Need Insight
03-12-2008, 12:25 PM
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Need Insight So i bought my new t/a like 2 months ago. Has bigger cam, patriot heads, msd plugs wires, hooker headers, and true duals. I talked to the guy that owned it before me, he had the motor dynoed and it was 430/420. My question is, its running pretty rich, smokes out the exhaust. Now I wouldnt have thought that it would run rich if he put the motor on the dyno and tuned it for all these upgrades. Now is the only way to lean it out is on a dyno or is there a programmer out there that could lean it out?
And another question he deleted his maf he said for better throttle response, should i buy one and put it in? Or will i be allright to just leave it be. Thanks for whoever has some insight.
-Travis
And another question he deleted his maf he said for better throttle response, should i buy one and put it in? Or will i be allright to just leave it be. Thanks for whoever has some insight.
-Travis
03-12-2008, 01:57 PM
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Travis,
There are several items that seem like you need help with on your car. You said your car is running rich, and that you need some type of tune to take care of it. Any handheld programmed (predator, hypertech (hyperjunk), just to name a few) will not be capable of tuning those parameters of your car that handle the fuel delivery. You can do 1 of 3 things:
1. Invest in custom software such as HPTuners, LS1Edit. These software packages are pretty expensive compared to dyno tunes and mail order tunes. The other downside to them is that you have to really know what you are doing when you change the different variables/settings in your car's computer.
2. Get a mail order tune. A mail order requires you to take out your PCM and mail it into the tuning company so that they can tune it for you. If you do not have another car, you will be out of a car for a few days. I would not recommend this since you say your car has a cam and heads. While many companies can account for this in their tunes, it is not the way to go. A positive thing about the mail order tune is that it is cheaper.
3. Get a dyno tune. This is probably the best route. It runs anywhere from $250-450 depending upon the shop. They put your car on a dyno, hook up the PCM to some type of tuning software to monitor all the parameters of your car (such as your A/F ratio which seems to be out of whack), and can adjust them until they are at their best. Not only is a dyno tune moderatley priced, it allows a professional to get your car tuned the right way. You don't have to worry about tuning it yourself and messing it up, and you also don't have to worry about taking the cheap way out and not getting the best job.
As for your MAF, it sounds like the previous owner had your car tuned to what is called a "speed density" setup. Speed density relies on other sensors in the car (such as the 02 sensors and the MAP sensor) to determine the spark advance/retard and fuel delivery. Simply bolting one up to your car will not make it any better. If I were you and was interested in putting a MAF back on, I would buy a stock unit (the SLP only has a resistor in it to fool the computer to dump more fuel in which is what you dont want), and bring it with you to have it put in at the dyno tune place when you get your tune. I hope I answered some of your questions. I am sure somebody else will chime in with other info as well.
There are several items that seem like you need help with on your car. You said your car is running rich, and that you need some type of tune to take care of it. Any handheld programmed (predator, hypertech (hyperjunk), just to name a few) will not be capable of tuning those parameters of your car that handle the fuel delivery. You can do 1 of 3 things:
1. Invest in custom software such as HPTuners, LS1Edit. These software packages are pretty expensive compared to dyno tunes and mail order tunes. The other downside to them is that you have to really know what you are doing when you change the different variables/settings in your car's computer.
2. Get a mail order tune. A mail order requires you to take out your PCM and mail it into the tuning company so that they can tune it for you. If you do not have another car, you will be out of a car for a few days. I would not recommend this since you say your car has a cam and heads. While many companies can account for this in their tunes, it is not the way to go. A positive thing about the mail order tune is that it is cheaper.
3. Get a dyno tune. This is probably the best route. It runs anywhere from $250-450 depending upon the shop. They put your car on a dyno, hook up the PCM to some type of tuning software to monitor all the parameters of your car (such as your A/F ratio which seems to be out of whack), and can adjust them until they are at their best. Not only is a dyno tune moderatley priced, it allows a professional to get your car tuned the right way. You don't have to worry about tuning it yourself and messing it up, and you also don't have to worry about taking the cheap way out and not getting the best job.
As for your MAF, it sounds like the previous owner had your car tuned to what is called a "speed density" setup. Speed density relies on other sensors in the car (such as the 02 sensors and the MAP sensor) to determine the spark advance/retard and fuel delivery. Simply bolting one up to your car will not make it any better. If I were you and was interested in putting a MAF back on, I would buy a stock unit (the SLP only has a resistor in it to fool the computer to dump more fuel in which is what you dont want), and bring it with you to have it put in at the dyno tune place when you get your tune. I hope I answered some of your questions. I am sure somebody else will chime in with other info as well.