Looney Tuning
07-15-2009, 11:48 AM
This Evo X GSR belongs to melachu. Mel is a long time customer of mine. I tuned his Evo IX back in march of 2008. He loved the car and the tune. Unfortunately, he wrecked the car and ended up getting an Evo X. He got it long before we had the opensource tools to tune it. Not wanting to pay an arm and a leg for a tune using AP/ECUtek, he waited until opensource tuning was available.
His is the first Evo X that I have tuned using only Evoscan and ECUflash. My beloved PCMScan is now officially retired. I really, really love that software. If it had the ability to log knock, WGDC, and WGDCC, I would not even bother with Evoscan. The $95 I paid for it was well worth it. It paid me back and then some.
Mel’s car had the first factory re-flash done to it. For those who care the rom id number is 52680018. The most recent factory re-flash has a rom id number 52680020. The car had the following modifications:
HKS drop-in
Titek test pipe
Tsudo catback exhaust
Dejon Tool MBC
I install my logging equipment, DL the stock rom, and flash the rom with the necessary code to log with mode23 via Evoscan. We head out to do the baseline logs. Keep in mind that these are NOT stock baselines, since the car had an MBC that prevented boost taper to stock levels. We did 12 WOT logs before I declared the car Looney Tuned. It took me an hour and a half to tune this car since it had an MBC. Tuning boost with an MBC is much easier and faster than tuning boost from the ECU.
Here are the before and after 3D data charts. Each chart has 4th gear 3-4 WOT logs. The baseline peak boost was close to stock at 22.7 psi, but the rest of the boost curve was higher than stock. For example, by redline the baseline boost was 17.91 psi roughly 2 psi higher than stock boost. Stock boost on an Evo X is around 14-16 psi. Tuning the boost was easy. I increased the boost in two 1/8 turn increments. Once I logged 24.xx psi, I stopped increasing the boost.
The boost at peak ended up being 1.9 psi higher than baseline; by redline the tuned boost was 1.64 psi higher than baseline. Had this car been on the stock boost, then tuned redline boost would have been 3-4 psi higher than stock.
http://www.sr20deracing.com/looneytuning/Evo/Mel/psi_b4_after.gif
The AFR on the car was not as bad as I have seen with other Evo Xs. The AFR was in the 10:1 ratio, but it never dipped in the 9:1 ratio. I lean spooled the boost on the tuned AFR and then slowly tapered it into the low 11:1 ratio by 6500 rpm. By redline, I had to richen up the mixture a tad to combat some knock that the car was experiencing.
http://www.sr20deracing.com/looneytuning/Evo/Mel/afr_b4_after.gif
The final piece of the tuning puzzle is the timing. As most tuners do on 91 octane gas, the timing is retarded from stock once the boost is increase and the AFR is leaned. The magic ignition timing number for the Evo X on 91 octane seems to be 17-18* BTDC. Anything more and that will trigger knock. This car was a textbook case for this kind of ignition timing. When I tried to increase the timing advance, the car knocked in protest. So I left it where it liked it most.
http://www.sr20deracing.com/looneytuning/Evo/Mel/tim_b4_after.gif
So how much power did this car make? The car made the following max and peak gains:
http://www.sr20deracing.com/looneytuning/Evo/Mel/dyno_b4_after.gif
Max power gain +29 hp
Max torque gain +38 ft-lb
Peak power gain +25 hp
Peak torque gain +33 ft-lb
The gains would have been 10-20 hp higher had we started from stock boost. Alas, the car already had an MBC on it and it is very difficult to get the boost to taper like stock with an MBC. Since Mel already had an MBC on his car, It was not cost effective to have him remove it simply to get a lower reading baseline. I have noticed that MBCs on a blot-on modded Evo X are as effective as ECUboost control with the stock pills in place.
His is the first Evo X that I have tuned using only Evoscan and ECUflash. My beloved PCMScan is now officially retired. I really, really love that software. If it had the ability to log knock, WGDC, and WGDCC, I would not even bother with Evoscan. The $95 I paid for it was well worth it. It paid me back and then some.
Mel’s car had the first factory re-flash done to it. For those who care the rom id number is 52680018. The most recent factory re-flash has a rom id number 52680020. The car had the following modifications:
HKS drop-in
Titek test pipe
Tsudo catback exhaust
Dejon Tool MBC
I install my logging equipment, DL the stock rom, and flash the rom with the necessary code to log with mode23 via Evoscan. We head out to do the baseline logs. Keep in mind that these are NOT stock baselines, since the car had an MBC that prevented boost taper to stock levels. We did 12 WOT logs before I declared the car Looney Tuned. It took me an hour and a half to tune this car since it had an MBC. Tuning boost with an MBC is much easier and faster than tuning boost from the ECU.
Here are the before and after 3D data charts. Each chart has 4th gear 3-4 WOT logs. The baseline peak boost was close to stock at 22.7 psi, but the rest of the boost curve was higher than stock. For example, by redline the baseline boost was 17.91 psi roughly 2 psi higher than stock boost. Stock boost on an Evo X is around 14-16 psi. Tuning the boost was easy. I increased the boost in two 1/8 turn increments. Once I logged 24.xx psi, I stopped increasing the boost.
The boost at peak ended up being 1.9 psi higher than baseline; by redline the tuned boost was 1.64 psi higher than baseline. Had this car been on the stock boost, then tuned redline boost would have been 3-4 psi higher than stock.
http://www.sr20deracing.com/looneytuning/Evo/Mel/psi_b4_after.gif
The AFR on the car was not as bad as I have seen with other Evo Xs. The AFR was in the 10:1 ratio, but it never dipped in the 9:1 ratio. I lean spooled the boost on the tuned AFR and then slowly tapered it into the low 11:1 ratio by 6500 rpm. By redline, I had to richen up the mixture a tad to combat some knock that the car was experiencing.
http://www.sr20deracing.com/looneytuning/Evo/Mel/afr_b4_after.gif
The final piece of the tuning puzzle is the timing. As most tuners do on 91 octane gas, the timing is retarded from stock once the boost is increase and the AFR is leaned. The magic ignition timing number for the Evo X on 91 octane seems to be 17-18* BTDC. Anything more and that will trigger knock. This car was a textbook case for this kind of ignition timing. When I tried to increase the timing advance, the car knocked in protest. So I left it where it liked it most.
http://www.sr20deracing.com/looneytuning/Evo/Mel/tim_b4_after.gif
So how much power did this car make? The car made the following max and peak gains:
http://www.sr20deracing.com/looneytuning/Evo/Mel/dyno_b4_after.gif
Max power gain +29 hp
Max torque gain +38 ft-lb
Peak power gain +25 hp
Peak torque gain +33 ft-lb
The gains would have been 10-20 hp higher had we started from stock boost. Alas, the car already had an MBC on it and it is very difficult to get the boost to taper like stock with an MBC. Since Mel already had an MBC on his car, It was not cost effective to have him remove it simply to get a lower reading baseline. I have noticed that MBCs on a blot-on modded Evo X are as effective as ECUboost control with the stock pills in place.