Post by Teh Man! on Mar 17, 2006 15:17:03 GMT -5
Tuning
The following is meant to be a rough guide to get beginners started in the art of tuning. I do not have much experience myself in this area of cars, however, I have learned a lot already and would like to share what I know. I will basically outline how I tuned my car with Uberdata. There are many routes that you can take, some of which may differ from what I did. For example, if you have a different wideband oxygen sensor than I used, then you'll be using different logging software, etc. Also a note: this writeup was done with Uberdata version 1.63. Some things have probably changed in newer versions but you should be able to figure out the new stuff without much trouble. Also, I have probably missed some fine details so it wouldn't hurt to check out the Uberdata Forum on the same site listed below. Enough babbling....lets begin.
The first step is to make a basemap. This serves as a rough idea as to what the fuel and timing maps should be. Generally (and hopefully) basemaps are very conservative, meaning they provide more fuel than is needed as well as retarding the timing more than is needed. The idea is to start rich and slowly lean it out until you have reached your target Air to Fuel ratio. Same goes for the timing maps.
The setup that I tuned with Uberdata consists of a B16A with a Jackson Racing Supercharger at 6psi. It has DSM 450cc injectors at stock fuel pressure, with the stock fuel pump. When you use a standalone system like Uberdata, you generally set the timing at the distributor to stock. Consult your shop manual for details. On to making a basemap.....
Open up Uberdata.exe (which can be downloaded for free from their site. Go to the File menu and select "Open". Uberdata includes stock Honda maps from different ECU's. If you have a VTEC motor, open StockGSR.bin. If you have a non-VTEC motor, open StockLS.bin. For my B16A, I obviously chose StockGSR.bin. Next, if you have an LS motor or a GSR motor, you're set. Otherwise, go to the Import menu and select your specific application. Again, I chose P30 since that's a Civic Si (B16A2/3). When the open dialog pops up, select the corresponding .bin file. Now you can see the maps by selecting the different tabs at the top. Fuel Lo is the fuel map that is used when the motor is out of VTEC. Likewise, Fuel Hi is when the motor is in VTEC. If you have a non-VTEC motor, ignore the Hi maps. The same goes for the two Ign (timing) maps. You'll notice the horizontal scale represents the MAP sensor reading, while the vertical scale is what RPM the motor is at. For the fuel tables, the values in the cells are the injector duty cycle. A value of 800 is considered "maxed out" for an injector. To see this as a percent, click the Duty Cycle tab on the bottom and it turns the numbers into a 0-100 scale. Click the Boost tab. The Boost Fuel Efficiency value is how we're going to make our basemap (because in case you didn't notice, there is garbage in the boost portion of the stock Honda maps). A good value for turbos is 110-120. I think I used around 140 or so for my supercharger. Enter a value and press Apply. The value below, Boost Ign Retard, is the amount of timing that is retarded per pound of boost. For example, if you used 1.0, then at 6psi your timing would be retarded 6 degrees from stock. For setups less than 10psi, .8 is a conservative number, even for the high charge temps of a supercharger. Use your best judgement...the lower the number, the more risk of detonation which equals a blown up motor. This will also depend on what octane gasonline you run. Again, enter the value and press Apply. Now go back and look at your fuel and timing maps - you'll notice that the boost portion has now been filled in. Now click the Rev Limits tab. Here you'll find all sorts of parameters. Most of these are self explanatory. I recommend you leave them stock until you have your tuning done. Then go back and play with the fun stuff such as shift lights, etc. Now click the Misc tab. At the top you can disable whatever you need. For example, since I'm running a wideband and not using the stock OBD1 O2 sensor, I disabled the heater to avoid the check engine light. If you're using bigger injectors like I did, you'll have to change your Fuel maps so that you don't dump too much fuel. To do this, simply enter the new size into the New Injector Size box and press apply. You'll see that the numbers in your fuel maps have decreased, meaning they will make up for the larger injector by lowering the duty cycle. In the fuel modifiers section, you will see that the suggested value has changed from 100 to another number once you resize your injectors. Take this number plus 10% of it and fill it in the three boxes above it. The TPS enrich is for when you first get on the throttle hard, how much fuel is dumped right away. Since my JRSC has instant boost, I had to raise this number to around 70 or so to avoid tip-in detonation. Again, if you're using stock injectors, keep all of these numbers at 100.
