I'm completing dyno-tuning on Saturday. I did it this past Saturday and was disappointed with my numbers. They were waaaaay lower than I expected. I found that both homemade EGR blockoff plates on my headers are leaking. The driver's side is leaking bad enough to cause a loud ticking noise. I now have new blockoff plates that will stop the leakage I need help quick.


I know the shorties are hurting me and so are the so-called high-flow cats. Even so, I should be getting higher numbers. The tuner is good at what he does and he's turned off the !AIR !EGR and the rear OS2 sensors. It' runs REALLY good, but the numbers totally suck. My tuner is going to re-dyno me Saturday. Several questions:

(1) Will completely sealing the blockoff plates and stopping the leaks net me any power at all?

(2) Will cleaning the MAF sensors, K&N filter, spark plugs or anything else net me anything?

(3) What can I do to get the max numbers from my dyno.

 

Doersn't anyone know anything that will help my dyno/tune?

 

Why are you using TR6 plugs? I don't see any N2O or power adders in your sig. What were your dyno numbers? What was your A/F ratio? It's hard to help without more info.

 

The TR6's were just to run a temp range colder because it gets hot and humid in the summertime here in Florida ... they come gapped at .035. Will it make much difference if I gap them at about .045 - .050 Or should I just get TR55's and ditch the TR6's?

The only thing I know about the air/fuel ratio is that he said it was rich and he leaned it out for me. this guy used to work at Norris Motorsports, so, I would think he is pretty good. He is on this board and offers a lot of advice to other people who professionally tune LS1's here. His name here is TimZ28 and I looked at some of his replies and he seems to have all the answers that a lot of other tuners don't have. He's going to finish my dyno/tune up Saturday morning.

You convinced me. Since they're not too expensive, I'm gonna' order new TR55's tonight. The shorties is what are really killing me. I'll send you my numbers from last Saturday.

 

The A/F on the final dyno run is at 13.85 with stock injectors, if that means anything. Does this sound right?

Oh yeah the temp was 90.36 degrees, pretty humid and in Central Florida ... not sure what the sea level is, but, it can't be very high here.

Thnaks for answering the post. I kept seeing people viewing, but, nobody is replying. Maybe I should have posted this in another thread???

 

Most would shoot for 12.8-13.0 on a dyno. IMO, 13.8 seems pretty lean. And yes, you need a well sealed exhaust system for accurate A/F readings. a 99 A4 will probably be in the 290-300 rwhp range bone stock so with the 220 cam and shorty headers and Borla being the only mods you have that will show on a dyno, your numbers do not seem that bad. What the car ets and mhp in what DA will say more. You sent me your 0-60 times, but your 60 foot times are more important.

 

With the exhaust sealed (new blockoff plates and gaskets), I think it might balance the engine banks out a little more. That may not make sense, but, it's all I have to go on ... :o) The passenger side had a slight leak and the driver's side had a really loud noise, so, it was leaking a lot more.

I should be getting the FTRA kit. I think the only difference it will make is the cool air being drawn in from the concrete floor, instead of the un sealed and cutout bottom of the air box ... where the hot air was being drawn in from around the upper part of the engine (where the exhaust leak was).

This pull will be earlier in the morning and the air will be much cooler, so, I think that should help a little. I'm hoping that these things will all help me to break 340RWHP and gain a couple pounds of RWTQ.

As for 0-60 ft times, I haven't been to the dragstrip. Just guessing and seeing others' foot-times here, I would say that on street tires and no converter, I'm probably not under 2 seconds. I think where the shorties is helping, along with the TR220 cam, is on the low end, so, it's fairly possible, I could be getting 1-60 ft times of less than 2 seconds.

Man, I've got to get to the dragstrip soon. I'll post my numbers to you after the dyno this weekend and let you know if they are any better. I f you can think of anything that would help the numbers and the car, as well, I'll sure try anything about now. the guy that tuned my car said that because of the JBACat4ward headers an LS6 intake wouldn't do much for me.

Thnaks for your help 2x. If I can be of any help with your computer or anything, just let me know if you have questions. That's what I do for a living ... now that I left the Army ... kinda' funny that I was in the military and now do something as mild as fixing computers and doing networking stuff.

Again, thanks for the help ... hope to hear back soon from you.

 

Jack,

The last dyno run had the A/F ratio at ~13.1. I think you are reversing the two curves on the printout. The baseline run was close to 14:1.

TR6s are not necessary for your combination. TR55s is the prefered plug but I would not expect to see significant gains by switching.

Tim

 

Looking at the dyno sheet, it shows that the A/F on the first run was 13.85 and the last was 13.25. What looks crazy is that between the first and last dyno's I only gained 1.19 RWHP, yet, I lost 20.12 ft/lbs of RWTQ. Can I lose the 1.19 RWHP and get the 20.12 FT/LBS of RWTQ back? Why did I lose so much RWTQ? Is that a glitch with the software or something? On the brighter side, I think the cam (not the tuner) controlled the max numbers, Down low, it was a different story for the RWHP numbers. I gained 12 RWHP in the low-midrange area. That's where I could tell the difference. It pulls hard down low and that was my initial goal to begin with, so, MAX numbers don't mean as much, now that I go back and look at the dyno sheet.

