New to turbos, had some questions.

[TheAznassassinX]

So I am looking to pick up a Talon TSI, I'm not really looking to bump up the boost at this time, just to make it reliable, the car comes with this:

-eagle h beams
-ARP HARDWARE
-ARIAS pistons
-balanced crank
-balance shafts removed
-new water pump and gasket
Fresh valve job on the head
-hks 264/264 cams
-Revised lifters
-powdercoated valve cover NO LEAKS!
-cometic metal headgasket
-FMIC with custom piping W/ HKS SSQV flange
-2.5" GM MAF and GM translator
-Polyurethane motor mounts
-3" exhaust with glasspack and magnaflow catback on rear
-255 Walbro Fuel pump
-Halman pro Boost controller
-APEXI SAFC2 (black)
-12'' Electric fan
-Ported 2g manifold
-evo3 o2 housing
-Fidanza lightweight flywheel
-exedy clutch and pressure plate
-cxracing aluminum radiator
-Short throw shifter
-FP oil dump
-FP stainless oil feed wrapped in heat wrap.
-FP hard big turbo intake pipe

Info on the car:
1995 7 Bolt TSI
130k
Manual
18G Turbo
Here are the questions.

IF I decide I want to bump up the boost, what kind of tuning will I need to do? I know AFR is a pretty big one, but what about DSMLink, should I invest into it?

I want her reliable first, than fast, what kind of boost should I set my eyes on?

Would I just be better off taking it to a speed shop to get it tuned? I'm willing to take the time with her, It is just my lack of knowledge about car tuning makes me a little nervous.

Thanks!

 

[dsmer1]

yes ECMlink is awesome. its a full logger. highly recomeneded. i have also used mas tranlater but ECMlink(this is the name given for the v3 of dsmlink) blows it out of the park.

 

[Rsawd95dsm]

Just read up in this website and you can learn lots of knowleged on how to tune it yourself. And yes ecmlink is about the most common for people so any questions you have with it ask here and we all can help you out.

 

[deflator]

Ecmlink is great for a beginner, as it comes with an entire community of support which is, by-and-large, more knowledgeable than other dsm forums.

But you will have to learn to use it yourself, speed shops generally don't know how to use ecmlink at all.

It really is easy though, once you understand how your car's computer really works. The ecmlink website and forum has all of this info, get reading. Once you understand fuel trims, timing, optimal air/fuel ratios, and all the shit you need to get straightened out before tuning, it is really just calibration.

There are a few alternatives too, megasquirt and ostrich, but I cannot vouch for them personally.

 

[@TDC]

Ecmlink V3 is a great first buy. Especially with your current mods. It allows you to monitor the health of your engine and make troubleshooting so much easier. There are also great remote tuners on this site that can tune your car and also teach you a lot during the process all for a good price.

 

[Calan]

The first mods I would recommend are these two books:

Designing and Tuning High-Performance Fuel Injection Systems
Engine Management: Advanced Tuning

ECMLink is a close second.