Hydra Nemesis 2 Boost Controller Installation Instructions

Hydra Nemesis 2 Boost Controller Installation Instructions

Nemesis Installation	Troubleshooting Primer	Nemesis Tuning Primer

Wideband Installation	Boost Control Installation	Ignition Installation

The boost controller on the Hydra Nemesis 2 unit uses a boost control solenoid to modulate the amount of boost pressure reaching the wastegate actuator thus adjusting the point at which the spring opens the wastegate above the normal opening point determined by the spring. The spring determines the minimum boost point at which the wategate will open thus the boost cannot be controlled below this point.

The boost control solenoid is an electrically actuated valve that is either open or closed depending on whether current is being fed to the solenoid. A PWM (pulse width modulated) output on the Hydra Nemesis 2 unit is used to open and close the solenoid as needed to keep the boost at the target level. The first step in the installation of the solenoid is to determine what type of wastegate your turbo system has. There are two common setups, the internal wastegate which is used on the stock CT-26 as well as the CT-20b and certain other turbochargers and the external wastegate which is found on most larger aftermarket turbocharger systems.

External wategate setup

The proper setup for an external wastegate is shown below:

The ports on the side of the boost controller are labeled "1" and "2" and have barbs for vacuum hoses. The bottom port on the wastegate actuator must be connected directly to a boost source either on the intake manifold or from the output of the compressor housing. If this were the only connection, then the wastegate would fully open at the boost pressure determined by the actuator spring and maintain the spring boost pressure unless the wastegate setup is not capable of flowing enough exhaust to prevent the turbocharger from producing more boost than the spring set point. This should be the first setup that you should use on your external wastegate setup. If this setup is unable to hold the spring boost, then the setup must be fixed before any reasonable level of boost control can be expected from the Hydra Nemesis 2 unit.

In order to set a higher boost level using the Hydra Nemesis 2 unit, the boost control solenoid must be connected as shown above with the third port unplugged. The solenoid should be attached to the chassis with the bracket and screws provided so that it is near the wastegate and the third port is facing down to prevent water and dirt from entering the actuator. Normally, the boost solenoid is closed so that boost cannot pass between ports "1" and "2." Under control of the Hydra Nemesis 2 unit, the solenoid is mostly opened so that some boost pressure is allowed to pass from the boost source to the top of the actuator to help the spring counteract the boost entering the bottom thus causing the wategate to remain closed even above the setting of the spring. When the boost pressure approaches the desired target, the solenoid is mostly closed which prevents boost from entering the top of the actuator and actually allows the boost pressure in the top part of the actuator to leak out through the third port on the bottom of the solenoid. This allows the wastegate to open to prevent the boost pressure from increasing. The Nemesis then controls the boost solenoid to allow just enough boost to enter and leak so as to hold the boost fairly constant at the desired level.

Once the boost solenoid is properly plumbed and secured, the wires need to be routed into the trunk. The ignition key must be 'OFF' when performing the following step. The small gray connector plugged into the side of the Hydra Nemesis 2 unit needs to be disconnected. The plastic clips attached to the connector need to be carefully removed to allow the pins on the end of the wires to be inserted into the back of the connector. On the back of the connector, identify the pin numbers which are marked by "A1" and "A12" on the corners of one row and "B1" and "B12" on the corners of the other. Insert one of the pin into hole B3 (it doesn't matter which of the two pins) and the other into hole B11. If you make a mistake, you can straighten out a paper clip and insert it into the larger hole on the Hydra Nemesis 2 unit side of the connector to carefully push the tiny clip of the pin so that the pin can be carefully pulled out by tugging on the wire. Re-attach the plastic clips and push the connector firmly back onto the Hydra Nemesis 2 unit.

Turn the ignition to 'ON' and upload the Hydra Nemesis 2 maps to the laptop. Go to 'Select->Settings' and click the 'BOOST CONTROL' or 'PID CONTROLS' button. The 'BOOST CONTROL START RPM' value should be set to a point at least 200-300 RPMs before the turbocharger is capable of making full boost in any gear. Set it to 2500 if you are unsure of exactly where this point is. To start the process of programming the boost controller, set the 'PROPORTIONAL' value to 80, the 'INTEGRAL' value to 50 and the 'DERIVATIVE' value to 30. Now, go to Select->2D PWM->PWM MAP 8 and set all the the values in this map to 0%. Go to Select->Control 2->Boost target and set all the values to the boost level that the spring in the wastegate is set up to control the boost to in the absence of a boost controller.

