Articles by andy

DRIVETRIBE Colt Groups

December 1, 2016 // 0 Comments

The ex-TopGear guys have launched a social network for car enthusiasts. I think it looks pretty good on initial impressions. I’ve set up a group for turbocolt.com on Drivetribe here https://www.drivetribe.com/t/SN-lTIwrTpmEt8EG4IJE-g/S4hh4CEjSsKsdfTkwdgWuw You can use it to follow updates on here, and to get other not blog post worthy updates and photos.  I don’t intend on it being as large asthe other Colt groups but who knows, it might take off more than expected. So what are the other larger Colt groups on DriveTribe? Check out these ones: Colt Status (run by Rcolt.com Facebook team) link here TurboColtUK (run by TurbColtUK Facebook team) link here Ralliart Colt Adelaide (run by me for the local scene in Adelaide, South [...]

Colt Ralliart 2 Byte Load

May 13, 2016 // 0 Comments

If you have ever logged your ECU Load on a stock Ralliart Colt or Colt Version R, you might have noticed it peaks at 159.375.  According to Merlin’s EVO guides, it equates to somewhere between 11 & 15 psi: Boost vs EcuLoad For colts, I’ve found 160 load to equate to around 13-15psi.  But most of us are running higher? How can we reliably tune the car when ECU Load stops reporting load past 14psi? The answer is 2 byte load. Colt Ralliart 2 Byte Load Evoscan (and Tactrix SD card) logging can handle something called 2 byte load but to do that some changes are needed to your MUT table, and also your logging configuration. Before we get into that, some more background. ECU Load is only 1 byte load. To log it, only one MUT [...]

Ralliart Colt Fast Throttle Mod

May 13, 2016 // 0 Comments

A year ago I started racing my Ralliart Colt at a local hillclimb in the Barossa valley (www.collingrovehillclimb.com.au).  At the time my car was still running the stock exhaust and as a result delivered its power in a rather torquey, all or nothing kind of powerband low in the rev range.  It was very hard to control wheelspin on this narrow winding tarmac and it was very frustrating seeing my car perform well in the first two sections of the hillclimb, only to be a second slower in the last third of the course relative to other competitors.  It felt like the car had the heaviest flywheel ever, so heavy, that it was impossible to control wheelspin once boost set in.  No amount of throttle control seemed to help – it was either [...]

Z27AG JDM Colt Version R ECU Download

December 24, 2015 // 5 Comments

Assuming you have got yourself a Tactrix Openport, the following steps detail how to do the Z27AG JDM Colt Version R ECU download.  The Japanese Colt Version R’s use a different ECU image to the Australian Ralliart Colts so the Aussie XML won’t work on the Version R’s. I’ve made an XML stub file to help in the process, but it’s not essential.   If you’re looking for the complete XML for the JDM models I might be able to help (leave a comment below and I’ll email you). Anyway back to downloading your ECU rom image.  Here goes: Install EcuFlash from this link https://www.dropbox.com/s/u55hat1zck70krz/ecuflash_1444247_win_beta.exe?dl=0 I’ve had reports that the later versions of ECUFlash [...]

Ralliart Colt Bad Flash Cant Idle

September 24, 2015 // 0 Comments

Occasionally, a flash will go bad.  There are a few causes, but if the following happens, this is how to fix it: Ralliart Colt Bad Flash Cant Idle Problem Flash goes as per normal – no errors are enountered When you go to start your Colt Turbo, it idles rough as, like the engines about to stall, it sounds very very sick. It just can’t idle normally. You’ll also have an engine check light (CEL) showing. The first time it happened to me I turned it off, back on, and found the idle was still terrible. I then flashed it again, and again. Still no good. The solution is to grab another ROM in your possession that is a fair bit different – either the stock ROM, or one that is a lot different to your current tune, and [...]

Graphing Knocksum with Evoscan

September 22, 2015 // 0 Comments

Reading the Tactrix SD card CSV logs in excel is doable, but sometimes you need a quick overview of how the run went, or perhaps you might want to send screenshot of the log’s knocksum to another enthusiast. The best way to do this that I’ve found is to graph knocksum with Evoscan. This is how you do it: 1. Buy Evoscan from here.  They’re a small company, so go on do the right thing and pay the small fee 2. Download & Install it 3. Load it. You should see the following screen. Click the Graph / Logs button: 4. This will load the graphing screen (below). Note you can also do live logging from this screen. Anyway, lets set it up to read your Tactrix CSV log. Set Data Values to Maximum Set Load to ECULoad.  If you [...]

Ralliart Colt More Boost with Stock 2 Port

September 22, 2015 // 0 Comments

WANT MORE BOOST – BUT NO 3 PORT? Assuming you have already done the pill out mod and have in your possession a Tactrix Openport2…   Your next option for more boost with stock 2 port is to adjust the two WGDC (Wastegate Duty Cycle) maps to be 100% in the 3 row area between 2500-3500, and one row at 6000: By doing this, your wastegate will be closed longer and your Ralliart Colt will run more boost with stock 2 port boost control solenoid.  You might need to pull timing back a little to prevent knocking though, so it’s best to do this combined with logging either on Evoscan or via the Tactrix SD Card logging facility. I’ll write a guide on logging & another on ignition changes at some point. There are some maps out [...]

Tactrix OBDII Logging

September 21, 2015 // 4 Comments

Did you know you can track your turbo Colt’s performance and diagnostics via Tactrix OBDII logging? Things needed: Tactrix Openport 2.0 Micro SD card (must be formatted to FAT32!) logcfg.txt file Download my sample logcfg.txt from here (right click, Save As), then copy it to your Micro SD card. That’s pretty much it!  If done correctly your Tactrix device will now log to CSV files on the Micro SD card.  These can then be checked out in a spreadsheet program, or via Evoscan. More advanced users may want to edit which MUT requests are being logged, you can do this by editing the logcfg.txt file with a text editor like notepad.   Also, note that not all of the MUT requests in this logcfg.txt will be correct. They key ones [...]

Ralliart Colt Lost Immobiliser Code

September 21, 2015 // 0 Comments

Help! I’ve just flashed over my Ralliart Colt’s Immobiliser Code! If you’ve accidently flashed over the top of your rcolt’s ECU, don’t panic, you can get your Ralliart Colt running again.  You’ll need to disable the immobiliser though.  Load ECUFlash and the with the ROM you want uploaded, go to ECU Options #2. The screenshot below shows a rom with immobilser enabled (top), and then disabled (bottom): To change Bit.03 to zero, click into one of the values that is already a ‘0’.  Then go Edit->Copy (or ctrl-c). Then select the Bit.03 value, and go Edit->Paste (or ctrl-v).  It should now look like a ‘0’.  Compare against another rom to ensure you got it right and didn’t change any other [...]

Ralliart Colt ECU Flash Guide for Noobs

September 18, 2015 // 5 Comments

Formally known as the Ralliart Colt Noob Flash Guide.  This relates to the AUDM Ralliart Colt, though if you have the XML for your turbo colt, some of this might be useful.. So, you’ve heard about the free Macca community flash available on www.rcolt.com and want a piece of the action.  First off, we need a huge disclaimer! Warnings: Make sure you feel comfortable with the ECUFLash software, copying values etc before doing it for real. If you’re terrible on computers, you probably shouldn’t be doing this without help of someone who is. Make sure you do everything carefully be slow and methodical. Last thing you want is a bricked or broken rcolt. When you’re reading an unflashed colt for the first time, make sure all your Open [...]
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