Zippers Thunder Max ECM
#11
12-04-2011, 06:35 PM
I am pleased with mine. Have about 1500 miles on it so far. Gas mileage is a little low, but my cruising AFR is set at 13/1 based on my original map. No that the the Thundermax has tuned itself for my bike I am going to start raising the cruise AFR. Probabbly start with about 13.7/1 and see how that does....
#13
12-04-2011, 07:57 PM
#14
12-04-2011, 09:08 PM
Cruiser
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: S.E. Indiana 40 miles west of cincinnati
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bought one to replace a faulty PCV .I thought my bike ran good with the PCV and Dyno tune.With the thunderMax it is a completely different bike. Smooth power and excellent throttle response.I never new what I was missing until I installed the tmax.I haven't had it dynoed with the tmax but i believe the autotune has even tuned out some the torque dip associated with my true duals. I walk away from my buddy's 09 with stock headpipe and SEPST. I would do it again.
#18
12-05-2011, 10:44 AM
Outstanding HDF Member
i have had mine for a little over a year installed one on my wifes bike as well bikes never ran so good. do it you will love it. check www.easternperformance.com $789.00 shipped.
#19
12-05-2011, 06:43 PM
The original poster ask me to do this....so the rest of ya all relax.
The biggest complaint I ever read about on the forums about the Thundermax was MPG going down. Well if you think about it....factory tuning results in 14.7 - 15.2 A/F ration...great for milage...not so good for heat and associated arguments about longevity of the engine.
Maps from zippers are tuned for power 12.5 to 13.5 A/F. So, figure the throttle position ranges and rpm range for highway speeds you do and adjust the A/F closer to 14.7 and milage will increase.
If you go into the documentation for the Thundermax, it tells you how to make changes to the air fuel ration. What comes up is a map of the A/F at throttle position vs rpm.
To make changes (at least in the 2007 version of the software) all you had to do is grap the TPS/RPM data point on the line graph and move it to the A/F you want. Then go ride, the programming in the hardware will read the actual A/F from the wideband O2 sensors and adjust the on time of the injectors to try and hit the A/F target you set. There is a limit set in the software as to how much adjustment that can be made during any tuning session....recommend you leave that setting alone and give the thundermax time to make the necessary adjustments. If I remember correctly, if you adjust the max tuning adjustment the fine tuning is not has "fine". Read the documentation to verify...I am operating of a 4 year memory...lol.
To improve your MPG at cruise (or for that matter at any throttle setting/rpm) just adjust the ratio leaner. Remember that 14.7 is stoic and will give the best milage but at the expense of heat.
I found the best setting for highway speeds was 14.2....lean enough to get good gas milage; but, rich enough that the engine would not fry my leg. I experimented with the throttle position percentage (10-30 percent) and found that range worked good. Open the throttle to pick up speed or pass and I would run 13.5.
Everything that I read from amateurs to experts was telling us that these engine make the most power with an A/F of 12.5-13.5 to 1 ration.
I played with those ratios and could not feel a significant difference in power, so I went with 13.5 or 13.6 for my "power" settings....everything above 50 percent on the throttle and above 1500 rpm.
If you look at the map from zippers for your set up (which are supposed to be done on a like setup on a dyno), you will see what they recommend for power.
Don't set the A/F any leaner than 14.7 or 14.8 to 1.....although people have checked and found their bikes (stock) were running a lean as 15 to 1....not a good idea in my opinion.
This discussion is of course for those bikes w/o cats. You got cats and anything richer than 14.7 to 1 will shorten the life of the cat.
The thundermax was the hot item in 2007 and new to the market or fairly new in that time frame. Some folks claimed problems with the units. I never had a problem and I bought the one with autotune module already installed (wide band O2 sensors and interface). Unit was about 20-30 minute install and maybe the same amount of time to load the map and off I went. Even before the autotune fine tuned the map to my specific bike, there was a significant increase in power and drivability.
I am looking at getting another 06 or 07 RK or Streetglide next year and kick it out to 103 with cams and this is the unit I will buy for my tuning issues because of it's simplicity.
And, I will make this offer. If you are in the San Antonio area and buy one of these unit and you need someone to "hold your hand" and show you how to do this...get in contact and we can set up a time on the weekend...bring your laptop..lol
The biggest complaint I ever read about on the forums about the Thundermax was MPG going down. Well if you think about it....factory tuning results in 14.7 - 15.2 A/F ration...great for milage...not so good for heat and associated arguments about longevity of the engine.
Maps from zippers are tuned for power 12.5 to 13.5 A/F. So, figure the throttle position ranges and rpm range for highway speeds you do and adjust the A/F closer to 14.7 and milage will increase.
If you go into the documentation for the Thundermax, it tells you how to make changes to the air fuel ration. What comes up is a map of the A/F at throttle position vs rpm.
To make changes (at least in the 2007 version of the software) all you had to do is grap the TPS/RPM data point on the line graph and move it to the A/F you want. Then go ride, the programming in the hardware will read the actual A/F from the wideband O2 sensors and adjust the on time of the injectors to try and hit the A/F target you set. There is a limit set in the software as to how much adjustment that can be made during any tuning session....recommend you leave that setting alone and give the thundermax time to make the necessary adjustments. If I remember correctly, if you adjust the max tuning adjustment the fine tuning is not has "fine". Read the documentation to verify...I am operating of a 4 year memory...lol.
To improve your MPG at cruise (or for that matter at any throttle setting/rpm) just adjust the ratio leaner. Remember that 14.7 is stoic and will give the best milage but at the expense of heat.
I found the best setting for highway speeds was 14.2....lean enough to get good gas milage; but, rich enough that the engine would not fry my leg. I experimented with the throttle position percentage (10-30 percent) and found that range worked good. Open the throttle to pick up speed or pass and I would run 13.5.
Everything that I read from amateurs to experts was telling us that these engine make the most power with an A/F of 12.5-13.5 to 1 ration.
I played with those ratios and could not feel a significant difference in power, so I went with 13.5 or 13.6 for my "power" settings....everything above 50 percent on the throttle and above 1500 rpm.
If you look at the map from zippers for your set up (which are supposed to be done on a like setup on a dyno), you will see what they recommend for power.
Don't set the A/F any leaner than 14.7 or 14.8 to 1.....although people have checked and found their bikes (stock) were running a lean as 15 to 1....not a good idea in my opinion.
This discussion is of course for those bikes w/o cats. You got cats and anything richer than 14.7 to 1 will shorten the life of the cat.
The thundermax was the hot item in 2007 and new to the market or fairly new in that time frame. Some folks claimed problems with the units. I never had a problem and I bought the one with autotune module already installed (wide band O2 sensors and interface). Unit was about 20-30 minute install and maybe the same amount of time to load the map and off I went. Even before the autotune fine tuned the map to my specific bike, there was a significant increase in power and drivability.
I am looking at getting another 06 or 07 RK or Streetglide next year and kick it out to 103 with cams and this is the unit I will buy for my tuning issues because of it's simplicity.
And, I will make this offer. If you are in the San Antonio area and buy one of these unit and you need someone to "hold your hand" and show you how to do this...get in contact and we can set up a time on the weekend...bring your laptop..lol
Last edited by Yardstick; 12-05-2011 at 06:46 PM.