To adjust the controller safely, you must have the Hydra Nemesis 2 unit tuned well enough to drive the car and be able to boost it safely. For regions of the fuel and timing maps that you have not been able to reach without the boost controller, set the fuel and timing to conservative values to avoid harming the motor while the boost controller is adjusted. The boost controller should either be adjusted on a dyno or you should have a friend drive the car on a safe stretch of road while you monitor and adjust the controller. When you are ready to proceed with the process, start the engine and allow it to reach proper operating temperature. Go to Tools->Log Data and set the datalogger to the fastest setting. Do a pull in third gear from 2000 RPMS to at least 500 RPMs after the turbo reaches full boost. If the car fuel cuts because the boost level reached more than 3 psi above the setting in the boost target map, you will need to set the boost target higher and repeat the datalogging process. If you obtain a successful pull without fuel cut, stop the datalog and export it to either a text or an Excel file so that you can examine it. Look at the 'boost (psi)' column and determine the highest boost value reached during the pull. Go to Select->Control 2->Boost target and set all the values to one psi less than the highest boost value logged during the pull. We will call this value BT1 for the remainder of this process. So, if your highest boost value during the pull was 11.8 psi, BT1 will be 10.8 psi and your target boost map should now be set to the closest value to this that you can obtain across the entire map.

Now go back, set up the datalogger to log at full speed again and repeat the third gear pull. Stop the logger after the pull and export the data so you can analyze it just as you did on the previous pull. Look down the datalog and find the row where the 'boost (psi)' value most closely matches BT1. If there is no value within at least 0.1 psi of BT1, repeat the process making sure that the datalogger is set to the highest recording speed. If a second pull fails to yield such a value, repeat the process in fourth gear to slow down the onset of boost. Once you find an appropriate row with that boost value, look at the 'boost valve (%)' column and note the value in that column for that line. We will call this value BV1.

Go to Select->Control 2->Boost target and set the boost target values to the desired boost level. As with all boost controllers, you can make the boost equal to or higher than the boost that the wastegate spring will provide when the boost controller is turned off, but not less. If the desired boost is less than that which your setup is currently producing, you will need to either get a spring with a lower pressure rating. Go to Select->2D PWM->PWM MAP 8 and find the two points that contain BV1 between them. For example, if BV1 is 58.2, the two points are going to be 53%X and 60%X. Now, set the value of the lower point to 45 and the value of the higher point to 55. Leave all the points to the left of the lower point to 0 and set all the points to the right of the higher point at 100.

Set up the datalogger again to the fastest speed and do another pull. Export the data and look at the 'boost (psi)' column. If the boost does not approach the boost target set on the boost target map, increase the values of the two points that you started at 45 and 55 by the same amount (try 50 and 60 as a first cut) and repeat the process by doing another pull. Continue the process of increasing the two points until you reach the desired boost value. If the boost goes above the desired boost target, decrease the two points by the same value (try 40 and 50 as a first cut) and repeat the process by doing another pull. Once you get close to the target, continue the process making small changes up or down until you reach the desired boost target or very close to it.

Once you find the two values that get you very close to your boost target, you can play around with the difference between the two values to try to get the fastest rise in boost to the desired target without overshooting the target too far. Remember that the Nemesis will fuel cut at 3psi above the boost target, so you want to try to keep the overshoot to a minimum. By making the difference between the two points larger (say by 20 instead of 10) you will get a faster boost rise but a little more potential overshoot. By making the difference smaller, the boost should reach the target a little bit more slowly and not overshoot as much. When changing the difference between the two points, try to keep the line on the PWM8 map at the same point at the BV1 value to keep the boost target calibration as close as possible to your target. You may have to go back and redo the calibration steps with the new difference between the two points if the boost target no longer goes to the point you set on the map. Take your time, make small changes and carefully datalog your results and you should get good results.

Now you should do a few more tests with the datalogger to see how well the boost control handles the boost when you start a pull beyond the RPM point that the turbo can provide full boost. For example, slowly take the motor to 5K RPMs without boosting and then go to full throttle. If the boost overshoots and hits fuel cut, you may need to reduce the difference between the two points to give the system a little bit more time to react to the fast onset of boost when you are beyond the boost threshold point of the turbo. You can also try decreasing the 'INTEGRAL' value slightly to try to decrease the amount of overshoot produced. If the boost is properly controlled but tends to wobble too much above and below the target, try increasing the 'DERIVATIVE' value slightly. If you find yourself trying to fix boost control problems by making large changes to the 'INTEGRAL' and 'DERIVATIVE' values, you probably have not set the PWM8 map values quite right to begin with and you should go back and concentrate on those.

