electronics and wiring
COMPETITION & COLLECTION
LORRTEC carries out the installations of high-end MOTEC electronic boxes , as well as the manufacture of harnesses and the development on an engine test bench or vehicle test bench.
LORRTEC is also an official MOTEC and DTA distributor for France : we sell all the electronic boxes in the range, as well as accessories such as dashboards, powerboxes, sensors, etc.
During bench tuning we can also work with other types of computers: Bosch, Magneti Marelli, GEMS, Cosworth, Pectel, Sodemo, E-Race, Haltech, Sybele…
Find MOTEC products on our online store
Presentation of the activity of installation and development of electronic boxes MOTEC
Interview with Pierre-Antoine RAMPON on the electronic box and wiring activity:
Pierre-Antoine, you install many MOTEC boxes at LORRTEC: can you describe a MOTEC electronic calculator?
An engine management system MOTEC is a top-of-the-range electronic unit designed to control all control functions of a thermal motor : ignition (coil) and fuel injection (Injectors) control, turbo management, motorized throttle control, camshaft phase shifter control, sequential gearbox control and paddle-shift system, anti-skid control and starting strategy, advanced management of turbo anti-lag, multiplexing with other external computers (CAN) etc…
It is essential to have this type of programmable electronic box to get the best out of a competition engine, or to manage functions that are missing from a standard box.
Is MOTEC a well-known brand?
MOTEC is the world leader in the field of competition engine ECUs.
In which cases do you recommend a MOTEC box?
From the moment there is an engine preparation with parts impacting performance, it is necessary to opt for a programmable computer to fully exploit the power in complete safety.
On cars without prior engine preparation, we also install MOTEC boxes to allow us to gain in performance by optimizing the vehicle on the bench without taking into account the problems of pollution control and high reliability inherent in production vehicles. In addition, these computers can make it possible to carry out an accurate diagnosis and thus solve often insoluble problems that occur with original electronic boxes (switching to degraded mode for unknown reasons, etc.)
Which disciplines are involved?
All disciplines: Rally, Rally-raid, Rallycross, Circuit, Trackday (Caterham, Lotus etc…). We have even installed MOTEC boxes on competition motorcycles and quads…!
What are the advantages of a MOTEC box compared to an original electronic box?
With a MOTEC control unit, we find an optimal setting for the engine no matter what. No compromise is necessary as is always the case with an original electronic box. We control 100% of the system, which allows us to make a quick and precise diagnosis in the event of a problem, often using data acquisition or telemetry (remote recording and monitoring).
The other advantage is the extreme flexibility of the system. The MOTEC software (M1 Tune) for programming the boxes is one of the most advanced on the market, and if necessary we can modify and compile our own program if the basic software does not suit us. This happened to us, for example, on the Porsche 962 Group C (Bi-turbo). Indeed on these engine configurations the two banks of cylinders are separated in terms of intake, exhaust and turbo … Each bench must be considered as an autonomous engine and requires its own algorithm to be optimized with precision, in particular for the control of the boost regulation (by double PID) independent for each turbo. This is a function that was not provided in the original MOTEC software, but that we were able to add by modifying the source code of the ECU (MOTEC M1 Build) .
What are the advantages of a MOTEC case compared to another competition case?
MOTEC boxes are calculators with a large number of functions and are infinitely more flexible at the software level, which makes their application limitless provided you master the technology. In addition, their components are extremely reliable.
QUOTATION
How is the development done?
Tuning is carried out on a vehicle bench or an engine bench. We equip the engine with all the necessary sensors (pressure, temperature, etc.). Each engine operating point (rpm, load) is optimized according to different parameters: power, torque, richness, knock, etc. Among other things, we use an AVL cylinder pressure sensor system.
Can I do the tuning myself?
It is possible if you have the skills in engine management but the adjustment on the test bench remains essential to achieve a correct result. We rent our test benches (engine and vehicle) only to professionals.
Presentation of LORRTEC’s wiring and harness production activity
How do you connect the box to stock sensors?
The box connects to completely configurable inputs, it can be an original sensor or a competition sensor, it all depends on the application.
What sensors should be kept?
We often keep most of an engine’s standard sensors and add new ones, such as cylinder pressure sensors (which measure the pressure in the cylinders on the bench) or even on-board knock sensors.
How is the wiring done?
In 90% of cases we design a tailor-made harness . In some categories we may need to reuse the standard harness.
All our harnesses are designed with silver cable and high-end Raychem DR25 sheath . We use standard or military connectors (Deutsch) depending on the budget.
What are the interesting options?
For example, we can couple the calculators to “color” dashboards , or even add multiplexed power supply systems of the powerbox type in order to avoid the use of fuses and intelligently manage the monitoring and failure modes.
QUOTATION
All the activities of LORRTEC