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Tuning suggestions for 18 year old setup with < 500 miles...

PJGross

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 5, 2002
Messages
1,561
Location
Lake Orion, MI
I'm actually getting serious about #490/1000 back on the road.

BACKGROUND:
I burned a valve 19 years ago. A friend was going to just pull the head, valve job, and back together. Then I added HKS 272 cams, 3G lifters, JE 9:1s, BS elminated, FP T3/T04E 57 trim, SX FPR, keydiver chip, 660s, ACT clutch, FMIC kit, SAFC, MAFT translator, and then life happened to my buddy who went through a divorce and a year went by before it was put together.
I picked up the car, finished connecting piping, did "proper" load based breakin, and drove about 300 miles or so after that. Hit a pothole and banged up the crap exhaust that was fabbed up. Pulled car off the road. Started it twice a year until 2007 or so. Then it JSB for 10+ yrs in my garage.

Life happened. Now marriage, 3 kids, and 18 yrs later I did new rear calipers, completed the '90 oil cooler housing addition, re-fabbed the exhaust on my own, and will be firing it up on Saturday.

I do have a pocketlogger that worked 10 yrs ago. I will find it and try it out saturday.

TUNING QUESTIONS:

I know this setup is completely outdated. The keydiver chip is for MAFT and 660 injectors. I have the blue SAFC. I do not currently have a wideband 02 sensor. Have EGT but not hooked up. Probe is in, will connect it over the weekend.

I found a baseline DSM/GVR4 SAFC setup guide that I will use to reset whatever I did to the SAFC. Is this how I should start?

After that, are there any suggestions for a strategy for what I should look for/do/ etc?

Instead of pulling/tossing everything and starting over with modern bits I would like to see if I can get this setup "close" to just have a safe tune that won't damage anything.

Base fuel pressure? I was going to set at 43psi, but is that vacuum hose on or off on SX regulator?
Timing was -5 btdc with the jumper on IIRC.

I'm sure all will say an WB02 is a must. Opinions on best value available today? I have a SS bung to weld in, but is there one that would replace the stock sensor and split the signal or anything? Note I have not done any reading/research on this for 10+ years so I don't have a clue what is out there.

-------------------
I guess any suggestions good or bad would be great. My honest goal is to get this thing up and running decently to show prospective buyers that everything is there and working, not to break a HP record for an outdated turbo setup. I had wanted this car to be a weekend racer at one point, just for autocross, track day fun and daily commuting. Instead it has spent most of its time on jackstands in my garage and its time to get it going.

Let me know what you guys think is a must for starting to dial it in. (I'm sure WB02 will be list topping but lets see).

Thanks,
PJ
 

PJGross

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 5, 2002
Messages
1,561
Location
Lake Orion, MI
It's alive!
Swapped in a new 255 fuel pump, purged the fuel line to the rail. New fuel filter.

Pulled CAS, cranked to ensure oil pressure (Saturday I pumped 2 quarts manually up through the pressure port and watched it come out the lifters)

Plugged in CAS, cranked and within 2 rotations fired right up!

Crazy alternator belt squeal. Tightened alternator a bit, then fired back up.

So, let it warm up for a few minutes and it purrs like a kitten. Haven't heard that sound in a long time.

No leaks of fuel or oil, but the thermostat housing seal is seeping slightly. I see green there but no drips.

-----------------
Next is road testing around the neighborhood, but I think I will wait for the weekend.

-PJ
 

gvr4ever

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 6, 2002
Messages
6,190
Location
central Indiana
That is a long time sitting. It's amazing how long these things can sit and fire back up like nothing happened. Just be prepared for the unexpected and don't give up.

I thought my car was ready for the rest of the year. New exhaust, brakes, tires, suspension... My clutch disk came apart in pieces over the weekend. I was lucky to be pulling out of a driveway when it broke up. Could have been way worse at speed. Hopefully after a new clutch and flywheel, I can enjoy it.
 

PJGross

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 5, 2002
Messages
1,561
Location
Lake Orion, MI
I hear you. I think I did alright by checking the gas tank, purging all fuel, priming the oil system, etc. But you never know what else is bad.

This new 255 got really loud after 10 minutes of going around the neighborhood block.

I was about to take it out on the road when idling at the stop sign the car just turned off. I heard the fuel pump relay click and then dead.

Turned key off, turned back on and it did fire right back up, but backing it into the garage when I was shifting from first to reverse it shut off again.

I was reading up on lots of 255 whine postings, and I will go get a full tank of gas in this thing as it does say Walbro's can get very loud when hot. I hope it wasn't hot as I never made it into boost yet....

-PJ
 

GSTwithPSI

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 1, 2012
Messages
3,460
Location
SoCal
I'd invest in ECMlink, especially since your ECU is already socketed and chipped.

It's a great tuning tool, but also makes diagnostics much easier. For example, you could just click a box with the ECMlink software and turn the fuel pump on and off, making troubleshooting your current issue a breeze.

$500 bucks seems like a lot, but it's an extremely capable management solution.
 

turbowop

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 29, 2001
Messages
11,971
Location
Yakima, WA
While I agree with Brett, the current setup will work for now. I ran high 11's at 118mph on an old 2gMaf/SAFC setup on 110 octane gas with no wideband and a worthless EGT gauge. All I had was a Pocketlogger setup on a Palm Pilot for logging knock and timing, etc, lol. Not ideal, but it worked.
 

PJGross

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 5, 2002
Messages
1,561
Location
Lake Orion, MI
I am noting the Link. For sure 100% agree.
If I am selling, though, not worth the investment.

I will dust off the palm pilot and start logging some this weekend. I hope to have some logs that can be discussed at least.

Thanks, guys.

-PJ
 

iceman69510

Turn Right Racing
Staff member
Joined
Mar 5, 2001
Messages
10,964
Location
Michigan
Quoting PJGross:

I was about to take it out on the road when idling at the stop sign the car just turned off. I heard the fuel pump relay click and then dead.

Turned key off, turned back on and it did fire right back up, but backing it into the garage when I was shifting from first to reverse it shut off again.



This concerns me. This is classic ECU circuit corrosion issue from capacitor leakage. I have had this happen to me on two cars, my first GVR4 when I bought it in 2001, and my 3rd a couple years ago that had residual damage though it had been cleaned, repaired and caps replaced. It would happen only occasionally and sometimes would restart right away, other times only after sitting for a while.
 

PJGross

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 5, 2002
Messages
1,561
Location
Lake Orion, MI
Good to note.

This is exactly why I posted the symptom.

I do have an updated Keydiver chip (update from 2007) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif that I had him kill "phantom knock" on with everything else the same. I wasn't going to install, but now I will pull the ECU and at least inspect.

I'm not a computer guy. Is there a way for me to tell or test myself or do I send it to someone to test the ECU? Dang it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

-PJ
 
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