Every now and again

[Bartman]

 

You find a really good partner to work with.

 

I have been re-building my S3 for a while now and for many reasons too longwinded to go into I had to have a custom loom (harness) made to plug into my MBE9A9 ECU and run my new Raceline Zetec and Sadev with paddle-shift set up. I was having a little difficulty finding anyone who really knows the SBD products here on the east coast, so, I ended up working with Andy Jupp at Partridge Green Motorsports in the UK. Not only was he a simply nice guy to work with, he went above and beyond to help, figuring with me all I needed. His experience with not only SBD's product but with Sadev and paddle shift setups in general (having literally written the book on it as an article in Lowflying) and done a number of them for the 620R meant he was able to design a loom, complete with all the correct sensors and fittings. Its now being made and I am eagerly waiting for it to arrive as its the last major component before I can actually get this car on the road.

 

For anyone considering paddle-shift or a change to an MBE9A9 I totally recommend at least talking to Andy first, he even makes a patch cable to plug existing Caterham MBE looms for the older MBE unit directly into a new 9A9.

 

Bart.Zetec_Sadev_Harness_V3.pdfZetec_Sadev_Harness_V3.pdf

[Pokey]

• Thanks for sharing Bart.  Would you mind sharing why you chose the MBE9A9 over the other options available?

[Bartman]

Hi,

 

I chose the MBE9A9 specifically because it can handle closed loop clutch-less up and down shifts with the Sadev box, using the hall effect sensor on the Sadev it can time the engine cut dynamically in line with actual barrel position not just a pre-set cut/retard and restore on/off type arrangement, it will also blip the throttle via a pneumatic valve and piston at the correct moment when the change can be made without knocking off the sharp bits in the gearbox for the downshift, making heal and toe downshifts redundant (phew as I am crap at that). There are alternatives for sure, Geartronix makes a piggy back unit that uses this same technique. I decided to pay up for the MBE as it seemed a better solution to have all the control for engine and gearbox in one dedicated box and I needed a new ECU anyway. There are other features of the MBE9A9 that I am likely to use at some later stage (Launch control and traction control) so I've future proofed the loom for that too. I think there are many alternatives out there at differing price points but this unit appeared to have all I wanted/needed, MBE's are  used by Caterham although locked by the factory I Believe. It is a little more complex as its made in the UK and relatively unknown in the USA, but the (paid) support when mapping etc is known to be good with SBD remoting in to the session as needed and apparently that works well.

 

Hope this helps, once I get to the stage of the mapping etc I will for sure post up the experience.

 

 

[Pokey]

Thanks Bart, appreciate the detailed explanation.  The SADEV sounds really intriguing, but I've read and heard of the headaches that can arise with the various ECUs.

[Bartman]

Yeah, I know its not as simple as it sounds or maybe should be. I did 200+ laps around the autobahn country club track in a paddle shift formula car last year and it sold me on the concept there and then.