Altered Mental Status (1G AWD 5spd)

[1cleangsx]

That’s awesome

 

[CrackedDSM]

Got tired of breaking used 30 year old sunvisor clips so I took a gamble and bought some of these.

They’re for a 3000GT, but they looked identical to the 1G ones. The only difference is they have a “step” on the back, but honestly even with the step they installed fine and work perfect. Not bad for $19 shipped! This is how they look mounted.

Very pleased! No more breaking clips hopefully.

 

[Dannyrampage1]

Well, while I wait for my trans stuff to come in, I did a neat little side project. I want to utilize my scramble boost feature in my AEM TruBoostX, but I really don't want to use a toggle switch, and I'm not gonna drill my stock steering wheel for a button. Although it was tempting. I was kind of stuck, unsure what to do. Then...eureka, I remembered I have used the Eco/Power switch as a "toggle switch" before with great success in my old Auto 1G(kiggly shifter mod, I used the Eco/Power for OD) so I figured this would be a great way to add a sneaky switch to use that good old scramble boost feature.

I used this helpful diagram provided in another thread by @steve the guru.

View attachment 776786

Only caveat, is it's for a 1GB. On my 1GA the wire colors were different, but locations/functions were identical. On a 1GA the wire colors are:


Wire # 1 - Green w/ Red stripe
Wire #2 - Green w/ White stripe
Wire #3 - Solid Black
Wire #4 - Black w/ White Stripe
#5 - Unused
Wire #6 - Red w/ white

View attachment 776789View attachment 776790

Pictures for posterity's sake.


Anyway, wiring was super easy. I did have to cut off the oem connector because I couldn't find the female connector to match it, so instead I used some good quality spade terminals and just crimped them on and made it detachable if you remove the center console cover.

After that, it was a super duper simple reassembly since it's all OEM.

View attachment 776787
View attachment 776788

I am absolutely stoked with how it works.

In case you're curious, whatever you want "toggled" just hook one side up to the red/white wire, and the other side to the Green/Red wire. When the button is clicked down it's "on". When it's left in the "eco" position or out, then it's "off". Use this for anything you would a toggle switch. OD for kiggly shifter mod, Nitrous, whatever. It's VERY easy to reach from the shifter, and if you only want it to be "momentary" and not stay clicked down, it's easy to disassemble the switch and remove the "stop" for it, so it won't click down.

Anyway, I love it. If you didn't really know DSMs, you'd never think twice about the switch. Plus it's an enjoyable play on words. Switch off it's "eco" or low boost". When you click down for "power", it's scramble boost and 30+lbs.

Hope this helps someone in the future!

Well done I happened to have the same switch that I found at a local Savage yard to cover up the hole because the previous owner used it as a manual boost controller thanks for the write up

Got tired of breaking used 30 year old sunvisor clips so I took a gamble and bought some of these.

View attachment 777082

They’re for a 3000GT, but they looked identical to the 1G ones. The only difference is they have a “step” on the back, but honestly even with the step they installed fine and work perfect. Not bad for $19 shipped! This is how they look mounted.

View attachment 777083

Very pleased! No more breaking clips hopefully.

Very nice set I can't wait for Jose Gonzales finished those clips I want mines aluminum raw

I bought a 1ga 90 engine harness just in case

 

[CrackedDSM]

So, I tested out the scramble boost button functionality just to see if my plan would work. Pleased to report, it really does.

Ricer excuses first and foremost: This was on the lowest boost setting, and I forgot I lowered the launch limit to 4500 because I was trying to mitigate wheel spin when launching at with boost ramping up to 25+lbs. This combined resulted in a weak launch. More/just as importantly, I also am still in the mindset of "Oh God poor 2nd gear, please be gentle" and like..grandma carrying a fresh baby'd it into 2nd gear. Lol. Results below though.

Look at the blue line to tell where/when I hit scramble button. Worked PHENOMENAL. I had a slower 0-10 and 0-20 compared to my fastest 0-60 of 4.3 seconds, but my 0-30 time was actually a few hundredths faster on this pass than the 4.3 seconds one. Hilarious. Speaking of hilarious...

Yep, missed 3rd gear. In my excitement I tried to rip it into 3rd and yeah...nah. Still need some tweaking of the shift cables, but man. Look at that graph. Look at that flat line. That was me trying valiantly to shift into 3rd still, then waiting for boost to ramp back up. I still, hilariously, ran an 8.7. I swear that's so funny to me. Had I been able to shift like an actual racer instead of granny dear with arthritis, I feel like that would've been my 90+mph and 7 second 1/8th mile pass I've been chasing.

