Open Source Tuning

[jonny-rockets]

If everyone who does this / uses any form of open source tuning can chime in here that would be sweet.

I think this is the route I want to go in the future, I am just not exactly sure how everything is done. In the end I would like to be able to create my own maps if I learn enough.

So...

If you currently use or have experience using open source tuning:


1). What software do you use.
2). Where did you get your cable? (Tactrix, etc)
3). Who tunes for you
4). Do you dabble with tuning at all yourself.

I'd like to see people compare/discuss their tuning maps, why they modify things a certain way, etc. :devil:

Anyone who's got knowledge on the subject this is the place to talk about it..

[Nick S.]

I have open source tuning. I know it is not the same as what you guys have but I do have a good understanding of tuning open source. I was hoping to see some more people trying to switch over to open source. I am a huge fan of open source because it allow you to do way more than an Access Port will. If we get enough people on this site using it we can all learn from each other.

1) I have DSMLink
2) I got it from the people at DSMLink.com
3) I do all my own tuning
4) See above answer

I know that this doesn't help you out much but I just convinced kgj996 to go to an open source. He got enginuity and he also was smart and got a wideband 02 for more reliable data and calibration of the MAS. We are both learning as we go with the program logging on logworks has suprised us with a few things that we never would have found if it wasn't for the open source. 106% injector duty cycles (bad). Horrible A/F ratio curve at WOT which was discoverd by the wideband.

Open source is the safest way to tune your car for sure.

[Nick S.]

I'd like to see people compare/discuss their tuning maps, why they modify things a certain way, etc. :devil:

Usually I start off by getting the a/f ratio dialed in at a low boost level. 11:1 on pump gas, and 12:1 on race gas. Then I set my timing curve. Next I turn the boost up and make passes logging and looking for knock as I turn up the boost. Once I see some knock I back the boost off a little bit and tune in timing even more after I have the boost as high as I can safely get it. Don't add a bunch of timing before getting the boost turned up because that will cause you to knock before your boost is maxed out and boost makes more power than timing.

Then I make sure I watch a couple of things to make sure I running safely.

-Knock
-Coolant temps
-Injector duty cycles

Don't run leaded race fuel if you have a cat

This is pretty much the very basics WAY more can be done to improve power (http://seacoastsubarus.com/forums/member.php?u=26)

[kgj996]

Like Nike said, I use Enginuity along with ecuflash and ecuexplorer to read and flash my rom and Logworks to log my wide band along with my other odb2 sensors. As stated above, tuning without a wide band o2 is useless. You can't rely on the stock o2 for any tuning. Aside from tuning, logging is a very useful tool to see what your car is doing.

I bought the cable along with the wbo2 from tunertools.com.
For now I'm building off a protune I got at tdc tuning, but I will be doing all the tuning with help from Nick S.

I hope to see more people go this route so we can all help each other out and not rely on a single tuner and his dyno any more.

[Murphy2012]

^^ I know what you mean, but at the same time, until you know what you're doing and are being guided by someone that knows what they are really doing you are putting your car at a serious risk. I am going to get an openECU tune either sunday or sometime next week so I can have it ready before the auto x. Gonna let the girl use my AP for now.

[jonny-rockets]

Usually I start off by getting the a/f ratio dialed in at a low boost level. 11:1 on pump gascan you elaborate on this more? I remember learning in school that the optimal afr was 15:1. Obviously this is way off from what you use. Does it change with the octane rating of gas? What are the biggest factors here?

Then I set my timing curve. Next I turn the boost up and make passes logging and looking for knock as I turn up the boost.When you say you make passes, does that mean you are just revving your engine?

106% injector duty cycles (bad).Can you elaborate on this as well? I honestly don't even know what that means! :spin:

What is a good range?


Thanks for the technical information! This is exactly what I was hoping to get out of this thread! Keep it coming guys. :devil:

[Nate8409]

You should never ever try to get 100% duty cycle. That is crazy. Once you get to about 95% duty the injectors don't work effeciently anymore. So as a safety note don't ever try to reach that number. If you are at 90% duty and still not getting enough fuel then raise fuel pressure.

