Jens responded right away, and gave me permission to share his replies, so here's a copy&paste:
navn : Sarah Greer
kommentar : Thank you for the FAQ section on your website, very helpful. But you know how it is with internet forums, so here I am........ There's talk of the Scrambler ECU "learning" the booster plug and then working it's way around it, rendering it ineffective in a short time. Is that so? Could you explain in simple terms, please? I have many miles on my Suzuki DR650 and fixed it's lean condition myself by tinkering with the mixture screw, needle and main jet. But I know nothing about EFI and am lost in this ECU talk. I would like an aftermarket exhaust on my Scrambler to gain some clearance for saddlebags. That will do away with the catalytic converter, and some say will make the bike run dangerously lean. This makes me wonder too, as all the pipe manufacturers say "no re-map required". I am looking forward to your comments, and want to say thanks again for the nice website.
Sarah
Hi Sarah,
The simple answer to your first question is: No, there is no learning or “adaption” that will cancel out the effect of the BoosterPlug. The standard narrow band O2 (Lambda) sensor is not capable of providing information to the ECU that can be used to update the preprogrammed fuel map. We see this discussion pop up in the forums once in a while, but to have ECU fuel map adaption, the first requirement would be a wide band O2 sensor, and as they are rather fragile, and needs frequent recalibration, they are never seen in production motorcycles.
It’s hard for me to provide a simple answer to your question because it’s a bit complex actually. I’ll forward you a more detailed answer in a separate mail - it’s a copy/paste from a similar question I had from a BMW owner recently. Read it if you’re interested, or ditch it if not
And I know there are so many assumptions on aftermarket exhausts and so many experts out there - here is what it’s all about:
On the carburettor motorcycle, you should definitely have the bike rejected if you change exhaust or air filter, because changing (increasing) the air flow will lean out the air/fuel mixture that is fed to the engine. (You know this already)
On the modern fuel injected motorcycle, you can install any combination of exhaust and filters without damaging your engine - as long as you leave the O2 (lambda) sensor installed in the exhaust (This is important !!!)
The O2 sensor will be in charge of the air/fuel ratio at constant speeds at higher RPM, so it will adjust the mixture back to factory level, and your engine will survive the new exhaust with the higher air flow.
But at lower speeds and during acceleration and deceleration the O2 sensor is ignored by the ECU because it can not provide a reliable feedback (This is where the BoosterPlug becomes active).
In this area, you will be running even leaner than stock, and low speed running will be lumpy and throttle action will be horrible.
Low speed running os obviously a low power situation, and acceleration and deceleration is happening for a limited time, so the lean mixture will not harm your engine, but the bike will be quite bad to ride.
So with the aftermarket exhaust installed, you really need the small controlled fuel enrichment from the BoosterPlug.
Hope this answers your questions.
Cheers
Jens Lyck
BoosterPlug.com
Lillemark 17
4990 Sakskøbing
Denmark
Hi Sarah,
Here’s the more detailed explanation to the the ECU learning discussion:
The discussion about the ECU's ability to update its own basic fuel map (adaption) is a long term rumor.
But with the usual narrow band lambda sensor that every manufacturer is using, this is not possible at all. The narrow band sensor is very digital (on/off) in its behavior, so it's impossible to use the sensor information to update the fuel map. To do this you would need a wide band sensor, but this technology is certainly not for production bikes as they are fragile and expensive. I've been experimenting a lot with adaption and narrow band / wide band sensors, so I know in details how they works (and destroyed quite a few wide band sensors on the way……).
Think about it for a minute: If the lambda sensor was able to provide information that would allow the ECU to update it's own fuel map, it would override it's own temperature and air pressure input signals too, meaning that the manufactorer is just spending lots of money on useless sensors. Also it would override all kind of fuel remapping attempts: Power Commanders, BoosterPlug's, even the factory's own software updates. This is obviously not so.
The Lambda sensor is installed to correct the Air/Fuel Ratio error that comes from the production tolerance of sensors/ fuel pump/injectors, and the lambda sensor is necessary because the law demands that the Air/Fuel Ratio is kept borderline lean.
Tolerances of different components are being summed up, and if they all go in one direction, you will have a bike with really poor (lean) fueling and lots of stalling problems. If they all sum up in the opposite direction, you would have a bike that was running a little richer and you would have better running bike. This is why otherwise equal bikes are behaving differently, and the Lambda sensor is doing it's best to fix the problem, but can only do this in closed loop situations, not in open loop. This is where the BoosterPlug is a good fix.
The fact that similar bikes are not equally affected by the lean mixture requirements is another proof that there's no adaption taking place. If the rumor was correct and the ECU was adapting itself, all bikes of the same type would end up with the same Air/Fuel Ratio over time. But a bike that is extremely lean from the factory does not correct it self, and a lucky owner of a bike that is running a tad richer than the rest will not see this advantage dissapear over time.
The Lambda sensor will provide a real time fuel correction when you are riding in closed loop conditions, but this is just a final adjustment to the fuel injection calculations - there's no fuel map updates being made so the BoosterPlug is not being cancelled out over time.
Sorry for the rather technical answer, but there was no other way I could explain this.
We have sold way above 15.000 units since we started the BoosterPlug company in 2009, and our customers are as happy with the BoosterPlug in year 2-3-4 as they we're on day one. And we have lots of returning customers purchasing their second or third BoosterPlug when they get a new bike. Fancy sales talk can usually fool a few people, but we would never have seen this massive support for our device if it stopped working after some time.
