Radio shack style tuning, what do you guys think of this?

[AWDlaserRS]

I havent yet done any tuning on my car or anything and don't intend to until I research more. While I was researching I came across something I looked at along time ago:

http://www.ecanfix.com/users/mdhamilton/fuelmod.html

This is intriguing as I could easily set this up in conjuntion with a boost controller and gauge. This is kind of like a MAF translater only without the translater part and you can only adjust it at WOT. What I want to know is is it okay to just tune at WOT? I mean will it hurt anything? Or is this normal to just tune at WOT? Aparently this guy did and it worked. This seems like an easy way to compensate for a little more boost and larger injectors and such.

 

[4g63tsiawd]

heres your answer some dude at my work did it to a escort. all it does is trick the ecu into thinking the air coming in is cooler. wow

 

[AWDlaserRS]

Well thats the idea of it, thats the same exact thing an AFC does it tricks the computer into adding more or less fuel. If the ECU thinks the air is cooler than it adds more fuel and if it thinks the air is less dense it adds less fuel.

 

[CanadianTSi]

It's not that exact same thing as an S-AFC, do it if you want to, but it's not a good idea.

BTW they sell kits that do this on ebay for like 10 bucks

 

[Defiant]

Not a good idea, but that doesn't ever seem to slow anyone down.

 

[2.4 turbo Hyped]

They sell that mod as a chip on ebay. Check it out. I wouldnt do it but then again I dont need to.

 

[AWDlaserRS]

It's not that exact same thing as an S-AFC, do it if you want to, but it's not a good idea.

BTW they sell kits that do this on ebay for like 10 bucks

I didn't mean to say it is the same thing as an AFC, I meant that its acomplishing the same thing by tricking the ECU. Only with an AFC if alters the MAFS signal instead of the temperature and barometric pressure sensors. Although you don't have a wide range of adjustment on this extremely simple system of tuning you guys gotta admit, it would work. Not for making like 400HP or anything but Im just talking about close to stock tuning which it is meant for. I probly wont do this I just like the idea that some guy figured out how to tune the stock fuel system very cheaply and he did it all himself. If it was up to me I would build my own AFC..............but I don't know how . Just thought it was interesting reading.

 

[LandoAWD]

you guys gotta admit, it would work

No we don't. The resistor "mod" is pretty much only good for an inside joke.

 

[AWDlaserRS]

No we don't. The resistor "mod" is pretty much only good for an inside joke.

Why wouldn't it work? Once again I am going to emphasize that I don't plan to do this I only find it interesting for those that keep saying dont do it ect.

 

[2.4 turbo Hyped]

It will work its just a ghetto way of doing things thats all.

 

[ACKERSON]

Why does an safc have 12 rpm points to adjust? Because a/f is not a constant. It is going to change throughout the rpm range and if your radio shack tuner is adding the same amount of fuel at all rpms then it is only going to make things worse. It will be to rich in some places, to lean in others. If it really worked than people wouldn't be spending thousand of dollars on engine management systems. Save your 2 dollars nad put it towards the safc and a logger or dsmlink.

 

[AWDlaserRS]

It will work its just a ghetto way of doing things thats all.

Thank you, yeah I know its ghetto as hell, just thought it was interesting that some guy thought of tuning this way.

Ackerson, I do plan on buying an AFC. Im actually saving for one now. Dont any of you other guys find this stuff interesting to read. For me reading anything to do with cars is like looking at porn, just holds my attention and is very interesting to me. Especially DIY type stuff.

 

[ACKERSON]

I agree it is very interesting to read about diy mods and that sort of thing... that's what most of us live for. However sorting out all of the bs is another story.

 

[Omega]

Granted we all were once like you... inexperienced with cars and the sort. There comes a time that you ask yourself "is that too good to be true?" This would be a prime example.

Think about it... wouldn't you think that AFC sales would be zero if we could do the same thing with a 10 cent pot?

This isn't tuning, this would just be a bad idea.

 

[ahains]

Theoretically this would be a better method to adjust your A/F ratio than an AFC, if that is your goal. There is the obvious drawback of having no RPM dependent adjustments.

With an AFC you are adjusting the air flow reading, which the ECU of course uses when it estimates the amount of boost you are running at a given moment in time. This causes the timing and a/f ratio to be adjusted.

