fowljesse's GS/SE DE/ZE ;)

[Evo_Spec]

I have a friend who is a car guy with a 400ish hp WRX that is a professional computer guy who is familiar with MegaSquirt. He is going to help me fine tune on Thursday. Wooohoooo!

that's great to hear, no more butt dyno lol

[WhiteFinish]

Cool news !! Don't forget to post some tips and tricks here.

[fowljesse]

I thought the car was running funny because of a bad tune (It's running lean), but by the way it's running, I looked into it, and found a broken disty terminal elbow. I switched it out (just the metal elbow part), and it's running smooth It's still not as strong as it should, because it's running about 17:1 AFR, though. It feels like a strong K8, or weak KLDE. I will post up what I learn about MS tuning, when I learn something good

[fowljesse]

So.. a friend of mine is studying MegaSquirt, because I just can't get my head around it. He looked into getting it for his 240sx, but sold it. He's a computer guy with a 350hp sti. I am going to buy TunerStudio, and really dial it in.
Also, I got to test out my new Direzza StarSpecs. I went for a drive with Mooneggs. He, and Stereoking15 make me look like I just got my license I did my best to keep up with him, and the tires stuck like glue. We stayed in the 4Krpm range in 3rd, through lots of turns. I pushed them beyond what I was used to with other tires, and it scared me a little. Only on a couple of decreasing radius turns, they just started to come loose, but were very predictable. I am very happy with them.

[Mooneggs]

I went for a drive with Mooneggs. He, and Stereoking15 make me look like I just got my license I did my best to keep up with him, and the tires stuck like glue.

You shouldn't compare yourself to us yet. We have alot more experience over the last couple of years with our car setups. Just start coming to more AX events and you will get there soon!! I was worried you were going to try too hard to keep up and I would see you fly off the road...

[Josh]

hmm, next time I come down it better be nice out -_-

[fowljesse]

I agree! Let's meet up soon.
So, you know how a bunch of things go wrong, when one thing does?
I just replaced my water pump, radiator, alternator fuel filter, and fuel pressure regulator. Maybe a couple other things I forgot. They all failed in a week. Now the car runs well again. In the process, I took out all of the A/C stuff. I never used it, and a bunch of it got damaged in the accident. If you decide to take out your A/C condenser, use the 335K5 belt. That just means that it's 33.5 inches, and has 5 grooves.
Thank you Mooneggs for loaning me your jack

[fowljesse]

I'm going to put this info here, so I know where it is when I'm ready to do it. The coils I'll use for the coil on plug (COP), aka Coil Per Plug (CPP) conversion are from a 1999 to current Honda CBR 900, 954, 1000 or 1100 motorcycle. The info is from xtremethings.com. I'll also go with solid lash adjusters.

[WhiteFinish]

Cool, keep us updated !

You are running Megasquirt 1 correct ?
I thought there are a few modifications need to be made in order to run COP

[fowljesse]

I'm on MSnS extra. I think it's MS2.2

[fowljesse]

I was having charging troubles, and woes randomly for a little while, and it died when my Dad was driving it. I checked the alternator, and it showed that it was only at 12.4 volts.
I bought a new one, and it only showed 12.4 volts.
I checked the "S" wire that triggers it to charge, and it was fine.
I thought "WTF?!".
While screwing around, not working on it, I discovered that the ring on the drive (crank) pulley had separated from the hub, and was spinning freely, with no sound, or wobble
This was my "Round tuit" to put on the underdrive pulley that I got several years ago. There are a couple things that one needs to know when installing one;
When dremelling down the lip that the UDP rubs, you need to grind it all the way down to the ribs that run perpendicular to it.
It is easier to cut it off than grind it off. Mooneggs will add pictures that will show what I mean.
At first, I thought that the car felt more torquey, but I either got used to it quickly, or it was in my mind. It revs up and down faster, and has a tiny bit more pull in the low end, but feels like it somehow lost some higher in the RPMs. Maybe I'm just expecting more. The steering felt barely sluggish, but I got used to it in a day. They say that the more HP you have, the less difference the UDP makes. I think it will help gas mileage a bit, but I won't know it because I'm always screwing with the AFR, and spark
I feel good about the mod, and recommend it to someone who isn't looking for a great improvement, or an early mod for a mostly stock car, especially lower HP car. I have a good stereo, but it doesn't take a lot of amps, so there won't be any charging problems. Also, it doesn't seem to affect the water pump.
Me and the car are happy again

[MrMazda92]

Jesse!

Good to see some progress on here! I haven't seen an update for a while, I've been waiting for some!
Do you think there's any chance your friend would be up for an extra help session? Tuning scares me, but I'll be getting started once I pick up a wideband and a few other things.

[fowljesse]

I still haven't hooked up with him yet, BUT I tuned my car again myself, and what a difference!
I guess that I should re-tune it whenever the weather changes. It doesn't seem to compensate well, or, more likely, I haven't set it right. I had it tuned for emissions, and gas mileage. I tuned it for power again, and I got some
I still haven't messed with the spark much, which, according to the dyno guy, would give me at least 10HP.
I really enjoy driving again.
By the way, if you bring your car up here, or if I'm down there, I'll help you tune yours, and if you're up here when my friend is available, we can all tune it. It really makes a difference!

[MrMazda92]

Nice!! I'm definitely going to try and make a run up there soon, I've been heading to Salem(well, Monmouth) every few weeks for a while now, so it won't be too terribly far to visit for an afternoon or so!

I do need to pickup a wideband, as well as a timing light(unless you've got the latter?), before I can really do much with it though.

I definitely believe you on that one, I'll feel a lot more confident tuning it with others around who can help me avoid major mistakes!

[fowljesse]

I don't have a timing light.
Today, I put in a filled motor mount. Holy crap, what an ordeal! I won't go into detail, but I had to release all of the motor mounts, and shove the engine around to barely be able to force the motor mount inner bolt out.
I thought my car torque felt a little soft, so I filed an extra MM with Devcon Flexane, suggested by the all-knowing Daninski. He also suggested to drill holes in it afterward, because it's too hard. Boy was he right again.
The MM I took out was a little more flexible than stock, because, although it had been partially filled with what looked like Window Weld, it was kind of torn apart. It moved quite a bit.
I couldn't find my drill bits, so I put it on anyway. The car vibrates a bit, but I gained 20HP on the butt dyno! Seriously, it feels much more solid. It appears that the car was not using the rear motor mount at all, and the torque strut was acting in it's place. Now, it's completely solid.