Yamaha Sidewinder & Nytro HALTECH EFI System DEVELOPMENT
Fuel Trim to Rev Limit, NTK O2 Sensor, Knock Sensing, Full Data Logging, Remote Tuning
May 2025: Spring has "sprung" in the high desert of the west. About 35 hours on the 250HP Sidewinder Haltech EFI system and absolutely loving it. Standard SR118 NR Props are limited to 200HP so I have an order in for some reinforced 300HP rated blades but sure that will take a few months. But honestly, testing at 200HP on this size plane is insane and really don't think the average pilot needs anymore. I experienced a bit of torque roll today on take-off at that 200HP level. It jumps off the ground so fast you really have to be ready for it.
April 2025: Haltech Nexus S2 on the Sidewinder continues. This engine & EFI combination is an absolute dream not to mention a BEAST!
February 2025: First actual flight of the Sidewinder Haltech EFI system. Many hours of inflight testing and tuning to come. I have settle on using the latest Nexus S2 ECM from Haltech. It is about the same price in all but incorporates the Wideband O2 controller allowing NTK sensors that are more tolerant to leaded fuels. Additionally it uses standard USB-C connection eliminating the need for power or key on to connect. Other features include WiFi and App connectivity.
See link below to specific Haltech Nexus S2 Release
July 2024: Moving forward with EFI development for the Yamaha engines and specifically the Sidewinder & Nytro we will be using Haltech.
Haltech is not new to EFI as it was established in 1986 in Sydney Australia. All of Haltech components are designed, built, and tested in their own facility. Although the Haltech systems will be more expensive as an appropriate Haltech ECM alone is almost +$800 over the AEM Infinity 3 we used, NTK Wideband O2 Sensors are available to use along with more advanced ECM/PDM units. The NTK O2 Sensor is much more robust to leaded and exotic race fuels and Haltech’s new series of Nexus ECM/PDM units are vey full featured
The Haltech Nexus R3 combines their typical ECM like the Elite 1500 with a PDM (Power Distribution Module). All of this combined with modern CAN protocol can eliminate a lot of wiring and complexity while monitoring electrical loads. Additional features like WiFi connectivity and an onboard O2 Sensor driver really brings the Nexus to the forefront of modern ECM’s and their capacity.
Dash / Engine Monitoring
July 2024: Haltech makes a very nice line of Dashes for Engine Monitoring but at this time they are not configurable enough for our use in aviation for some of the more unique data we have come accustom to monitoring. They did just release an update that utilizes the new NSP software but I have yet to evaluate it and initial online reports are saying its still not as customizable as the AEM Dashes I’ve been using. Therefore for the time being and testing I will continue to use the AEM Dashes. But this may and probably will change as time goes on and the Haltech community demands the flexibility as seen with the AEM units.