Dynamic Idle for TDIs

[Mark@MaloneTuning]

We have seen European industrial TDI engines with a fixed 1250 RPM idle and some of our clients are curious about elevated idle to possibly shorten the warm-up period. They however don't want to consume more fuel with high idle on all the time, especially if the engine is already warmed up. Enter our dynamic idle tune:

The idle also will return to stock if ~12 minutes has been reached, regardless of coolant temperature.

If the car starts up with the coolant temperature already at 60C+ (140F+), the idle RPM will immediately be stock.

Some other idle examples:

• Cornell University Serial Hybrid 1.4L TDI vehicle - Starts at 1000 RPM and then idles permanently at 1500 RPM once warmed up. This is the optimal RPM range for charging batteries. The 1000 RPM start-up avoids the cold engine wear-and-tear that could occur with a sudden 1500 RPM start. A similar configuration was used in a TDI-powered drilling machine in Alaska.
• 1100 RPM fixed idle in a highly modified TDI with stiffer engine mounts. This reduces idle vibration. 1200 RPM elevated idle was also applied at lower coolant temp to potentially warm up the engine faster.

This feature has been in use for a year with no issues. It requires custom tuning price (about $50-100 more than standard). Other features are available with custom tuning - dynamic EGR control, left-foot brake fix, and glow plug duration & strength change.

 

[Farfromovin]

Also a good idea for those with super stiff dogbone mounts!!! I like the innovation here Mark. More options are always great.

 

[turbocharged798]

Very nice. Can you reduce the rediclously long afterglow that these cars have too?

It would be neat if there was a complete list of these modifications you are able to do.

 

[blizzard60]

It would be neat if there was a complete list of these modifications you are able to do.

^ Agreed to this! Kinda like a buffet, or smorgasbord of tuning choices!!

As Phillip said, nice work on the innovation!

Cheers,
-Chris

 

[Bob_Fout]

I can attest that high idle helps with stronger mounts. It also helps with smooooth launches.

 

[ryanp]

i have 1050rpm idle, it makes the stiffer mounts bearable! Launching is also improved as stated before!

 

[Evil-Diesel]

i have had a 1200RPM idle (see sig) since putting in my hybrid vnt20 and it works amazing not only for warmups but for a lightened flywheel (had 14lbs FW)..made the flywheel feel more like a stock 22lbs FW. Malone did it for me when he was with kerma. the only thing though, mine starts up at the normal 900rpm but after 10 minutes, it climbs and stays at 1200rpm. and only because i was told they couldnt figure out how to startup and stay at 1200rpm on the bew's. that was 3 yrs ago...i guess its been figured out.
good job.

 

[m1ketdi]

The idle also will return to stock if ~12 minutes has been reached, regardless of coolant temperature.

This time based drop is a neat feature. Is this only to be found with an appropriate damos. Or have you written completely new code?

 

[foxracer1]

I had Malone do this to my AHU warms up faster i love it!

One thing i've noticed it would be nice if it would idle at stock (9xx) when you first fire it for a few seconds till the engine catches its self, then raise to 1200 for the time. It seems to struggle with the extra fuel when it first lights with the elavated RPM cold start.

 

[JFettig]

I also had Mark do this to my AHH Passat, this thing starts like a bomb and is so smooth. With the elevated idle I can drive around at 20mph in 3rd without touching the go pedal

I have been very happy with my tune and tweaks to it.

Jon

 

[Ski in NC]

My preference would be a switch on the dash. Switch on, hi idle. Switch off, normal idle.

 

[foxracer1]

A switch would be nice.

I had talked with him about a "valet" switch. To derate power and boost for certain drivers. He said he's been looking into it. My tdi swapped 86 will get it.

 

[JFettig]

I don't really think a switch would be necessary, It would probably hit 140F pretty quick in warm weather. I'll have to weigh in when summer comes.

Jon

 

[foxracer1]

It would be nice to idle it up after a hard run to help cool down and such.

 

[Vince Waldon]

Been giving this some thought as well... unfortunately *after* I got my tunes from Mark.

I'll probably just do it electronically by adding a small variable resistance on a switch to the go-pedal circuit. It is just a pot itself after all.

 

[Digital Corpus]

Are there limitations as to which generations can or cannot have this tune?

 

[Mark@MaloneTuning]

It's possible to install a switch that sends a specific coolant temperature to the ECU, triggering a specific idle RPM on demand. The instrument cluster will still report the correct coolant temperature (this is important because you'll want to know if your coolant is too cold or too hot). There may be a more elegant way of implementing the manual switch but it'll require R&D and the automatic elevated idle shown here works fine for most people. I'm busy with other R&D that will have more use than the manual switch

 

[Mark@MaloneTuning]

It would be neat if there was a complete list of these modifications you are able to do.