Not the result/time I wanted...but it shows that launching with low boost and grabbing scramble before the end of 1st gear is absolutely ideal for launching and controlling wheel spin on these sandy, dirty Florida streets.

Well done I happened to have the same switch that I found at a local Savage yard to cover up the hole because the previous owner used it as a manual boost controller thanks for the write up. Very nice set(of sunvisor clips) I can't wait for Jose Gonzales finished those clips I want mines aluminum raw. I also bought a 1ga 90 engine harness just in case.

Awesome! Glad it could help, as that was always my intention. I too was gonna wait for Jose's billet ones, but I broke my stock ones and didn't feel like dealing with a loose and hanging sun visor anymore. Lol.

 

[CrackedDSM]

Quick question, how often are you guys in the 400+whp/26-30+lbs boost area changing out copper spark plugs? I'm gonna pull mine later tomorrow and check them, but I'm suddenly running into some stuttering in the top of 2nd or 3rd on a long pull. It's not fuel related, it's not pushing coolant, oil and coolant aren't mixing anywhere...curious what it could be. The plugs are non-projected tip BR7ES'. I think they've got like a few thousand miles on them now, on both E85 and 93. I did drive a solid like 300+miles "lugging" the engine pretty badly because I had no 2nd gear.

Curious what y'all think. If I give it an italian tuneup it seems to clear up for a bit, but more putt-putting will result in the stuttering again.

 

[twicks69]

Well it is cheap to replace, just do it. BR7ES sound right, stock gap. What do the old plugs look like?

What ignition/coils are you running? Did you ohm out the coils? Ohm out spark plug wires? If COP, did you pull the boots and springs and check for coil spring compression or coil spring binding? Used dielectric grease on contact points?

Did you check your engine to chassis grounds?

What does the tune AFRs look like for the driving conditions that you were doing?

 

[CrackedDSM]

Well it is cheap to replace, just do it. BR7ES sound right, stock gap. What do the old plugs look like?

What ignition/coils are you running? Did you ohm out the coils? Ohm out spark plug wires? If COP, did you pull the boots and springs and check for coil spring compression or coil spring binding? Used dielectric grease on contact points?

Did you check your engine to chassis grounds?

What does the tune AFRs look like for the driving conditions that you were doing?

Really good questions, I found the problem but I'll answer the questions anyway before I report the problem.

Old plugs look good, honestly. They're not black, they're not white...they're like...a sandy color? No black spots or peppering anywhere.

OEM Ignition Coils, NGK thicker blue spark plug wires. I did not OHM either out, but I'll look that up and save it on my computer because I'm sure I'll eventually need to know that.

Engine to chassis grounds are actually bigger and thicker than OEM. I bought a kit from a guy on FB that used basically welding wire/nice thick copper wire that added like 4 extra grounds along with all the OEM points. So short answer: Grounds are good.

Tune AFRs were going lean under WOT, but it would be....hit or miss? Hard to describe but sometimes it'd run lean, sometimes it'd be fine, but under low rpm/high load it would go super lean. Which lead me to checking the fuel pump hose that connects to hellcat pump to the OEM sending unit(I cut the bell off of it so I could use a hose + clamps).

Two problems were found. 1) There was a small nick in the hose about like 5mm below the hose clamp. Not huge...but enough on full rip, I bet it was bleeding pressure. 2) The hose clamps I think even though were fully tightened down, were a couple MM too big.

I looked into this because when I turned the car on/activated the fuel pump prime on an unrelated issue, I noticed fuel pressure at the AFPR dropped extremely fast. Before it would hold 35-37 with the engine off for quite awhile. Like 15-30+ minutes.

So I pulled the pump, promptly cut both hands because I shouldn't be trusted with anything even remotely sharp, replaced the hose and used smaller clamps that I had to squeeze on, tightened the hell out of it and re-tested it.

Now holds 35-37+ for like 20+ minutes now. I haven't gotten to drive it yet because I'm gonna replace the plugs anyway because it won't hurt, but that at least was a problem that needed to be addressed and only would've gotten worse.

 

[pauleyman]

Quick question, how often are you guys in the 400+whp/26-30+lbs boost area changing out copper spark plugs? I'm gonna pull mine later tomorrow and check them, but I'm suddenly running into some stuttering in the top of 2nd or 3rd on a long pull. It's not fuel related, it's not pushing coolant, oil and coolant aren't mixing anywhere...curious what it could be. The plugs are non-projected tip BR7ES'. I think they've got like a few thousand miles on them now, on both E85 and 93. I did drive a solid like 300+miles "lugging" the engine pretty badly because I had no 2nd gear.