I don't know either way, but the ECU may adjust only the A/F ratio when you lie about the air intake temp. Since the DSM old-timers seem to think this will be a useless approach I assume it effects timing as well, in addition to giving only a limited amount of maximum fuel adjustment.

There seems to be a lot of opinion echo here. Do some of you know for certain that the range of adjustability is insufficient to be useful for lightly modded DSMs (i.e. big 16g / catback / intake / MBC / fuel)?

I don't know that I would call this ghetto. Low-tech and inexpensive to be sure, but if you can achieve the effect you specifically are looking for by modifying a straightforward sensor signal (i.e. DC voltage) rather than a more complex one (i.e. hz) then kudos to you!
I know that for the MR2 folks running a 4AGE, the TRD performance handbook details the procedure to tune a potentiometer on the coolant temp sensor to enrichen the fuel mixture. For me, that dims the ghetto aspect of it

Thanks for the cheapskate pointers..
-Adrian

 

[awdLaunch16g]

Theoretically wouldnt this almost act kinda like an AFPR because it adds more or less fuel throughout the curve? Granted fuel pressure doesnt change, but the ultimate result of having more or less fuel throughout the curve remains the same....i dunno doesnt seem like a good idea to me man, just bite the bullet and get the good stuff, your car will love you for it.

 

[AWDlaserRS]

Granted we all were once like you... inexperienced with cars and the sort. There comes a time that you ask yourself "is that too good to be true?" This would be a prime example.

Think about it... wouldn't you think that AFC sales would be zero if we could do the same thing with a 10 cent pot?

This isn't tuning, this would just be a bad idea.

Alright, you may or may not know more about cars then me, and probly do know more about tuning (I dont know anything about you and what youve done) but common thats a serious insult to me. I grew up around cars. Ive rebuilt various engines all in different vehicles not counting all the rebuilds with motorcycles Ive done. Once I even helped out with work on an alcohol funny car at New England Dragway. Ive been fixing cars ever since I started to help my father work on engines when I was 12. Ive done countless hours of bodywork on junkers making them look new again. Sprayjobs, straightening frames, rebuilding carbs you name it. Up until recently thats all I did for money, buy cars fix them and sell them. I said I don't know much about tuning as this is the first car I've ever done anything performance oriented with and Im trying to learn more about the tuning aspect of it.
Also it would be tuning just very very very simple and very limited tuning. You could compensate for a 2g mafs on a 1g for instance or an intake or exhaust on the "stock" fuel sytem, but thats really the effective extent of it. And obviously you could do the same only better with an AFC because you can adjust at different RPM points. I know that the AFC is better and I dont intend to actually do this mod I was just thought it was an interesting idea.

Mods close this thread please as I knew this would happen, its pointless to try to discuss this, I knew people would misinterpret this thread.

 

[rebuilt65]

Don't worry about it man. Don't take any of that stuff personally. Keep reading and learning. I've done some of that v-faq low tech/buck modding while waiting for money to buy the right stuff for the same kind of result. Most of the "ghetto" mod stuff works up to a point.
Check this out; I put in a small 16G that I got for $150, installed the fuel pressure regulator from a N/T engine, removed the lower honey comb from the MAF, and I can run about 17 pounds of boost on pump with no knock, and slightly richer than stoich for a little safety, with base timing at 4deg. ( One of my friends has monitoring equipment with a laptop and wideband O2 that we use to check all of our cars) Car runs hard and with no driveability issues. I won't leave things this way, but it will work until I steal my kid;'s college funds so I can keep modding.
Just reallize that most of that stuff was done in the early days of DSM tuning when there were not alot of options or DSM specific vendors around. Clipping mitsubishi turbine wheels was common in the 90's, but now, people just get better or larger exhaust housings. Remember when the 20G was the track shiznit? Now people run it as a good street turbo with ocassional track use.
Doing some of those things helped me get a better understanding of how this car works.
And some of us just don't have the money to purchase things for hobby cars all the time.
Best Regards

 

[L2RTSiAWD]

Mods close this thread please as I knew this would happen, its pointless to try to discuss this, I knew people would misinterpret this thread.

No problem.