Power Commander Pros and Cons

[Tack]

I was wondering if the factory deliberately runs leaner mixtures on the standard bikes for fuel economy and better pollution numbers than what can be achieved by aftermarket tuners fitting a power commander and tuning for richer mixtures to achieve better power at the expense of economy and CO levels?

Anyone know if that is the philosophy from the factory or, in general, do bike manufacturers just go for as much power as they can get and don't worry too much at all about hydrocarbons and economy?

[Blurr]

yeah for sure bikes are tuned down to pass EU emissions tests as well as sound tests. The stock pipes are all about noise restriction, not power.

[zxsixr03]

Have u seen the map difference of the Akra slip on then Akra slip on with link pipe its a massive difference between the 2...jump on there website for a look.
Mine goes on my '11 10R next week then for a custom map.

Have u had your 10R on a dyno to see what HP its putting out and for a top speed run by someone other than you?
245km is fast enough but u should have more... U do know its a 6 speed j/k....

[Gosling1]

..... I'd like to know your thoughts on both advantages and disadvantages of these systems......

before you spend money on PC's - get a dyno-tune now, so you know what your baseline fuel curve and hp are. Ideally, you would do this somewhere you can get a PC3 or 5 tuned up anyway, as any follow-up dyno tests need to be done on the same dyno for consistency.

As Blurr has said, they just fill in the dips and bumps in a stock power curve - this results in a much smoother power curve ( as Lurch has found out) - you may get a few extra hp, if the stock exhaust is really restrictive, then getting a good 4-2-1 (ditch the twin pipes) and a better air filter - you may pick up 10-15hp or perhaps even a bit more on some bikes.

A few years ago, AMCN fitted an Akropovic full system and Dynojet kit to a long-term project bike they had - it was an 1100 or 1200 Bandit. The hp on this bike rose by almost 30-odd hp with these mods !! It was a shock to these guys as well, they never expected such an increase.

[Lurch]

Those Bandit donk are such a lazy engine anyway, hence why they are so good at what they do. Although in saying that - 30hp is awesome.

Beware tho, that some exhausts will actually cost you power without a proper tune/power commander/whatever.
I'm not sure if the effect is the same on an inline-4, however the Cobra Dragster I had on the 109 actually robbed me of about 10hp (92hp on the dyno at the rear wheel if I remember correctly). Fast forward to a good pair of Vance and Hines, Intakes, and a PC-V - and I got 124hp at the rear....

[Jonno]

Mine goes on my '11 10R next week then for a custom map.

Gained a whole 1HP on top with the tune with Akra shorty/link pipe then it flat lined (no baseline @ stock sorry), gained a heap of midrange tho

I was told if I wanted more an ign advancer would improve it.