CudaJoe

iTrader: (1)

Isnt 150-160 across the board normal?

ThePanduuh

iTrader: (3)

I think. But haven't seen the intake valves or intake manifold

heeter_33

I've been running a K&N SRI untuned for probably 2 years, with no CEL. I do have HPTuners, catless dp and 3 bar sensors to install though, I just need a place to do it.

ThePanduuh

iTrader: (3)

how even... so you're stock tune with nothing but a K&N SRI? damn.

Snail_SS

iTrader: (3)

I've never cleaned my valves either

ThePanduuh

iTrader: (3)

yuck. i can't imagine... I took out my TB and it was pretty dirty around the ring. i want to say it had oil getting in at least once.

CudaJoe

iTrader: (1)

never cleaned my valves either. I do know there was a bit of oil in the intake before the turbo so yep. Im sure they are dirty. Just not sticking and causing problems.

heeter_33

And an air oil separator, but yup. I should mention the car only has ~16,000 miles on it though lol.

Snail_SS

iTrader: (3)

Oh I know they are super dirty, just haven't had the time or motivation to do them (plus they aren't giving me problems yet) and also I would want to have the Powell air/oil separator before I clean them (that's actually the main reason I haven't done it)

umrdyldo

iTrader: (1)

K&N SRI doesn't skew the Long Term Fuel Trim by much at all. 2-3%

But under full throttle my car was off by 8-10% for short term fuel trims.

I basically took GMS1 and cleaned up my fuel trims. Car seems to like it.

ThePanduuh

iTrader: (3)

Yeah that's nothing. Ill put that on my car in about a year and a half. I'm already at 10k over last year

ThePanduuh

iTrader: (3)

There's a guy local who has the Powell intake manifold pcv relocate thing i should grab. I'm going to borescope camera my valves to see if they're dirty or not.

ThePanduuh

iTrader: (3)

How did you do that? Do you tune/understand how it works? Hp tuners that is.

umrdyldo

iTrader: (1)

I would say I'm in the top 10% of computer users and do have an engineering degree so a lot of the tuning concepts aren't hard to understand. It just takes a lot of reading and practice to do basic modifications to the tune. GMS1 is very conservative. Almost too conservative in places. Learn to log your car often and learn to interpret the logs. That's really the starting point.

LNF Guides

ThePanduuh

iTrader: (3)

Update:

BYT is flashing me GMS1 for $150! Thanks to the guy above me (I'm on mobile I can't see your name) for linking me that forum which showed me that BYT did work with gms1 before. So I reached out and asked and he'll flash it for me!

This will suffice for now then when I'm ready to custom tune I'll go back for a custom tune and it'll already be HPT unlocked through him!

umrdyldo

iTrader: (1)

Glad he's still helping the community. $150 is reasonable.

ThePanduuh

iTrader: (3)

Basically. He's reopening this weekend so he's still helping alright! Dyno tunes only no street tunes. He said $100 for HPT credits and $50 for time and equipment. It's pretty awesome that I'm local too!

califcarm

Keep in mind that the GMS1 is just another form of a "tune". It was just done by GM directly so they stayed conservative enough to still feel comfortable if someone accidentally put 87 octane in it and drove around still boosting some (not a good idea but they have to account for things like this).

All tunes will have the "learn down" feature still in effect. It is the very nature of the airflow and torque request type ECM that we have. You can make the tune a bit more or less sensitive to this effect by using a few different ways of effecting boost, but it is still there because the ECM is always looking for target airflow. The GMS1 tune functions just like the stock tune for how it works, but just adds some more boost and more timing to make more power.

For the GMS1 tune (compared to stock) they keep mid rang boost limited to about 16-17 psi, then creep it up quickly as you approach 5000 rpm to about 20-20.5 psi (weather dependent of course since it is looking for a target). Maybe spool the turbo a bit quick (more aggressive PID tables that control the wastegate), but nothing crazy. And adds some ignition timing for a little more power also.

I can tell you that for what you want I would just get a IC for reliability concerns only (plastic end tanks can explode as boost goes up, ask me how I know), and a custom tune. You don't need anything else. You could get a few bolt ons like the DP or intake, which would allow you to make the same target power at a little less boost, but not really necessary for what you want. I almost went with BYT because I could drive there pretty easily os he could tune in person. He said he normally sees about 300-310whp on a completely stock car, if the engine is healthy.

But I decided to go with HPT and learn it myself. Difference between a custom tune and the GMS1 is night and day. I started with a GMS1 tune and the car is a completely different animal just by the new tune I have. I decided to tune to about 23psi, and was able to add in about 3.5 degrees of ignition timing (compared to GMS1). That makes a nice gain over GMS1 for sure. I ramp in boost faster than the GMS1 also, but not so crazy as to make the clutch slip or worry about blowing up my trans from torque hitting to hard. A good tuner can do whatever you want, so you can ask to make more than the GSM1, but keep all the safety features it has like over boost protection, modest boost ramp so there is no boost spike, torque limit in 1st gear, etc. You don't need to have a custom tune be any more dangerous than a GMS1 really. The GM tune is even a little lean from my research, so a custom tune can fix this my going a tad richer (GM did not get everything perfect on even their tun).

I just see you putting a lot of faith in the GMS1 tune. Not that it is bad, but I don't think it is necessarily an more reliable than a custom tune (if you ask for a conservative custom tune), and it is not any better at reacting to BO parts than a cutom tune since they all function by the same math models and tables in the ECM.

63 Nova SS

iTrader: (3)

My valves at 31,000 miles were horrible. You don't think that it effects you till you clean them and hear how easily your car idles even at cold start.

Snail_SS

iTrader: (3)

My car doesn't idle bad but I'm sure I would be better, I'll be doing all that work once I'm swapping transmissions

CudaJoe

iTrader: (1)

I just dont feel like making a giant mess in my garage and not sure who locally is willing to make a mess in theirs.

lol

ECaulk

iTrader: (6)

It's really not that bad, getting drop cloths setup correctly makes a big difference

ThePanduuh

iTrader: (3)

Ive also heard of people just using brushes and cleaners through the ports not walnut blasting. I'd probably set up newspapers around your engine bay and especially around the bottom of the intake ports going to the radiator fans to catch gunk. And the floors obviously. It's a time consuming process.

exninja

iTrader: (1)

Use a shop vac at the same time, and tape plastic well. The mess is minimal when you do that.

ThePanduuh

iTrader: (3)

I guess my next question is is it safe to rotate the engine by hand when everything is connected? Like to put the valves fully closed for the port you're working on or is there a time when all are closed fully?