Hi !

On Dec 4th I will take my FD to a dyno-tuner (specialized in BMW).
The guy has virtually no experience with rotary engines but I have no choice because there is nobody within 500 miles from here that has experience with the FD.

I guess anyone with a dyno and a wideband o2 meter would be able to tune the car with the correct data.

So...I would like to prepare myself with some documentation about AFR and ignition timing to aim for.

Can anyone give me such information or direct me to some website ?

I am not looking for the highest possible power, I just want to make sure my engine lasts with the current mods.

My current mods:

HKS intake
Trust cat back
Pettit downpipe
HKS Electronic Boost Controller
HKS FCON 5

Thanks !

 

And you want to tune your ECU with FCON ? Or some other ECU ? Good luck.

 

I'd have a $5k "new engine" bank account ready....

 

hahahahaha i can smell another "help i took my car to a tuner and they blew my engine" thread comming

 

The HKS FCON5 is that a piggyback to the stock ECU? If it is I had something similar on my old TII. It worked well on that car. There was no *tuning* involved though. I believe I set it at one of the variables that was suggested for my mods. That was many years ago though. So I don't know what the specs are for yours.

Basically, tuning a turbo rotary is different than a piston engine. If you check out the Engine Management > Power FC section on this forum, you get some insight into what is involved. It is quite complex, but I don't know if it applies given you are using the HKS thing.

One major difference between tuning piston engines vs. rotary engines is air/fuel ratios. Rotarys run a lot richer than piston engines and if you run a turbo rotary lean, you will detonate and blow your engine in seconds or minutes. Piston engines can handle some detonation and live on just fine.

you don't need a dyno to tune, but it is safer than the street. A wideband is a definite plus if not a requirement for tuning.

Is there anything wrong with your car where you need to get it tuned?

 

The a/f ratio and timing depends on the boost and rpm that your at. Its not a flat a/f ratio that you use across the board or anything like that.

If you want to play it safe keep your a/f in the real low 11's at all times and at peak tq run about 12 degrees of advance. make sure they start out rich then pull fuel to get the desired results. Thats about the best I can tell you with the given info.

Oh yea, also make sure if your adjusting your leading timing that you dont get the leading timing lower than the trailing timing. Thats called negative split. To be safe you want your leading timing to be at least 10 degrees more than trailing. In other words if you change your leading at peak tq to 12 make sure your trailing is at 2 or lower.

STEPHEN

 

don't do it. you don't have
1. enough mods to warrant changing anything
2. a real ECU which can be adjusted.

set your boost controller at 10psi, and leave everything else alone.

when you add more mods, get a PFC and want to turn up the boost- you'll be much better off doing a LOT of reading and tuning it yourself. don't just hand the car over to someone without experience or a vested interest in the car.

again, i say- set your controller at 10psi, and leave the car alone. don't **** with it. leave it alone. drive it, change the oil, and drive it some more.

 

To add to Silver93's advice, with your minimal mods, you could also just look for a reprogrammed ecu. Here in the States we have M2 (www.m2performance.com) and Pettit ecus (www.pettitracing.com). These ecus are plug and play and are safe for 12 psi.

Don't use the F-con.

 

I concur with others, you don't need it and if you take the car to him you are asking for trouble. Just drive the car and save for a PowerFC.

And if you return with a "help, tuner blew my engine" thread...we all have the permission to copy and paste this links thread as a reply over and over and over...

 

You're fine. With only intake, dp, & cb, you don't really have anything to worry about. Plus, you have the good gas over there :P:
I would just take out the f-con V, it might cause more harm than good. Here's waht Jason @ jt-imports said about it:
"F-Con V---Can be used as a Standalone or a Piggyback. If you do use them as standalones they are very hard to tune, and the F-Con V REALLY!!!! needs to be done by a professional. The F-CON V and the PRO need to be done with [special] software."

 

I definitely have to agree with everyone on this forum. You will most likely pop your engine.

With your current setup, you don't need to upgrade your ECU. Make sure not to go over 10psi.

To make sure your engine lasts you can do other mods. For example, upgrade your rad and install the fan mod.

If you still want to upgrade your ECU, Pettit Racing in the US has a way you can upgrade your ECU as mentioned by rynberg. They will need your current OEM ECU and they will upgrade the unit and send it back to you. When you recieve the ECU, you just plug it back in the car. There is no adjustments needed. all the tunning has been already completed.

 

You can run as much as 12 PSI on a stock unit I think boost cut sits somewhere between 12-14 PSI...
I'd find out if anyone tunes the Power FC in your area, cause if no one does, what difference does it make ?? Get an ECU that someone knows, and then if they don't know rotaries, shoot for a pig rich AFR 11's or so, and at least take 1 of the Inexperience Variables out of teh equasion....

Another thing, since the stock ECU will handle 12 PSI, why send it to M2 or pettit ?? If you're seriously modded, you need to have them see / run your car, and if not look up on how to re-jet the actuator pills to keep you at 10-12 Psi...

And yes, if any of this goes, seriously wrong under Boost at WOT you're looking at loosing you motor in 60/<insert RPMS Here> of a second....

Good Luck !

 

Dont run more then 10 PSI ON THE STOCK ECU!!!!!!

Thats asking to have a blown motor.

 

The stock ecu fuel-cuts at 10.7 psi at 6000+ rpm. It cuts between 11-13 psi at lower rpm.

 

You might get away with a little more than 10 psi on the stock ecu ..... for a little while. It's just not worth the risk.

 

Ok, guys, I understand.

I don't want the tuner to change anything (yet).

I have driven the car with the current mods for several months and it runs fine. It does backfire quite a lot off-boost, so I guess it is running pretty rich. My Halmeter A/F meter (stock O2 sensor) shows rich under boost all the time.

I just want to take it to the dyno to see if the AFR's are right (rich enough) as they are now.

I bought the F-CON V to be on the safe side with my mods. The HKS F-CON 5 is not the same as the old F-CON (which shows up on Ebay often for 100$)
I am using the F-CON 5 as a piggy back. It is fully adjustable (Fuel & Ignition) and it can be programmed with special HKS software. There are some dip-switches to allow basic mods.

I know I should have saved for a Power FC. The F-CON and the EVC together were less than half the price of a PFC early this year. PFC prices have dropped a lot since then...

I don't believe the F-CON 5 is a bad system as it is more popular in Japan than the PFC. The problem is that there is next to no info in English about it.

Maybe I can do two runs: stock ECU @ 10psi and F-CON V @ 10psi to see if the F-CON actually does anything to improve the AFR's.

 

Thats an excellent idea. Just get on the dyno and check out the AFRs and make sure everything is ok. If all is well, don't worry about a thing. If things are too lean, stay off boost until you can find a proper tuner, or preferably a proper ECU.

 

Give it a shot!