Ok, I was hoping to draw some attention with the thread title.

I wanted to take the opportunity to highlight a common misperception of many customers that somehow tunes "go bad" and suddenly cars slow down as if some internet virus has infected the ecu.

Generally, if a ecu is reflashed properly, it is written as a road map to direct the injectors and timing to react in a set, fixed, manner to a given set of inputs. Given that barometric and cliamtic conditions do vary, the ecu can adapt to these changes generally through its sensors.

In 99.999999% of the situations where I have seen a customer complaint of the car

"feels slow"

"is slow at the track"

"is getting pulled by my pals srt-4"

"is breaking up"

etc etc etc the problem is generally related to a mechanical issue and unrelated to the tuning

Time and time again we have heard back from customers - many of whom do zero maintenance such as spark plug changes, boost leak tests, etc who have driven for months and months with no problems and then suddenly the car feels slow

In these situations it is important to first check the basics before assuming that the tune is bad

This brings us to the case study at hand of a nice young lady who called to complain that he lovely 11 second Evo IX was now a 13 second Evo IX and why was the trap speeds so slow - 114 mph?????

Being the Doctor that I am (JD) - I said - come on down - we'll throw the car on the dyno and test the car to see where your power is at - no charge

In this case the car was running great - although it seemed her Stewart Warner Boost Gauge was stuck on 2 psi - throwing off the boost by 2 - 3 psi low

Adjusting the boost her stock Turbo pump and alcky IX was at 400 whp or slightly under it - not a bad number for a daily driven car and certainly an 11 second car

I asked the young lady to show me how she drives and then we get to the root of the problem her transmission can not shift

Here is a video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea_tp...&feature=email

At the end of the day, trust me when I say the tune is the last thing to change in the car. Even a bad tune will always remain a bad tune. Its locked and fixed - wont buidge. Mechanical things are what wear and tear and what need to be continually checked and re-checked.

Spark Plugs

Boost leak test

Compression test

And - always use the best quality gas you can find from as reliable a gas station as practical

Al

 

You know all this as well as anyone.. I am sure you see a ton of hot mess evos as you tune so many.. I have seen quite a bit myself.. No oil changes in 10k miles and no fluid on the dipstick, blow off in backwards, boost leaks all over etc..

 

throwing those gears mid gear grinding the crap out of them made me cringe

 

As the Evos have aged - the condition of a larger proportion of the older ones have become as what we call "1st Gen Evos"

As they pass through several owners and get modded and put back to stock more and more of the customers are comming in with cars they just bought that don't work well and which have all sorts of little issues

OH - like the guy who had one with a full gallant motor with an evo crank and the pistons sitting down in the bores and 80 psi compression - or the famous guy who had one with a welded transfer case and no rear drivce shaft

When I have a tuning appointment much of what I do is diagnose and correct the mechanical issues and things which are not correct

The reflashing part is very easy now with the new tools - knowing how the car is supposed to be running and what is not right and when it is right is the part that comes only from experience

Al

 

It was necessary to dramatize that simply the transmission could not shift quickly and that is why the car wont run fast

It is regretable that so many who invested in MR's have been swapping out for 5 speeds

Al

 

sadly im doing a 5spd built swap into my MR, so yeah...but my 6spd didnt poop on me

 

"Being the Doctor that I am (JD) - I said - come on down - we'll throw the car on the dyno and test the car to see where your power is at - no charge "

you have a "jd" as in your a lawyer? just curious

 

nice vidz AL...i enjoy watching them and look forward to them

 

Let me ask you this Al. What kind of numbers would you expect to see on your dyno for these cars (on straight 93 octane). The same goes for trap speed.

1) bone stock Evo IX

2) Evo IX with:
- catless turboback
- boost controller at 23 psi spike
- drop-in filter
- good 93 octane flash

 

"i knew it wasnt me!" lol

 

Nice vid Al that was classic.

Whoever said they were cringing when the gears would not go in, the only way to be sure they won't go in is to try just like Al did. Sure that transmission can be used but your not gonna click off amazing times if you can't do solid quick shifts.

 

Al, do you still have LM-1 session 21 file from a custom job 3 years ago?

 

I'd hit it if I was drunk

 

From what i've heard..yes AL was a lawyer.

 

Thanks

I am a lawyer but I have no passion for the law

I gave up my career to work on cars

Al