Shop NGEN Performance
Shop 500 Madness
 

I just picked up seats for my GTV6 in Rhode Island, a 360+ mile round trip. Jumped in my wife's Grand Cherokee and did 3 hours there and 3 hours back...
 

Welcome aboard!...
 

MADNESS Spring Savings!

Save $80.00 on this Carbon Fiber Front Brace Bar for your FIAT 500.

Upgrade your FIAT 500's handling...
 

I think it's awful. 250 mile range is not extraordinary, and the design is....meh.
 

hmmm... over 8 years ago this thread was started. Let's see what the response is going to be ...
 

Good luck. Take advantage of their lifetime warranty if you have any issues....
 

Thanks for registering and welcome to the forum! Post a picture of your. We'd love to see it!
 

Watch the Alfa Romeo Milano World Preview


The new Alfa Romeo Milano will be revealed to the world 10 April 2024 - 5pm CEST (11 am Eastern Standard Time, 8 am Pacific Standard Time) Watch...
 

Did you ever figure out what it was?
 

Our April Hot Deals are live!

Save $150.00 on the MADNESS "Autosport" Coilover Kit by V-MAXX.


This kit gives...
 

Hear hear! ...
 

earthquake ☑
eclipse ☑
not dead yet ☑
...
 

Thnaks for the heads up. I fixed the link. Good luck!
 

Just over 2 months until the big event, don't forget to register if you're planning on going, space is limited....
 

Welcoming Pasquale PERRI our newest member, nice looking 1970 Fiat 500 that he drives...
 

Thanks to all who participated in this impromptu drive yesterday, great experience
 

Road Race timing controller

Collapse
This is a sticky topic.
X
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • unknown_eyes
    Guest
    • Oct 2011
    • 393

    Road Race timing controller

    Has anyone installed the Road Race timing controller or familiar with it?


    What kind of HP gain can be expected?

    Is this something than would need to be removed before taking the car in for service?

    Is it safe to install?

    Will it have a drastic negative effect on MPG during normal driving conditions?

    I have already installed a Mopar CAI, they claim 7HP gain. I have a Borla cat-back exhaust on the way, est prob 2-3 HP gain?? Was thinking of adding the timing controller for a little more bump. Looking at possibly a 10-15HP gain over stock with all 3 installed? Are these estimates realistic? The car is much more responsive with just the CAI, but has given me the bug for more power. I dont plan on racing the car, just improving the fun factor even more!
  • AMX
    Junior Member
    • Mar 2012
    • 21

    #2
    I purchased one and installed it yesterday. Not to give up any trade secrets, but it is an add on or piggy back device. It plugs into the MAP sensor harness and the claim is that by doing so the ignition timing is advanced 4-5 degrees. Advancing the timing should give a good boost in low rpm torque, and 4 degrees should be very noticeable. The dyno chart that RRM shows clearly shows an improvement throughout the rpm range. What can not be discerned from a dyno test is the driveability at part power. In an old school car (such as an AMX, LOL) advancing the timing can make a night and day difference.
    The Road Race Motorsports Timing Controller works as advertised. I was concerned that I would not be able to feel a difference, but the difference was obvious before I could back out of the garage. I would describe the difference as similar to with and without sport mode, better throttle response, easier to pull away from a stop, more "grunt" at low rpm. But the difference is bigger. I typically like to use sport mode for pulling away, but I forgot the first time and the car takes off better with sport off than it did before with sport mode on. Where I would shift at 2000 just put-putting around, can now shift at 1500. Where I would downshift to go up a moderate hill, just chugs along fine. Where the car was happy at 2000 rpm, is now happy at 1500. So yes, mileage probably will be better. Under no circumstance would advancing the timing have an adverse impact on mileage.
    After a nice drive, I had a chance to take off in sport mode. Wow. Actually spun the tires a little without even trying. I left the house with the DIC showing 40 mpg. I came back after a day of driving around, probably 75 miles, still showing 40 mpg.
    When you wind it out, seems to pull harder all the way to red line. I will probably do a back to back test dragstrip test when the weather gets warmer to quantify the top end power increase. But for now my butt dyno confirms the 5HP claim. There is no reason why you would not get an additional gain in performance over and above what your existing mods have given you.
    All notes and opinions above were based on 93 octane....
    AMX guy.

    Comment

    • AMX
      Junior Member
      • Mar 2012
      • 21

      #3
      I bought one, and installed it yesterday. It made the car much more responsive, from idle to redline. I think any modification to engine managment should be removed before you take it to a dealer for any reason, and the T/C just plugs into the harness for the MAP so it is easy to remove. In my opinion completely safe, because any situation where the additional ignition advance would cause a problem, the knock sensor will retard the timing. But from the way my car performs, no sign of anything. MPG will improve if anything.
      AMX Guy

      Comment

      • unknown_eyes
        Guest
        • Oct 2011
        • 393

        #4
        Originally posted by AMX
        I bought one, and installed it yesterday. It made the car much more responsive, from idle to redline. I think any modification to engine managment should be removed before you take it to a dealer for any reason, and the T/C just plugs into the harness for the MAP so it is easy to remove. In my opinion completely safe, because any situation where the additional ignition advance would cause a problem, the knock sensor will retard the timing. But from the way my car performs, no sign of anything. MPG will improve if anything.
        AMX Guy
        Thanks for the info. I am still considering it. I would like to hear your impressions on this after it's been on the car for a while. Definately keep us posted.