Making a pass means logging a specific gear and recording the information from the sensors and stuff.

You then read those values and adjust for problem areas like knock or find a spot where the car is adding a **** ton of timing for you or pulling timing.

I don't know the DSM engine management system but I would assume it has some kind of boost trimming system like the Subys.

Most things you will ever tune on your suby have already been done. It makes it really easy to tune especially since someone somewhere has done it and posted their values.

Things that have not been done I will be doing soon. For me I am going to tune in this order.

First I will set wastegate duty cycles really low and target boost at wastegate spring pressure. Then set A/F at something really safe like 10:1 in any area where I think boost will be built.

Timing is the last thing I do. If I am really serious I will try to do it with math before I start playing on the car. Every engine has a specfic range where the camshaft is working "perfect" per say. At said moment/rpm etc you don't need any timing advance. Up to that point you don't need much timing either. After that point you need to add timing increasingly as engine rpm increases because of engine speed increasing. The pistons are coming much faster and the A/F needs to be ignited sooner to avoid knock and/or poor burn of the A/F mixture.

There are only a couple other things you need to do when going to a new turbo to make it work right. Like there is a table for trimming and maintaining target boost when it is reached. You can feel this happening when you punch the gas at a low RPM and the turbo is building boost and you feel the car want to surge as it passes target boost value and corrects for it after.

[kgj996]

[quote=Nate8409;34355]

In a subaru going for 11:1 on pump in not something you should try. 12:1 is where you should should stop without proper support like water injection or a higher octane gasoline.

Dude 11:1- 11.5:1 is a lot safer than 12:1 at wot and under load! 12:1 is ok when running race gas but not on pump. Your e At idle and in closed loop you should be around 14:1 which is Stoch. My afr at wot in open loop is 10:1 which is rich but still safe under boost. 12:1 might be safe on other cars but it is uber lean on subarus under load and boost. for more references check out romraider's forums on tuning. There is a lot of good reliable info to be read.

[Murphy2012]

^^ I think thats what he was getting at.

[kgj996]

I see that now. Way to tired to read all the way through. Sorry for the rapid response. :D

[Murphy2012]

LOL....car is getting open tuned from blkscooby on neawd.com either sunday or in the next week. I want it tuned before my first auto x next sunday. I am so ****in pumped to race again!

[Nate8409]

Ummm sorry for that. Corrected it now. My point would have been valid just had the numbers backward. Posting and working sometimes doesn't work out so well when people are bugging you for crapp.

I really hate the american system for tuning anyway. Lamda is so much better. Stoich is 1.0 istead of bull**** ratios like 14.7:1 The american measurement system reminds me of fractions too much and fractions make me want to spill blood.

As a point of reference I tuned my motor to run 12:1 for its most lean condition to 11ish area by redline.

[Nate8409]

Tune it yourself tmurph!

LOL....car is getting open tuned from blkscooby on neawd.com either sunday or in the next week. I want it tuned before my first auto x next sunday. I am so ****in pumped to race again!

[Murphy2012]

No cable, laptop, tuning ability.

[kgj996]

Lamda makes more sense but sucks to read on a gauge real time:lol:

[jonny-rockets]

hey noob question here:

can someone define/explain lambda?

many thanks

[kgj996]

hey noob question here:

can someone define/explain lambda?

many thanks
lambda is metric for air fuel ratio; 1 in lambda = 14.7:1 afr(gasoline) = Stoichiometric

[jonny-rockets]

excellent. props to you.

[Nick S.]

can you elaborate on this more? I remember learning in school that the optimal afr was 15:1. Obviously this is way off from what you use.

What you learned in school was that 14.7:1 A/F ratio is stoichiometric. That basically means that it is the A/F ratio where you get the most complete burn and it is good for fuel milage and emissions. Obviously you do not tune for good fuel milage and emissions at wide open throttle because **** that.