^ Agreed to this! Kinda like a buffet, or smorgasbord of tuning choices!!
As Phillip said, nice work on the innovation!

How about an on-the-fly nitrous oxide (N2O) tune switch? That's one of the few things currently in development. With the nitrous oxide switch turned off, you're running a normal tune that does not overfuel (no excess smoke), and with it turned on, you're running a tune specifically built for nitrous oxide.. with plenty of fuel and extra power. A big power difference between two tunes - you do not have to run one compromising tune.

There can also be a basic on-the-fly 2 Stage switch for switching between a mild tune and aggressive tune.

The best part is that no special instructions are needed to operate the switch - you don't have to cycle the key or re-flash the ECU. You can switch even while driving under any condition, hence on-the-fly. It has a smooth 2 second transition between tunes so there will be no uncomfortable surge even if you try switching with your foot on the floor. I make all tunes as smooth as possible.

There's also something else really awesome that I'm hoping to release this year. It's by far better than any of the features I'm posting this month. It's under wraps for now..

Cheers,
Mark

 

[jdhunt0]

I emailed with you back and forth on Monday. Thanks, but a couple more questions have come up that your last post made me think about.

If I go with a custom tune, you said it required 2-4 "tunes" to get it right. Well, what if I want to change something later or your come up with a new feature, what does it cost to make a change or add something new?

 

[Mark@MaloneTuning]

See e-mail for an answer. I prefer that people contact me directly to discuss pricing.

For the record, 2-4 tunes are not required for custom tuning. It depends on how your logs look and if you want any adjustments (i.e. pedal sensitivity, smoke adjustment, etc.). Many cars are spot-on with only one tune, but as this page shows, some cars will benefit with tweaking.

Anyone who says that a tuner can make a tune spot-on the first time for every car is seriously mistaken

 

[CGDoig]

Seriously looking forward to seeing what your new stuff will be. Also interested in the tur switching. My wife won't drive my car because she's afraid of it. She's drives. 4 cyl dodge caliber...

 

[Mark@MaloneTuning]

Are there limitations as to which generations can or cannot have this tune?

The dynamic idle has not been tested in 2009-2011 TDIs yet. Works fine in all previous years.

 

[Demon Diesel]

There can also be a basic on-the-fly 2 Stage switch for switching between a mild tune and aggressive tune.

The best part is that no special instructions are needed to operate the switch - you don't have to cycle the key or re-flash the ECU. You can switch even while driving under any condition, hence on-the-fly. It has a smooth 2 second transition between tunes so there will be no uncomfortable surge even if you try switching with your foot on the floor. I make all tunes as smooth as possible.

Cheers,
Mark

Mark, Just wondering if the "switch" in the "on-the-fly 2 Stage" can be the cruise control switch. Switch ON=Mild Tune, Switch OFF=Aggressive Tune?

 

[Mark@MaloneTuning]

Mark, Just wondering if the "switch" in the "on-the-fly 2 Stage" can be the cruise control switch. Switch ON=Mild Tune, Switch OFF=Aggressive Tune?

The switch will be a factory button (maybe modified) on the dashboard.

See the blank button just to the left of the middle hazard button (red triangle)? That's where the switch can go.

In case these buttons are unavailable, I'll supply a separate switch that can be installed next to the gear shifter.

I'm not too interested in doing the cruise control mod. I think it feels weird and there could be accidental switching when trying to activate cruise control. Another reason is that a nitrous oxide switch can't easily be hacked into the cruise control switch. Also, wiring nitrous to cruise control might result in this:

... except that you don't have a bed in the back of your vehicle for interstellar cruising:

 

[foxracer1]

OH SNAP would if you accidently hit it in a traffic jam!!!

lol

 

[MoldovaDIZEL]

I also had Mark do this to my AHH Passat, this thing starts like a bomb and is so smooth. With the elevated idle I can drive around at 20mph in 3rd without touching the go pedal

I have been very happy with my tune and tweaks to it.

Jon

mine will pull in all gears with no go pedal,even 5th,or 4th uphill no gas keeps going.

 

[JFettig]

mine will pull in all gears with no go pedal,even 5th,or 4th uphill no gas keeps going.

Mine does too, I only got into 3rd at the time, it'll get into 5th no problem

 

[squire89]

would i be able to run this with another vendors performance tune?

 

[Bob_Fout]

would i be able to run this with another vendors performance tune?

The tune is what's controlling the idle. This dynamic idle comes from Mark's tune.

 

[MoldovaDIZEL]

Mine does too, I only got into 3rd at the time, it'll get into 5th no problem

yea but im running a stock tune.
could be do to a heavyier flywheel as well.