        Comment

        • AMX
          Junior Member
          • Mar 2012
          • 21

          #5
          I know this may sound odd to some of you, but I am a drag racer, and I have found the track to be a pretty good $10 dyno. I took my Fiat to the dragstrip, and ran with and withoug the RRM timing controller. Results confirmed what I felt with the "butt dyno", better performance on the low end. Mph in the 1/8th mile and 1/4 mile increased only incrementally, but 60' and 330' were significantly improved. I ran with the T/C, two passes without, and again with T/C just to rule out track conditions, launch variation, etc. I did NOT launch the car hard, just roll out and go, shifting at a conservative 6000 rpm. Picked up about 0.05 on the 60' and about 2 tenths and 1 mph on the quarter, as I said mostly showed up by the 330 foot. I have a drag race simulator that I have used to match real world ET on several cars, the simulator program says my results equate to about a 5% improvment in power, pretty much what RRM claims for their T/C. I now have the Injen intake installed, hope to get the car to the track again to confirm what my butt tells me, improvement on the top end.
          "AMX guy"

          Comment

          • FiatFighter
            Junior Member
            • Apr 2012
            • 14

            #6
            I really think I'm going to pick one up myself, along with rrm's intake and exhaust , I had alot of RRM's parts on my Tiburon many moons ago and they really are a hell of a tuner company. Very glad they decided to look at the fiat.

            Comment

            • elguapo64
              Junior Member
              • Apr 2012
              • 2

              #7
              I just bought mine today. It's shipping and I should have it by tomorrow. Already modified the exhaust. I also purchased the Corsa intake. This unit does make sense as far as performance. I used to drag race a lot with carburated VW aircooled cars. So I understand why they, (RRM), didn't make any changes on the fuel/air mix. However the increased flow capacity will allow the car to kick up the fuel. I run super only so the timing advancement will definitely help.

              The butt dyno isn't necessarily scientific, but if u know your car well it's a good reference point. My butt dyno gave me an indication that the exhaust helped.

              Comment

              • FiaTED
                Senior Member
                • Feb 2012
                • 187

                #8
                Is the installation of the Road Race Timer a DIYer?

                What are the steps?

                Thanks for your insight
                Proud Owner of "Lil Enzo"


                It's more fun to go fast in a slow car than slow in a fast car.

                Comment

                • unknown_eyes
                  Guest
                  • Oct 2011
                  • 393

                  #9
                  Its plug and play and accessible on the top of the engine towards the rear.

                  Comment

                  • AMX
                    Junior Member
                    • Mar 2012
                    • 21

                    #10
                    Basically it is a box with two connectors on it that plugs in between the MAP sensor and the MAP sensor wiring harness. You pull the connector off the MAP sensor, connect it to one on the box, connect the other from the box back to the MAP sensor.

                    Comment

                    • Knuckledragger
                      Junior Member
                      • Apr 2012
                      • 11

                      #11
                      I made a mount for this product:

                      Fiat_TCU_Detail_B&W.jpg

                      Comment

                      • Wolfie
                        Senior Member
                        • Apr 2012
                        • 242

                        #12
                        Originally posted by unknown_eyes
                        Its plug and play and accessible on the top of the engine towards the rear.
                        Picture pls ;-)
                        Fiat 500 Lounge

                        Comment

                        • Thunderbolt
                          • Apr 2012
                          • 489

                          #13
                          Wolfie, if you follow the link in the original post to 500madness's site, there are photos there.

                          And conveniently, when you're on that page, all you have to do is click "add to cart"...
                          500Crew.com - Fiat 500 Club in the Vancouver, BC area

                          Comment

                          • Wolfie
                            Senior Member
                            • Apr 2012
                            • 242

                            #14
                            Originally posted by Thunderbolt
                            Wolfie, if you follow the link in the original post to 500madness's site, there are photos there.
                            Actually, I already found pics on RRM's website - thanks for the info anyways!

                            I wonder if the valve cover will still fit after installing the timing controller with the Cohort Auto® Fiat 500 TCU Mount? (would like to keep the original look under the hood)

                            Thanks
                            Fiat 500 Lounge

                            Comment

                            • Thunderbolt
                              • Apr 2012
                              • 489

                              #15
                              Originally posted by Wolfie
                              Actually, I already found pics on RRM's website - thanks for the info anyways!

                              I wonder if the valve cover will still fit after installing the timing controller with the Cohort Auto® Fiat 500 TCU Mount? (would like to keep the original look under the hood)

                              Thanks
                              OOPS you're right, that was RRM's site, not 500madness...

                              Hopefully somebody can answer your question, as I'd like to know also. Thinking about getting this controller and mount myself.
                              Last edited by Thunderbolt; 05-02-2012, 03:00 AM.
                              500Crew.com - Fiat 500 Club in the Vancouver, BC area

                              Comment

                              Related Topics

                              Collapse

                              Working...