Curious what y'all think. If I give it an italian tuneup it seems to clear up for a bit, but more putt-putting will result in the stuttering again.

Im mostly stocknand I still change at about 15k. Its 5$. I buy them a box or two at a time when they're on sale. 1.25 ea or close ish? Don't remember. So dumb cheap I didnt even care.

 

[CrackedDSM]

Im mostly stocknand I still change at about 15k. Its 5$. I buy them a box or two at a time when they're on sale. 1.25 ea or close ish? Don't remember. So dumb cheap I didnt even care.

Sadly br7’s are more expensive than they used to be. They’re like $5.50-$6 per plug now.

 

[pauleyman]

Sadly br7’s are more expensive than they used to be. They’re like $5.50-$6 per plug now.

 

[CrackedDSM]

View attachment 777819

That's what I get for not even checking RockAuto because I thought they'd kill me on shipping.

Even with taxes and shipping a four pack is only like $13-$14. Damn. Good catch and thank you, Paul!


Also, to update I took it for a rip. I closed the gaps down to .026ish and I'm happy to report two things. Stutter is gone, and it's making more power with fresh plugs. ECMLink logged 430HP at 29ish lbs of boost, and that's with timing way softer than it was. Zero knock anywhere. So I'm super glad I changed the plugs. Had to adjust the fuel map a bit because it's running cleaner/more efficient, but man. I love this car.


Edit - Also, the car held fuel pressure for legitimately the entire time I was in town. Like, 2+ hours. Came back, still holding the same pressure as when I left. This blows my freaking mind, as it never did that before!

 

[twicks69]

Good catch on the fuel pressure drop, I hate it when that happens at the pump feed. Another goofy one that can happen is with an AFPR crapping out its diaphragm and bleeding pressure.

 

[pauleyman]

That's what I get for not even checking RockAuto because I thought they'd kill me on shipping.

Even with taxes and shipping a four pack is only like $13-$14. Damn. Good catch and thank you, Paul!

I dont even bother with 4. I think I got 20 in the toolbox. Full box is 10 I think.

Also, to update I took it for a rip. I closed the gaps down to .026ish and I'm happy to report two things. Stutter is gone, and it's making more power with fresh plugs. ECMLink logged 430HP at 29ish lbs of boost, and that's with timing way softer than it was. Zero knock anywhere. So I'm super glad I changed the plugs. Had to adjust the fuel map a bit because it's running cleaner/more efficient, but man. I love this car.


Edit - Also, the car held fuel pressure for legitimately the entire time I was in town. Like, 2+ hours. Came back, still holding the same pressure as when I left. This blows my freaking mind, as it never did that before!

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

Buying in "bulk", as Pauley does, makes alot of difference. I have a commercial acct at our 2 parts stores. Get them by the box, unless you just need 1 or 2. Much cheaper. I used to be a Purchasing Agent for a company. The more nuts/bolts/washers I would buy, the cheaper they got. 100 - .20/ea, 1000 - .10/ea, 10,000 - .05/ea. Those are just theoretical examples but you get the drift.

 

[CrackedDSM]

Paul, Marty, Mr. Tim Z! Can't say how much I appreciate you guys. All the help, advice, etc. Would be 100% lost without yall!

 

[Anfurnyy]

Damn I gotta start buying mine from rockauto.

I get 4 NGK 2668 and they're $13 / plug at Napa..

 

[twicks69]

Damn I gotta start buying mine from rockauto.

I get 4 NGK 2668 and they're $13 / plug at Napa..

Get them from FCP Euro or Rock Auto (and search for a 5% discount code for Rock Auto)
Rock Auto -

RockAuto | All The Parts Your Car Will Ever Need

Auto Parts for Your Vehicle at Reliably Low Prices. Fast Online Catalog. DIY-Easy. Your Choice of Quality. Full Manufacturer Warranty.

www.rockauto.com

or
FCP Euro -

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/audi-vw-spark-plug-bkr8eix-ngk-2668

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

For purchasing info......
Thread 'DSM NGK Sparkplug Parts Store numbers' https://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/dsm-ngk-sparkplug-parts-store-numbers.545781/

 

[CrackedDSM]

After fixing the pump feed stuff, I noticed the low gas light was on full time, and the tank was reading sub 1/4. I thought no big deal, it was kinda low before so yeah. Went in my Edge and grabbed 15 gallons of E85, came back expecting it to take 12-13+ gallons...instead it took basically 7-8. Wtf? Lol oops.

Pulled the sending unit again(I'm an expert now) and found the problem. I forgot to throw some zipties on the fuel pump harness, so it was blocking the fuel level float and making it read low. Some quick zip-ties and 5 mins later, all fixed. Reads full, low fuel light is gone, win win.