Anyway, the blockoff plate kit is installed now and the engine sounds nice and smooth ... no !EGR connection header leak ... no noise. The FTRA came in and was put on last night. I'm hoping that the early morning temps will help. The FTRA kit pulling cool air from the concrete floor area and the fact that the air box will be sealed/pressurized, well, I'm hoping to break above 340 RWHP. Hopefully, my numbers won't end up worse ...

I'm happy with the tune that was done by TimZ28. The car has excellent throttle response and pulls a lot harder ... low-midrange.

Here's what I am having him to change on Saturday:

(1) Set the shift point for 1-2 gear shifts higher to 6200 up from 5800.

(2) Increase the idle to 750 ... up from 600.

(3) Raise the rev limiter up to 6650.

(4) Possibly change the A/F just a bit. I'll guess I'll leave that to my tuner. Maybe he might want to lower it just a little bit????

Well, tell me what you think. Your input here is appreciated.

NOTE TO TIM: I know you can't spend much more time in it. Just a few minor changes, as we discussed last week, is all I expect ... and the dyno, of course ...

 

Anyone care to take a stab at how much my 3:73 gears may have hurt the max dyno numbers?

 

I agree on the TR55`s instead of the TR6 I made less power with them naturally aspirated its not a whole lot of difference but it was some none the less. I run TR6`s though because i run N20. As far as engine temp i put the SLP fan switch on my car here in GA because its so dang hot i know my car now runs nowhere near 210 i know some temp gauges are different from others but my runs at about whatever 1/4 would be on my gauges.

 

Jack,

I don't have the sheet in front of me but I recall it picking up torque at the bottom end not losing it. If you gained 12 RWHP in the low to midrange area then you had to pick up torque. For example (20 ft-lbs * 3000 RPM) / 5252 = 11.4 HP.

As for the idle... it is currently set for 750 in P/N and 650 in gear. Are you having issues with the idle at those points?

Tim

 

Here's how the dyno sheet reads. I'm assuming (something I try to stay away from doing in life) that RunFile_001.drf file is the first pull and that the other RunFile_003.drf file is the other pull (the last one you did). I guess I'm reading it wrong. We'll talk.

RunFile_001.drf shows Max power = 333.97 Max Torque = 369.70 (red)
RunFile_003.drf shows Max power = 335.16 Max Torque = 349.58 (green)

The idle surges and dies at startup 2-3 times unless I sit and barely accelerate for about 20-30 seconds ... doesn't matter whether it's in P/N/Engaged. Tonight, I plan to drill a very small in the throttle body plate as others do with larger cams. I didn't think it would be necessary with a TR 220/220 .553/.553 112 LSA .cam ... maybe the Lobe Separation Angle needs it. I had understood you to say that the idle was set to 600 rpm as the last thing you said as I was leaving. I apologize if I misquoted you. I do remember you saying that it was set to 750 and thought it peculiar that you seemd to have quoted a different number later. My bad man ...

Since I fix the leakage of the blockoff plate, this idle issue seems to have improved to where it only dies once ... ocassionally twice, so it seems like maybe it's possibly something to do with VE tables vs A/F ratio. Just a stab ... know nothing about tuning ... obviously ... hahaha!

Thanks for keeping me straight Tim... gotta' have someone to keep me straight, I guess.

popocamaro2: Thanks for your input. I've decided to pull the TR6's and replace them. As for the temps, mine ran right dead center of the gage. Since the 160 Thermostat, it runs consistently about 15 degrees cooler. I've heard that if you run it too cool that it gums up the engine with varnish buildup. Is there such a thing as running TOO cool?

 

Tim, just wanted to clarify that the major torque was lost in the upper spectrum. You are totally correct that it did very well in the lower band, which is why I got the 220 duration cam. Overall, I AM satisfied with the tune. You didn't have much to work with, i.e., shorties JBA's and older intake. Square me away on reading the numbers on the sheet Saturday. Tuning.dyno'ing is new to me ... l8r t8r

 

I don't have alot of time at the moment but don't drill the TB!!! The IACs are where they should be. I need to work the PCM more on the starting. Is it hot or cold starts having the problem?

Thanks,
Tim

 

It's the cold starts. I have to rev the throttle at about 1000 rpm for about 20 seconds and then it's fine until I turn it off. I can drive it 50 miles, turn it off, then, start it an hour later and it does the same thing.

I haven't ported the throttle body out any more. I'll buy 1 7/8" LTs' and an off-road pipe a few months down the road and then I'll have you tune it for me.

Well, I'll talk to you later, Tim. Thankfully, another weekend is nearly here.