PO had no clue what mods have been done to this car.. Please help
02-22-2014, 03:25 PM
#1
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PO had no clue what mods have been done to this car.. Please help
Ok.. I picked up this 97 STO (1.8L) with a homebrew kit for $2600. It's not terrible, but not great either. PO did not know any of the modifications or specifications. All he knows is that it was "turbo" and "fast". The car is currently shuttling at 3,500-4,000 rpms under load. Not sure if this is fuel or boost related. Had it checked out at a dyno shop and the car is running extemely lean (16/1 in full boost ~7 psi). Was rightfully instructed avoid boosting until I can get the car tuned. It has a megasquirt PNP, and I just got the cable in today. I am hoping that a base map will help even things out and get a proper fuel mixture. I do not know injector size, PO claimed they were 'oversized'. I have never tried to tune a car and I am a big ol' noob, could really use some help!
Ideally I would like to get the car running well enough to not do any damage and still be able to have fun. I also want to cut down on my dyno time as much as possible so I would like to have most of the mapping done before I get there.
My questions:
How do I find out what size my injectors are?
Will I blow up my car using a base map?
Any tips for a tuning noob?
Thanks in advance!
Ideally I would like to get the car running well enough to not do any damage and still be able to have fun. I also want to cut down on my dyno time as much as possible so I would like to have most of the mapping done before I get there.
My questions:
How do I find out what size my injectors are?
Will I blow up my car using a base map?
Any tips for a tuning noob?
Thanks in advance!
Last edited by CantSleep_BuildinStuff; 02-22-2014 at 05:02 PM.
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02-22-2014, 04:18 PM
#6
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No wideband yet. It's the only car I have other than my motorcycle at the moment. Parking it is unfortunately not an option as I have work and class. I am trying to get everything sorted so I can get it tuned at a shop. I just want to get it safe to drive for now
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02-22-2014, 04:28 PM
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edit: Also, any tips for tying the wastegate open?
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02-22-2014, 09:41 PM
#13
Host the pictures on here please. Take pictures of the downpipe (the exhaust pipe that comes out of the back of the turbo).
Try and get under the car and check for things that plug into the downpipe that have wires.
Though it is not impossible, IF it truly has a megasquirt I have a hard time believing there isn't an oxygen sensor. You also need to get a laptop hooked up to that megasquirt and post up the tune. And disconnect the wastegate actuator arm from the flapper and wire it wide open until you get it it sorted out.
Check if the vacuum line is connected to the megasquirt and also check where it connected to in the engine bay.
Additional pictures that would be helpful:
- Pictures of the megasquirt itself
- pictures of where the vacuum line is plugged into on your manifold
- pictures of where your wastegate is getting it's vacuum signal (nevermind... i see)
- take off the turbo blanket if you can without destroying it. Take a bunch of pictures from various angles so we can see the exhaust manifold. This isn't important for tuning but it will give us an idea of what kind of parts were installed.
What cable were you waiting for? Have you downloaded tunerstudio? Once you have tunerstudio installed on laptop and cable connecting the two (vehicle powered up but not necessarily running), create a new project and when it will ask you for ECU definition. You can have tunerstudio get that from the megasquirt. Then, allow the tune on the car to overwrite the tune on your laptop. Is there anyone in the birmingham area that can walk you through this?
Btw, you don't necessarily need a base map. We need to see what your current tune has in it first though.
Try and get under the car and check for things that plug into the downpipe that have wires.
Though it is not impossible, IF it truly has a megasquirt I have a hard time believing there isn't an oxygen sensor. You also need to get a laptop hooked up to that megasquirt and post up the tune. And disconnect the wastegate actuator arm from the flapper and wire it wide open until you get it it sorted out.
Check if the vacuum line is connected to the megasquirt and also check where it connected to in the engine bay.
Additional pictures that would be helpful:
- Pictures of the megasquirt itself
- pictures of where the vacuum line is plugged into on your manifold
- pictures of where your wastegate is getting it's vacuum signal (nevermind... i see)
- take off the turbo blanket if you can without destroying it. Take a bunch of pictures from various angles so we can see the exhaust manifold. This isn't important for tuning but it will give us an idea of what kind of parts were installed.
What cable were you waiting for? Have you downloaded tunerstudio? Once you have tunerstudio installed on laptop and cable connecting the two (vehicle powered up but not necessarily running), create a new project and when it will ask you for ECU definition. You can have tunerstudio get that from the megasquirt. Then, allow the tune on the car to overwrite the tune on your laptop. Is there anyone in the birmingham area that can walk you through this?
Btw, you don't necessarily need a base map. We need to see what your current tune has in it first though.
Last edited by Chiburbian; 02-22-2014 at 09:52 PM.