That about sums up how to make a basemap. Now all you have to do is save it: File -> Save As. The next step is to burn the file onto an EPROM chip to put in your ECU. Your ECU must be chipped to do this. I'm using a Moates USB "BURN1"(http://www.moates.net/) programmer, and I have been very happy with it. The nice thing about this one is that it doesn't require an external power source, and it is very basic (but still does the job very well). The programmer should come with software to burn files as well as detailed instructions, so I will not go into detail on this part.
I will assume you have a wideband oxygen sensor to tune with, because if you don't, good luck without it as it's nearly impossible to tune without one. There are many different brands with many different prices, but they serve about the same accuracy. Innovative makes a nice setup, although it costs more than what I decided to use. If you're more of a do-it-yourselfer, you may opt for the Techedge kit. You can save a lot of money if you buy the parts from wbo2.com/ and assemble it yourself. Either way, make sure the one you choose offers logging capabilities of some kind. For the Techedge kits, there are many options available including Palm Pilot software. Check out the Yahoo mailing list(http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/oz-diy-wb/) for Techedge where most of the software resides. It is all free; you just have to register with the group.
Well go ahead and see if your car starts. Hopefully it will start and run without a check engine light. If you have problems, double check your soldering connections on your chipped ECU. It is important that you keep your eye on the wideband from now on, so as not to blow your motor, even though you hopefully have a conservative enough basemap. Start by driving around out of boost and see if the numbers are normal. It helps to install the wideband and drive around with it while the car is stock so that you can get used to what the normal numers are. Obviously as you apply more gas it will add more fuel and run richer. When cruising at light throttle, 15.5-16.5 is typical. Any richer and you will get poor gas milage. 13-14 is typical under heavier load (but remember not to boost yet!). If the car seems too rich or too lean throughout the non-boost portion of the map, then you will want to adjust it accordingly. Open up your basemap in Uberdata and highlight the non-boost section of the fuel Map. In the picture below, you will see what to select. Once it's selected, either enter a multiplication & or press the +/- % buttons. Add more fuel if it was lean, or subtract fuel if it was rich. You will quickly get a feel for how much the percentage changes the air to fuel ratio. Don't forget to add the same amount to the Fuel Hi map if you have a VTEC motor.
The whole idea behind modifying a stock Honda map is that hopefully you will not have to do much part throttle tuning, if any. For the most part, everything should have the right slope. It's just a matter of making your injectors work with it. If you would happen to notice only certain RPM's that it is lean or rich, then highlight these areas and adjust accordingly. However like I said, this is not commonly needed for basic setups.
Once you have part throttle operating like it should, it is time to tune the boost portion of the basemap. I recommend starting at a low RPM range and applying the gas quickly to wide open throttle (WOT). At the same time, watch your wideband! If it is in the 13's or higher, immediately let off the gas and richen the whole boost portion of the map(s) up (remember - don't forget about the Fuel Hi map for VTEC motors). Also, if your air to fuel ratio was below 11, you'll want to lean it out a little so that you don't foul your oxygen sensor (and waste gas). Once you get it in the 11-12.9 range, you're ready for the fine tuning. Set up your datalogger for your wideband and make a wide open throttle run starting at 2000 rpm and going to the redline (but stop along the way if it leans out!). I recommend 2nd gear for starting out, especially if you're tuning on the street, for safety's sake (and to prevent wear and tear on your setup since you'll be making many runs back to back). Pull over and review your datalog. Highlight the parts of the map that need adjusting and scale them as needed. Be sure to scale the boost levels at the same time...for example: if it was leaning out between 5000-6000rpm, the select this range of rpm for the whole boost portion:
A nice feature of Uberdata is the 2D view that can be selected at the bottom. This allows you to see your maps as lines instead of a table. I like to select the values in the Grid mode then switch to 2D when I go to scale them. It helps to see how they are being affected. You'll see that in 2D mode, your selected cells appear as solid red boxes:
Repeat this process until you have a nice flat air to fuel ratio line when you datalog at WOT. Once you accomplish this, it wouldn't hurt to make a pull in 3rd gear (be safe about it though). This will allow more samples per second and allow some fine tuning if you're picky (which you should be as a tuner). It will also help to review your map(s) every once in awhile in 2D mode and make sure the lines are smoothly flowing for the most part. There shouldn't be any sudden changes in the lines (refer to the stock map for a good example of this). Smooth lines will make for a smoother power band and more accurate tune overall. The following is a datalog plottle in Microsoft Excel that shows how the basemap performed:
Here is after several passes of tuning. Notice how they targeted a 12.5:1 air to fuel ratio:
The following is meant to be a rough guide to get beginners started in the art of tuning. I do not have much experience myself in this area of cars, however, I have learned a lot already and would like to share what I know. I will basically outline how I tuned my car with Uberdata. There are many routes that you can take, some of which may differ from what I did. For example, if you have a different wideband oxygen sensor than I used, then you'll be using different logging software, etc. Also a note: this writeup was done with Uberdata version 1.63. Some things have probably changed in newer versions but you should be able to figure out the new stuff without much trouble. Also, I have probably missed some fine details so it wouldn't hurt to check out the Uberdata Forum on the same site listed below. Enough babbling....lets begin.
