Effect of ECU programmable reprogramming of 4-stroke motorcycle modified injection on engine performance with variations in injection timing, ignition timing and fuel type

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of ECU reprogramming on the performance of 4-stroke motorcycle engines by varying injection timing, ignition timing, and fuel composition. Conducted at Teqleck Speedshop, the research used experimental methods to assess power, torque, and exhaust emissions under different fuel mixtures. The best emission results using pertalite fuel were achieved with a mixture of 80% pertalite and 20% ethanol, while the highest ethanol blend tested was 60% ethanol. For FirstX fuel, optimal emissions were obtained with a 40% FirstX and 60% ethanol mix, though a maximum blend of 80% ethanol was also tested. In terms of performance, the highest power output occurred at 40% ethanol with injection timing set at 100 and ignition timing at 20. Using this setup with pertalite resulted in a power increase of 16.51% (0.89 kW), while FirstX showed a slightly higher increase of 17.15% (0.94 kW). The highest torque was achieved with 60% pertalite and 40% ethanol at the same timing settings, showing a 12.04% gain (1 N·m). FirstX achieved a higher torque of 1.41 N·m (17.04%) at 40% FirstX and 60% ethanol. Overall, pertalite-ethanol blends offered better balance in power and torque compared to FirstX-ethanol combinations.