No response from autothority regarding MAF chip for 55# injectors, need a 3bar FPR.
 

It has been about a week now with no response from autothority as to whether or not they have a (MAF) DME chip that is calibrated for 55# fuel injectors. So it looks like I have to assume that the answer is no. That means I'm going to have go with a 3bar fuel pressure regulator. Does nyone have a working one available for a decent price? If so, please PM me. Thanks, Steve.

Yes, their MAF and chipset will work just fine with 55# injectors.

Really? Won't it run way too rich, at anything other than WOT? Will it still be able to go closed-loop? What could I pick up a used set for, then?

I don't even think you will see way rich @ WOT. I would think $400-600 for the MAF and chipset.

Why do you want to use the APE setup? There are much better options available. Just curious......

Basically, because it has already been purchased, and has been on the car for like, a year and a half now. And, tuning setups aside, I think it is the only one that runs at 20psi, thereby exceeding the horsepower levels produced by the 4-6 hundred dollar MAF setups, by a pretty decent amount.

i used to think the same way when i was running APE chips at 20psi, until one day i got a tank of bad gas (from chevron!) and ended up with this;
http://gallery.silentmedia.com/main....serialNumber=3

Ouch, but I think you were lucky that the whole engine wasn't toast. That is why I think that a knock counter is the single most important "gauge" that you could possibly add to the car. The gears are already turning inside my head, since I have seen that simply removing power to the cycling valve, via unplugging the connector, IS enough to lower the boost to bad-fuel-safe levels. What I have in mind is a relay that will cut power to the CV, based on knock signals. I'm not quite sure exactly what numbers would be considered safe, but I'm thinking 2, maybe 3, knocks within 500ms. If that count is reached, power will instantly be cut to the CV, reducing boost to WG spring levels. The question is should it automatically reset itself after a given number of seconds, or should it have a manual reset?

I'm also thinking (just thinking) about the idea of adding an FQS (fuel QUALITY switch) to the dash. By simply breaking the power circuit to the CV via the switch, one could run regular fuel on a lengthly fuel-guzzling highway trip, or if burning up a tank of bad fuel (also, if low octane is the only fuel available at the time).

I called APE and they suck, anyways the potentiator broke and I tried to find the ohm range from them as i was next to a radio shack and wanted to do a quick fix and was told on phone confidential info and I indicated with a meter I could find the info easily .The MAF ended up being bad and looked like a ford MAF senser. I put a ford maf senser in and soldered a new potentiator into the pigtail, and I had to turn the FAQ switch to position 2, which is -3% fuel. I only have a narrow band in this 951, but the car runs much better, Idles much smoother, and the narrow band stays in stoich, except it goes one band light into rich when in boost. Just some info if anyone is interested.

You're damn skippy there are people interested, like me, for 1. That's funny, mine is definitely NOT a ford unit. The hotwire/control section on mine is definitely made by NGK. I could even provide the NGK part #, if anyone is able to decode, or cross-ref it. But more importantly, it looks like they switched up, at some point, to the ford unit. I'm going to have to assume that yours has a ford connector on it, then. Wait a minute, doesn't ford still use bosch? Was the sensor that you used to replace the original one exactly the same, in terms of size and appearance to the original? And what is it off of (that's the big one, I suppose, especially if it seems to work so well)? And I agree 100% - they suck, big time!

The entire Ford maf senser was exactly identical to the APE senser, and the APE wiring pigtail needed no modifications as it was plug and play. I tried several ford MAF sensers that were identical in apperance an all worked so I used the the senser that was in the best condition. I dont know what ford cars the sensers wre used on as my Friend owns a repair shop and they were simply on a shelf with all kinds of other MAF sensers, I will look at the senser when I get a chance and let you know what # is on it.

The other nagging question that I have regarding this is, does the DME chip that comes with a ford unit have different code written on it than the DME chip that comes with an NGK unit? There is a possibility that the connector would be the same, but at this point, I'm not sure if it is. Also, the multi-turn trimpot that is provided with the NGK sensor is 20K, is that the same for the ford setup? If anybody representing the ape people, is reading this, I'm sure they are hating it. But that makes me feel even better, because like I (and john) have said, THEY SUCK.

Hey Wildman you are running 20psi on a APE maf? Do you have a WBO2 setup. If I was you I would lower your boost. I still run their maf but I'm running the multiboard from Russel Berry. To make the story short I bought a used APE kit. the car had problems with idling. I decided to send it down to APE and after talking to Mihn I ended up paying an extra 1K for new sensor and hardware. To make the story short the car blew the headgasket two weeks later. I was running an AFR of 15.5 at full boost(16 psi). I had to call Russell Berry which was nice enough to take on the challenge. My .02 cents. If I had to do everything again I would go with Lindsey or Vitesse setup.

