In the early days of March 2020 one of the biggest barriers in Sport Compact drag racing went down—a four-cylinder equipped drag car entered the 5-second zone. Canadian Nicolas Brunet pushed his Pontiac GXP racecar to a best of 5.95 at 230 mph and it is powered by an Ecotech 2.2L four-cylinder engine.

The journey to the 5s wasn’t easy and Brunet has been relying on the Ecotec engine for over a decade, using it to power various door-slammer and dragster chassis configurations. The latest combination has been installed in a Pontiac GXP, an aerodynamic body that is made from carbon fiber and covers an NHRA-style Pro Stock chassis. Brunet backs the turbocharged 2.2L combination with a Liberty 7-speed transmission to keep the engine in its narrow powerband.

Recently, Brunet found himself back in the United States after COVID travel restrictions precluded the team from making the trip since their record-setting run nearly three years ago. In between their assault on drag strips up and down the east coast, they found time to get the GXP bolted to the Mainline Hub Dyno at the FuelTech USA headquarters that is in Ball Ground, Georgia. It was a glorious day as the buzzing four-cylinder powerplant spun its way to a best of 1,806 WHP. As you will see in the video, the seven forward gears make the pulls quite entertaining with speed shifts that could only be handled by the FuelTech drivetrain management system. In fact, Brunet credits his switch to the FuelTech FT600 as a big reason for his success on track and running in the 5s.

The FT600, FT550, FT550LITE, and FT450 offer a complete line-up of standard features including sequential injection and ignition, O2 Closed Loop, data acquisition, traction control, delay box, Boost Controller, Nitrous Controller, and so much more. Additionally, the FT600, FT550, and FT450 have a customizable digital display for the driver and the anti-glare TFT touchscreen offers the ability to adjust the tune without hooking up a PC computer. It gives the driver feedback in real-time and puts the data in front of him or her instead of mounting multiple gauges around the cockpit.

The GearController option in the FT600 and FT550 allow full authority over gear shifting for transmissions like the Liberty 7-speed in Brunet’s GXP. Additionally, the two ECUs are used in popular applications such as the TH400 and Powerglide and it is also compatible with the GM 4L80 Overdrive transmission. In clutchless-transmission applications, the GearController function can pull timing at the shift by simply using a strain gauge sensor mounted on the shifter.

Turbos Direct supplied Brunet with a Garrett GTX turbocharger and it requires excessive boost pressure to produce 1,806 WHP from just 2.2L of displacement. That makes data from the engine critical for engine durability and peak performance. The FT600 collects all engine sensors as well as information from the WB-O2 Nanos. Each sensor is connected via CAN and doesn’t require the use of an analog input, reserving those for other functions.

If more inputs are required, FuelTech users have the option of adding the FT Input Expander. The entry-level FT450 carries 7 input channels while the top-of-the-line FT600 offers 20 inputs. The FuelTech Input Expander changes the game, allowing up to 24 extra inputs, including 20 analog inputs and 4 VR sensors. It brings the entry-level FT450 to a total of 31 input channels—that’s more than a standard FT600 engine management! And if you own an FT600, the additions are nearly endless with 44 input channels available.

From 5,500 WHP, methanol burning twin turbocharged engines to the most powerful 4-cylinder powerplant, there is a reason you’re seeing #FuelTechEverywhere

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