4.6 High Performance 14CUX Chip

aliastel

Well-known member
Sep 27, 2009
942
0
Champaign, IL
Installed Randall Smith's (92rrrandall) high performance 4.6L chip in my RRC today. What a difference! First, the truck started on three revolutions from dead cold instead of having to crank it over and key on and off for a minute or two as usual. Second, the engine doesn't bog down over half throttle as it did before. Now it pulls very strongly all the way up to redline. Much more linear acceleration now. Smoother idle. Doesn't seem to be running so rich at idle and lean in the midrange as before. Well worth the 175.00!

David
 

Nomar

Well-known member
Apr 23, 2004
6,078
13
Virginia
LOL- I've never heard of these...I'm living under a rock.
Are they difficult to put in?
What is involved?


.
 

robertf

Well-known member
Jan 22, 2006
4,778
354
-
It doesn't quite do nothing, but close

For steady cruising speeds and idle the maf and O2 feedback does a great job at keeping the right amount of fuel in the cylinders. It's when you mash the throttle that the fuel map is more important than the monitors and the 4.2 gets more enrichment than a 3.9. A properly tuned 4.6 chip shines under those conditions
 

aliastel

Well-known member
Sep 27, 2009
942
0
Champaign, IL
It doesn't quite do nothing, but close

For steady cruising speeds and idle the maf and O2 feedback does a great job at keeping the right amount of fuel in the cylinders. It's when you mash the throttle that the fuel map is more important than the monitors and the 4.2 gets more enrichment than a 3.9. A properly tuned 4.6 chip shines under those conditions

Exactly. With the 3.9 chip, my 4.6 promptly fell on its face every time I put my foot down. I chatted with Mark Adams and he said that with a properly tuned 4.6 chip you can up the advance quite a bit giving even better performance.
 

aliastel

Well-known member
Sep 27, 2009
942
0
Champaign, IL
Here's a message I received from Mark Adams. It is pretty long but has pretty much everything you need to know about the chip upgrade:

Hi Aliastel

Thank you for your enquiry. This is quite a long and detailed answer, but please persevere to the end. There is some important information in here to help you get a good result. I hope this is not too much information, which can be as bad as too little.

Firstly there is a particular North American Specification (NAS) version of the Tornado upgrade available, which addresses the issue of changing from a 13CU or 14CU to a 14CUX.

Land Rover themselves issued an ECU specifically for this purpose as a service exchange, and this is the base software version we use. Pin 5 is actually ignored by this software, so the A/C will work normally. In the Rest-Of-World (ROW) models, this pun was used for the Tune Resistor, however all NAS models operate as if a White Tune Resistor was used.

Replacing the 3.9 with a 4.6 is a very common and popular conversion, for obvious reasons!

Assuming that you have a socket in the ECU (which is standard for NAS ECUs), fitting of the Tornado chipset is actually very simple. It usually takes longer to get the ECU in and out than it does to fit the new EPROM chip and decoder. If you like I can send you fitting instructions so that you can see if you like the look of them. There are no attachments with this message because I have become aware that these are often blocked by spam filters, so I will send them on at your request. It is also necessary to use a regular e-mail address, as the eBay message system (quite rightly) blocks attachments for security.

The vehicle will run with the original 3.9 software, so that would enable you to test the new engine if you need to. Although the engine will tend to run too rich in the mid-range, the Oxygen sensors should be able to pull it down. However you will be losing about 20-30 BHP by running on the standard software, and you will have to restrict the maximum ignition advance to 20-22 Degrees BTDC @ 4000 RPM to avoid pinking and engine damage. However this will be usable for testing and running in purposes.

Here is the logic (using some standard words that you may have seen before). The engine’s fuel requirement is determined by engine speed and load. Engine load is determined by measuring the true mass of air that the engine is consuming at any particular speed, using the "hotwire" airflow meter. The correct mass of fuel is then calculated and injected to achieve the desired Air/Fuel ratio (AFR).

For this type of fuel injection system, mass airflow is proportional to the torque that the engine is producing and hence it is closely related to the engine capacity. This is also heavily influenced by atmospheric conditions such as barometric pressure, temperature, etc.

Therefore it is vital that the software is programmed with the correct maximum mass air consumption of the engine, known as airflow meter scaling. This is vital for good driveability and fuel economy especially on large capacity engines, and allows correct control of part throttle fuelling. Note that airflow meter scaling determines when the top of the fuel map is reached. When using an engine of larger capacity than the software was designed for, the top of the map will be reached too soon. This leads to over-fuelling at part throttle, and under-fuelling at full throttle.

A re-profiled Fuel Map, which provides good fuel economy on part throttle and allows engine to rev more freely (standard profile reduces fuelling heavily after 4000RPM). This produces quicker, more progressive throttle response and better mid range torque.

All NAS 14CUX ECUs had plug-in EPROM chips, so it should be a simple job. I have attached fitting instructions to this message so that you can see what is involved.

After installing the new software, you would want to set the ignition timing to get the best results out of it. A good starting figure would be 28 Degrees BTDC at 4000 RPM (vacuum pipe disconnected from distributor) for a normal compression ratio, although you may not be able to use more than 20-22 degrees with the compression setup you have proposed.

Now to prices, which are all in UK Pounds Sterling excluding any applicable taxes. Prices shown in our eBay shop include European Value Added Tax at the rate of 20%, which is not applicable to sales outside of Europe such as to you.

The Tornado software upgrade is £350, and shipping by "Royal Mail International Signed For" (which is an insured priority service) is £12. Delivery using this service is supposed to be five working days, but can take longer if Customs and Excise decide to sit on it for a while. Alternatively we can use a courier service such as UPS which provide superior tracking facilities, although typically these are £40-£70 for the service.
Payment by Visa or MasterCard is absolutely fine, although it may be a little inconvenient for you to telephone or fax your details to us. I am also very happy to give you our bank details if a transfer is easier for you, although I understand that some banks make a substantial charge for this service.
Fortunately the Pound is very weak against most other currencies at present, which is great for our exports! You can find a very good currency converter here if you need one:
http://www.xe.com

On another note, I wondered how much diagnostic equipment you have for your Range Rover? The 14CUX is not OBD-II compliant, since the standard didn’t exist when it was designed (but it is OBD-1). Although general-purpose OBD-II test equipment is of no use, you can get an excellent stand-alone diagnostic tool and fault code display unit here:

http://ecumate.com/shop/index.php/cPath/22/osCsid/5133a0c8cdefb2ce72c292cc730653da

I think these are excellent tools, and can be kept in the vehicle. The ECUMate plugs into the standard diagnostic plug, which sprouts out of the loom near the ECU or the relays. The plug is a fairly chunky five-way item, but has only three pins in it. The wire colours are white/pink, white/light green, and black/grey. However the Fault Code Display Unit is wired straight to the ECU, and the socket was only fitted to North American Specification (NAS) vehicles. However, it is very easy to make the required connections if they are not already present.

Many of my clients who use their vehicles in very remote places really like to be self-sufficient in diagnostics, and this tool is a great help to get you going quickly if necessary.

Anyway please don’t hesitate to contact me any way that works best for you. I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind Regards - Mark

T: +44 1694 720 144
F: +44 1694 722 320
M: +44 7798 582 390

Skype: Mark.Adams.1

PS – I’m sure you already know this, but please do not send credit card details by e-mail or SMS since it is not secure.

Skype: Mark.Adams.1

http://www.tornadosystems.com/

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