Yes, I am, and no, I don't. In fact, I don't even have the NB gauge installed yet (will be soon, though). Your story is similar to mine, bought used, blew HG 2 weeks later, but determined that cause was the sensor being fed by a corrugated pipe (which led to an in-the-fender cone filter) that had a bend in it that was too close to the sensor, totally screwing up it's operation. I'm certainly not going to give ape a K for a new sensor & hardware. They should NOT have had you running 15.5:1 at full boost, after giving them that much money - even more reason to believe that they suck. But mine runs rich, not lean (will provide a reading, once the gauge goes in). My knock counter says 20psi is fine, as long as the fuel quality is there.

I am not trying to defend Autothority/PITSTOP by any degree, but i would like to shed some light on that company since a few of you like to jump on a bash them so quickly. I have had their products before and was happy with them for what they are (which some of you obvious do not understand what they offer or you would not be griping about the performance....they will even tell you their products are no longer the 'cutting edge'), and their cutomer service was excellent.

The overall theme I sense is that you guys are pissed that APE is not bending over backwards to offer up customer support on products that you did not buy new from them. Well, here is a news flash: NO ONE DOES. Not Vitesse, not LR, not SFR....no one. For starters they do not know what you bought second hand, nor the condition. They do not know what is already in your car nor the condition of your car. Yet you want them (any vendor) to dish out free advice for a part that you did not buy from them? Good luck with that.

Instead of trying to "scotch-tape and bubble gum" a product together that you do not understand and will probably wind up blowing your car up in the process (which I am sure you will blameon that vendor), why not simply buy something new from a vendor and help support the Porsche 951 community? These companies (all of them) invest a lot of time and money into R&D for their respective product lines, with very little return due the market numbers (customers). If people keep treating vendors with this type of attitude, vendors will gradually gravitate away from our segment and on to other markets where the numbers are better and the griping is less.


Just my lousy .02 cents

Patrick , I do not come to a public forum to bash anyone, plus I respect most of the 944 vendors. Why because they are car enthusiats like me and they want to make our cars better. Although a lot of people bash APE(used ebay), I actually bought everything new from them(Sensor,potentiometer,harness, chips). I would expect them a least to be in the ball park. I know that you are also a vendor and you have probably dealed with people like the ones complaning. If I had known better I would done more research and go with a trusted vendor instead of APE.

I hear "part" of what you are saying , with the R&D, & everything that goes into creating the products, I do have to give them credit. But CS is exactly where I beg to differ from you. If they had the chip that I was inquiring about, why wouldn't they want to to make a couple hundred, or, whatever it costs, on me? I think that what offends me the most, is their lack of decency to respond to my question, one way or the other. Why the heck do they even offer an email address, to send inquiries to, then? This is a reasonable expectation, I believe, if such an inquiry has been made.

perhaps because there are more fake autothority chips on ebay than any other chip?

You are saying it's because they are pissed? If so, I'm NOT thinking it's such a good idea to take their anger out on those who own the genuine products. And shouldn't their anger be tempered by a certain amount of flattery? Remember that imitation is it's sincerest form. The question is: Are they the most widely counter-fitted because they are considered by everybody to be the best? Or is it because they are (or were) the big boys on the block, who everybody likes to knock off of their pedestal (similar to microsoft)?. Could simply be a matter of, that's what their is the most of floating around, so thereby the easiest to get a hold of to make copies of, I suppose. But at this point in time, wouldn't the copies be legal to make? I think that patents expire in 17 years, correct?

Before I went any further with this, I wanted to call APE/Pitstop to see just how 'hard' they are these days to get a hold of as it has been a few years since I have dealt with them.

A girl answered on my first call. Didn't seem that hard to me.....and for ****s and giggles I asked them if I could get a new wiring harness for my old 'set-up'. They asked for my name...typed me into the system, verified I was a past customer, and said no problem "$21.95".

Perhaps you are going about it the wrong way. You want customer service, yet you do not want to be a customer? Just have them answer your questions about chips that may or may may not be theirs, but ones you definitely did not buy from them?

Bottom line is, if call as a customer, you will be treated as such. If you call them expecting them to answer questions about used/copied products, then you will be discarded. I have never seen them turn down a sale.


BTW....the reason they are copied is because an ex-employee 'borrowed' their burn, and it got out.....way out.