Tuning the maggie
#1
Tuning the maggie
Here ya go guys....I know nothing about tuning the late model fuel injected LS engine line so my ignorance will create opportunities to "butt hurt" me. If its a Holley, Quadrajet or rack of Mikunis, I'm your guy.
So I bought a maggied V this weekend with an 8.8, a rowdy cam of unknown origins, 1 3/4 kooks, what looks like a corsa or B&B cat back, a magnavolt BAP, a speed density tune and a set of Canammex cats that are about the size of a soup can.
The car has had a lot of money spent on it and it appears that no coin had been spared on it as witnedssed by the $150 weighted shift **** and $399 aeroforce multi gauge. The fella I bought it from (thanks Adam!) didn't know anything about the car really and no receipts have been found in the car at all. What it doesn't have is a good harmonic balancer as the stocker is being relied upon to turn all this.
He only owned it a couple of months but had the foresight to have it tuned by Jeremy Formato who apparently has a reputable reputation. The car pulls hard all the way to redline and while it has it's driveability quirks, they aren't too hard drive around and can honestly say it's tuned pretty damn close.
My biggest issue is that it runs rich and I'm assuming (hoping) it was setup this way on purpose to help keep it from melting down. But after driving this car 150 miles to and from work everyday, I smell like the punk kid I was when I owned my Super Duty Trans-Am. Full throttle runs produce large clouds of black smoke and the smell at idle is fairly obnoxious. The previous owner said it, as well as the minor surging it does below 2k, was just part of the "rowdy cam" experience. I've had my experience with big cammed cars in the past so I can buy into this to some extent but I was hopeful that modern fuel management systems might be smarter than this.
My questions are....
1. How compatible is a rowdy *** cam and a maggie from a tuning standpoint? Would they conflict with each other and require some sort of compromise to work well together?
2. How clean can you get a maggied equipped V1 tuned? Am I just going to have to live with this?
3. Besides Tick, can anyone recommend a good tuner in the NC/SC particularly in the Charlotte/Mooresville area? The logistics of getting the car to Tick would be difficult but not out of the question.
4. Are the smallish cats not up to the task of cleaning up the exhaust stream? It still has all 4 oxygen sensors mounted up and plugged in but have no idea if the back two are just along for the ride or if they're actually doing anything.
5. Who's running a stock banlaner with a maggie? I'm hoping it was pinned at the very least but it still seems to spin true with no notable wobble.
Thanks for any and all help!
So I bought a maggied V this weekend with an 8.8, a rowdy cam of unknown origins, 1 3/4 kooks, what looks like a corsa or B&B cat back, a magnavolt BAP, a speed density tune and a set of Canammex cats that are about the size of a soup can.
The car has had a lot of money spent on it and it appears that no coin had been spared on it as witnedssed by the $150 weighted shift **** and $399 aeroforce multi gauge. The fella I bought it from (thanks Adam!) didn't know anything about the car really and no receipts have been found in the car at all. What it doesn't have is a good harmonic balancer as the stocker is being relied upon to turn all this.
He only owned it a couple of months but had the foresight to have it tuned by Jeremy Formato who apparently has a reputable reputation. The car pulls hard all the way to redline and while it has it's driveability quirks, they aren't too hard drive around and can honestly say it's tuned pretty damn close.
My biggest issue is that it runs rich and I'm assuming (hoping) it was setup this way on purpose to help keep it from melting down. But after driving this car 150 miles to and from work everyday, I smell like the punk kid I was when I owned my Super Duty Trans-Am. Full throttle runs produce large clouds of black smoke and the smell at idle is fairly obnoxious. The previous owner said it, as well as the minor surging it does below 2k, was just part of the "rowdy cam" experience. I've had my experience with big cammed cars in the past so I can buy into this to some extent but I was hopeful that modern fuel management systems might be smarter than this.
My questions are....
1. How compatible is a rowdy *** cam and a maggie from a tuning standpoint? Would they conflict with each other and require some sort of compromise to work well together?
2. How clean can you get a maggied equipped V1 tuned? Am I just going to have to live with this?
3. Besides Tick, can anyone recommend a good tuner in the NC/SC particularly in the Charlotte/Mooresville area? The logistics of getting the car to Tick would be difficult but not out of the question.
4. Are the smallish cats not up to the task of cleaning up the exhaust stream? It still has all 4 oxygen sensors mounted up and plugged in but have no idea if the back two are just along for the ride or if they're actually doing anything.
5. Who's running a stock banlaner with a maggie? I'm hoping it was pinned at the very least but it still seems to spin true with no notable wobble.
Thanks for any and all help!
Last edited by ls1247; 08-12-2015 at 08:31 PM.
#2
TECH Fanatic
1. Can't help with the cam. Hopefully, it doesn't have too much overlap.
2. At cruise, you should be able to set it at stoichiometric A/F and be "fairly" clean.
3. Can't help.
4. I have Kooks metallic cats. It stinks a bit at idle, but does some cleaning during normal driving.
5. My stock balancer was pinned by me 37k miles ago and is working just fine.
2. At cruise, you should be able to set it at stoichiometric A/F and be "fairly" clean.
3. Can't help.
4. I have Kooks metallic cats. It stinks a bit at idle, but does some cleaning during normal driving.
5. My stock balancer was pinned by me 37k miles ago and is working just fine.
#3
If both valves are open at the same time, think they would be open long enough to see this at the rocker arm or are these events too close together to visually see this if I'm turning the motor by hand with the plugs out?
I'm hoping to avoid a cam swap because I'm broke and lazy.
I also got a guy trying to buy the maggie setup from me that said you'll be overhauling it every 12,000 miles....that sounded like BS then and it sounds like BS now. How much life do these things have?
I'm hoping to avoid a cam swap because I'm broke and lazy.
I also got a guy trying to buy the maggie setup from me that said you'll be overhauling it every 12,000 miles....that sounded like BS then and it sounds like BS now. How much life do these things have?
#5
TECH Fanatic
If both valves are open at the same time, think they would be open long enough to see this at the rocker arm or are these events too close together to visually see this if I'm turning the motor by hand with the plugs out?
I'm hoping to avoid a cam swap because I'm broke and lazy.
I also got a guy trying to buy the maggie setup from me that said you'll be overhauling it every 12,000 miles....that sounded like BS then and it sounds like BS now. How much life do these things have?
I'm hoping to avoid a cam swap because I'm broke and lazy.
I also got a guy trying to buy the maggie setup from me that said you'll be overhauling it every 12,000 miles....that sounded like BS then and it sounds like BS now. How much life do these things have?
I have 37k-trouble-free miles on my maggie. Other guys have many more than that. Tell the guy to go pound sand.
#9
Maybe! The last go around I had with DSS ended with them offering to build a carbon 2 piece for me but I ran out of time and took the refund instead. I'm trying to revisit that conversation as we speak but I know yours works cause if it didn't, I wouldn't have bought the car.
The 8.8 is less than a year old so I'm hoping for some warranty help.
The 8.8 is less than a year old so I'm hoping for some warranty help.
#11
How's your voodoo driveshaft holding up and what did you do with the carbon one piece you had?
Thanks for posting!
#12
TECH Fanatic
I would ditch the speed density tune and reinstall the MAF. Even with a cam, I'm pretty sure you won't come close to maxing the MAF.
I plan on ditching my SD tune as well when I get the initiative.
I plan on ditching my SD tune as well when I get the initiative.