What is Krypton tuning? Does it have any place with modern ECU controlled cars, multi point fuel injection and lambda sensors etc?
Thanks
Ben
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Crypton (C not K I believe?) was the trade name one of the first electronic engine tuning systems. Certainly around in early 1960's. Did checks on dwell angle, spark voltage, vacuum etc.
No doubt moved on since then.
Regards
John S
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Hi Bennyboy,
John S is correct. Crypton just one manufacturer of equipment, but has become the generic name, as in Hoover for vacuum cleaners. Others include SUN, Bear, Bosch,Allen etc., but for years they have been describing their equipment as engine analyers rather than engine tuners.
Modern engines require even more sophisticated equipment to check and diagnose faults than older ones, but the use of the word "tuning" is indeed questionable. Our work today (I and my colleagues specialise in engine tuning / diagnostics) does not involve very much adjustment / tweaking etc. It is now more a case of checking the various systems, sensors, actuators, etc and replacing / repairing as necessary. The car manufacturers would have you believe that their engines tune themselves, and to an extent that is correct, but only if the system is working correctly, and when it malfunctions you need soemone who understands it and has the necessary equipment to diagnose the problem. If your car stalls at junctions, is it the throttle stepper motor, the throttle position switch, the vehicle speed sensor, the MAP ensor, a dirty injector, a bad wiring connection, or a faulty ECU ?!
I remember 25 years ago, when I started in this business, that everyone was predicting we would have no work with the advent of electronic ignition. But electronic ignition still went wrong. The same happened when fuel injection replaced carburettors, and we still kept busy. And we are still busy today, because engines/systems still go wrong. Back then we were frquently asked "don't suppose you will be able to do much with these modern cars ?", now the question is "don't suppose your modern equipment can do much for the old cars ?", and the answer to both is "horses for courses". We still use modern equipment on the older cars, but the real key is knowledge, and I am afraid that some of the young technicians qualifying today may be red hot when it comes to diagnosing a complex engine management fault with a code reader, but could they set up the ignition timing from scratch on a points & condenser system ?
We still use the word tuning as a job description and in our business name because the public recognises it and the name is established, but in reality, on the modern car, diagnostics is the name of the game.
Regards, Adam
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Well said Adam but, can it really be all those years ago when we put our cars onto a chassis dymamometer, fiddled with the distributor position, got 4/5 more (indicated) horsepower, and thought that we were rocket scientists ?
Also, the dynanometer is often called a "Rolling Road". I think that was Crypton's trade name for their dyno, way back into the fifties. I must be getting old.
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[b]"I am afraid that some of the young technicians qualifying today may be red hot when it comes to diagnosing a complex engine management fault with a code reader, but could they set up the ignition timing from scratch on a points & condenser system"[/b]
Very very true Andrew - seen this with my very own eyes in our workshops! Needless to say I contacted the college and asked them to include it in the course PDQ!
MG-Rover Questions? forums.mg-rover.org/
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Bah! Ignore the [b] bits, OK?
MG-Rover Questions? forums.mg-rover.org/
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