I was lucky enough to be able to test the Mad ECM that Marco and Doug Conrad at Advanced Diesel Technology have been working on for about 3 years now. They are coming closer and closer to having a production model ready for the public. I have to say that I believe I have the highest quality of high performance products for my truck.. I believe JR Akins makes the best turbos, Don M the best injectors, SBC the best clutch, Haisley makes the beast fire rings, and I believe I have the best VP44 out there. Out of all the fueling modifications I have made to my truck in the past the MAD ECM I believe has had the largest effect on the way my truck drives and performs more than any of them. It is going to be hard for me to explain how much the throttle response, low end torque, spool up, acceleration, and power have increased. First impression after immediate installation of the ECM was that the throttle response is literally twice as fast as it was before. It was like driving a totally different truck. The truck just rev’s much faster with more low end torque. The truck accelerates like it never has before. I used to drive all over town normally at about ½ throttle now I’m getting my body sucked back into my seat at ½ throttle. I have never run the truck hard enough to break the back tires loose between shifts but now I find myself doing it accidentally with my fueling box off. The spool up is much quicker with the MAD ECM than with the EZ. The trucks has the throttle response and sound of a 12v not a sluggish vp44. The ECM has made the truck so much more fun to drive that I will never from now on drive without one. It is just stupid how much faster the truck is on the street. I did get to chance to dyno on a dynoject and I noticed the exact same power with the ECM as an EDGE EZ. I also saw the same amount of power with both stacked with a TST box. This thing is not going to sell on dyno graphs… this thing is going to sell on how much better the truck runs and how much faster it accelerates on the street. The ECM improves the entire power curve of the truck. Marco and Doug are still working on a final product and hopefully any of the bugs that are left will be fixed and this crazy thing can hit the market.

Horace

 

Jeez man. Now we are really gonna have to meet for lunch. lol. Sounds like you got a killer setup there. So your seeing the same numbers now with just the ECM as you did with the EZ and TST stacked? That's insane.

 

No, I am seing the same numbers from the EZ stacked with the TST as the ECM stacked with the TST. But on the street the ECM blows away the EZ. The ECM tottaly changes the way the truck drives and accelerates.

Horace

 

It is great to hear Marco's Mad ECM is finally starting to get close. I havent heard anything about it in quite some time. I actually assumed that he gave up on it since it has been so long. Sounds like it delivers what he had been saying early on. Any idea on how much longer?

 

Where are you in Texas?

This is the first I have heard of this, and I am intrigued. What do you think this will do when added to a stock truck?


I need to know more!!!!

 

thanks for the report, now I go find an ecm

 

Will the Mad ECM work with an Edge Comp? You talked about using it in place of an EZ so I am curious if it could be stacked with a Comp or if it will only work with other boxes that are typically stacked with an EZ or VA?

 

Post is a little unclear. So a couple of questions.

You swapped the ECM out and removed the EZ/TST box? Not sure if you have the factory high idle enabled or not but does the feature still work with the MAD ECM?

Thanks.

 

So far the Mad ECM has been compatable with JVD, TST, and EDGE Comp boxes. I personally wanted to unhook the EZ because I don't think it would add anymore to what the ECM has, but it is compatable. I just used my TST box that hardwires into the pump. The EDGE Comp will work with the ECM.

I'm not shure it will work with the factory high idle... I'm shure this will be discussed farther down the road once a final product is closer to being finished.



I have no idea... this has been a very long ongoing project.


Feel free to ask anymore questions.

Horace

 

How much? Roughly of course...

 

Horace,
First question, did you test the ECM with or without that new pump? I'm just trying to figure if the SOTP or dyno results may be skewed from what others will see if they don't have the new pump.

With the ECM on there, what turbos do you have on there? I read your sig "NEW HUGE TWIN TURBOS". What kind of spool up did you have before, and how did it compare to us single turbo trucks?
I'm trying to figure, with all the interest others, with stock trucks, have expressed, how much improvement in power or drivability they can expect. Perhaps you cannot comment on this and we will have to wait for some testing with stock, or close to stock, trucks to get better info.

Thanks for all of the info, regardless, though.

Chris

 

Horace,
Here's the biggest question in a lot of minds. Does the ECM allow for additional RPM capability, whereby the factory ecm limits it. Have they defeated and cracked the rpm code? 4K out of a 24 valve sure would be great. Fred

 

Horace can speak for himself, but I think Horace is out of town this weekend, but he is running 2 JR Adkins modified turbos, the HX40/18 and HT4B.

Hope this helps.

Andrew

 

I have no idea... With the time of R&D on this project I would have to expect that it would be more expensive than an EDGE EZ.

The results I had with my truck will be the same results anyone else will see with the ECM. I will try to explain the best I can. The power will be similar on the top end as an EDGE EZ. The ECM will have more low and midrange though. The biggest benifits are the way the truck accelerates and drives. The throttle response with the ECM is amazing... not comparable to anything ever seen on the market. The best way to describe it is the difference in throttle response between a 12v and 24v. With the ECM the truck responds so much better to the throttle. You know the feeling that the truck really wont accelerate untill the boost comes up... this is gone with the ECM.

This of course is one of the most inportant things that maily sled pullers and drag racers want badly. I know that the no load speed limiter has been deleted so in neutral you can rev to your hearts desire. Marco has had trouble deleting the rev limiter when the truck is under load. The last thing I heard was that he was really close getting it fixed. I believe whenever one is released that the rev limiter will be fixed and 4K+ will be possible with new valve springs.

Horace

 

what about RPMS? are they getting 4k yet?