If you find that you can get the boost control to work perfectly in warm weather but it occasionally hits fuel cut in cooler weather, you may need to decrease the difference between the two PWM MAP 8 values. If the problem persists, it may be a good ideal to increase both values while bumping up the boost target value slightly so that your normal boost level is actually a bit under the target you dial into the boost target map. This will give you another pound or two more room for overshoot on cold mornings or evenings which should eliminate the possibility of fuel cut. Every wastegate and turbo setup is different, so you will have to play with the settings until you find a combination that works best with what you have.

In some cases, you will have to make slight adjustments in the PWM MAP 8 values if you increase or decrease the boost target. If you are able to hit smaller boost targets but the system is unable to hit higher targets even when you go to very small values on your two control points, it may the the case that you wither will need to put in a stronger wastegate spring to hit your desired target (after which you will have to redo the calibration process) or you may need to run a larger turbo to produce the desired boost. This is particularly true if the turbo can hit the desired boost target at lower RPMs, but falls off at higher RPMS.

In addition, the boost target table allows a boost target to be specified relative to engine RPM and the same value does not necessarily have to be used across the entire RPM range. The map shown above would be used in cases where the turbo is too large of the fuel system. At low and midrange RPMs, the boost would be allowed to climb to the desired point. Near redline, the boost would be lowered to prevent the air flow from overreaching the capabilities of the fuel system. Chances are that if you are using tricks like this that you need to invest in a larger fuel system.

Internal wastegate setup

The proper setting for an internal wastegate is shown below:

The ports on the side of the boost controller are labeled "1" and "2" and have barbs for vacuum hoses. On the stock actuator, the second port connected to the TVSV must be plugged to prevent the TVSV from affecting the boost. The boost in the intake manifold is blocked by the boost solenoid until the boost starts to approach the boost target, wherein the Hydra Nemesis 2 unit begins to energize the boost control solenoid to allow boost to push against the diaphragm on the actuator and open the wastegate to bring the boost under control. As with the external wastegate setup, the boost controller is incapable of controlling boost to any level less than that determined by the wastegate spring.

In order to set a higher boost level using the Hydra Nemesis 2 unit, the boost control solenoid must be connected as shown above with the third port unplugged. The solenoid should be attached to the chassis with the bracket and screws provided so that it is near the wastegate and the third port is facing down to prevent water and dirt from entering the actuator. Normally, the boost solenoid is closed so that boost cannot pass between ports "1" and "2." Under control of the Hydra Nemesis 2 unit, the solenoid is kept mostly closed which keeps the wastegate closed and allows boost to build up. When the boost pressure approaches the desired target, the solenoid is mostly opened which allow boost to enter the actuator and opens the wastegate to prevent the boost pressure from increasing. The Hydra Nemesis 2 unit then controls the boost solenoid to allow just enough boost to enter and leak so as to hold the boost fairly constant at the desired level.

Turn the ignition to 'ON' and upload the Nemesis maps to the laptop. Go to 'Select->Settings' and click the 'BOOST CONTROL' or 'PID CONTROLS' button. The 'BOOST CONTROL START RPM' value should be set to a point at least 200-300 RPMs before the turbocharger is capable of making full boost in any gear. Set it to 2500 if you are unsure of exactly where this point is. To start the process of programming the boost controller, set the 'PROPORTIONAL' value to 80, the 'INTEGRAL' value to 50 and the 'DERIVATIVE' value to 30. Now, go to Select->2D PWM->PWM MAP 8 and set all the the values in this map to 100%. Go to Select->Control 2->Boost target and set all the values to the boost level that the spring in the wastegate is set up to control the boost to in the absence of a boost controller.

To adjust the controller safely, you must have the Hydra Nemesis 2 unit tuned well enough to drive the car and be able to boost it safely. For regions of the fuel and timing maps that you have not been able to reach without the boost controller, set the fuel and timing to conservative values to avoid harming the motor while the boost controller is adjusted. The boost controller should either be adjusted on a dyno or you should have a friend drive the car on a safe stretch of road while you monitor and adjust the controller. When you are ready to proceed with the process, start the engine and allow it to reach proper operating temperature. Go to Tools->Log Data and set the atalogger to the fastest setting. Do a pull in third gear from 2000RPMS to at least 500RPMs after the turbo reaches full boost. If the car fuel cuts because the boost level reached more than 3 psi above the setting in the boost target map, you will need to set the boost target higher and repeat the datalogging process. If you obtain a successful pull without fuel cut, stop the datalog and export it to either a text or an Excel file so that you can examine it. Look at the 'boost (psi)' column and determine the highest boost value reached during the pull. Go to Select->Control 2->Boost target and set all the values to one psi less than the highest boost value logged during the pull. We will call this value BT1 for the remainder of this process. So, if your highest boost value during the pull was 11.8psi, BT1 will be 10.8psi and your target boost map should now be set to the closest value to this that you can obtain across the entire map.

