ALS and turbo wear

garetgax · Post by **garetgax** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:15 pm

I'm interested in how much turbo wear mild ALS causes. Im considering changing from my apexi to a simtek ecu to get rid of the maf ( my cars a 99) and also considering having the als,launch option as intending to sprint the car ( works got in the way for this year). I dont intend to use the ALS much except on sprints and the odd occasion for effect( more the mrs than me, but if it gets me the green light on the new ecu then who am I to argue) but just want to know if it'll frag my turbo etc and whether I need a forged build etc. Final question is does it cause a lot of extra engine heat?

duncan · Post by **duncan** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 8:22 pm

You wont be able to use ALS on sprints.

Personally I would say that Solaris is a far better ecu and give you a lot more options for very little extra cost.

garetgax · Post by **garetgax** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 8:59 pm

Dunc Ive only seen solaris at zen and its a good 400-500 more than simtek fully mapped. Looking at 1200 fully mapped including als and launch control options. My main rational is getting rid of the maff as having intermitent probs with the maff/apexi set-up. The dual map is attractive too as it means I can have a more extreme map on 99 ron and a mild map set on cheap unleaded as it means the car day to day will be a bit cheaper to run and easy drive wise etc. The launch control and als are just added bits really.

duncan · Post by **duncan** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 9:16 pm

I think the active knock control element is easily worth the extra money. Doing something about knock on your behalf rather than flashing a light you wont see in the heat of competition or confuse it with the same light flashing to indicate a rev limit (wtf!) will potentially save you more than

duncan · Post by **duncan** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 9:18 pm

Oh and 8 maps gives a bit more choice of boost levels, fuel type etc

DunkRA · Post by **DunkRA** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 9:51 pm

mild ALS is a waste of time if your looking for any kind of performance benefit from it TBH, i have it installed on mine, other than pops and bangs at low revs its not noticeable higher up in the rev range where you would most likely be on track or a sprint, spend your money on something more useful is my opinion

garetgax · Post by **garetgax** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:36 am

Duncan your 2 penneth is noted. Unfortunately funds etc/permission from "she who must be obeyed" means I cant really go down the solaris route. Probably wouldnt get the benefit from the flexibility solaris provides as the car is a daily driver and isnt going to be in that much competition etc ( bar the scoobysprint) and mainly will just be for TD's and im still learning so not pushing as hard as some. Main rational for the change of ecu is to get rid of the maff and to have a bit more flexibility regarding day to day to trackwork. Id love to be able to stretch to the solaris but it aint gonna happen.

To put it in perspective I can get the simtek etc and late spec rear brakes and hubs and get em fitted for probably around the same cost as just having the solaris and seeing as the rear brakes are the next thing on the list (yes I already have the 06/07 running gear) it makes more sense for me to do both rather than just one of them.

I know it sounds like a silly question but is knock a big ? if ive got a decent map? Or is at hich speed/high rpm an issue? Im careful to add octane booster to optimax when its on track and the map is based on tesco super.

IWANT1 · Post by **IWANT1** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 11:56 am

What stops the use of ALS on sprints? Noise.

Have it on the evo and like already said it seems to make no performance gain as its to mild, don't fit it if you want better economy as it a switch that is hard to resit.

It will effect tubo and exhaust life but been running mine awhile with no problems, no need for forged engine as the pops and bangs are from fuel hitting the turbo blades and within the hot exhaust.