ERL MF2 Additional Injector Controller
By next spring, I will be installing a turbo kit into my 3rd gen lude. Btw, it will not be one of "Tom's kits," unless there is a group buy going on at the time. My question is, what in the hell exactly IS this thing? I've read the article on it a half dozen times, and I'm still confused as to what it is and what it comes with. I understand that it is a form of ECU, or an addition to it, but what else? It mentions 4 injectors that it comes with but 2 aren't included? Huh?! Is this to be used in conjunction to a turbo timer, or is it used for that purpose also?
Any and all information will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!! Oh, heh, here's the link for it. http://www.ludespeed.com/products/p...rtlist/mf2.html

I also posted this in the Prelude forums...hope I'm not breakin' any rules here.

 

That link doesn't work and I'm only vaguely familiar with the turbo kit your talking about.

The ERL MF2 allows you to run additional fuel injectors like its name implies. You have your four stock injectors in the manifold which are controlled by the stock ECU. Now let's say you add a couple more injectors tapped into the charge pipe. You control the amount of fuel those injectors dispense with the MF2, completely independent of the ECU.

Fmax uses a setup like that in their kits, the charge pipe is tapped to accept two injectors and with the kit you get the injectors plus a preprogrammed MF2.

 

Okay, I'm pickin' up what you're throwin' down. :-P Thank you for clarifying that for me. So, it's a cheaper way of tossing more fuel into the mixture and being able to tune it, as opposed to spending the extra money by using higher flowing injectors, and a timer, correct? IMO, I'd rather go with the latter(sp?) of the two. Would anybody care to disagree?

 

Actually, I'm in complete agreement with you. Staged injection via a ghetto method like the MF2 is no higher in my books than running with just a FPR or FMU.

The funny thing... it isn't that much cheaper. The MF2 is about $300, and then you need to purchase another set of injectors, and get a new manifold to support staged injection, as well as a second fuel rail and all the other hardware needed. For that price you might as well get a Hondata system and do it right.

 

A lot of people have trouble tuning additional injector setups correctly. Some are able to get them running well, but this is the exception rather than the rule. For simplicity and ease of tuning, I would go with larger injectors amd a standalone like Hondata, as was suggested.

 

The ERL MF2 is an additional fuel injector driver very similar to HKS AIC or Greddy's Rebic 3 units. The MF2 can handle a maximum of 4 fuel injectors but with caution or you'll burn the unit. I advised you use only 2 fuel injectors with the unit.

By using an additional fuel injector driver/controller, its an alternative to replacing your factory fuel injectors for larger ones. When you do replace your factory fuel injectors you'll need to upgrade you ECM or purchase an Apexi VAFC or replace it completely.

There is no difference in tuning a car with an ERL compared to a car with a larger fuel injectors. Fuel entering the combustion camber is the same as fuel entering the combustion camber using 6 fuel injectors on a 4 cylinder car. To properly tune an engine you'll need to know what is happening inside your engine. You'll need gauges like air/fuel ratio gauge and a pyrometer (a.k.a EGT gauge). And upgrade your ECM for an aftermarket like AEM's EMS or Accell DFI or motec or anything that actual has a "real time" data streaming/logging.

The benefits behind an additional fuel injector computer is for the ease of upgradability. If for some reason you upgraded all of your factory 4 cylinder fuel injectors to larger ones and decides that you what to increase the boost, then you'll need to purchase a set of new fuel injectors. With an additional fuel injector controller, you'll only need to upgrade two injectors rather than four. Another benefit with ERL's MF2, you can use it as a water injection (but you'll to buy the water pump kit though). By injecting atomized water into the combustion camber you can run more boost because it'll act as an octane and it'll also retard your timing during high boost pressure.

 

It would be the same, if your intake manifold had perfectly equal flow to all four cylinders. Which it does not. With 8 injectors and a properly designed manifold, the effects would be precisely the same. However, with only 6 injectors you run into the same sort of distribution problems that are seen in single fogger nitrous kits. Inevitably, per cylinder distribution (direct port) is the best way to go to ensure equal flow.

On another note, there are actually several benefits from using injectors positioned farther up the intake tract. OEM manufacturers place the injectors at the intake ports for fuel economy reasons, not for best horsepower.

The AEM EMS has the ability to run staged injection on 8 injectors, so if you went that route you wouldn't need the MF2.

Water injection allows you to run more timing because of its cooling effects on both the intake charge and the cylinder temps. Lower temps = less knock = less timing retard. However, it does not act as an octane booster.

 

One other problem that can happen if you run additional fuel injectors before the throttle body is that fuel can pool up in the manifold.

Water injection doesn't technically boost octane but it does have a similar effect in that it helps limit detonation.