My 2JZ-GTE Supra Link G4 plug-in ECU install and tune

I've been using the PowerFc for quite a few years now and although it is a good ECU, they are getting quite old now and I wanted an ECU that could run a duel fuel setup using E85, so I looked around at what was available. As Link had just come out with a Link G4 plug-in for the 2JZ and I had a near new loom in the car, I decided that would be a very good option for me. They are made in New Zealand, are very competively priced, have an excellent range of motorsport features and there are a number of tuners in New Zealand that are very proficient with tuning them.

I have bought most of the parts for my E85 flex fuel tune, but I will get those installed and tuned later this year, so all the information below here relates to my pump gas tune.

The Link parts I bought for my Supra installation were:

Link G4 plug-in for the 2JZ

Link KnockBlock

Link 3 channel ignitor x 2

The Link G4 plug-in comes without any covers so you need to remove the two aluminium covers from your OEM ECU which involves undoing 4 screws on each side and using a sharp knife, carefully prise the covers away from the ECU. Once the covers are off you need to file a slot in the side of one of the covers so that the Link ECU cable can exit through one of the covers. Once you have done that, screw both covers back on and then you end up with what looks like a OEM ECU, except there is the Link connection wire coming out of it. Thats pretty good from a stealth point of view.

The Link KnockBlock is an optional extra that most people will not require. What it does is accept the signals from the two factory knock sensors and feeds the signal to the Link ECU so that it can pull back timing when knock is detected. This is fully programmable for setting the knock levels and for how long it pulls back the timing for. This is only really needed if you are a serious drag or track racer and want to get every last HP from your setup.

The two Link 3 channel ignitors (you need two to get 6 channels, one channel for each ignition coil) are also optional as you can stay with the factory ignitor if you want to. However if you want the best performance from your ignition system, then I highly recommend buying these ignitors. I also have a Boost-A-Spark wired in and set to plus 20% extra voltage to the coils.

The tuning shop that I chose to do the install and tuning is Torque Performance. They are located in Avondale, Auckland, New Zealand and have many years of experience in tuning the Link ECU's. I could have installed the Link plug-in myself, as it is a plug-in after all but I decided to let Dave (the tuning guru at Torque Performance) do both the install and the tune. That way he would be happy that everything was installed correctly.

Before starting the Link install, Dave ran the car up on the dyno with the PowerFc in the car which was tuned for the Getrag manual that my original TT 6 speed Supra came with. As I had just recently changed to a TH400 auto, the tune was not optimal in the off boost parts of the map, but should be pretty close in the boost parts of the map. I got 409rwkw at 24.5psi from the PowerFC tune which was 41rwkw less then the 450rwkw from my last dyno run with the manual. This power loss of 41kw (55hp) or 9% less then the manual setup was exactly what I had expected as the TH400 does consume a lot of power to run, but you see the benefits of the TH400 when you get to the drag strip.

Dave removed the factory ignitor and installed the two Link 3 channel ignitors, and then he removed the PowerFc and plugged in the Link ECU. As I'm using low impedance injectors (and the JDM OEM injectors are high impedance), the Link 6 ohm resistor pack was retained as the Link G4 plug-in also requires that to run the low impedance injectors. Dave then installed the Link KnockBlock and also wired the Link ECU up to the solonoid that controls the wastegate, so that the Link could precisely control the boost and wastegate opening.

I wasn't present for the dyno tuning as I had complete confidence in Dave's ability to tune the Link ECU and he didn't let me down. After quite a few hours on the dyno (as he was tuning the car from scratch with the Link G4 ECU) Dave was able to increase the max power from 409rwkw(548whp) at 24.5psi to 507rwkw (680whp) at 25.5psi at around 7700rpm. This is a 98rwkw (131whp) or 24% increase in power and that is an awesome result, which I put down to a combination of the new Link G4 ECU and Dave's excellent tuning ability. As a comparision a friend of mine recently achieved a 40rwkw power increase from just installing and tuning the Link G4 plug-in (at a different tuning shop) with no other changes to his setup.