Go to Select->Control 2->Boost target and set the boost target values to the desired boost level. As with all boost controllers, you can make the boost equal to or higher than the boost that the wastegate spring will provide when the boost controller is turned off, but not less. If the desired boost is less than that which your setup is currently producing, you will need to either get a spring with a lower pressure rating. Go to Select->2D PWM->PWM MAP 8 and find the two points that contain BV1 between them. For example, if BV1 is 58.2, the two points are going to be 53%X and 60%X. Now, set the value of the lower point to 55 and the value of the higher point to 45. Leave all the points to the left of the lower point at 100 except for the leftmost two points (0% and 7%) which you should set to 0 in order to keep the wastegate firmly closed when the boost control system is off and set all the points to the right of the higher point at 0.

Set up the datalogger again to the fastest speed and do another pull. Export the data and look at the 'boost (psi)' column. If the boost does not approach the boost target set on the boost target map, reduce the values of the two points that you started at 55 and 45 by the same amount (try 50 and 40 as a first cut) and repeat the process by doing another pull. Continue the process of reducing the two points until you reach the desired boost value. If the boost goes above the desired boost target, increase the two points by the same value (try 60 and 50 as a first cut) and repeat the process by doing another pull. Once you get close to the target, continue the process making small changes up or down until you reach the desired boost target or very close to it.

Once you find the two values that get you very close to your boost target, you can play around with the difference between the two values to try to get the fastest rise in boost to the desired target without overshooting the target too far. Remember that the Hydra Nemesis 2 unit will fuel cut at 3psi above the boost target, so you want to try to keep the overshoot to a minimum. By making the difference between the two points larger (say by 20 instead of 10) you will get a faster boost rise but a little more potential overshoot. By making the difference smaller, the boost should reach the target a little bit more slowly and not overshoot as much. When changing the difference between the two points, try to keep the line on the PWM8 map at the same point at the BV1 value to keep the boost target calibration as close as possible to your target. You may have to go back and redo the calibration steps with the new difference between the two points if the boost target no longer goes to the point you set on the map. Take your time, make small changes and carefully datalog your results and you should get good results.

Launch Control

Launch control provides a lower RPM limiter which allows the engine to be revved high enough to spool up a large turbo while the clutch is pressed to the floor but not high enough to cause damage. The launch control cable is a long black wire with a pin at one end that plugs into the small blue connector on the Hydra Nemesis 2 unit. If this cable did not come already attached to your Hydra Nemesis 2 unit, you must now attach it. Turn the ignition key to 'OFF' before you start the installation process. Unplug the small gray and small blue connectors from the right side of the Hydra Nemesis 2 unit. Using a small flat-bladed screwdriver, carefully remove the clip from the 'B' row of the small blue connector. This is the clip that does not have the latch. Then, insert the pin of the cable into pin B4 and reinsert the clip. Push the two connectors back into their sockets until they click into place.

With the launch control cable attached route the free end of the cable through the firewalls into the passenger cabin using the same holes you used to route the laptop serial cable. Carefully pull off the lower left door sill plate and follow the body harness to the kick panel. Push the plate back into place. The cable will now be within easy reach of the clutch. If you have a right-hand drive car, you will have to route the cable under the carpet to reach the clutch. Most MR2 have two switches connected to the clutch. One is the starter clutch switch which is there to allow the starter to engage only if the clutch is pushed all the way to the floor. The other is used by the cruise control to disengage itself when it notices that the clutch has been pushed in. The started switch engages only when the clutch is at the floorboard while the cruise control switch engages with only slight push on the pedal. You now need to decide which of these switches you want to use or whether you want to install a third switch that you can adjust to your own engagement point. In any of these cases, you must wire the cable to the switch so that the cable is grounded when the lower rev limit is to be in effect.

