'91 Nissan Pulsar GTI-R | A'PEXi Power FC Installation and Tuning.

This week, we've been busy with an absolute classic - the Nissan Pulsar GTI-R. The client's come to us for an A'PEXi Power FC aftermarket ECU, which completely replaces the factory ECU and takes control over the engine parameters.

We've had some truly incredible results with this Pulsar - 320HP was found in a vehicle almost 30 years old. Find out how we did it here.

 

About

  • The Nissan Pulsar GTI-R, commonly referred / rebadged as the Sunny GTi-R in the UK, and produced 227HP from it's 2.0L 4 cylinder 16v turbo some thirty years ago, transferred all to it's 4WD system. It rivalled the Porsche 911 at the time for it's 0 - 60 speed and was capable of reaching 138 - 140 MPH when ideal road conditions were met. 

Nissan Pulsar GTi-R outside of Redline Tuning workshop

  •  This particular example is an absolute stunner for it's age; it's had a couple of engine modifications behind the vehicle's existing ECU. It comes to a point where sooner or later, the vehicle's original can no longer handle the engine modifications effectively - boost control, fuelling, ignition control and valve timing etc. cannot typically be mapped on a standard ECU.

 

The Tuning Process | Nissan Pulsar GTi-R

  • Firstly, the existing ECU was removed from the vehicle's engine bay, to be with replaced with it's aftermarket alternative - the APEX'i Power FC standalone ECU. This installation was a simple one, as the Power FC ECU is designed to simply be swapped over, to the delight of tuner's around the world. 
     

nissan pulsar gti-r engine bay at redline tuning

 

  • Once replaced / removed, it was straight onto Redline's Dyno Dynamics rolling road, located on-site. Dyno Dynamics have quickly become the industry standard of rolling roads, due to their accuracy and reliability.
  • The Pulsar was in the dyno cell for a good 3 or 4 hours, meticulously tuned by Richard. APEX'i FC standalone ECU's are ideal for those on a budget, as the factory / standard wiring loom does not have to be replaced with a custom loom. Functions such as air conditioning can still be accessed - making it a great choice for a daily driver or for a client who wants to retain functionality of their interior creature comforts.

nissan gti-r pulsar front angle redline tuning workshop

The Tuning Results.

  • The results speak for themselves - just over 320HP was found in this Nissan Pulsar GTi-R - a vehicle that's probably older than you! A fantastic result, much to the delight of the client who picked it up early. There's been huge improvements to driveability & throttle response now that all of those engine modifications are singing from the same hymn sheet. 
  • Standalone / aftermarket ECU's can always be tweaked should better grade modifications be made to the vehicle, and as most of your tuning fanatics know, your work is never, ever done.

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