to tune or NOT TO TUNE????

[dark-knight]

Im almost done building my new motor (0 miles), and i searched and everything, and saw that alot of people tune right after they get their motor in and done. i was just wondering, if with the mods i have, if i will be fine for now. i really dont want a safc, and i dont have enough money for a power fc or haltech. so i was just wondering if with my set-up i'll be ok to hold off on the tuning,

MODS:
S13 REDTOP
MR turbo manifold
greddy intercooler kit
apexi downpipe
apexi full exhaust
arp head studs
apexi headgasket

thanks..

[S14DB]

You aren't going to blow anything. But, gains in performance and efficiency can be had from tuning. Since you have made changes in the VE of the motor.

If anything, get a couple dyno runs in with AFR to make sure you are safe while you save up for engine management.

[dark-knight]

thats seems like a good idea, I was lookin at the AEM air fuel gauge..

[S14DB]

I would still do 2~3(what ever the shops "package" price is) dyno runs to see what the power is at and if there is any problems under load.

AFM is good for watching it for off load. AEM's AFM is not a logger and I doubt you can watch it all the time. But, if you dyno it and are making only 100hp or breaking up on the dyno you would have not known this with just an AFM.

I am not saying an AFM is not a good purchase. I am saying you should still have it dyno'd to look for any other problems and get a nice graph of your HP/TQ and AFR.

[4x4le]

Instead of getting the aem wideband get a innovate lc1 with the db gauge. Them can be purchased for pretty reasonably prices around $150. It dont log within itself but you can hook it up to your laptop with the provided cable and software and you can log through the logworks program. You can also graph your rpm, boost pressure and other sensors and inputs with an aux box sold seperatly.

But with the lc1 and db gauge kit you will be able to monitor your air fuel ratio any time with the gauge, or you can hook up the laptop and click the datalog button and do some pulls out on an old highway and later look at the air fuel ratio.

[S14DB]

Or get something with built in logging. Laptop in the car is a waste of space.

[4x4le]

Innovate is the shit though lol. I guess there are gauges for them that have the capability of logging with chips though.

I cant wait to get on of the Acer Aspire laptops though. My next purchase. 8.9" screen. Solid state hard drive, no disk drives aside from a sd card slot. Built in wifi card. Just 2.17 lbs. 5 usb ports! And great battery life. Super small and can fit in the glove box. A tuners dream and at such a low price!

[DJ Silent]

Innovate is the shit though lol. I guess there are gauges for them that have the capability of logging with chips though.

I cant wait to get on of the Acer Aspire laptops though. My next purchase. 8.9" screen. Solid state hard drive, no disk drives aside from a sd card slot. Built in wifi card. Just 2.17 lbs. 5 usb ports! And great battery life. Super small and can fit in the glove box. A tuners dream and at such a low price!


Totally I have an MSI wind and I am going to be doing datalogging on my car with the e-mance cable.

[smelly240]

I have a msi wind - its nicer than the aspire that my parents bought. I got it and one for my kid sister for 249 each (120gb hdd, bluetooth, 1gb ram) battery life is great, but i still use my aspire laptop (not a "one") to tune cars bc the screen is too small on a netbook and all the tables have scrollies on em.

If you're going to tune - i do not recommend a netbook because u cannot see everything on the screen

i tried crome, ectune, nistune, tunerpro r/t and hondata all on both the aspire one and msi wind and neither fit any of those programs on the screen without scrolling

Instead of getting the aem wideband get a innovate lc1 with the db gauge. Them can be purchased for pretty reasonably prices around $150. It dont log within itself but you can hook it up to your laptop with the provided cable and software and you can log through the logworks program. You can also graph your rpm, boost pressure and other sensors and inputs with an aux box sold seperatly.

But with the lc1 and db gauge kit you will be able to monitor your air fuel ratio any time with the gauge, or you can hook up the laptop and click the datalog button and do some pulls out on an old highway and later look at the air fuel ratio.

The auxbox is a lot of money and you wont use 90% of the shit it has built in. Get a LM1 with a LMA2 and save a few bucks and have a better unit (I myself have a LC1/DB in my car but its inferior to the LM1 i use to tune other cars<and my own>) or a DLPdesign usb data acq with whatever wb u want.
http://www.dlpdesign.com/usb/io8.shtml

[dark-knight]

yea i just took my car to a great import shop in town, a few guys are gonna hook me up with a couple dyno runs. but shouldnt i break the motor in first, or are they able to do that on the dyno?

[S14DB]

If they truly know what they are doing. They should be able to.

[ZamaS13]

It looks like you don't have any real power upgrades. It would run fine as is. I would wait until I got a big turbine and injectors before I got it tuned. But thats just me.

[4x4le]

Yes, it will run fine as is, or atleast it should. However you can defenatially benefit from a tune in both fuel economy and power/tq and responce. If your planning on keeping it on that setup for a while it may be worth it to you to tune it, if however you plan on changing the setup soon I wouldnt waste the time or money with a tune since you shouldnt HAVE to tune it.

[soon2bs13]

you spent the money to do all the work. spend a couple hundred more dollars and get a couple hours of tuning. what harm will it do?

[g6civcx]

i was just wondering if with my set-up i'll be ok to hold off on the tuning

It depends on how you define "tuning".

Even with a standalone, trying to force you to run with a base map may not be ideal. Even with a piggyback it may not be enough.

If you mean that they will dyno tune you using the closest base map for the standalone and then fine-tune the map then yes, do it.

Otherwise you're on your own.

[supreme_1]

since you said your motor has 0 miles you shouldnt be pounding it. so unless something with the rebuild goes completely wrong you should be fine. im sure 500 miles will take about a month or so, so you should have enough by then to get some sort of engine management.