If you decide to use the starter switch, you most probably tend to dump the clutch on launch and so you don't care if the rev limit returns to normal the instant you let the clutch come off the floor. If you have a seriously built engine with a very strong clutch, I recommend that you completely eliminate the starter switch from the starting circuit since heavy clutch plates put a lot of stress on the bearings when the engine is receiving almost no oil pressure which is not very good for them.. In this case, cut the two red wires about a couple inches from the switch and connect the ends that are no longer attached to the switch together so that the starter will engage regardless of clutch position. Then, attach on of the two wires going to the switch to a chassis ground and connect the launch control cable to the remaining red wire. If you want to attach the launch control cable to the clutch switch but do not want to defeat the starter lockout, the you need to use a voltmeter to determine which of the two red wires receives ground only when the clutch pedal is pushed to the floor. Once you determine which wire it is, either slice the cable to it and solder it or use the tap included in the Nemesis kit to tap into this wire.

If you decide to use the cruise control switch, then you need to tap the launch control cable into the black wire going to this switch.

Now you should test the system to make sure everything is hooked up properly. Turn the ignition key to 'ON' and connect the laptop to the Hydra Nemesis 2 unit and upload the current settings. Enter the maps screen and go to 'View->Panel.' The indicator labeled 'launch request' should light up when you push the clutch. If it doesn't, then you need to check your wiring.

If the indicator shows that your cable is properly connected, go to 'Select->Settings' and click on the 'IGNITION' button. There are three values here that will affect the launch control. The first is the 'LAUNCH RPM SOFT' value which you need to set to the RPM that you wish the engine limited to when the launch control is engaged. Then you need to adjust the 'LAUNCH FUEL CUT % CYCLES' and 'LAUNCH SPARK CUT % CYCLES' to give you the smoothest rev limit while you are holding both the clutch and accelerator pedals down. Start with 50 for both of these and then increase them if the engine revs past the desired launch rev limit. If the engine does not hold the desired rev limit steadily but sputters too much and drops RPMs, reduce these values until the desired rev limit is maintained.

One other use of the launch control feature for those who aren't into drag racing is to set it up as a valet switch. In this case, rather than connecting the launch control cable to one of the clutch switches, obtain a miniature toggle switch from Radio Shack and wire it up so that it connects the launch control cable to ground when you flip it on. Hide the switch so that it is not easy to find. Then, select a proper RPM limit and flick the switch on whenever you hand the car over to anyone you don't completely trust.

Turbo Timer

The turbo timer allows the Nemesis to provide for a minimum amount of time for the engine to idle so that the engine oil and coolant can cool down the turbo from the last time the throttle was opened. The turbo timer consists of a relay with four wires attached. Before installing the turbo timer, disconnect the battery from the electrical system.

If the turbo timer relay is not already connected to the plug and play harness, you must connect it at this time. Unplug the small gray connector from the right side of the Nemesis unit. Using a small flat-bladed screwdriver, carefully remove the clip from the 'B' row of the small grey connector. This is the clip that does not have the latch. Then, insert the pin of the tan wire from the turbo timer relay into pin B4 and reinsert the clip. Push the two connectors back into their sockets until they click into place. Connect the white wire with a yellow stripe from the turbo timer relay to the same color wire coming from the plug and play box. The wires come with spade connectors to make this connection easy to make.

Locate a suitable place to locate the turbo timer relay near the Hydra Nemesis 2 unit and secure it with electrical tape, a zip-type or a self-tapping screw. There are two remaining wires coming from the relay. The longer, black wire needs to be routed into the passenger cabin along the same path as the laptop serial cable. Once in the passenger cabin, you will need to remove the center console between the two seats and splice the black wire into the red wire with a black stripe going to the emergency brake switch as shown below. Either solder the wire or use one of the taps provided to splice into the brake switch wire.

The final wire from the relay is a red wire and this needs to be routed into the engine bay and into the engine bay fuse box. Remove the bolts holding the fuse box and unclip the plastic clip so that you can pull the fuse box aside enough to access the bottom panel covering the fuse box. Remove the bottom cover to expose the wires inside the lower section of the engine bay fuse box. Locate one of the black wires with an orange stripe and splice the red wire to it. Either solder the wire or use one of the taps provided. Put the cover back on and re-clip and re-bolt the fuse box back to its normal location.

The wiring is now complete. Reconnect the battery to the car's electrical system. To adjust the turbo timer wait, connect the laptop and upload the current settings. Go to 'Select->Outputs' and press the 'PWM5' button. You can program the number of seconds that you want the engine to idle in the box and press 'Enter' to update the value in the Hydra Nemesis 2 unit.

When the engine is started and run and the ignition turned off, the turbo timer will activate only if the emergency brake lever is pulled up. If the brake lever is released at any time, the engine will stop immediately. While the turbo timer is activated, the radiator fan(s) will turn on.