The first step is to make a basemap. This serves as a rough idea as to what the fuel and timing maps should be. Generally (and hopefully) basemaps are very conservative, meaning they provide more fuel than is needed as well as retarding the timing more than is needed. The idea is to start rich and slowly lean it out until you have reached your target Air to Fuel ratio. Same goes for the timing maps.
The setup that I tuned with Uberdata consists of a B16A with a Jackson Racing Supercharger at 6psi. It has DSM 450cc injectors at stock fuel pressure, with the stock fuel pump. When you use a standalone system like Uberdata, you generally set the timing at the distributor to stock. Consult your shop manual for details. On to making a basemap.....
Open up Uberdata.exe (which can be downloaded for free from their site. Go to the File menu and select "Open". Uberdata includes stock Honda maps from different ECU's. If you have a VTEC motor, open StockGSR.bin. If you have a non-VTEC motor, open StockLS.bin. For my B16A, I obviously chose StockGSR.bin. Next, if you have an LS motor or a GSR motor, you're set. Otherwise, go to the Import menu and select your specific application. Again, I chose P30 since that's a Civic Si (B16A2/3). When the open dialog pops up, select the corresponding .bin file. Now you can see the maps by selecting the different tabs at the top. Fuel Lo is the fuel map that is used when the motor is out of VTEC. Likewise, Fuel Hi is when the motor is in VTEC. If you have a non-VTEC motor, ignore the Hi maps. The same goes for the two Ign (timing) maps. You'll notice the horizontal scale represents the MAP sensor reading, while the vertical scale is what RPM the motor is at. For the fuel tables, the values in the cells are the injector duty cycle. A value of 800 is considered "maxed out" for an injector. To see this as a percent, click the Duty Cycle tab on the bottom and it turns the numbers into a 0-100 scale. Click the Boost tab. The Boost Fuel Efficiency value is how we're going to make our basemap (because in case you didn't notice, there is garbage in the boost portion of the stock Honda maps). A good value for turbos is 110-120. I think I used around 140 or so for my supercharger. Enter a value and press Apply. The value below, Boost Ign Retard, is the amount of timing that is retarded per pound of boost. For example, if you used 1.0, then at 6psi your timing would be retarded 6 degrees from stock. For setups less than 10psi, .8 is a conservative number, even for the high charge temps of a supercharger. Use your best judgement...the lower the number, the more risk of detonation which equals a blown up motor. This will also depend on what octane gasonline you run. Again, enter the value and press Apply. Now go back and look at your fuel and timing maps - you'll notice that the boost portion has now been filled in. Now click the Rev Limits tab. Here you'll find all sorts of parameters. Most of these are self explanatory. I recommend you leave them stock until you have your tuning done. Then go back and play with the fun stuff such as shift lights, etc. Now click the Misc tab. At the top you can disable whatever you need. For example, since I'm running a wideband and not using the stock OBD1 O2 sensor, I disabled the heater to avoid the check engine light. If you're using bigger injectors like I did, you'll have to change your Fuel maps so that you don't dump too much fuel. To do this, simply enter the new size into the New Injector Size box and press apply. You'll see that the numbers in your fuel maps have decreased, meaning they will make up for the larger injector by lowering the duty cycle. In the fuel modifiers section, you will see that the suggested value has changed from 100 to another number once you resize your injectors. Take this number plus 10% of it and fill it in the three boxes above it. The TPS enrich is for when you first get on the throttle hard, how much fuel is dumped right away. Since my JRSC has instant boost, I had to raise this number to around 70 or so to avoid tip-in detonation. Again, if you're using stock injectors, keep all of these numbers at 100.
