My ongoing Turbobaja build

[Steve Arndt]

I've put almost 4000 miles on mine trying to tune it solo. I'm getting closer.

[turbobaja]

You need either a driver for the car so you can concentrate on tuning...or a tuner so you can drive and feel what the changes do.

That would certainly help a lot. I also need to get over the fear of hurting my engine and just TRY stuff, instead of thinking about it. At least I know the engine can handle some serious heat with a load and not fail. My valve adjustment has not changed after miles of beating the heads over 400F. I got "comfortable" driving with 420F on the heads, and backed off once I saw 430s. Then I dealt with 430s and eased off at 440s. Nobody really has any info on when these 044 castings start letting go of the valve seats, so I figured I was the guinea pig. I'm glad I know they can take it, but I'd rather not keep pushing them if I don't have to.

[Clonebug]

One thing nice about EFI....It costs nothing to change the tune and if you don't like it you can go back as long as you did a "Save As"........

I would tune every day if I had the time but when all I do is drive it to work and back it's kind of hard to tune with only 10 miles.

All I know is that my engine runs better than the carb ever did and there is still room to improve.

[turbobaja]

One thing nice about EFI....It costs nothing to change the tune and if you don't like it you can go back as long as you did a "Save As"........

I would tune every day if I had the time but when all I do is drive it to work and back it's kind of hard to tune with only 10 miles.

All I know is that my engine runs better than the carb ever did and there is still room to improve.

Funny you should mention that, Art. The "Save As" part of being a successful "tuner" is one of my biggest struggles. Mario has been trying not to strangle me for not saving a tune before I monkey around with it. I'm getting better at least

[Steve Arndt]

I make it a policy that if I fire up the laptop and plug it in to the ECU, first thing I do is make a backup of my map.

[turbobaja]

I make it a policy that if I fire up the laptop and plug it in to the ECU, first thing I do is make a backup of my map.

That's a good idea. Where I really get into trouble is when I'm working on my tune without being connected to the ECU. Next time I plug in I use the "current TS setting" and lose the old tune before I save it. What confused me for quite a while was how the ECU changes the name of the tune it's running on to "Current Tune" rather than whatever I named the file once the power is cycled. I have to remember the name of the tune I had loaded last so I can save changes to it vs. creating a new file every time. There's virtually nothing in my 250 page MS3 Pro manual about managing the tune files. Most likely they assume I have at least the basic skills to use the software, which I obviously don't .

[Clonebug]

As far as I know TS does make a backup of the file before it loads the new one.
It just uses the date as the name and let's you try to figure it out from there.

[Chip Birks]

Get very used to using "Save As" and never just "save", Then just look for the most recent date. I only ever actually name a file if I make a significant change to the msq, like fresh timing map, or screw with injector timing tables or major boost control changes or similar. And from there on out they just get the standard date stamp, until something else becomes the new standard.

[MarioVelotta]

Chip I do just the opposite, I "Save" most of the time for small changes so my folder doesn't grow so big. Then if I need to make a big change I "Save As" -> new file name, then I can go back. When you "Save As" all the time it makes it harder for me to sort files. Then when I go back to the last tune I know I'm at a good starting point. I fix the issue I was woking on or wanted to change then may over write the one that had issues. But for the most part you are always moving forward.

[Chip Birks]

Good Point Mario, I do have a pretty cluttered tune folder. Lucky for me I change ECU's every two years it seems, so a new project folder gets built and I can start fresh on the tune folder

[turbobaja]

I could use a good folder cleaning, that's for sure lol.

I've been cranking the timing into this thing for a few drives now and it's loving it! Lean cruise is pulling nice and smooth too. I bumped up my base timing quite a bit as well and still need to re-dial the idle just a little to smooth it out again. I had it backed down to 8 deg to get the idle stable with the stepper seated at a hot idle. Now I've got the throttle plate closed beyond a "minimum idle" and use the stepper to control idle . Much more stable and doesn't want to stall coming down from a fuel-cut decel anymore . Plus it's more responsive off-idle with more timing . The plastic barbed fittings that came with the stepper block had 3/8" barbed fittings, but the holes inside the fittings were only 1/4" ID. After changing ALL my IAC plumbing to 1/2" barbs and hoses I finally have enough airflow to give the engine a "high idle" on a cold start ! Only problem is my CLT sensor location needs to change somehow. If I start the engine and just let it idle to warm up I can tweak it as it warms up and get it dialed pretty easy. But if I drive it shortly after start-up the sensor readings cool down with fan speed and the heads are still picking up temp. This results in a high idle at every stop for the first couple miles of a drive with the stepper opened up further than need be ( based on CLT). Maybe I should just start using closed-loop idle again and work with a target rpm instead of stepper position.

On the Boost side of things, I think I've got my WG solenoid telling the turbo to make 10psi,...I think. Only pushed it a couple times and I the gauge seemed to swing higher than usual . Should have logged it ... I'm going to wait until I'm on the Dyno with Mario to start cranking up the boost any more. I'm looking at wet driving for the next few months here and this thing is already a handful as it is.

[Devastator]

I'm ass backwards when it comes to saving my current tune. I save it as something "distinguishable" like "current tune", or "today". I only load the previous tunes once in a while and I forget which one was the "sweet one". Maybe I should save it as "sweet one".

[turbobaja]

Dyno day yesterday went very well. Mario and I did a little street tuning before and after the dyno session. Idling on closed loop now and it's rock steady at 1,000rpms. The IAC wasn't the answer, it's the timing that made the magic happen. With this ECU we're able to change timing as aggressively as need be, per cylinder ignition event to maintain a set rpm. Works amazingly well.

Once we got strapped down we tried a few full pulls to see what happens. 246hp at just over 14psi on a rough tune...I was not expecting that! The power was not falling off up top, so we set fuel/spark cut at 6,800 to be safe. That's over 130mph on the roller, and really fun ! We spent quite a bit of time doing light throttle cruise tuning from 10-25% load thanks to the sweet dyno. We made a few more full pulls at the end for good measure, 16 pulls total. We found the boost was ramping up slower than before and found intake temps over 130F, previous logs were around 100F. We had a fan strapped to the spoiler to keep from heat soaking the charge cooler and oil cooler, it didn't get turned back on after our lunch break. The ECU was compensating for the rise in IAT, slowing the spool. With the fan on and a few more tweaks we made 240HP/234TQ on a conservative 11psi tune. The power curve is basically mirroring the WG movement, so we smoothed that out on the freeway after the dyno. Not exactly the best combo for a heavy baja, but fun none the less . The dyno operator chastised me for building a turbo engine with a 108LC cam, but he complimented the overall setup for the flat power curve up top. I think I see a cam swap in my future...

[Chip Birks]

Very impressive! Whats the problem with 108lc? My 108 cam encourages spool way faster than the old 110lc setups did.

[andy198712]

246... in a baja! mad!!

Well done!