i always hear that tuning is the key and good tuning can bring u a long long way. what i want to know is how do u consider the tuning to be good? like what are the factors in tuning? air/fuel ratio and ignition is all that i can think of. whatelse, so that when guys here visit different shops they will know if the shop is good or not.

 

To do good tuning, you need a dyno with a wideband 02 sensor accessible. An air/fuel ratio of about 12.0:1 to 12.5:1 will produce more power at those given ratios. Yes, ignition is also necessary when tuning. When running turbo, its a good idea to retard ignition timing X degree's per pound of boost. Adjustable cam gears are also good to tune on the dyno, you can pick up 10+hp when PROPERLY tuned on the dyno. It's also good to have a nice stand alone engine management system so you can modify your ECU settings to obtain proper a/f ratio's and ignition tables.

 

what if like lets say places where dynos aren't available. all that the local shop has is a wideband motec lambda meter (tuned at .84 = 12.0-.5) and a knock sensor that is attached to the block which is connected to a stetoscope to determine the slightest sign of detonation. will that be considered as good tuning?

some say that camgear tuning isn't critical with boost. all it does is smoothen the curve, which can be done thru butt dyno right?


[Modified by Turbo_Si, 8:34 PM 8/1/2002]

 

when u tune the cam gears it is to take out the overlap its not only to smooth it out