We have all heard about some of the dyno tests performed with the AEM box, but no one has posted any thing about it but that. And to be honest with you I have yet to get to a dyno to do my optimal tune so I have no dyno numbers to share.
What I do have is a drivability report, in the worst conditions possible. Picture a 99 RT in LA traffic on the 405 for about 1.5 hours of stop and go traffic. The top was off and the AC was blowing the whole time, weather outside was a nice 95-100.
Idle of the car is radically changed long gone is the neutral gear rattle we are all use to, at least the '99 and older owners. The car idles perfect, no stumbles, no shaking, just a great rumble out the tail pipes as it should be with no side effects.
Acceleration is very smooth and has none of the usual feelings associated with after market fuel/ignition management. Seat of the pants is something I do not like to comment on since it’s about as accurate as a fortune teller.
Cruising at speed is fantastic, imagine how little gas effort it takes now to keep the car moving along and make it even better. The car just glides along the highway, with almost no gas pedal effort.
An engine temp change is a side effect I didn’t even consider until I started driving the car. Let’s put it this way, my car under all those conditions was right at 190 for most of the drive. The only time did it exceed 190 was when traffic would clear up a bit and I would accelerate up to speed then it would fall right back to 190. This is very unusual for Vipers in this weather in traffic. My car always moved from 190-215or so with the fans kicking in to keep the car from over heating, well not any more.
Traction control,
We tested it driving around a bit at AEM and then I played around with it on the way home and all I can say is wow. Even though it is not specifically tuned for my cars traction capabilities, it still works fantastic. Full throttle off the line starts without needing to lift of the gas pedal, and it pulls hard and fast every time. Even hard acceleration out of a turn the car is rock solid, I can’t wait for someone who tracks their car to see how much this is worth.
There is so much more that I can talk about but I am just too tired of typing, if anyone has questions just ask. And if anyone in the LA area wants to check out how the car runs for them selves say the word.
How does traction control work? The Viper can't cut power to one wheel or the other so what is going on? It backs off the throttle or something? Also, how does it even sense there is a loss of traction?
I had the exact same observations. The idle doesn't even sound the same anymore, it is very crisp. In my opinion, the part throttle response was awesome to say the least. Very, very responsive. I observed no "throttle hang" on the car we tested. Next up is a heavily modified car to test the AEM on. I will post drving impressions on that one.
AEM is in Compton, they do not have a chatsworth facility. Anyone can do the install, if you are looking for someone to do it for you I can recomend a great shop that my friend owns in Canoga Park. And there will not be any Viper tax either.
Mark,
The main factor in traction control is to reduce power, and the AEM unit does it very well.
AEM is in Compton, they do not have a chatsworth facility. Anyone can do the install, if you are looking for someone to do it for you I can recomend a great shop that my friend owns in Canoga Park. And there will not be any Viper tax either.
Mark,
The main factor in traction control is to reduce power, and the AEM unit does it very well.
How does it sense that traction is being lost? (I'm just asking btw cause I'm curious, not cause I'm skeptical. If price is right, this sounds like a great box to add to every car, modified or not)
The AEM unit uses all the factory sensors to determine tire slippage. I am not sure exactly which sensors are being used on the Viper, but typicaly wheel speed sensors are used.
that would be my point too....pre-abs doesn't have any sensors in the car for each wheel...how would they determine traction control then????...Len
It has a table that you set up to let the computer know wheel speed/rpm for each gear. The computer then knows what gear you're in based on rpm/wheel speed. It uses a RPM/time threshold to determine wheel slippage for each gear. It was really hard to set up for peaky turbo cars. But I guess with the V10's torque and predictable throttle response, they got it setup correctly.
so the traction control really wouldnt help much with going into a corner to fast? or braking in a corner (yes, you shouldnt do it.. but anyways) its pretty much for straight line then?
so the traction control really wouldnt help much with going into a corner to fast? or braking in a corner (yes, you shouldnt do it.. but anyways) its pretty much for straight line then?
I wouldnt necessarily say that its "only for a straight line", but more so for only going forward. Slowing down hard into a corner is where the ABS is going to help you, accellerating out of a corner is where the TC will do the work to keep the ass end from kicking out on you. The only thing thats going to save your ass if you brake late into a corner is the hand of GOD.
That said, for me ABS and TC takes some of the fun out of driving on a road course. I prefer to drive my own car rather than have a computer do it for me. Contrarily, on the street, ABS as well as TC are great to have.
what i was saying as braking late, was not letting the car settle before the corner, and haveing to keep the brake applyed while going into the corner. make sense ? now sure how else to say it.
explain further, the only speed the computer can see is input from the transmission and if the tires slip, that just shows up as a higher mph. There has to be some differential between real mph and wheel speed to give an output. This interests me, please go further.
Linear Mode
