I just purchased and Evo 8 with the AEM system in it. The car is impossible to start without the use of a small shot of ether. It also has absolutly not *****, falls flat on its face at 4k rpms. Compression is 180 all across, boost is factory turbo @ 20 psi. The car has what appears to be hks front mount and hard pipe, with suction pipe, BOV is VTA. I do not have the lap top to hook up to the AEM but I do have the cable that goes between the two. Any help would be wonderful.

 

Take the car to an AEM tuner and have them get it running. Something is goofy, did the person you bought it from swap injectors just before you got it?

 

It could be a million different things. If you don't feel like taking the time to learn the AEM or just don't have the time the best bet is to swap back to the stock ecu and metering system

There could be boost leaks, the injectors might not be set up right, etc etc.

If you want I can send you my calibrations for engine start and idle to get you started. Please elaborate more on your setup.

What are your goals for the car? If you don't want to make more than 500whp then the stock ECU is more than capable.

 

Bingo!

When buying a modded car, it's hard to tell what the previous owner did to it. They might have put in the AEM, but have no concept of tuning. It will cost you some cash, but best bet is to take it to a shop that tunes Evo's and let them sort it out. They can look over the whole car and make sure all mods are installed and operating properly. Even if you are confident with evaluating the mods yourself, they can tune the AEM for you. Where are you located? I'm sure someone here can give you the name of a reputable shop in your area.

 

Well, my goal is to get it running correctly and reliably, then sell it. The car does not have the factory injectors in it, that I am sure of, but what size? No clue. Right after purchasing it, (from auction) the guy that sold it told us that he had to replaced the turbo. Well looking at the turbo and the bolts that would have to be replaced, it doesnt look like the turbo had be replaced, unless they had a bigger unit with manifold on it before and just put the factory one back on in one peice.
If that is the case, my theroy is that the AEM is still tuned for the larger turbo and additional air, not for the smaller one. I am located in Easley SC.

 

I don't think to many aem cars are running the stock turbo, My guess is it had a big turbo kit on it. Take the aem out and use the stock ecu if you can. Good luck

 

Yep, take it back to stockish and sell the AEM. You will come out ahead.

 

Be very, very carefull with that ether quick way to bend a rod.

 

How do you mean?

I do not have a factory ECU to replace it with. When my tech checked the timing marks (it has cam gears) he found that the exhaust cam was 1 full tooth retarted and intake was 6 degrees advanced. He put everything back to factory spec and the car is still slow to start but not as bad, the car runs a lot better until 5k where it starts bucking again. I have found someone that has the AEM software and he said that he would try to get out here to help out.

 

if the car is not tuned propely you can bend a rod crack a piston,etc etc.

 

Ether burns so rapidly and so violently that you can end up pushing the piston back down before it gets to TDC.