Proving Ground Fuel Controllers

Proving Grounds 

Part Tested: Boondocker HiJacker 2.0 

Tested on: 2012 Arctic Cat ProClimb 1100 Turbo 

Test area: 6500-9500 Feet. Southeast Idaho. Mountain riding. 

Today we will be looking closely at the new Boondocker HiJacker 2.0 fuel and boost controller. This controller has been much awaited, with several new features updated from last year. It has also been much anticipated because of the popularity of the new Arctic Cat 1100 Turbo mountain machine. The controller's claim is that you can easily raise or lower the amount of boost being produced and still have the safeguards that are present in the stock ECU. More power. Safe Power. Good claims.

The install is relatively easy and should take someone who has never put one on about 1 hour from start to finish. Take the hood, tank cowling, and the LH side panel off. Plug in the Boondocker pigtail fittings into the various outlets (tps, wastegate, ecu, boost reference) and you are ready to go. You will see in the pictures where I mounted mine. The reason behind my mounting location is the protection offered by the vertical steering post spar, and the fact that I don't have to move the controller when I take the hood on and off for other service activities. 

The first thing I did after starting the sled up and making sure all connections wer functioning was to go the the stats screen and clear all the stats so I knew that I was starting fresh. Next, I made a good pull up a gradual slope to load the turbo and get a boost reading. My sled was making 16.5 to 16.8 pounds of boost in stock form. This was at 7500 feet elevation and it is important to remember elevation is a factor because at lower elevations less boost is required. For instance, at 7500 feet I should have 177 horsepower and it takes 16.5 pounds of boost to generate that power. At 3000 feet elevation it may only require 12 pounds or 13 pounds of boost to achieve the same power output. Conversley, at 10,000 feet the turbo may require around 19 pounds of boost to produce 177 HP.\ 

Once I had a good baseline and new where stock was, I started turning the boost up in ½ pound increments. Each increase would see an increase in top RPM and arm pull. With the weights that I had in the sled I was only able to run around 18 pounds before I was knocking on the rev limiters door.

Back to the shop to add more weight. I added a couple grams more weight and put a softer full shift spring in and went back. This time I was most comfortable at about 19.5 pounds of boost. 20 or more took me close to the rev limiter, but I feel like this engine is most at home around 7900 rpm. What I did find is that once you get to 20-21 lbs of boost you are done with the stock turbo. The maximum efficiency has been reached and from that point you can wick it up all you want and the power has maxed. This tells me two things, that is where the stock turbo is done........and some companies that are claiming 250 or 260 horsepower on the stock turbo at elevation are mistaken. If you can gain 75 horsepower with 3 pounds of boost---you should write a book on turbo wizardry because it aint happnin'! With that said, I am sure at sea level or low elevation you would see higher HP numbers because you could add possibly 8 to 10 pounds of boost from the stock setting. But as I promised when we started this part of the website we are testing in the mountains for the mountains! (Alaska guys, you are the exception). 

What was really a home run on this box was the fact that you could plug it in and turn up the boost and not have to mess with fuel settings at all! I had in my mind my older Boondocker systems on the two stroke turbos, where I would have to make several adjustments after increasing or decreasing boost to accommodate the added or subtracted power. The Hijacker is VERY user friendly. You still have the ability to add or take away fuel in the rpm range if you want. I added a little bit of fuel in the 5000 mid area because I had a slight hesitation on quick-stabs of the throttle and this cleared that right up. 

The other nice thing about the HiJacker is the stats screen where I can go back in and see what my hi boost and max boost is. I can see the voltage input and output. I can see max rpms etc. This comes in handy when you can't look down at gauges when you are ripping through the trees. 

This controller is great, and is only limited by the stock turbos efficency ceiling. Later on we will be testing some bigger turbos and stronger mid sections that will allow us to turn it up even more. I like the open architecture of the box that will allow me to do this later. 

Bang-for-the-buck on this box is questionable. It retails for $649, which is a lot of cash, especially after you just dropped your firstborn child's college education into the sled in the first place. It works as advertised and leaves a lot of openings for bigger boost later which is nice. Most of the controllers on the market right now are only adding a pound or two of boost and if you got a bigger or more efficient turbo you are stuck with what you have. It does not alter the ECU. You can take it with you to next years sled. It is easy to use. Overall it is a hit and I like it. We would stand behind this one! 

Hits: 

-Works as advertised. (Novel idea) 

-Easy to use 

-Easy to install 

-Easy to remove 

-Boost and RPM logging 

-Able to adjust fuel 

-If your clutching is off, turn boost up or down to compensate 

Misses: 

A little on the expensive side Remember:

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BUY NOW! Boondocker HiJacker 2.0