‘ I came along today knowing I’ d lust after some incredible and immaculate cars’
Tolman is entrusted with making all sorts of rare machinery work
‘ I came along today knowing I’ d lust after some incredible and immaculate cars’
These automatic safety systems mean that additional lights and gauges don’ t need to be added to the unmolested, standard dials of the cars. Who needs a light to tell you when oil pressure has dropped so a whole load of damage can be done in the time it take you to notice it flash up and react when, instead, the engine could have already been shut off by the ECU?
Tolman’ s attitude to fuel and ignition mapping isn’ t all about maximum power; it’ s about drivability, too. Chris explains that he spends more time mapping the engine from idle to 1500rpm than he does to get maximum power. The result of proper experimentation and road testing is an ignition and fuel map that is deeply complex and undulating at low RPM and much smoother at high engine speeds. All of the peaks and troughs in the visual graph-like representation of the maps are to smooth out quirks and irregularities in the engine. Plus the accuracy that the Maxx ECUs and the sensors discreetly added to the engine, affords Tolman the ability to push low and mid-range torque up and up. It’ s a fascinating process. An in-depth look into how Tolman goes about achieving modern OEM levels of drivability in 80s hot hatches from some units in Warwickshire, albeit some very fancy ones full of talented people, deserves a feature on its own.
Before an ECU can be tuned, it needs to be wired in. The main piece of furniture in the electronics room is a massive desk, specifically designed to modify and create new looms. The desk itself is wired up with variable power and multiple earth points so a loom can be stretched out, tested and added to with ease. It’ s here where entire car looms are built up, and to the side is a smaller desk. This one has a board with sockets and clips on it. It’ s a wiring jig essentially. This board is labelled as a 205 GTi one and it has all the hard points that an engine bay wiring loom needs to wiggle around or plug into so it can be built perfectly away from the car.
54 The Engine Rebuilder Issue 01