AA4 ECU flash for water temps

[Florentm]

Hello everyone,

I was able to test last week my AA4 at a trackday at Mettet in Belgium with the new ECU flash from the factory

It seems that the overheating that made the car unusable for heavy trackday usage is gone!

Here the video of my best laps performed after several other laps, outise temp is 15°, water is staying below 85°



(Oil value in the overlay is pressure not temp)

I also added the front electrical water pump that was not present on my early AA4 and I am running pure distilled water with MoCool as the car is never used in winter (and it's safer on track)

Has anyone been able to test the car on heavy use after the flash ? The ultimate validation for me will be Spa in summer, the car was not able to do a full lap last year.

[wasp]

I did 2 days at Spa a couple of weeks back.
It was cool (7 -10 degrees) but I didn't see above 84 the whole time.
That temp was at the end of the Kemmel just before having to brake.
Indicated speed on the car was 154mph at the time, so that bodes well for everywhere, even in the summer!
Cheers,
Stu

[Florentm]

Good news, now I think we can worry about air intake temps

[abcoro]

Hello Florent. Yes, I experienced same thing...2 weeks ago, after ECU update and Ariel service...I was able to use my Atom 4 to its full potential on track as well...pushing hard all day, highest temps registered in my data was around 88°C...with one time 91,2°C in heavy traffic...ambient temp around 12°C...so still some reserve in ECT when summer hits and ambient temps will be higher. Promising none the less...

[plip1953]

Hello everyone,

I was able to test last week my AA4 at a trackday at Mettet in Belgium with the new ECU flash from the factory

It seems that the overheating that made the car unusable for heavy trackday usage is gone!

Here the video of my best laps performed after several other laps, outise temp is 15°, water is staying below 85°



(Oil value in the overlay is pressure not temp)

I also added the front electrical water pump that was not present on my early AA4 and I am running pure distilled water with MoCool as the car is never used in winter (and it's safer on track)

Has anyone been able to test the car on heavy use after the flash ? The ultimate validation for me will be Spa in summer, the car was not able to do a full lap last year.

That looked good :-)

Of course the engine never was truly overheating, just that the ecu was misinterpreting the coolant sensor signal!

Nevertheless, as you say the true test won't come until summer and for cars being driven hard on track. Last summer we were seeing temps up to around 108C indicated and which was a true 98C. That's already quite a bit hotter than I'd like to see and we mustn't forget that boost was being cut significantly once the indicated temps went over 100C so not running anything like full power.

The next thing to keep an eye on is intake temps. I've been told that timing gets adjusted once intake temps exceed 40C (under acceleration conditions, not off throttle when they jump much higher) and yours were already showing over that.

[AndyG]

Great news chaps!

I get mine done next week!

[Peter255]

Had my 4 ECU re-flashed yesterday, and on the road i see ~10C temp reduction.

That should take track temps down enough to keep the boost up. Lets hope the cars are still reliable!

Will confirm when i get on track if the weather is decent.

[Peter255]

Nearly forgot to update this. Overheating warnings not seen this year on 2 trackdays (one pretty hot!).

Looking good so far.

[markwetherall]

10 Atom 4's at Spa and Zolder last week. None overheated and some of them are being driven really hard. Issue is certainly resolved.

[speedmachine]

Max temp i had was 94 degrees

[PhilM]

Since the ECU update, my 320 manual with high performance cooling package hasn't gone above 93 degrees Celsius on track, with ambient temps of 27 degrees

[plip1953]

10 Atom 4's at Spa and Zolder last week. None overheated and some of them are being driven really hard. Issue is certainly resolved.

I think you're largely correct in terms of "overheating" per se, although I do hope they take the opportunity with the 4R to do something about the operation of the radiator fan. It's currently set to come on at 82C, which is far too soon and totally unnecessary. Fair enough if it activates at 92C ie when things are getting a bit warmer than ideal, but instances of this, especially for cars used primarily on the road, should be rare.

[MrPoseidon]

Has anyone actually checked the water temp independently to confirm the readings ?

[plip1953]

Has anyone actually checked the water temp independently to confirm the readings ?

I've checked it on one car and post re-flash it was registering 2-3dec C below actual. Make of that what you will.....

[MrPoseidon]

Has anyone actually checked the water temp independently to confirm the readings ?

I've checked it on one car and post re-flash it was registering 2-3dec C below actual. Make of that what you will.....

Well, that’s accurate enough Phil. Thanks.