Adaptive Learning is a strategy used by O.E.M. automotive manufacturers to maintain long term tuning accuracy. This strategy allows for continuously changing climate conditions to be constantly compensated for by the ECU. This strategy is vastly different from closed loop type control systems. While Closed Loop and Adaptive Learning work together, with Closed loop systems, the system is always starting from the same point, so if you are 10% off on your base, then your closed loop system will always have to trim that 10% out every time it hits that point in the mapping. With adaptive learning, the ECU learns this 10% error, and changes the value in the map at that point. This allows for the closed loop system to work more effectively, keeping the Closed Loop system to minimal changes.

There are several strategies with the ProEFI ECU that incorporate Adaptive learning.

· Idle Control - Obtaining a proper Idle control on a warmed up engine is the easy part. The challenge arrives when that given amount of air required to obtain the desired Idle RPM changes. When the engine gets cold, the oil viscosity changes and the engine becomes harder to turn over, requiring more air to get the same idle RPM. So you now have varying base idle settings to obtain the same idle rpm under different conditions. While closed loop systems help with this condition, the errors vary greatly under the different conditions, making the closed loop system fluctuate more while trying to eliminate the error against the target. Incorporating Adaptive learning to the Idle control strategy allows for constant adjustments to the base idle tables. This means less idle fluctuation with changing temperatures, and less setup to “dial” in the idle control.

· Volumetric Efficiency table (Fuel mapping) -Adaptive Learning in the V.E. table keeps the Air/Fuel ratios dialed in under all weather conditions. This means that the need for constantly “tweaking” your tune up at different times of the year is a thing of the past. Like the O.E.M. ECU, the ProEFI ECU now performs this task automatically based upon targets the tuner enters.

· Boost Control –At a given valve opening, changing temperatures will result in changing boost pressures. To prevent cold temperature over boosting, closed loop systems are typically used. The turbo’s response from the waste gate opening and closing is very dynamic, and the closed loop systems can cause undesirable fluctuations in manifold pressure in trying to trim out any error against the target pressure. The cure for this is to eliminate as much error as possible, leaving very little for the closed loop system to correct for. The ProEFI ECU is constantly adapting these errors into the base table settings, keeping your boost targets dialed in regardless of outside temperature changes.

· Knock Control - The O.E.M.’s know that the quality of fuel a consumer puts in their vehicle can vary with seasons, and even day to day. To obtain the level of power that the O.E.M.’s are achieving in stock form they have to be fairly aggressive with compression ratio’s to get fuel efficiency and power levels up. Ignition timing becomes critical in making power and being able to prevent engine damage under varying fuel qualities. The O.E.M.’s use knock control to prevent engine damage and to trim the ignition tables to prevent further detonation. This is probably the most complex strategy incorporated by the ECU. The knock control system is constantly testing the knock threshold by adding timing little by little and “listening” to the knock sensor to determine what the optimal timing is for the fuel being used. The system then takes these values and puts them in trim tables and adapts to the changing octane requirements. ProEFI incorporates this strategy as well. While some aftermarket ECU’s knock control system is really only noise control. These systems look at a knock sensor