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02-22-2014, 11:20 PM
#14
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Numbers are printed on it? Ok. I'll pull them and have a look.
I will also take some more pictures tomorrow.
Here's what I've done so far:
-Downloaded Tunerstudio
-Uploaded the base map for a 96-97 miata from megasquirt
-Used live tuning and autotune to further dial the car in
The car is running like a scalded dog right now, but still unsure of my AFR in and out of boost. My local shop offers installation of an O2 sensor bung for $75. Still figuring out how to install a standalone wideband display. Car is still idiling really high (approx. 2,000 RPM), oscillating, and is shuttling some at high RPMs. I only ran tunerstudio autotune twice before I had to quit (getting late, neighbors complaining). I will continue to let it map itself. I am having a friend come over tomorrow to help me adjust timing.
I hope I am not being naive in letting Tunerstudio sort the car out, but it seems to be working for now.
I will also take some more pictures tomorrow.
Here's what I've done so far:
-Downloaded Tunerstudio
-Uploaded the base map for a 96-97 miata from megasquirt
-Used live tuning and autotune to further dial the car in
The car is running like a scalded dog right now, but still unsure of my AFR in and out of boost. My local shop offers installation of an O2 sensor bung for $75. Still figuring out how to install a standalone wideband display. Car is still idiling really high (approx. 2,000 RPM), oscillating, and is shuttling some at high RPMs. I only ran tunerstudio autotune twice before I had to quit (getting late, neighbors complaining). I will continue to let it map itself. I am having a friend come over tomorrow to help me adjust timing.
I hope I am not being naive in letting Tunerstudio sort the car out, but it seems to be working for now.
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02-23-2014, 12:56 AM
#17
Ok, you have an o2 sensor, but only a narrowband? You can't tune anything other than stoich on a narrowband.
This is how it was explained to me...
Say a narrowband is 1-3 volts... (I may be off on the actual volts)
When you AFR is between 14.3 and 15.1 the voltage reads 2 volts. When the voltage is above 2.2 volts you know your AFR is higher than 15.1, when it reads lower than 1.8 volts your narrowband knows it's lower than 14.3. That's all. Period. It is fundimentally unsafe to (auto)tune without a wideband o2 sensor.
IF you have a wideband that doesn't have a display, then you can keep on tuning.
EDIT: You don't need a bung installed for wideband, you can install it in the place of one of your existing o2 sensors. Then you need to run the 5v wire to the megasquirt and setup the MS for use with the wideband including calibration...
This is how it was explained to me...
Say a narrowband is 1-3 volts... (I may be off on the actual volts)
When you AFR is between 14.3 and 15.1 the voltage reads 2 volts. When the voltage is above 2.2 volts you know your AFR is higher than 15.1, when it reads lower than 1.8 volts your narrowband knows it's lower than 14.3. That's all. Period. It is fundimentally unsafe to (auto)tune without a wideband o2 sensor.
IF you have a wideband that doesn't have a display, then you can keep on tuning.
EDIT: You don't need a bung installed for wideband, you can install it in the place of one of your existing o2 sensors. Then you need to run the 5v wire to the megasquirt and setup the MS for use with the wideband including calibration...
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02-23-2014, 10:18 AM
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Ok, you have an o2 sensor, but only a narrowband? You can't tune anything other than stoich on a narrowband.
This is how it was explained to me...
Say a narrowband is 1-3 volts... (I may be off on the actual volts)
When you AFR is between 14.3 and 15.1 the voltage reads 2 volts. When the voltage is above 2.2 volts you know your AFR is higher than 15.1, when it reads lower than 1.8 volts your narrowband knows it's lower than 14.3. That's all. Period. It is fundimentally unsafe to (auto)tune without a wideband o2 sensor.
IF you have a wideband that doesn't have a display, then you can keep on tuning.
EDIT: You don't need a bung installed for wideband, you can install it in the place of one of your existing o2 sensors. Then you need to run the 5v wire to the megasquirt and setup the MS for use with the wideband including calibration...
This is how it was explained to me...
Say a narrowband is 1-3 volts... (I may be off on the actual volts)
When you AFR is between 14.3 and 15.1 the voltage reads 2 volts. When the voltage is above 2.2 volts you know your AFR is higher than 15.1, when it reads lower than 1.8 volts your narrowband knows it's lower than 14.3. That's all. Period. It is fundimentally unsafe to (auto)tune without a wideband o2 sensor.
IF you have a wideband that doesn't have a display, then you can keep on tuning.
EDIT: You don't need a bung installed for wideband, you can install it in the place of one of your existing o2 sensors. Then you need to run the 5v wire to the megasquirt and setup the MS for use with the wideband including calibration...
I will find a wideband and install it ASAP. There are not many performance shops around here, so I will proabably have to wait until tomorrow.
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