbo.

This isn't the first mild hybrid to be tuned. What you are theorizing has never been an issue. Upping the boost still does not do away with the lag zone, which is where e-torque is being utilized.

 

[AnnDee4444]

The guessing part is what I'm not willing to do. Some clarity from the company would be extremely useful.



I don't know enough about how the overall system works and I'm an amateur gearhead at best but I can see a dozen ways for it to go wrong.

For starters, if the e-torque was designed to work at low rpm and speeds and you engage the boost earlier without also changing it, you could overstress the e-torque system and cause excessive wear and tear or worse. The system gets hot, which is why it is liquid cooled...if you add too much heat to the system, it could end up in a very fiery demonstration of why not to tune the boost while ignoring the e-torque.

I would like to see at least an attempt at explaining the actual engineering before I screw with the turbo.

I can't seem to find a source right now, but I thought I remembered reading that the e-torque was only active for the first half tire rotation. The turbo will not be active at RPMs that low, even with tuning.

It's also worth noting that the GME 2.0 in the Alfa Romeo Giulia/Stelvio does not have the e-torque system, and that e-torque is more like an add-on to the 2.0 and other US FCA motors rather than an integral part of the engine tuning. I do recall that BSG alters shift times though, so the transmission tuning is likely designed for this purpose.

 

[rommel102]

I can't seem to find a source right now, but I thought I remembered reading that the e-torque was only active for the first half tire rotation. The turbo will not be active at RPMs that low, even with tuning.

It's also worth noting that the GME 2.0 in the Alfa Romeo Giulia/Stelvio does not have the e-torque system, and that e-torque is more like an add-on to the 2.0 and other US FCA motors rather than an integral part of the engine tuning. I do recall that BSG alters shift times though, so the transmission tuning is likely designed for this purpose.

That's part of the problem. There is frustratingly little actual information about the engineering of the e-torque system and how it actually works. There are a lot of slick presentation videos talking generally about the technology, but they seem to confuse various terms and performance statistics.

For example, the "first half tire rotation" was from a FCA engineer discussing the Ram E-torque system in a great video, but I believe he was talking about the BSG's impact on performance from a stop only. Other sources have indicated that e-torque is active in certain conditions up to 1500 rpm or 40 mph. And as you mention, it also provides extra power during shifts to make them shorter and more seamless.

My daugher is sitting atop a 48 volt Li-ion battery bomb. If I'm going to mess around with the system I want to be damned sure I'm not going to do anything that is going to screw with the e-torque.

 

[AnnDee4444]

That's part of the problem. There is frustratingly little actual information about the engineering of the e-torque system and how it actually works. There are a lot of slick presentation videos talking generally about the technology, but they seem to confuse various terms and performance statistics.

I totally agree with this, the technical information is lacking.

And as you mention, it also provides extra power during shifts to make them shorter and more seamless.

More lack of information here, but I thought that the BSG was being used as sort of an engine upshift brake control (slows the motor to better match the next gear ratio).

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