Our VS Commodore ute dubbed Grimace is intended to be our most comprehensive build ever, leaving no stone unturned and doing everything right the first time.

To do that requires the best products you can get, which is why it should come as no surprise that engine management for this machine will come from Haltech’s new top of the line Nexus R5 VCU (Vehicle Control Unit).

The R5 is no mere ECU; it also incorporates a PDM (power distribution module) and wideband capabilities in the one unit. That means less wiring, adaptors and relays keeping things simpler and easier.

To go with the R5, Scotty also raided their catalogue for a heap more top-notch gear. We’re using another of their beautiful iC-7 digital dash displays, with a 3D printed surround. He also grabbed a CAN keypad for all the extra buttons we’ll need, a Thermocouple Amplifier to monitor individual EGT sensors and their Laser Ride Height and Shock Travel Sensor.

We’ll need those last two both for valuable data and to (quite literally) keep this thing on the ground with the amount of power it’ll be chucking out.

An install of this magnitude is a time consuming process, so it’ll be parcelled out over a few episodes. This week, Scotty sorts out mounting the Nexus R5 in the car by making a steel bracket to sit under the dash, along with loosely mocking up the Haltech LS terminated loom on our dummy engine in the car.

He still has to build a few more looms for all the inputs we’ll need, and the boys at MPW will sort installing the EGT sensors in the near future.

Enjoy the episode below, and get keen for more utey build goodness over the coming weeks!