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How much power to expect?

Old 05-31-2013, 04:35 PM
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Default How much power to expect?

Good afternoon folks. I have a 2001 WS6 A4 with 86k miles on it. Just finished putting on 2010 243 casting heads with LS7 lifters, PRC .625 springs, TSP chromoly pushrods, and a TSP 224R / 113 LSA cam. Car loped great and has long tube stainless headers and MSD plugs and wires.

In order to get the car running so that I could drive it with a start point I uploaded a 224 / 112LSA cam file from the HPTuners file bin. The car is idling too high for sure, but runs fine and doesn't stall. However, it seems to lack the punch it should have for the heads and cam just installed. The throttle response doesn't quite seem correct and it should be me back in my seat at WOT. It doesn't. Are there any suggestions for a start point here? Or should I take it back to complete stock tune and start from scratch?
Old 05-31-2013, 04:56 PM
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53 looks and no responses. Guess I'm not asking the right questions. How much power should I have gained on the head/cam install from stock heads/cam? Am I better off starting a fresh tune or correcting what is in the car now?
Old 05-31-2013, 05:44 PM
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My guess is about 350 to the rear wheels on tune I'm not sure on I'm sure someone will chim in I maybe wrong
Old 05-31-2013, 05:46 PM
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I had similar setup with my old 2001 z28 but was running a 228r cam and dual exhaust. That car put down 422/408 to the wheels. I should be getting some good torque out of this setup with 380-400 rwhp.
Old 05-31-2013, 05:56 PM
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Regardless of the dyno numbers those heads and that cam might net 60-70 hp if I had to guess. It really depends on what's done to those heads if anything
Old 05-31-2013, 05:58 PM
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Nothing has been done to the heads. They are 243's off of a 2010 Silverado with 30k miles on them. I updated the valvetrain and cleaned them up nice before installing them. I think my tune needs to be combed and possibly a set of 3:73 or 4:10 gears to wake it up. It has the stock 3:23 gears I believe.
Old 05-31-2013, 06:08 PM
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A set of gears and good tune will go a along ways for sure in making a big difference regardless of the power gained
Old 06-04-2013, 05:55 PM
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Here is the latest. I got most of the idle stuff tuned out and the car runs good in reverse and drive on cold start without being fully warmed up. When it is at full operating temperature it is mostly good in drive at a stop light. When it is warm and I put it in reverse it surges low and dies. Same thing happens if it is warm and I start it at a parking lot except if I give it a couple revs everything irons out.

What table do I need to look at for the reverse gear idle?

And as far as the gears go, I'm going to put a TCI 3000 stall in it and a set of motive 3.73 gears. Should run nicely with that.
Old 07-08-2013, 11:42 AM
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Originally Posted by my01camaroz28
Good afternoon folks. I have a 2001 WS6 A4 with 86k miles on it. Just finished putting on 2010 243 casting heads with LS7 lifters, PRC .625 springs, TSP chromoly pushrods, and a TSP 224R / 113 LSA cam. Car loped great and has long tube stainless headers and MSD plugs and wires.

In order to get the car running so that I could drive it with a start point I uploaded a 224 / 112LSA cam file from the HPTuners file bin. The car is idling too high for sure, but runs fine and doesn't stall. However, it seems to lack the punch it should have for the heads and cam just installed. The throttle response doesn't quite seem correct and it should be me back in my seat at WOT. It doesn't. Are there any suggestions for a start point here? Or should I take it back to complete stock tune and start from scratch?
Did you use the factory seals and retainers? I am installing the same cam and springs but I measure my stock install height on 1 intake and it was 1.787 im pretty sure those spring's install heights are 1.800...im stuck on that idk if .010 is much to worry about
Old 07-08-2013, 06:13 PM
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If you are running a stock torque converter you will find that to be your biggest problem.
Old 07-09-2013, 09:30 AM
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a stock converter will make it feel like a turd...when mine was cammed and bolt ons it wouldn't even turn the tires over from a dead stop

a base tune from the internet is probably not that precise, so who knows what's going on with the air fuel and all that
Old 07-09-2013, 02:19 PM
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I deff agree about the converter my buddy has a 98 with a similar set up and even with the 3:73's he wasn't happy with what he had. I'm deff going for the converter first when I do mine.
Old 07-10-2013, 07:48 PM
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Originally Posted by thunderstruck507
a stock converter will make it feel like a turd...when mine was cammed and bolt ons it wouldn't even turn the tires over from a dead stop

a base tune from the internet is probably not that precise, so who knows what's going on with the air fuel and all that
I run a 98 LS1 with stock converter, 3.73's and I can't keep from roasting tires if I get on it at all. I need a stall defenitely, even a small one. Would help with the shifting in gear thing also.
Old 07-11-2013, 08:56 AM
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mine was bolt ons and 230/224 cam, 4l60e, 3.42, 295/50r15 street tires

from a dead stop it would not spin at all...depending on the pavement surface it would try to break loose around 3000rpm in first, it would also spin slightly on a 2-1 downshift sometimes

it just felt like turbo lag the way it ran...the stall was about the best mod I've done for the car as far as go fast is concerned
Old 07-11-2013, 10:09 AM
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A stock converter is pushing the limits. They tend to be too tight down low and 95+% of aftermarket cams don't like to be under 800rpms. Problem is, if you up the idle, you get a nasty thunk when going from P/N to In Gear. Get a stall in there and you notice low-rpm behavior will improve.

As for your question about power, I would say 400-410 to the tire through an auto is about where you can expect to be. Any more will be icing on the cake. A good starting point will usually be a flat WOT AFR of 12.7 and 27* of timing (safe). You can lean on it on the dyno to see if it makes any more power with less fuel and more timing. But, the extra strain isn't always worth another 5hp IMO.

Drive-ability, idle, etc....that all comes from quite a few tables and general knowledge of how the PCM works to figure things out. I'll tell you timing is a big player in the quest to get the car not to surge at light throttle, lower RPM (1200~2000) cruising scenarios. There are also some adaptive idle control tables that can help to avoid the idle surge (both airflow and timing related). If you look around in the right places, you should be able to find the answers you're looking for. But, don't expect them to come too easily. After all, that's why tuners get paid...
Old 07-12-2013, 08:00 AM
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Great answers and suggestions from everyone. I appreciate that. I've been tuning off and on since 2005. Automatic cars definately seem to be a challenge. The more and more I drive the car it seems to have some slippage in the transmission when in drive. Feels pretty good in 3rd though. The car has 86k miles and I've replaced the transmission filter once. As money permits I'll do a TCI 3000 stall, monster in a box tranny rebuilt kit, and some 3.73 gears. Can't afford it right now.

The other interesting part is cold starts. The of course idles high at cold start and if I put it in reverse or drive shortly there after it surges and dies unless I power brake it. If the car warms up for 15 min or so then the car doesn't die, but still surges to about 600 rpm. I have also noticed that 90+ degree hot and humid air pisses it off. 80's seem to be a very happy air temp for the car. I'm still conducting research and reading to learn more about idle tuning. I'm more concerned with street driveability and power than I am about track racing or maximum horsepower on the dyno.


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