Turbolude

Hows your car doing with the 8:1 disc in the fmu? I got mine in, but keep blowing ignition fuses so i can really drive it. Seems like i can feel vtec a little more than i use to, but not as much as i should. Anyhow, let me know how your car is running now.

ek

hmmmm, well I thought it was running good, but then I went to the track... I ran a whomping 15.8!! I ran 15.2s before the turbo, and 14.4 before the turbo with nitrous... needless to say I was more than dissappointed with it... Right now it could be a couple of things... Fuel issues seem to always be haunting us turbo ludes, so I really need to dyno tune it, but central indiana sucks for that... My J&S Safeguard was pulling timing after the vtec changeover, but I am currently using the J&S knock sensor that came with the kit and I have heard it is better to tap into the wire from the stock sensor, so I am gonna try that this weekend... Hopefully prevent false knock alarms... Also my exhaust system could be a hinderence (2.5 crush bent pipe with stock cat a glass pack and then a flow master two chamber muffler) since my power seems to be strong up to the vtec cam changeover I wonder if my exhaust is not flowing enough... I am gonna drop it right after the downpipe this weekend and see if that makes it feel any better on the butt dyno... basically the car feels great up to the vtec range, then it starts to lose power... egts and a/f gauge both say i am running rich up there, but i still get detonation in cylinders 1&2 according to the safeguard... I just wonder if it is engine noise confusing it, since I will be at full throttle/full boost from ~3.5k on and i don't get the detonation detected until i switch cams... so anyway... it is running good, but not great yet...

G

Ek. I was just wondering, what is your set-up?

ek

93 Prelude turbo VTEC
DRAG gen 2 turbo kit
J&S Safeguard ver 1 w/ dual monitor
Bosch InLine Fuel pump from Endyne
Vortech FMU @ 8:1
DRAG 2.5" downpipe->2.5"flex pipe->stock cat (w/112k miles)->2.5" crush bent pipe->flowmaster 2-chamber muffler
lotsa check valves
recent valve adjustment
magnacore 8.5mm wires
NGK ZFR7F spark plugs (tan in color)


Apexi AVC-R
Autometer Oil Pressure Gauge
Autometer Boost Pressure Gauge
Autometer EGT Gauge

G

Stock injectors? As for the check valves, try using one and place it so that the air can go in to the tb, but not out. Put a hose to connect the "in" of the check valve to the map sensor. Drill a very tiny hole on the map sensor side of the check valve. The check valve would let the vaccuum be read from the map, but stop the boost from going out to the map. The little hole will let the map see atmospheric when the check valve is closed due to boost, a cheap missing link.

ek

Yep good ol 112k mile stock injectors... when i get a chance to have the car sit for a week I will send them out to RC to get cleaned and fixed up... how big of a hole do you use for that cheap missing link?? doesn't that make the map see a little less vacuum than it should when under vacuum??

Turbolude

That sucks man. The 8:1 disc deffinetly helped me alot. I can actually feel it pull when vtec kicks in. It still feels like there is some extra fuel from 6000 rpms up. Im going to put it on the dyno again but this time at 7lbs and im going to bring along a fmu with a 6:1 just incase im still running rich. Im also going to play with my exuast cam gear. Ill let you know how it goes. By the way, before i got the 8:1 and tuned the car slightly i ran a 15.4...that included a misshift from 3rd to 2nd. And as of right now it feels alot faster than that.

I know what you mean about how the car feels fast. When im not in vtec it feels like a torque monster..Like its going to just rip the wheels from beneath me and then it hits vtec and does quiet feel as strong. Well should it feel this way?? I mean peak torque is always down low, maybe the falling off we are feeling is partly due to the torque decreasing..i dont know, im talking outa my ***..ive had all kinds of theories with this car.

G

the hole should be 1/64" , the vacuum being read by the map sensor is really strong up until about 2" hg. the hole is just to let the pressure into the map sensor when the check valve is closed due to boost. the hole is too small to give the map sensor a false reading.

turbolude, most turbo set-ups have torque peak at mid rpms then falls to red line. and that is why it feels so strong in middle rpm and not as strong in top end. you are correct. i think the reason is because the valves are opened for a shorter time when the rpms go up, so there is less air and fuel filling the cylinders higher in the rpm range. i hope your dyno results are what you expect. goodluck.

ek

I will try that cheap missing link this weekend, but I really don't think that has anything to do with my problem... So is there any particular way to tune it to make power throughout the rpm range?? I mean I see lots of dynos from guys with B series engines making power clear to the redline... I think your idea about advancing the exhaust cam to reduce blow thru should help, anything else?? Before I go to a dyno I would like to ensure I have everything I could need to make the car run right and get tuned properly... AFC?? exhaust cam gear? intake cam gear? I will have my injectors sent to RC to get them cleaned first as well...

G

The stock cat. is a restriction. Most of what I've heard about the JS is that it pulls timing often, trigger happy or something. Try boosting to 7-8psi without the JS, before you disconnect it, though, be sure your fuel is sufficient. I am a bit rich at 110-115psi while at full boost, stock injectors and crappy fuel pump. So that may be a baseline as far as fuel is concerned. I am still a bit rich at 9psi also, only tried it in third gear though. Try to keep your fuel at that pressure and remove the JS. My experience with my MSDBTM, when I put it at 3 degrees retard per lb of boost, the engine is reving but the car isn't accelerating, definitely due to the ignition retard. Hope this helps.

ek

which kit do you have?? is yours running good? h22a? I unfortunately never got a fuel pressure gauge, but according to my egts and a/f monitor i am still rich at .5bar... i have to keep the fuel pressures down a little bit, though... since when i had the 12:1 disc in, my car wouldn't rev past 5k rpms... it would just misfire and not rev any higher... sucked...

G

I've got the basic drag kit. My last dyno was 250hp with it running rich...same results, after 6000 it would barely pick up. Now that the fuel pressure is 20psi lower (still with the 12:1) it picks up alot faster. I am going to do a little tuning today then go for the numbers tomorrow. I am running at 7-8psi boost, whatever the delta gate wants.

ek

Well, I did that poor mans missing link check valve mod and it works great!! But it didn't solve my high end power problem... I also hooked the Safeguard up to the stock knock sensor... That helped the power some, it isn't pulling timing as often now... Seems the J&S sensor was picking up a bit of engine noise and assuming it was knock... But things still aren't quite right...