Best Regards
Jens Lyck
BoosterPlug.com
Lillemark 17
4990 Sakskøbing
Denmark
navn : Sarah Greer
kommentar : Thank you for the FAQ section on your website, very helpful. But you know how it is with internet forums, so here I am........ There's talk of the Scrambler ECU "learning" the booster plug and then working it's way around it, rendering it ineffective in a short time. Is that so? Could you explain in simple terms, please? I have many miles on my Suzuki DR650 and fixed it's lean condition myself by tinkering with the mixture screw, needle and main jet. But I know nothing about EFI and am lost in this ECU talk. I would like an aftermarket exhaust on my Scrambler to gain some clearance for saddlebags. That will do away with the catalytic converter, and some say will make the bike run dangerously lean. This makes me wonder too, as all the pipe manufacturers say "no re-map required". I am looking forward to your comments, and want to say thanks again for the nice website.
Sarah
Hi Sarah,
The simple answer to your first question is: No, there is no learning or “adaption” that will cancel out the effect of the BoosterPlug. The standard narrow band O2 (Lambda) sensor is not capable of providing information to the ECU that can be used to update the preprogrammed fuel map. We see this discussion pop up in the forums once in a while, but to have ECU fuel map adaption, the first requirement would be a wide band O2 sensor, and as they are rather fragile, and needs frequent recalibration, they are never seen in production motorcycles.
It’s hard for me to provide a simple answer to your question because it’s a bit complex actually. I’ll forward you a more detailed answer in a separate mail - it’s a copy/paste from a similar question I had from a BMW owner recently. Read it if you’re interested, or ditch it if not
And I know there are so many assumptions on aftermarket exhausts and so many experts out there - here is what it’s all about:
On the carburettor motorcycle, you should definitely have the bike rejected if you change exhaust or air filter, because changing (increasing) the air flow will lean out the air/fuel mixture that is fed to the engine. (You know this already)
On the modern fuel injected motorcycle, you can install any combination of exhaust and filters without damaging your engine - as long as you leave the O2 (lambda) sensor installed in the exhaust (This is important !!!)
The O2 sensor will be in charge of the air/fuel ratio at constant speeds at higher RPM, so it will adjust the mixture back to factory level, and your engine will survive the new exhaust with the higher air flow.
But at lower speeds and during acceleration and deceleration the O2 sensor is ignored by the ECU because it can not provide a reliable feedback (This is where the BoosterPlug becomes active).
In this area, you will be running even leaner than stock, and low speed running will be lumpy and throttle action will be horrible.
Low speed running os obviously a low power situation, and acceleration and deceleration is happening for a limited time, so the lean mixture will not harm your engine, but the bike will be quite bad to ride.
So with the aftermarket exhaust installed, you really need the small controlled fuel enrichment from the BoosterPlug.
Hope this answers your questions.
Cheers
Jens Lyck
BoosterPlug.com
Lillemark 17
4990 Sakskøbing
Denmark
Hi Sarah,
Here’s the more detailed explanation to the the ECU learning discussion:
The discussion about the ECU's ability to update its own basic fuel map (adaption) is a long term rumor.
But with the usual narrow band lambda sensor that every manufacturer is using, this is not possible at all. The narrow band sensor is very digital (on/off) in its behavior, so it's impossible to use the sensor information to update the fuel map. To do this you would need a wide band sensor, but this technology is certainly not for production bikes as they are fragile and expensive. I've been experimenting a lot with adaption and narrow band / wide band sensors, so I know in details how they works (and destroyed quite a few wide band sensors on the way……).
Think about it for a minute: If the lambda sensor was able to provide information that would allow the ECU to update it's own fuel map, it would override it's own temperature and air pressure input signals too, meaning that the manufactorer is just spending lots of money on useless sensors. Also it would override all kind of fuel remapping attempts: Power Commanders, BoosterPlug's, even the factory's own software updates. This is obviously not so.
The Lambda sensor is installed to correct the Air/Fuel Ratio error that comes from the production tolerance of sensors/ fuel pump/injectors, and the lambda sensor is necessary because the law demands that the Air/Fuel Ratio is kept borderline lean.
Tolerances of different components are being summed up, and if they all go in one direction, you will have a bike with really poor (lean) fueling and lots of stalling problems. If they all sum up in the opposite direction, you would have a bike that was running a little richer and you would have better running bike. This is why otherwise equal bikes are behaving differently, and the Lambda sensor is doing it's best to fix the problem, but can only do this in closed loop situations, not in open loop. This is where the BoosterPlug is a good fix.
The fact that similar bikes are not equally affected by the lean mixture requirements is another proof that there's no adaption taking place. If the rumor was correct and the ECU was adapting itself, all bikes of the same type would end up with the same Air/Fuel Ratio over time. But a bike that is extremely lean from the factory does not correct it self, and a lucky owner of a bike that is running a tad richer than the rest will not see this advantage dissapear over time.
The Lambda sensor will provide a real time fuel correction when you are riding in closed loop conditions, but this is just a final adjustment to the fuel injection calculations - there's no fuel map updates being made so the BoosterPlug is not being cancelled out over time.
Sorry for the rather technical answer, but there was no other way I could explain this.
We have sold way above 15.000 units since we started the BoosterPlug company in 2009, and our customers are as happy with the BoosterPlug in year 2-3-4 as they we're on day one. And we have lots of returning customers purchasing their second or third BoosterPlug when they get a new bike. Fancy sales talk can usually fool a few people, but we would never have seen this massive support for our device if it stopped working after some time.
Best Regards
Jens Lyck
BoosterPlug.com
Lillemark 17
4990 Sakskøbing
Denmark
