help with tuning my car

[AlphaAssault]

So its the summer, and i have some free time i would like to use by improving my GSX. Right now, i have the right go-fast mods, but i lack a good tune. I have never tuned a car before, just repaired them, so i have no idea where to even begin. Im afraid if i am left to my own devices that i will destroy my engine. so, i had an idea: would anyone on here be willing to meet me somewhere with all their tuning stuff and give me the lowdown on how to tune a DSM? I dont have any piggyback ECUs or anything, so if i am understanding things correctly, the only piece of hardware that would be useful would be a logger. Check my profile for the list of mods I know my GSX has. oh, and i live in East Texas. So, if your interested in teaching a n00b how to tune, drop me a line.

 

[rarson]

My brother lives in Fort Worth (not sure where exactly that is in Texas), but I've never been out to visit him.

You said the only useful thing would be a logger, but it'd also be useful to have a wideband O2 sensor and a way to adjust fuel and timing. If you want an easy way to tune, DSMLink is the way to go, as it gives you everything you need to tune without a complex interface. And if you follow the advice of the tuning guide and the people on the forum, it's pretty hard to run into a bad situation.

 

[Boostjunki84]

First your going to need something to tune with. At the very least a S-AFC, to go with the logger, or better yet DSMLink. A logger will do you no good if you can't do anything to what it shows. If you want to learn to tune, you are still going to need the capability to tune before anyone can show you how. If you don't really want to mess with trying to tune the car yourself, try here:

KEYDIVER Chips - DSM ECU Tuning

 

[AlphaAssault]

hardware, what all would i need to buy if i was going to tune with a S-AFC? or what all would I need for DSMlink? i read somewhere that you have to mod the ECU a little bit for... whatever reason. how much do these two methods cost? and how are they different from one another?

 

[ndsti]

I would look for something other than DSMLink it's a waste if your not going to make massive power. As for hardware.

AFC just needs to be wired into the ECU cost ~$200-$300 used ones are eveywhere!
- very simple and easy to use

DSMLink needs to be wired up and then you will need an EPROM ECU (which you probably already have) cost ~$600
- more complicated and as a lot of features that you will probably never use
- decent interface

The system that I run is ECU+, I have the plug n play system and I got it for $500. I just recently went to the dyno to get my car tuned, and the operator loved the system and said, "That's nicer than AEM." I made 315whp on 19psi and 3 hours of tuning.

 

[AlphaAssault]

what is an EPROM ECU; or how is it different from a normal DSM ECU? and what makes you think i already have an EPROM? I havnt bought a different ECU for my GSX, im still running with the one that came with it when i bought the car.

 

[Gstclipse69]

You probably have an eprom because you have a 90. 90 and 95s have eprom ecu's.
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/new...-if-95-gst-has-eprom-ecu.html?highlight=eprom

 

[ndsti]

EPROM means: Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory. Short and simple version is that there's a chip inside your ECU that you can program, so you can change you fuel maps, etc. That is what keydiver does.

 

[Boostjunki84]

hardware, what all would i need to buy if i was going to tune with a S-AFC? or what all would I need for DSMlink? i read somewhere that you have to mod the ECU a little bit for... whatever reason. how much do these two methods cost? and how are they different from one another?

If you want to use a S-AFC, then all you really need is the AFC and the wiring harness for your car (as long as you have a logger); you can get the latest version on ebay for around $300-$400 dollers new. If you decide to use DSMLink (which I highly recommend), all you will need, is an EPROM ECU (which you may already have) and a box to ship it to ECMtuning. DSMLink runs less than $550, but you get so much more than what the S-AFC can offer.

See here for details:DSMLink Homepage

Another thing you may want to consider is that the S-AFC has to be wired in; so you have to cut and splice into you wiring to the ECU. If your not sure how to do this it can be messy, and even if you know what your doing it's a lot of extra effort to get it nice and clean. Then, you have to figure out where to mount the actual AFC unit and so on...

With DSMLink it's a matter of unplugging the ECU, removing 4 screws, and then reverse that when it get's beck from ECMtuning. The other important thing you'll want to consider is if you want to upgrade your injectors at this point. You will have to tune the S-AFC with bigger injectors just to get it drivable. With DSMLink, you can order it with a pre-programmed base tune to the injector size of your choice.

I have used both over the years. Both will work, I just prefer DSMLink.

 

[AlphaAssault]

If you want to use a S-AFC, then all you really need is the AFC and the wiring harness for your car (as long as you have a logger); you can get the latest version on ebay for around $300-$400 dollers new. If you decide to use DSMLink (which I highly recommend), all you will need, is an EPROM ECU (which you may already have) and a box to ship it to ECMtuning. DSMLink runs less than $550, but you get so much more than what the S-AFC can offer.

See here for details:DSMLink Homepage

Another thing you may want to consider is that the S-AFC has to be wired in; so you have to cut and splice into you wiring to the ECU. If your not sure how to do this it can be messy, and even if you know what your doing it's a lot of extra effort to get it nice and clean. Then, you have to figure out where to mount the actual AFC unit and so on...

With DSMLink it's a matter of unplugging the ECU, removing 4 screws, and then reverse that when it get's beck from ECMtuning. The other important thing you'll want to consider is if you want to upgrade your injectors at this point. You will have to tune the S-AFC with bigger injectors just to get it drivable. With DSMLink, you can order it with a pre-programmed base tune to the injector size of your choice.

I have used both over the years. Both will work, I just prefer DSMLink.

Thanks for the reply. this is just the sort of information I was looking for. Unfortunantly, 500 is a little more than I planned to spend on tuning equipment, but it looks like that what ill get; as soon as i can round up the cash.

in the meantime, what is a safe PSI to set my car at? currently, im running a small 16g on the stock fuel system at about 10psi. I have a boost controller, and I was thinking 14psi on my current setup would be about perfect. any thoughts on this?

 

[ndsti]

You will have no problems running 14psi. Don't go any higher than 16psi at the most!

 

[Boostjunki84]

You will have no problems running 14psi. Don't go any higher than 16psi at the most!

+1. With the fuel pump being questionable, i'd keep boost levels around 14psi. Try to find out for sure if the fuel pump has been upgraded and if so, how many lph it pumps. When I had my B16g and Walbo 255lph, I ran 16psi daily with no problems.

 

[AlphaAssault]

so 14-16 psi is safe even with a s16g?