some questions in regards to tuning(electric and mechanical)

[pearl4gtsi]

just for starters, my car is nowhere near finished or running, but i have been taking time to read and learn all i can.
i have a 1g that i will be using Link V3 to tune, but also will be running BC272's with fidanza cam gears and i am using the cyclone intake manifold which will be actuated by Link.

my question is where should i begin?? i have been doing my reading up on tuning with link and starting off with getting Mafcomp and global dialed in, etc. but should i have the gears adjusted to where i want them first? do i start with them at zero? at what point do i consider tuning the opening of the manifold?

bear with me here please as i explain where my mind is..... ok, so i set everything up so that i can start the car. i then adjust Mafcomp at idle and cruise, then i should be able to actually tune. but then i decide i want to reduce overlap by adjusting cam gears.... in theory this would mess with the settings that i previously set in link, no? so then its adjusting all of that again?

also, when i advance/retard the intake cam, im in turn advancing/retarding timing because the CAS runs off the intake cam.... so then do i have to reset base timing?

Then i have to set the opening of the second runners on the intake which would affect airflow at the opening rpm which would leave me having to again adjust my Mafcomp sliders( and yes i know each time fuel has to be dialed in as well, but for the sake of things, lets say thats a given)

i do know that any change to a setup will require a change in tuning, but im more concerned that i have it understood correctly.

i apologize in advance if this seems scattered, thats kinda how my mind is working today . but any and all help and insight is much appreciated

 

[Talyn]

I'ts generally a good idea to start with the basics, I would leave the cam gears at 0, make sure base ignition timing is correct, then get the cruise and idle tune dialed in, then I would do the full throttle tune, still leaving the cam gears and intake manifold alone, get it dialed in with a baseline tune first. Then I would go back and start tweaking the cam gears and intake manifold, best way to gauge gains without an actual dyno will be to watch the airflow. 1 lb of air per minute=10hp. But in any case, start out simple, then work your way up to the more complicated stuff, there are some good tech articles in the tuning section that should help you get started, that's where I went. ECMlink also has some useful articles on their site.