MS3 surging and sputtering
hey Squall01, from my own experience on my old 98 Z, i'd definitely get rid of the converters. i had Mikey tune my Z twice last year. the first time everything seemed good until i took it to the track. the best it would do was 12.2s and was struggling to get 111 mph. after a couple different track outings i called Mikey to see if he could shed some light on what was wrong. he told to bring the car back so i did. here the car lost about 35 or 40 rwhp, but the torque stayed the same. Mikey said to take the car home run a leakdown test and see what it showed and also asked if i still had converters. i told him yes. he said to get rid of them. so i did. took the car to the track the following weekend and the car goes 11.90 @ 117.65. i sold the car to a friend and he got it to go 11.82 @ almost 118. Mikey know his ****, so listen to him when he says something. i'll be taking my WS6 to him once i get some stuff done to it.
I'm surprised driveability is still such a problem these days - especially with the capabilities in tuning software that has been out for years. My last car was tuned by a 'pro' shop and I ended up starting from scratch. 
Aftermarket cams with bigger durations (23x plus) don't require nearly as much timing as some people like to think mainly because they are very inefficient at lower RPMs. Trying to run a stock (or greater than stock) timing table for light throttle/low rpms is only asking for trouble. As mentioned earlier, you need to dial in the desired idle airflow numbers so that the IAC can act consistently from cold starts to operating temps (not just change the table arbitrarily like many tuners do). Once that is taken care of, you then shouldn't have a problem getting the car to idle in neutral with 23~24* of timing (no need for the 30+ degrees some tuners throw at idle). Granted, you'll also have to pull some fuel down low because the stock idle fueling in the MAF/VE is beyond overkill for a 23x cam. Then, you may have to pull upwards of 10~15 degrees of timing for cruising situations under 1800rpms. Lastly, tweak your throttle cracker/follower settings so that the IAC doesn't let too much air past when it's not supposed to.
Those are the keys to getting a 23x cam'd car to drive like stock. Granted, it won't be 100%. But, you can at least drive it around a parking lot in the 1200~1800rpm range without looking like you're head banging to AC/DC.
Aftermarket cams with bigger durations (23x plus) don't require nearly as much timing as some people like to think mainly because they are very inefficient at lower RPMs. Trying to run a stock (or greater than stock) timing table for light throttle/low rpms is only asking for trouble. As mentioned earlier, you need to dial in the desired idle airflow numbers so that the IAC can act consistently from cold starts to operating temps (not just change the table arbitrarily like many tuners do). Once that is taken care of, you then shouldn't have a problem getting the car to idle in neutral with 23~24* of timing (no need for the 30+ degrees some tuners throw at idle). Granted, you'll also have to pull some fuel down low because the stock idle fueling in the MAF/VE is beyond overkill for a 23x cam. Then, you may have to pull upwards of 10~15 degrees of timing for cruising situations under 1800rpms. Lastly, tweak your throttle cracker/follower settings so that the IAC doesn't let too much air past when it's not supposed to.
Those are the keys to getting a 23x cam'd car to drive like stock. Granted, it won't be 100%. But, you can at least drive it around a parking lot in the 1200~1800rpm range without looking like you're head banging to AC/DC.
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i plan on takin it to mikey as soon as he's available. and if this no sniffer thing is true, the cats will be gone, i can promise that!! lol. we'll get some tuning done and get her lined out. is it safe to drive like it is right now? also, if i was gonna buy a tuner, what would you guys recommend? i know SSpd will vote for EFIlive...any others?
Thread Starter
TECH Apprentice
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Joined: Aug 2004
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From: Hollidaysburg, PA