What makes these results even more amazing is that this is on pump gas. I'm using Gull Force 10 pump gas (98 RON) + Nulon Octane boost, giving an octane rating of around 100 RON. This would be equivalent to an octane rating of 95-96 in the USA. The peak boost level is 28.3psi at peak torque dropping down to 25.5psi just below max rpm, which is set to 8100rpm. Dave tells me that this is still a very safe tune as he carefully monitors knock levels while tuning and he has also setup the KnockBlock to instantly pull timing if it detects any engine knock occuring. There is potential for more power as the wastegate can be further controlled by the Link ECU to stop boost dropping off at high rpm (as Dave let it drop by a few psi to make for a safer tune), adjusting the cam timing as it is still set at zero and tuning the fuel for each individual injector. I have checked the torque converter slip and at max power on the dyno it is slipping by about 20% which is reducing the rwkw reading by an estimated 20rwkw, so it is making even more power then the dyno graph shows. Here is the dyno graph of the final power run with the PowerFc run included for comparision.

The DynoTorque dyno that they use (which they also manufacture and sell locally and overseas) gives exactly the same HP figures as a Dyno Dynamics dyno does. As both these dyno types show lower HP figures then the more common DynoJet dynos, for comparision purposes the 680whp is around 770whp on a DynoJet dyno. The torque figures are actually at the rollers, so they are not directly comparable to other dynos torque figures which are engine based. As I plan to stay with Torque Performance, my torque and power results will be comparable with previous runs, and four of my Supra friends use the same type dyno. so we can also compare results as well.

Torque Performance offer a great service and they even took this video of the final power run for me.

Here is a summary of the car specs:

2JZ-GTE 3.0L with Brian Crower rods, 8.5:1 CP pistons, ACL bearings, ARP everything

TH400 trans with 2JZ bellhousing and 3800rpm custom torque converter

MasterPower T70 (6967) turbo with custom T4 0.84 divided turbine housing

Link G4 plug-in ECU

Rochester 1000cc (96 lb) injectors

6 boost manifold with Turbosmart 60mm wastegate.

4.0" downpipe and mid pipe with 3.5" rear system with 2 large straight through mufflers

Crower 272 cams, 10.3mm intake, 10.5mm exhaust

Ported head, Crower 1mm oversize valves

85mm throttle body with custom intake manifold

120mm no brand name intercooler

3.0" intercooler piping

Gull Force 10 pump gas (98 RON) + Nulon Octane boost

Excellent, I'm glad you received good results and took the plunge into the unknown by trying something different.

Any plans for an additional power hike or are you happy with the overall figure?

Ben

Excellent, I'm glad you received good results and took the plunge into the unknown by trying something different.

 

Any plans for an additional power hike or are you happy with the overall figure?

 

Ben

I plan to go to E85 in the next 6 months or so. I have already bought most of the parts for that and I am just waiting for Gull to build an E85 gas station in Pukekohe, Auckland. The timetable for them to complete the station and open to the pubic is by the end of this year, so once that is done I'll run mine on E85.

Based on what the USA guys make from E85, I should get about 25% higher peak torque and about 15% higher peak power.

I took the car for a drive yesterday and it is pretty wild on the roads now! Going on to a motorway on ramp in 2nd gear (in the TH400) at just over half throttle it broke traction in the dry. I had another try at a different on ramp later on and feathering the throttle at around half throttle, I managed to get it to hook up and it accelerated very nicely. Hopefully I'll be able to get it to hook up when I take it to the drags with my MT ET Streets.

Would be nice to see some quarter mile passes from your th400 converted supra,

Also very nice mod that the Link ecu just uses the oem ecu casings.

Would be nice to see some quarter mile passes from your th400 converted supra,

Also very nice mod that the Link ecu just uses the oem ecu casings.

As winter is just finishing here it will probably be a couple of months before I get back on the track and checking the race schedules, October 14th looks like the first official meet that I can race at.