Because our cars are turbo all the air you pump into the engine when you are hitting full boost can cause it to knock or detonate which basically means your air fuel mixture ignites in the combustion chamber before you want it too usually because it is way too hot. Then your spark plug ignites the mixture again just after this has happened and the flame fronts collide making a knocking or pinging sound.

The more lean you run the car at full boost generally the more power you will get which is good. But the leaner the mixture the more likely you are to knock which is bad. The richer you set the the A/F ratio the safer it will become from knocking but you start to lose power.

Does it change with the octane rating of gas?

Octane rating is the fuels ability to resist knock. The higher the octane rating the more boost and leaner the air fuel ratios you can run to get more power. So when you spend $11.25 a gallon on 118 octane it is because it will allow you to run more boost safer. You don't actually get any more power out of the fuel it just allows you to run more boost and learner A/F ratio and that is where you get the power.

On 93 octane my car can start to knock on 16 psi. with 11.0:1 A/F ratios.
On 118 octane I can run 30 psi at 12.0:1 AFR with no knock :D.

What are the biggest factors here?

-Intake air temps (big front mount intercoolers help this)
-Coolent temps
-Boost levels
-A/F ratios
-Octane rating
-The price of tea in china

Those are the major reasons that cause knock.


When you say you make passes, does that mean you are just revving your engine?

I mean datalogging a wide open throttle pull in 3rd gear from 1500rpm to redline. That is the best way to get a good datalog on what you need to adjust.

Can you elaborate on this as well? I honestly don't even know what that means!

The injector duty cycle is a measurement of the injector pulse width. 100% injector duty cycle means the injector is pushing as much fuel as it possibly can so you basically have no room for error. The injectors can longer supply the amount of fuel you need to achieve the A/F ratios you want.

Just to clarify in case there is any confusion when I'm talking about adding timing I'm talking about igition timing not valve timing.

[kgj996]

If only I knew the price of tea in China...

[jonny-rockets]

great post! thanks for all the info Nick. if we had rep points i'd rep you.

[pjk91]

nick help me tune my cobalt. i want to learn good. :( tired of paying.

[Nick S.]

nick help me tune my cobalt. i want to learn good. :( tired of paying.

I think you are the guy I met at the track a week or 2 ago. Didn't you have a CEL? I so did you ever find out what the code was? If not I have a Scaner a I find out what it was and clear it. Then we can go from there. Just send me a PM.

[jonny-rockets]

Which tactrix cable is the right one for me?

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll21/unhiol/tax.png

[kgj996]

It depends on the year and model of your car. the drive by wire cars use a different cable than drive by cable. The tactrix 2.0 just came out and is supposed to work on both I think. It should be listed on that web site. The LC-1 you listed is not a cable it is a wide band o2 sensor and controller. That is the one I use because you can data log it using romraider.

[kgj996]

I highly recommend tunertools.com for both great prices and a lot of technical information. They sell a combo with the lc-1 and the tactrix cable for like $300. Also www.innovatemotorsports.com is the company that makes the lc-1 along with a lot of other cool crap, and the have a ton if info on tuning and their own forums.

[jonny-rockets]

i was suggesting more of the $91 vs. $79 model.

i got to that page by selecting my car make and year, which is a 2006 WRX TR

[kgj996]

I think the cables are the same, just one comes with the test blocks needed to flash your rom and one doesn't.

[jonny-rockets]

interesting..

so in order to be able to load say a stage 1 map i would need the one with test blocks?

[Bombay994]

you are correct sir, get that cable and a laptop and you get to see how smart these cars of ours are...

[kgj996]

either that or you could make one your self with a short wire and two female connectors. That plug just connects two wires under the dash, the same way the green connectors work. I just made a switch on my dash for the green connectors and I have a wire to take the place of the test block that stays in all the time. The cobb ap uses the same test blocks.

[Murphy2012]

Will I be able to data log and **** using romraider if I have my map selected with an AP? Just curious, and does the software work with windows 2k? I got a free laptop from work, with a serial port, but its got 2k.

[Jon]

Yea it'll work. But to answer your question about 2k, i'm not sure, check out ecuflash's website, that is the program you need to use the cable, it comes with all the drivers