Dobeck Performance Gen4 Fuel Controller ROCKS!

[Rush44]

After several days of tuning I can say the Dobeck Performance Gen4 fuel controller is the way to go... hands down. I was able to get the controller calibrated for my riding and today I didn't have a single pop, hesitation, or overfueled idle engine death. The controller responds insanely well to throttle chopping and holds whatever AFR I desire ALL THE TIME. Let me go over the Gen4 advantages to other controllers on the market:

• Stock wiring harness : No need to replace your entire wiring harness and stock ECU. Because of this installation takes 10 minutes and can be reverted to stock by simply unplugging the gauge.
• Constant AFR no matter what the conditions : Because the system is live you can make minor adjustments to the unit on colder/warmer days in just a few seconds. It does not take a specialist to make these adjustments.
• Cost : $300. It's half the cost of the closest competitor with many advantages.
• Tuning based on engine load, not throttle position
• Multi-mode adjustments (more to explain below)

The modes on the Dobeck controller are Green, Yellow, and Red. Green is your idle and near zero load mode. You will be in this mode when warming up the motor, letting off the throttle between big pushes, and when descending under little power. The Yellow mode is mid-range but you won't hardly ever use it. Red mode is your power mode and you will be in this mode when doing anything that puts the motor under load. 98% of your riding will be done in Green/Red but you can adjust how you enter these modes directly on the controller.

Using the MODE button on the controller you can simply add/subtract AFR in the Yellow/Red modes and when you are in those modes the Gen4 controller simply modifies what the stock ECU sends to the injector in order to achieve the desired AFR. The desired AFR is reached in less than a second upon entering Yellow/Red mode. Green is a simple trim adjustment from stock and based on the ambient temperature of the day you make a quick adjustment once the bike is warm to remove or add fuel. Another feature of the controller is the ability to control the Accelerator Pump so that you can tell the controller to add or remove fuel when switching between modes. I added some fuel for a quick fat burst when I smack the throttle so I don't have a chance to lean the motor out when it's under the most stress.

All in all, the controller far exceeded my expectations. I believe it is THE controller to have now that I have reviewed Bazzaz and Dobeck. There are just so many more options with the Gen4.

http://dobeckperformance.com/GEN4/Gen4technology.asp

 

[mnsnowhawk]

Do you know if they are available for us with other bikes or is it still just being tested. I really like the sound of this. Being able to see your bike running properly sounds nice. Get some video.

 

[Wheel House Motorsports]

Thanks for the writeup Rush, glad it is got your bike running like it should be!

For a little insight, and comments from his other thread where he tested, the stock bike ran greatly varying AFRs depending heavily on the ambient temp and at least on the kx450 we concluded that the intake air temp sensor does a LARGE majority of the fueling adjustments on the stock map. The bike seems to run a somewhat reasonable fueling around 32*F, it is still a little rich as it dips into the 10's often which is just wasting fuel. We (dobeck staff) have seen this on various fuelie MX bikes in a wide variety of temp ranges. After rush put some miles on just monitoring his AFR it became obvious that below freezing the mapping just gets pig rich and on cold (~15*) the bike was often running in the 10's and dropping into the 9's sometimes.

This major variance in fueling based on temperature showed us something very important, that a standard non live tuning solution may provide a improvement in economy and performance, but without adjustment based on temperatures often, and an AFR gauge to check on it, it will be a pain to keep on top of. This is what sent me personally down the road of getting a GEN4 on a bike to test out in the snow.

The yellow and red modes of this controller that I set rush up with are a TRUE closed loop. There is no suggested map it is filling in for given conditions, but just real time adjustments being made off the readings from the O2 sensor. When your in the modes, it holds the AFR you desire. Set it and ride.

We have the ability to make a controller for any of the fuelie bikes right now. I build the one for Rush as an R&D unit so we could learn about how the bikes were working in the cold conditions. Dobeck is closed until Wednesday but at that point I can talk to the managment and see where we stand on production.

Any questions about the controllers feel free to PM me or shoot me an email Nick@dobeckperformance.com

 

[KAWGRN]

Do you need to weld in the 02 bung also ?and it sound s like all your testing was on a kx or wr?

 

[KAWGRN]

Ttt

 

[Wheel House Motorsports]

You do need to install an O2 bung but he already had the bung installed on his KX making it easy as pie to install.

 

[Rush44]

During the testing phase we had a kink to work out where the bike would load up after long pulls and would over-fuel Green mode, thus killing the bike. It was especially disappointing when you relied on the bike to run, like in a downhill switchback turn, and after letting off the throttle and trying to power up again the bike would die. Starting became a little problematic after this issue as well. Still, in Yellow/Red modes the bike ran great and held the desired AFR's 100% of time.

Dobeck went back and looked at the programming code and found some issues with the pulse-width modulation parameters they had setup for me. They made a few changes and sent me an infrared dongle to reprogram the controller. Basically, you load a piece of software on the computer containing the new code, pop in a USB infrared adapter, and then you wirelessly program the gauge by holding the USB adapter in front of the gauge. The gauge reads the infrared signals and adapts the new code. Pretty slick! I did it at the truck the morning of our ride and it took about 60 seconds.

After reprogramming the gauge the Green mode load issue was completely resolved. Two full days of riding under the new code and not a single engine death. Starts for my bike took on average 2 kicks even when cold. Timbersled was in town and the stock 12-13 KX450's sometimes took dozens of kicks to start. Throttle response was crisp, downhill descents and turns were made in confidence, and I only went through about 2gal of fuel while others went through 3-4gal. I could have rode another day on the gas I had left!

Another bonus of the controller was the absolute removal of fuel from the oil. I believe that the KTM thermostat along with the fuel controller completely fixed this issue. The oil changes after the rides ended up looking like honey and could have been bottled up and sold again on the shelf. Previous oil changes when the controller was overfueling at idle had a more chocolate milk like consistency since moisture and fuel were being consistently introduced. Now I feel like I can run multiple rides and have piece-of-mind that my oil and lubrication are in check.

Loving the Dobeck controller!

 

[J&L Snowhawk]

dobeck controller who is using one and what r your thoughts

I talked with rush briefley about this controller and feel i could benefit from a controller now that i have reasonable engine temps and still have some burbles while riding steady throttle. anyone have any imput on the dobeck controllers.

 

[Rush44]

You can always call Nick at Dobeck Performance if you have any specific issues. I only think there are 3 of these in snowbiker hands at the moment.

 

[the gman]

This controller is a must if you are running below freezing on my bike. The thermostat helped a bunch, but the controller cleaned up my fuel. I ended up adding 3-4 ounces of fluid (most likly fuel) to my oil after a oil change. I measured oil in, and then oil removed after ten hours and although not sientific, the only time I removed more oil than I installed, was when I didn't have dobecks controller installed. It may take awhile to recoup my money in fuel savings but not having diluted oil will make my engine last longer....or should