Fan Focus: Brandon Conway

Building a 1,000 horsepower Z06 Corvette takes more than guesswork, it takes precision data to make the needed adjustments. When you’re upgrading the stock supercharger, cooling, and fueling systems, you need more than guesswork to help formulate the right calibrations. That was Brandon Conway’s problem, and when road racing, a faulty tune can at best leave you on the side of the road, and at worst… well, it’s the worst.

Enter Brandon’s solution: the iDash DataMonster. “I’ve tried a few monitoring products that really didn’t do what I wanted or needed. One thing that I wanted was a stand-alone data logger that was decent. I had an nGauge, and it was very limited, and couldn’t really see everything that was relevant to what I was looking for from my ECM. It just logged some really basic stuff, and like only 6 to 8 parameters at a time. I didn’t want to lug my laptop around using HP Tuners to log what I wanted, especially since I’d be recording runs on a road course. Conditions there can be a little rough, and you don’t want a laptop catapulting off the passenger seat.”

Since Z06 Vettes have a problem with heat, the ECM will pull timing if it gets too hot, and sometimes you end up with 200 horsepower less on the track. “I did a lot of work to try and alleviate the heating problem,” explains Brian, “but I had no good way of actually telling me if it was working. It’s nice to have the stand-alone data logging to see that is what’s going on.

I bought a single iDash to start, but when I saw what it could do, I bought three more and placed all 4 over the car’s stock analog gauges. Now I can log and monitor.” Adding to the horsepower concoction is an updated blower and fueling upgrades. “I’m running two ECMs, using port injection on top of the direct injection, so monitoring fueling and the secondary fuel pump is pretty important.”

I also used the alert functionality on the iDash and have several alerts programmed. Oil, transmission fluid, cooling, timing, fueling, and more… all of them have alerts programmed using the iDash’s alert system.

Since running on a racecourse is more demanding than a pull or two on the dyno, Brandon data logs his runs and sends them to his tuner, who can see all the data and make adjustments for the various tunes and conditions. The data from Brian’s iDash quartet help Brandon’s Vette run at its most powerful. Its information helps to ensure reliability and longevity normally not seen in the world of high-powered vehicles.