Configuring Gear Change Ignition Cut with the PMQ EVO M

After causing a big stir at 2014's World Time Attack Challenge by setting the weekend's third fastest time outright despite its Pro-Am classification, the PMQ EVO was back and better than ever for 2015. In this video MoTeC Australia's Mark McCoy talks us through the latest improvements on the full-carbon bodied Mitsubishi Evo. 

The car runs a full suite of MoTeC electronics, and Mark explains the massive advantages of ditching your fuse boxes and relays, and running a solid-state PDM (Power Distribution Module), data-logging via the C125 dash and most importantly, using the new M150 ECU GPRP (paddle shift package) to its fullest potential to control the pneumatic paddle-shifted sequential dog box.

What goes into setting up a paddle-shift arrangement on a car like this? Mark talks us through the hardware and exactly how the shifting works; from the way the ECU cuts ignition during an upshift and the advantages of using a closed loop system that will cut torque for as long as the box needs to get into the next gear, not a set amount of time (you can imagine the nightmare scenarios this can potentially avoid). Things get a little trickier when it comes to downshifting, as the ECU is able to preload the box and predict the revs it needs to perfectly match the next gear down. All this makes for a much more stable car and this saves precious milliseconds on a shift. Sure it doesn't sound like much, but combine all those milliseconds together over a lap's worth of gear changes, and you've suddenly got a worthwhile and measurable advantage.