sutyak's turbo focus

[sutyak]

Front seats are in. Everything is wired up, and I finally got to take the car out for some data logging today in boost.
Working on the 11.6psi tune first. Slightly higher compression, not tuning with methanol yet, and 1psi more and I need to pull some timing up top. I meant to preemptively pull some timing before doing any WOT runs. Oops. Thankfully the knock sensor was doing it's job.
Even with 11.6psi and a 3" MAF it is nearly out of MAF. I figure 12.5psi would definitely max it out. Time to put the MAFia in.
The KB boost-a-pump is working fine. Fuel pump duty cycle peaked at .36, or 72% with the BAP turned to half. It was 80% before. The next time I go out for some WOT pulls I'll turn it to max to see the difference. I haven't made any changes in fueling in the tune. Still a lot to play with there.

I'm still getting used to the Recaros. I was expecting to be immediately in love with them, but in reality they don't fit quite right yet. I think I adjusted the seat more today than the tune.





Mustang threads welded to a Focus shifter. My first mod when I bought the car in 2006


Console with no arm rest from an SVT with heat seat switches. The traction control button isn't hooked up. Boost control switch on the bottom/left.
I also swapped out the original faux leather shifter and e-brake boots for the genuine leather SVT boots. Shift knob is a 5-speed Terminator style with Mustang threads. I kept this from my Mach 1.



USB charging cable and 9-pin DIN cable tucked on the passenger side. There is also an extra USB charging port on the driver side.


Here is the 4-port USB module I added, hidden inside the dash. It mainly powers the MAP sensor and provides two extra charging cables that are tucked on either side of the center console. Of course this is without the cover and it's all cleaned up now.

[PaxtonShelby]

Looking good there!

I I think you need to put a sticker on your gas pedal that says "Traction Control."

[sutyak]

Looking good there!

I think you need to put a sticker on your gas pedal that says "Traction Control."

Ha! The limited slip is even better than I expected. Typically with all-seasons and the open diff it spins extremely easily. With both tires grabbing it's night and day.

[sutyak]

I got a little more tuning done tonight. I installed the MAFia on setting 3. That brought the max counts from 869 down to about 700, so I have a lot more headroom now. I have a feeling I might need to turn it to 4 before 23psi.
The headroom with the MAFia is nice, but dang the MAF table I worked so hard on is crap now. Low end is richer and top end is leaner; exactly opposite of what I need. I also had to up the idle so it doesn't stall out due to the MAF counts getting too low. I guess I could counteract that a few different ways, but upping the idle a bit is the easiest for now.
I turned the KB BAP up to 3/4 or so and now the fuel pump duty cycle is only .30, or 60% at the same place it was 72% before. That being said it needed more fuel, so that number will go up next time I get out to log.
I have yet to do a full 7500+ RPM pull. Just taking things slow right now and sticking to 6000 RPM as a max.

The data logging setup. 8.1" tablet. I can tune on it, but I typically just use it for logging. When I get near my house it connects to the wifi and automatically syncs the log files to my main laptop using OneDrive. The laptop is where I do most of the tuning.

[sutyak]

Running 13-14psi at the moment and put a couple hundred miles on the car today. Everything seems good. Still things to work out in the tune. Mainly the car is not able to idle after it is fully warmed up. Setting the MAFia on 3 really messed with the resolution, and anything below 900RPM is now off the MAF table. I ran it up to 6500 RPM a few times today with no problems.

10 gallons of methanol. This should help. With 10.4:1 compression and a goal of over 20psi, I built this motor in anticipation of spraying a healthy amount of meth. I'm not going to be shy with it!
I'll tune as high as possible without meth, then retune with meth, but not add so much timing that the knock sensor couldn't pull it safely if the meth system failed.

[JeffreyCole]

What's the max timing that ecu can pull?

[sutyak]

What's the max timing that ecu can pull?

I'm not sure of the absolute max, but I'm only comfortable with a 5 degree padding. I know it comfortably pulls 5 degrees with no audible pinging. Maybe more with some race gas.

[Tom]

This is exciting, I love the underdog builds! You're going to have to go take out some vettes.

[JeffreyCole]

I'm not sure of the absolute max, but I'm only comfortable with a 5 degree padding. I know it comfortably pulls 5 degrees with no audible pinging. Maybe more with some race gas.

Hell, even my archaic ecu can pull 15 degrees of timing in "wtf dude" moments.

[sutyak]

Hell, even my archaic ecu can pull 15 degrees of timing in "wtf dude" moments.

I haven't run it that far out of tune. My original tune did ping like crazy sometimes, which lead to the demise of that engine. Unfortunately I wasn't logging (or directed to log) knock at that time, so I have no idea how bad it was. Now that I handle the tune myself pulling 5 degrees seems high to me. If it can pull 15 that's great, but I don't want to test it!

I am considering taking advantage of the error switch that is built into the AEM meth controller. It has a wire that goes to a system cutoff switch that gets grounded when an error occurs. My thoughts are I'll use a dual relay configuration, where by default the fuel pump would be enabled through a relay. A secondary relay would actually enable the signal between the AEM unit and the first relay when the high boost switch is turned on.
This would mean the car would run in low boost mode even if there is a fault with the methanol system. If in high boost mode (at the track) it would cut the fuel pump and the car would not run until the high boost switch is turned off.
I still have to draw this out, but I think it will work.

[sutyak]

I was over-thinking the methanol safety fuel cutoff in my last post. It would only take one relay with the relay coil powered by the high boost switch. The AEM switch would ground the relay coil wire on error, completing the circuit and killing the power to the the boost controller. This way the car still runs, just at a lower power level.

[phillysrt4]

Reminds me of the days when I had my srt4.

this thread is win.

[JeffreyCole]

You could also include a piezoelectric buzzer into the led circuit as a secondary audible warning, in case you were at a wot pull and may not see the led.

[sutyak]

You could also include a piezoelectric buzzer into the led circuit as a secondary audible warning, in case you were at a wot pull and may not see the led.

Yeah I considered a piezo buzzer, but I think the main thing that would alert me is the sudden drop in power, haha! There is also already a status led in the dash for the meth system, so I probably won't even use the one in the diagram. I'm not ruling out anything yet.

[sutyak]

I updated my previous post. I'm thinking I'll keep the low boost level (13-14psi) conservative, and be more aggressive with the tune in the upper end above 14 psi.
With this configuration the car will still run when there is a methanol system error, just in low boost mode.

[sutyak]

Something else I forgot to mention is how fantastic my intake temperatures are now. I wrapped most of the Cossie style intake manifold in reflective heat tape to prevent it from being heat soaked by the radiator and engine block. What a HUGE difference!
When I first bought the Cossie style intake I was terribly disappointed at how bad it heat soaked. Now, as Wobb can attest to, even after driving for an hour and letting the car sit for 15 minutes with the hood down the manifold is relatively cool to the touch.
In boost, my intake temps only rise about 3 or 4 degrees, and drop back down within a couple seconds. My IAT sensor is before the meth nozzles now, so the actual temperature when I'm spraying is much lower.
My air filter is also inside the engine bay!

From my extensive data logging, here are the things that mattered the most keeping the intake temperatures down:
1) Wrap the aluminum intake manifold in reflective heat tape
2) Box the intercooler (this is nearly a tie for #1. DO THIS NOW)
3) Wrap the ambient pipe in reflective heat tape
4) Placement of air filter, or at least route a cool air duct to it

[sutyak]

Productive day today. I fixed the wiring of the MAP sensor. I somehow found an incorrect diagram of the XCal2 wiring and had the MAP sensor on the incorrect pin.
I also wired up the methanol fail-safe and it works perfectly. Just a simple relay in-line with the boost controller and it kicks the boost controller back to the low boost setting when there is a methanol system malfunction. I tested by pulling the fuse from the methanol controller, which puts it into an error mode. The high boost no longer worked, and I could hear the relay kick instead when I flipped the switch.
I also installed a methanol filter between the tank and pump.
I turned the boost up to 16psi while logging today, but need to add more fuel. It's not knocking, but the AFRs are too high.

This is the correct XCal 2 diagram:

[sutyak]

Always fun blowing off an intercooler pipe. The first time it happened it was a serious oh-sh*t moment. Now it's old news. I only up the boost when I'm close to home, and the car is tuned blow-through so it still runs perfectly fine if a pipe does come off.
I welded some quick and dirty beads to the end of the pipe and it's back on the road.
Unfortunately the car is still leaking some oil from around the main seal. For now I'll live with one or two drips a day as long as it's not affecting the clutch. I plan on fixing that before the trace rental.

[sutyak]

What's the max timing that ecu can pull?

I'm looking around my tuning software and see that the amount of spark the ECU can pull is adjustable. Not that I'd want to increase it. It is currently set to be able to pull 12 degrees up to 5500 RPM, then 9 degrees above that.

[ERR0RMACR0]

Just caught up on this thread--damn, man, nice progress! Looking forward to seeing more and hopefully seeing it in person someday!