General tuning and advice
 

OK so, ive got my 99 type R sitting all wrapped up snuggled in for the winter so now its time to start playing a little and learning stuff to apply in the spring.

The first things i have actually already purchased are an AEM wideband o2 gauge and AEM tru-boost controller which are sitting here in front of me right now and from what i understand the Wideband gauge is pretty much my be all end all for when i actually get to tuning the car. I know that something between 11 or 12 to 1 will be a good number to keep the A/F ratio at but what i don't know about is the timing. You see I am a mechanic, however i work on air planes...which are slightly simpler in some senses, magnetos fire the same time regardless of RPM and turbines...well yea they are kinda just one big fire in a tube so variable timing is kinda a new thing to me, especially electronically controlled, airplanes (at least the ones i deal with) are pretty much completely mechanical still (separate mixture and trottle controls) even the fuel servo's and turbine FCU's use diaphragms and pressure differentials to meter fuel flow, even most tach's on the smaller engines are drag cup style direct drives off the accesory case.

I am in the process of getting a new ECU and pretty much every time i look at a different one i see something on it that i want, for example first i was looking at PFC's for the simplicity sake then the AEM ones because they are directly plug in to my laptop without getting some third party stuff, and now i am looking at the Adaptronic because it comes with a base map, boost per gear, adaptive tuning function and a list of other things that seem to good to be true and/or somewhat useful. the only thing i know for sure is that i would like one that i do not have to completely re-run a new harness/pin out the existing one to get to work because i really hate wiring (although admittedly i always seem to be the one who ends up doing all the wiring work and harness building on any projects we do, which may be why i hate it)
So looking at the Adaptronic ECU for the Series 8's I do note that it has boost control built in, which would make the AEM boost controller i have in front of me useless so i can probably sell it, or use the solenoid connected to the Adaptronic if i can figure it out.

So i guess what my questions are,
1.) how do i time the engine, what are the numbers (roughly) I will be looking for (for example piston air planes are generally around 20-25 before TDC) and i did see a video telling me that EGT is key, is it doable with just a wideband O2 sensor or will i also need a separate EGT gauge/probe (i will need a gauge to throw into my 3 pod gauge pod instead of the boost controller i suppose)

2.) how dificult is it to actually tune without a dyno, will i have to get a buddy of mine to drive it on the highway wile i sit and fart around with numbers sort of thing?

3.) lastly and probably most important Adaptronic, Yay or Nay?

Planned engine mods are V-mount intercooler(Greddy or RE-amemiya) with a vented hood
a set of 1300cc ID injectors (move secondarys to primary and put 1300s as secondary)
some form of ECU (currently leaning towards the Adaptronic)
and probably a mid-pipe if i can make it easily switch-able as i may be moving out of Provence soon

Current mods are pretty simple performance wise, has fully adjustable coilovers, strut bars, yokohama super advan V2(gold :p) rims, advan neova AD07s tires, and a nice sounding kakimoto racing catback

you may want to research tuning Rotary engines as they are a whole different ball game compared to a piston type engine.
you got Rx7Specialties near you.You should contact Adam and pick his brain..!
The Apexi PFC is Plug and play I think.

Adaptronic S8 Rx-7 ECU is direct plug and play, an installs in under 20 minutes.

It comes pre configured for the OEM parts; stock twins, stock coils in wasted spark, omp, stock injectors, stock mag trigger. If there are no mechanical problems it will start up and run. A few members have reported they run quite well too.

Adaptronic Select Mazda RX-7 ECU

The base maps already have the ignition maps setup. I do advise you mechanically check timing. However it is usually dead on for a PNP.

See this thread;

https://www.rx7club.com/adaptronic-e...tings-1066512/

You can use your AEM's boost control solenoid, or sell it and just buy this( same exact part)

Adaptronic Boost Control Solenoid

You don't need a boost control solenoid if using the OEM twins;

https://www.rx7club.com/adaptronic-e...noids-1074531/

Tuning is usually done Via a wideband o2 sensor. Most egts are just too slow, they are usually only looked at for full power runs, or rotor imbalance.

The ecu does have a target AFR map, so you can just look through your logs and see how far off you are , or while tuning in the engine data page and readjust accordingly.

Its all about going slow! I do also offer remote tuning, and Rx7tuning is our only Canadian dealer. If you are near him give him a call.

https://www.rx7club.com/adaptronic-e...lable-1073011/

Yeah im working on that with the help of youtube and google lol, as for Rx7specialties they are only close to me as in they are in the same Provence lol, i am 800km away from that lol (im closer to the Arctic circle :p) , and yeah all 3 of the ECU's i am looking at are plug'n play
Either way thanks for letting me know about that guy, if i get scarred i may just have to make the drive down to Calgary cause it probably is the closest place that has a RX7 shop unless someone knows of one in Edmonton, (i picked my car up in calgary and the drive back was super fun and i would love to have an excuse to do it again :p)


Awsome man thanks a ton for this info, just a couple other questions for you

1.) If i do big mods will i have to adjust the timeing alot for example V-mount intercooler kit? or pretty much once its set up firing for best power and fuel burn that is it

2.) you say i dont need the boost controller at all for the OEM turbo's? does that mean i can increase my boost without a solenoid with the adaptronic ECU?

3.)If i get the adaptronic ECU from you now can i get the remote tuning at any time for the discounted price or is it kinda if i get it its a bundle deal and gotta be done as soon as its installed thing? Because it may take me a wile to pick up all the mods I want and i probubly wouldnt go for a pro tune till i have everything i need, especially if this thing can keep me running safe on the base map (like i said i already bought the wideband sensor/gauge and i am fairly confident i can keep the A/F in the green at the very least)

4.) and lastly as odd as this may sound, what do you know of running 100 low lead Avgas, aside from the obvious needing to get rid of the cat and clean plugs once in a wile i have a very easy way of obtaining it cheaply and at least with the way the gas prices are right now Avgas is actually cheaper than premium where i am(which is fucking retarded) i hear the lead content doesnt get along well with O2 sensors so that was another reason i was thinking EGT's, does the Adaptronic support multiple/switchable tunes?

sorry if all my posts are a bit sporadic and odd, i am typeing this up at 3 AM here lol and may have had a couple of "muscle relaxants(read beer)" before sitting down here :p, i think i had another question or something too but cant remember it right now so ill just say thanks again :)

Edit for another question

5.) where is this RX7tuning guy located and does he have a website or something to check out?

happy hangover..
and here is who Ellliot is talking about.
https://www.facebook.com/rxtuning

You can purchase tuning later, at the same price. Its $150 with ecu purchase or $300 without.

Timing will not ever need to change. It makes little to no difference on most vehicles anyhow. Believe it or not its not too far different than a piston engine in terms of tuning.

Leaded fuel will kill the o2 sensor, best to use an innovate unit as it will tell the ecu when the sensor is dead.

And yes the Adaptronic has dual maps. You will need to wire a switch into one of the aux outputs to swap between them without an lab top hooked up.
i
The Adaptronic controls the oem boost control solenoid on the oem twins. So yes you have boost control with nothing extra.