Greetings and salutations to all!

First off... thanks for taking a moment to read my wall of upcoming text.

I've done my due diligence and tried to search through the forums for various fixes, but came up a bit short handed.
Sad to say, I've been fighting this issue since 2015... been on and off and just now getting back to using the car again....

Symptoms:
intermittent misfire/bucking and/or fuel cut/boost cut
sometimes it'll feel like an immediate loss of power... like the maf was unplugged or an intercooler pipe popped off.. just going limp
other times... it'll feel like i hit a brick wall all of a sudden... just jerk all crazy making me rethink 'why the hell do i still have this thing'
the car ONCE... had a p0108 CEL... when the car was at the shop... the code cleared itself out... and i still haven't seen it again to this day

Steps in attempting to alleviate the problem:
-full boost leak test - discovered a hole in my intercooler... got that plugged and now it's holding pressure just fine throughout the system
-spark plugs and gap - i'm replacing my plugs every 1500 miles or so now it feels like... ngk bpr7es gapped to .020
-coil packs - i'm on my 3rd set of coil packs now... all brand new purchased... i had another thread about a year ago with issues on them... coils are good https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...pack-help.html
-new cas - reputable shop/engine builder replaced it just to rule it out...
-cleaned maf
-replaced vacuum lines
-compression checked
-leakdown test completed


I recently took it to another reputable tuner shop and they had it for a few weeks... on the way there... the car sputtered and struggled... actually debated on calling a tow truck on the way there...
of course... over the 3 week span that they had the car... it ran flawlessly... when i went to pick up the car... it behaved normally as if it knew that it was totally going to go under the knife if it misbehaved.
I drove the car over 100mi that day... cruising around... stop n go traffic... spurts of acceleration... moments of cruising... etc... all fine...
TILL I got home... then it started to sputter again...

the motor itself has less than 30k miles on the block
2.3L
bbk turbo
stock mr bov
idc1200cc injectors
nisei intercooler + piping
cbrd bbk turbo kit
gsc s3 cams
ecu boost

there was another thread that i found referring to a TSB for 03-04 evo's having this issue... unfortunately i can't find any info on it... and i'm not sure if it relates as it brings up a p0300 code that i do not have
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...8-stutter.html

To rule out a mechanical issue, I'm totally down for logging the car... i'm just not sure what parameters i should be logging. I've got evoscan and a tactrix cable... just not sure where to start w/ it...

any help would be appreciated!

Thanks
Regards
Flip

 

log your fuel trims. LTFT Mid and LTFT Low and report back with those. Also what ROM ID are you using?

 

i'll get those boxes checked and report back.
Where do i find the rom id?
i can read the map via ecuflash... wouldn't know where to go from there

 

i also have a log from late last night where it sputtered towards the end of the log.. i'm not sure how to replay it or read it... it's just in an excel file

 

i was able to capture a log where i tried to go WOT (as a reference point) and the car bucked/stuttered and actually backfired...
will this reveal anything?

 

this particular log it did it a few times... i feel like the stuttering/bucking happens when it pulls all the timing... again... main event happens towards the end of the log... i'm trying to capture the event and end the log just so i have something to reference

 

your getting knock, thats why your timing is dropping. 5 counts at 6k RPM. Your logging too much stuff also, remove battery, map (doesn't seem to be accurate so probably the stock sensor), both 02 sensors (they are just narrowbands), Cranksignalsw, IdlePosSw, EGR Temp. You will need to figure out what kind of load you should be logging but you will need to find your rom id in ecuflash before figuring that part out. Do you have a wideband? it looks like your injector pulse widths start getting really small around 5k rpms WOT and It would be interesting to know whats going on there. Could be leaning out really bad. I would really advise you have the tune looked over by a different pro tuner. Unless you want to try and tackling this yourself, but it looks like your gonna need some retuning.

 

Photos of sparkplugs?

 

I had a similar issue with my car. If I were you, I would pull your back seat out and check your fuel pump and lines. Make sure none of the lines are "Kinked" or cut/punctured. I would even go as far as saying that you could have a clog or resistance in the fuel system.
Clean out your feed and return lines (I blasted mine with some brake cleaner) and get your injectors bench tested to ensure they are flowing properly.
I had the same issue you are describing and I replaced the entire fuel system (Injectors, pump, fuel feed line kit from MAP, fresh lines from pump to hanger, and rebuilt my FPR.).
Also, make sure the line you are using is actually ok to use for high-pressure fuel.

 

the pulled timing at 6k is most likely when i felt the car backfire... it backfired... and i let off... and ended the logging...
i tried reading the rom w/ ecuflash... unfortunately when doing so... ecuflash threw back at me "unknown rom image.. ecuflash could not recognize this rom image using any of the current definitions"

i've taken the car to 2 reputable tuning shops... the issue with that is when i take it there... the car acts perfectly fine... if i can find this gremlin... i can at least use that to assist when i take it back...

 

phone's dead for now... but i just pulled out the (very warm) plugs... all of them are within spec (.020 gapped... cylinder 3 was at .022 and i corrected that)... not fouled... no excessive soot... they look like the 400mi plugs that they are

 

thanks for the tip... prior to bringing the car to the shop, i actually pulled the fuel pump out to make sure everything was honky dory... nothing was kinked/cut/punctured putting the key into the on position proved that fuel supply was getting through and getting back to the tank... hard to guess what pressure actually is as i do not have an aftermarket fuel pressure regulator or gauge attached to the system.

i do have new injectors and fuel pump... i have not touched the fuel feed lines or anything

 

You should just email these logs to your tuner and ask them to take a look at whats going on.