That about sums up how to make a basemap. Now all you have to do is save it: File -> Save As. The next step is to burn the file onto an EPROM chip to put in your ECU. Your ECU must be chipped to do this. I'm using a Moates USB "BURN1"(http://www.moates.net/) programmer, and I have been very happy with it. The nice thing about this one is that it doesn't require an external power source, and it is very basic (but still does the job very well). The programmer should come with software to burn files as well as detailed instructions, so I will not go into detail on this part.
I will assume you have a wideband oxygen sensor to tune with, because if you don't, good luck without it as it's nearly impossible to tune without one. There are many different brands with many different prices, but they serve about the same accuracy. Innovative makes a nice setup, although it costs more than what I decided to use. If you're more of a do-it-yourselfer, you may opt for the Techedge kit. You can save a lot of money if you buy the parts from wbo2.com/ and assemble it yourself. Either way, make sure the one you choose offers logging capabilities of some kind. For the Techedge kits, there are many options available including Palm Pilot software. Check out the Yahoo mailing list(http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/oz-diy-wb/) for Techedge where most of the software resides. It is all free; you just have to register with the group.
Well go ahead and see if your car starts. Hopefully it will start and run without a check engine light. If you have problems, double check your soldering connections on your chipped ECU. It is important that you keep your eye on the wideband from now on, so as not to blow your motor, even though you hopefully have a conservative enough basemap. Start by driving around out of boost and see if the numbers are normal. It helps to install the wideband and drive around with it while the car is stock so that you can get used to what the normal numers are. Obviously as you apply more gas it will add more fuel and run richer. When cruising at light throttle, 15.5-16.5 is typical. Any richer and you will get poor gas milage. 13-14 is typical under heavier load (but remember not to boost yet!). If the car seems too rich or too lean throughout the non-boost portion of the map, then you will want to adjust it accordingly. Open up your basemap in Uberdata and highlight the non-boost section of the fuel Map. In the picture below, you will see what to select. Once it's selected, either enter a multiplication & or press the +/- % buttons. Add more fuel if it was lean, or subtract fuel if it was rich. You will quickly get a feel for how much the percentage changes the air to fuel ratio. Don't forget to add the same amount to the Fuel Hi map if you have a VTEC motor.
The whole idea behind modifying a stock Honda map is that hopefully you will not have to do much part throttle tuning, if any. For the most part, everything should have the right slope. It's just a matter of making your injectors work with it. If you would happen to notice only certain RPM's that it is lean or rich, then highlight these areas and adjust accordingly. However like I said, this is not commonly needed for basic setups.
Once you have part throttle operating like it should, it is time to tune the boost portion of the basemap. I recommend starting at a low RPM range and applying the gas quickly to wide open throttle (WOT). At the same time, watch your wideband! If it is in the 13's or higher, immediately let off the gas and richen the whole boost portion of the map(s) up (remember - don't forget about the Fuel Hi map for VTEC motors). Also, if your air to fuel ratio was below 11, you'll want to lean it out a little so that you don't foul your oxygen sensor (and waste gas). Once you get it in the 11-12.9 range, you're ready for the fine tuning. Set up your datalogger for your wideband and make a wide open throttle run starting at 2000 rpm and going to the redline (but stop along the way if it leans out!). I recommend 2nd gear for starting out, especially if you're tuning on the street, for safety's sake (and to prevent wear and tear on your setup since you'll be making many runs back to back). Pull over and review your datalog. Highlight the parts of the map that need adjusting and scale them as needed. Be sure to scale the boost levels at the same time...for example: if it was leaning out between 5000-6000rpm, the select this range of rpm for the whole boost portion:
A nice feature of Uberdata is the 2D view that can be selected at the bottom. This allows you to see your maps as lines instead of a table. I like to select the values in the Grid mode then switch to 2D when I go to scale them. It helps to see how they are being affected. You'll see that in 2D mode, your selected cells appear as solid red boxes:
Repeat this process until you have a nice flat air to fuel ratio line when you datalog at WOT. Once you accomplish this, it wouldn't hurt to make a pull in 3rd gear (be safe about it though). This will allow more samples per second and allow some fine tuning if you're picky (which you should be as a tuner). It will also help to review your map(s) every once in awhile in 2D mode and make sure the lines are smoothly flowing for the most part. There shouldn't be any sudden changes in the lines (refer to the stock map for a good example of this). Smooth lines will make for a smoother power band and more accurate tune overall. The following is a datalog plottle in Microsoft Excel that shows how the basemap performed:
Here is after several passes of tuning. Notice how they targeted a 12.5:1 air to fuel ratio: