Okay, so i read some stuff on here about how certain tunes can be 'turned on/off' so i went out and tested it out in the 09 sstc car i bought a couple of months ago . It had a ZZP CDP, ZZP IC, INJEN UCP, k&n CAI, STOCK MAP SENSORS and i want to get this thing figured out so i can install the new 3 bars i bought from zzp and the lower charge pipe. I wanted to figure out how to gey it retuned for the 3 bars. Heres the thing, the test i did was i warmed up the car FULLY, then on the highway i got into 3rd gearat about 45 mph at around 3k rpm and matted it, paying attentiom to the boost guage with cruise control on...cc off...no change 15 psi max. Then i held down traction contriol button until it said ESC OFF on the dash and saw the boost go immediatelt to over 20 without even flooring it! It had more pedal! So the results of my little 'test' were quite definitively that the car has a tune that is 'switched on/off' by holding the traction control button down for several seconds!! The thing is that i read somewhere that trifecta locks their tunes?? So i cant switch to 3 bars without getting them to retune it? I wamted to get hp tuners to be able to have a custom tune done and to be able to retune for future mods? Is my best option to buy a new PCM WITH A 'CANNED ZZP TUNE' . What would you guys do? I need input. Wasting money is not my thing. I have money saved up for my build but im not all the way there. Should i get trifecta to retune it with the 3 bars? Should i spend a bunch more money buying a new unlocked pcm from zzp with a tune on it? Any help would be appreciated? How good is trifecta these days? Can it be unlocked with the new hptuners software?

 

OP here, now that i have figured out that this thing is tuned, by trifecta, yet I have no idea what fuel it was tuned for, should I be concerned about running pump 93 in it in party mode?? I mean isnt there going to be a ton of timing and way rich settings in the afr tables if they tuned it for E47 or worse, for E85? I just want to drive this thing and not blow it up! Do i have to spend a bunch of money for hpt just to log it and will still not be able to get the tune fixed because its locked? Is there a way for me to use the cheap live data scanner to look at ignition timing and or lambda and see if the thing is way off and dangerous? This sucks having so many questions, but it would be a shame to ruin a bad ass car by just throwing 93 in it and ignorantly going full send when i could have avoided it for another few hundred bucks to buy another pcm with a canned tune that is 93 safe for sure. Why on earth would trifecta not keep records of this or put a sticker on the car that says WARNING E47 TUNE ON CAR?? am i just ignorant to worry in the first place?

 

If you ran the car on an E tune with 93 in the tank the engine would have blown up a while back. If you have a scanner that shows live data what are the STFTs and the LTFTs

 

First of all thanks for your help. The stft last time i drove it were +-3% max and the ltft seems stuck at different numbers the few times i have checked. I think -5.5% was the last number i saw. I emailed ZZP and they said that they have a trifecta cable and could probably get in contact with trifecta and possibly revert it back to stock so i would be able to remote tune with them by buying/renting an Mpvi4 and laptop. The car doesnt run poorly or anything as of now, but I do have some GMS1 map sensors that I bought before i knew the pcm was locked by trifecta. I may decide to just buy a second PCM just in case im not happy with the way it runs with ZZP's tune. Idk. I know it would be nice to be able to learn about the tuning/ logging software for the sake of interest. I know it will take a while to be able to understand what is going on, but i know it will be a lot easier to enlist the help of others beibg able to log data on the car.

 

I would trade your ECU into ZZP and with that ECU you can tune or do whatever you like. Tuning our engine isn't super straight forward and it helps if you know a lot about engines and vehicles.

 

You are absolutdly correct. I do know quite a bit more than the average mechanic about theory and operation of Internal Combustion Engines. However, a torque-based ECU is a whole different level of complextity, for sure. It definitely is not outside of the realm of possobility for me to learn how to safely and correctly tune the LNF, but I dont think its a good idea to try to do it myself right off the bat! Im pretty sure ZZP has it down pat so starting with their tune should work. Then getting aquainted with VCM suite and logging is probably the next right step. I already have a solid foundation of knoweledge, so I think it will be fun to just tool around with learning the software and being able to understand how each aspect of the car's performance can be viewed, recorded in real- time and subsequently adjusted if/when necessary. I am probably way behind the curve for most 47 year old automotive enthusiasts when it comes to tuning, but i enjoy learning and I enjoy cars so there is that! Im not looking to build anything crazy, i mostly just want to get the most out of what I put together, without blowing it up!! Also, from what i have seen via the internet, its just like everything else, there are a ton of people who can do it, most of them barely know enough to do it sort-of proerly, a select few people know how to do it very well. If i'm going to learn how to tune, i want to be sure to learn the right way, from people who do it right! PAY ATTENTION to fundamentals! That alone usually goes a long way! Tuning for dummies, is the first book im looking for! Lol!

 

I did a log on a LNF with a 67 today

 

See, perfect example of how I have no idea wtf is going on! I mean i understand the idea of three dimensional graphs, but there is the point that I have yet to learn how the pcm calculates load amongst a lot of other things. That is the perfect example of why I should pay someone to tune my car. It takes a lot of what I dont have. However, I did see some pretty crazy fuel trims yesterday. I should probably stop letting the car sit for a week at a time. I also need to stop being cheap and order another PCM from ZZP ALONG with the remote tuning interface and laptop.