so i'm thinking about boosting in the near future, but i'd like to learn how to tune the system myself. i live east of atlanta, and it seems as though all of the tuners are on the northwest side of town.

so what's a good way to learn how to tune an aem fic? i dug around on aem's website, and found a link to efi university - which hosts a series of courses that looks to offer what i'm looking for... does anyone have any experience with them?

still in the planning and preparation stages, but i like doing my homework in advance. tried searching, but couldn't find a lot of info on this topic.

....and for what it's worth, i'm handy with a wrench, do all my own mx work on all my cars, and pretty good with computers (even though it may seem as though my shift key is broken....).

thanks in advance!

 

just a hint of insight, the being good at computers has nothing to do with knowing how to tune. since you'll be learning, it's going to be a lot of trial and error in the beginning.

 

go to school for it! done deal!

 

To be completely honest, a safe and reliable tune is not that difficult as long as your patient, datalog, have the right tools and know what you're looking for. On the other hand, a conservative yet powerful tune is what takes true expertise.

For a starting point heres what you'll need.

-Fuel Management (FIC in this case)
-A notebook to tune with
-Wideband gauge connected to the FIC for datalogging.
-OBDII Scanner that can read fuel trims and ign timing (I recommend the ElmScan along with the ScanXL software which provides for precise datalogging of fuel trims vs rpm along with ign timing)

Optimally, for pump gas (91-93 octane), on a conservative tune, youll want to get your fuel trims as close to 0 as possible under vacuum - as you approach boost (13-14 psia) you'll want closer to a 12.5:1 afr, as you move into boost youll want to go from a 12.0:1 at very low boost (15-18 psia) to a 11.2-11.6:1 at full boost.

This is not 100% exact for every car, but with my experience on pump gas and under 12psi on stock motor, this seems to be a pretty conservative guideline.

Timing is a bit more tricky. To be conservative, you can say pull -1 degree for ea psi of boost, but this def will hinder performance. The usual path to follow is to start there, than add timing to you see the ign timing advance drop during datalogging - this indicates the ecu senses knock, when you get to this point, dial it back a tad (typically .5-1deg). Also typically youll pull more timing around peak torque, than give it a bit more advance as you approach redline.

Keep in mind, this is only a starting point. Of course you'll probably make mistakes, just hope one of them doesn't result in destroying a motor ;) If you dont understand anything Ive said, or are starting to second guess yourself after realizing whats on the line, just take it to a professional tuner.

I have no formal "EFI Schooling", however I have a very indepth mechanical knowledge and over the past years have been able to essentially teach myself to tune based on these principles.

Of course, I cant take responsibility for anything you do after reading this, Im just writing this as a guideline to hopefully get you pointed in the right direction.

 

I'm am speechless dawn very good write up you just threw out there

Sent from my DROID incredible

 

thendawg ftmfw lol

 

i thought we had a sticky for this stuff already? guess not but i know i saw a post with hella links and all the info u need some where in the fi forum just search.

 

thanks for the input!

thendawg: good info! and not to worry, i'm not the kind of person to blame others for stuff i do wrong.

my biggest worry is indeed blowing up my motor with a bad tune...

speedy000: i'll dig around in the stickies to try and find more info.


m6ar2cel6oTC: i work full time, so school is kinda out of the question - unless there's a crash course over a weekend or evenings, or something like that.

thanks again!

 

guy's a walking think tank. lol Always has the answers for me lol

 

Borders has books on efi and stuff....or barnes and noble....they will teach you some things that will help you to understand what was posted, I am doing the same thing...research....but elevation might get flown out to Hawaii for a little while to take care of me lol.

 

laptop
engine management system
egt gauge
wideband

then you can tune 100% after reading a lot of books on it and even going to school for it.

 

Some people pick it up and others dont. Just dont be the person who says "I tuned my car myself" and its broken 2 weeks later because you thought tuning was just boost levels and AFR.

 

X1000000000000.

This is why I said get an EGT. You could have perfect AFR's but if your timing isn't correct then you engine could be running very hot, this is why you need an EGT gauge.