So yeah. Fun times.


Still can't believe this thing is mine. Hopefully the lean/stutter issue is permanently gone and the fuel map is solid, because I really want to get some dragy numbers, man. Anything with a 7 in the 1/8th! Anything sub 12.3 in the 1/4! Please! Lol.

 

[CrackedDSM]

Pleased to report 30lbs to redline results in no stutter. Perfect AFRs, matches the afrest perfectly. Yay.

Really wish I had a 1/4 mile track near me.

 

[CrackedDSM]

Finally found a set of these brackets for what I consider a fair price. I also lucked out and they were for my year/trim. Now I just need to track the mounting screws down.

I got the fog lights themselves for free but missing the brackets. I have yet to actually polish them either so it’s awesome. I’m gonna get some LED bulbs for the fogs and actually use them. Thanks to my ETS street kit, it’s designed to fit the stock fogs.

 

[CrackedDSM]

Had some free time and I actually woke up at a good time today, so I popped the fog lights in. I am so extremely thankful that not only was the wiring still there, so was the relay, and the fuses and everything because when I tested the lights, they worked. Win!

I honestly didn't want to spend any money on this until I tested it all out to make sure it worked. And it does.

So the upgrades coming here in a month or so are LED bulbs for the fogs, and to put some serious elbow grease to shine these fog light lenses up to match the white/clear headlights. I know a lot of people delete this, but I'm stoked. OEM FTW!

 

[CrackedDSM]

Got some more good info for you guys, and a potential question. First up the question: Would you guys advise/be interested in a how-to article on how to replace the lights in your HVAC control/gauge cluster with modern LEDs/incandescent replacements sourced via amazon? I've done this twice now successfully, and it's super easy. No soldering, no dremeling, nothing required except snipping the excess "leads" off of the new bulbs once you've wrapped them. And the result is a brighter, better bulb than even the factory had. Let me know if I should, or if I should just leave it be.

With that said, I dug more into why my factory HVAC controls weren't lighting up. The wiring in this car is suspect at times, so after briefly digging, I realized the wiring was fine. Turns out, the bulbs were blown. The bulbs that came out of the HVAC controls look like this.

This is the actual unit itself, the circular things are the bulbs.

This is the bulb "housing"? IDK what to call it, but the bulb sits in here and the leads wrap around and make contact with a strip that turns the bulb on.

Bulb removed from the "housing". I think they're called T4 or something like that.

Just to test it out and see if it worked, I replaced this 4.7mm bulb with the hilariously diminutive 3mm bulbs that went in the power/eco switch. What's even funnier, is the 3mm bulb is brighter than the OEM 4.7mm bulb by a LOT! And it's just an incandescent replacement! I have LEDs on the way that I'll pop in place of the 3mm.

But, just for the record the amber "sleeve" fits comfortably and tight inside the housing enough so that it doesn't fall off, and your OEM light colors will match. You could easily remove this and paint the bulb housings with some colored clear coat for model kits to make them any color you wanted. Blue, green, red, whatever. They also sell LEDs that look just like the bulbs above that are already pre-colored with whatever color you want.

But yeah, happy to report everything works now. It's a small touch that most wouldn't notice or be bugged by, but I want everything to work like OEM or better. Future pictures coming when the LEDs come to compared before/after. Also more pictures tonight when it actually gets dark to show them lighting up!


Also, for posterity's sake, I removed the actual A/C switch from the assembly, and found that it has its own unique bulbs that have a smaller version of this housing.

A/C switch, you can see the bulbs.

One of them had this yellow sleeve, the other doesn't. I'm assuming because one goes straight to the lens for the switch, the other doesn't. But, the bulbs here look like they're 4mm. They're bigger than the 3mm bulb, and smaller than the 4.7/5mm bulb for the HVAC controls. But, I'll do this one next just for giggles.

Anyway, hope this helped. It's pretty neat that these are so easy to replace with just a little time and a curious mind!

 

[CrackedDSM]

It got dark out, so I turned off the porch light and snapped some pics to show how the HVAC cluster looks vs the gauge cluster.

Keep in mind how small these bulbs were for the HVAC controls! I wonder if LEDs might be too bright...

Super happy with this. It was ridiculously easy and fast. Didn't have to solder or do a thing. And I've got enough bulbs do to this like 25-50 more times.

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

If you need new bulb covers, I've used these before. Choose your size and color. I use them in radio equipment display bulbs.
5mm 6mm 10mm T5 T6 T10 168 194 Silicone Light Bulb Lamp Colored Caps Covers Boot | eBay https://share.google/mpxk7rfmsrCJY93hR