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420A Tuning solution

Can the 420a stock ecu be tuned at all?

  • Yes

    Votes: 4 50.0%
  • No

    Votes: 4 50.0%

  • Total voters
    8

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BLACK'98DSM

5+ Year Contributor
4,451
1,889
Feb 9, 2019
Alabama
I need you guys to help me out once again. :pray:

I'm looking for the cheapest and easiest way to tune my 420a. I know, I know "get a Megasquirt ecu..." "get ECMLINK..."

Most of the shops anywhere near me don't even know what a DSM is.:ohdamn: And I've spent so much money on the other aspects of this car that I don't just have a few hundred dollars laying around anymore. And even if I did I have other uses for it.

The mods list of this engine is getting increasingly long. And I've changed so many aspects of this engine far far away from stock. And in turn, the engine doesn't even want to run right anymore. It does run, but gosh it needs help. I'm at the point where the more mods I do, the lower the power goes because it doesn't know how to handle what I'm doing to it.

This engine has great potential to it, and I can't wait to feel the power it will put out. But it desperately needs some tuning management.

I'm trying to get this thing tuned on the stock ecu. I know that sounds ridiculous but it has to be possible somehow. Even as an electrician and upcoming mechanic, I don't want to mess around pulling cords on this car. I don't want to replace a million other parts just to make the ones I have work.

Ok. Ok. All I need is some way to view and adjust my AFR. Maybe pull some extra timing somehow.:pray:
 
Its not worth it dude. You can control timing if you buy a MSD DIS 2 box. The only way to control fuel is to add more on top of the stock injectors. People use to run 8 injectors back in the day, 4 extra would come on in boost to give the motor extra fuel. This kept the car nice to drive without dealing with the headaches of a standalone ECU. All of this is more expensive then just buying a megasquirt.
 
Its not worth it dude. You can control timing if you buy a MSD DIS 2 box. The only way to control fuel is to add more on top of the stock injectors. People use to run 8 injectors back in the day, 4 extra would come on in boost to give the motor extra fuel. This kept the car nice to drive without dealing with the headaches of a standalone ECU. All of this is more expensive then just buying a megasquirt.
How would I go about tuning the Megasquirt on my own?
 
You climb that huge mountain like most of us did and figure it out, and hopefully don't blow it up LOL. Or you pay someone to do it
What software do I need? What computer?

That's what I meant haha sorry for misunderstanding.
 
Pretty much any laptop. And they sell the software. It's much better then it use to be. A lot of really cool features and useful tuning tools
 
You're posting in the 420A forums. The SAFC doesn't work so well on these cars because their MAP sensors don't read positive pressure (i.e. boost).
I knew I was in the 420A forums and you are misunderstanding. The SAFC DOES work well with a MAP sensor. I knew in this forum people are saying that it doesn't work because 420a have a MAP instead of a MAF and the SAFC does not work with a MAP but that is a wrong information. I have sold and installed numerous SAFC in the past including some 420A owners. Actually it does not matter if MAF or MAP, a converter is just a converter it would convert any 5v signal. And I believe the OP's car is not boosted.
Excuse me if I am wrong.
 

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I knew I was in the 420A forums and you are misunderstanding. The SAFC DOES work well with a MAP sensor. I knew in this forum people are saying that it doesn't work because 420a have a MAP instead of a MAF and the SAFC does not work with a MAP but that is a wrong information. I have sold and installed numerous SAFC in the past including some 420A owners. Actually it does not matter if MAF or MAP, a converter is just a converter it would convert any 5v signal. And I believe the OP's car is not boosted.
Excuse me if I am wrong.

It's not that it doesn't work, it's that it's not effective on the 420a ecu. Especially when planning to boost, which I believe @BLACK'98DSM is intending to do eventually.

@BLACK'98DSM I would honestly save up and get MS3(x), and build it yourself. Then with your jimstim you will test circuits as you go, which will help with grasping the concept of what's happening.
There's a pretty good info database for them, and a few basemaps floating around, just have to keep looking and be tenacious.
 
It's not that it doesn't work, it's that it's not effective on the 420a ecu. Especially when planning to boost, which I believe @BLACK'98DSM is intending to do eventually.

@BLACK'98DSM I would honestly save up and get MS3(x), and build it yourself. Then with your jimstim you will test circuits as you go, which will help with grasping the concept of what's happening.
There's a pretty good info database for them, and a few basemaps floating around, just have to keep looking and be tenacious.
I understand what you are talking about. But I am speaking as 420A is a N/A. and as I assumed that he is intending to N/A tune since what he said in his other post and he doesn't mention anything about boosting in this post, actually the OP is the only one who doesn't mention about boosting. And also according to his mods list.
If the OP was talking about tuning methods for a boosted 420A, then the story would be different.
 
I have seen turbo Dsm ecu's used in the 420a cars, it would require some wiring mods or a turbo model harness but then you could use a flash based ecu or have a chip burnt, both cheap options.
 
Boost is an option, but that's a long time from now.

Just so everyone knows: I want to maximize my N/A engine before I boost.

When I finish this car (who knows when) I am taking it to Lassiter Mountain and also Barber Motorsports Park to see if I can set some records. Or even coming close would be impressive.
 
I knew I was in the 420A forums and you are misunderstanding. The SAFC DOES work well with a MAP sensor. I knew in this forum people are saying that it doesn't work because 420a have a MAP instead of a MAF and the SAFC does not work with a MAP but that is a wrong information. I have sold and installed numerous SAFC in the past including some 420A owners. Actually it does not matter if MAF or MAP, a converter is just a converter it would convert any 5v signal. And I believe the OP's car is not boosted.
Excuse me if I am wrong.
Right, it has nothing to do with the MAP vs. MAF; most 420A owners ultimately boost their cars, and so the SAFC isn't their first choice for tuning. Corbin hacked an SAFC with an external MAP sensor on his boosted car back in the day, but I don't really see the point these days. I suppose it's a viable option for an N/A car, but I'd still recommend MegaSquirt if the plan is to eventually install a turbocharger.
 
Right, it has nothing to do with the MAP vs. MAF; most 420A owners ultimately boost their cars, and so the SAFC isn't their first choice for tuning. Corbin hacked an SAFC with an external MAP sensor on his boosted car back in the day, but I don't really see the point these days. I suppose it's a viable option for an N/A car, but I'd still recommend MegaSquirt if the plan is to eventually install a turbocharger.
Could I run a Megasquirt effectively N/A?
 
Right, it has nothing to do with the MAP vs. MAF; most 420A owners ultimately boost their cars, and so the SAFC isn't their first choice for tuning. Corbin hacked an SAFC with an external MAP sensor on his boosted car back in the day, but I don't really see the point these days. I suppose it's a viable option for an N/A car, but I'd still recommend MegaSquirt if the plan is to eventually install a turbocharger.
Sure, I got your point. And yes if he plans to boost, he should go with some standalone. Well he can go with a standalone EMS, doesn't matter if the car is turboed or N/A but I am not sure if that was what he wanted in this thread as he mentioned it in his first post. There is no doubt, an EMS is the way to go if the OP is serious to tune though. But in case if the OP doesn't tune by himself and plans to ask some shop to tune it, then should ask which EMS the tuner prefers to use.
 
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