A little advice on a lean GSR condition?
wagofresh2death
Band Wagon
Well, my obdI GSR Integra is running lean... not horribly lean but too lean. Thing is, I put on a skunk2 intake manifold and went and did some gear pulls to see how it felt, and i was really disappointed as my car feels much slower now. :x So i drove on it a while and then checked my plugs, and its obvious my cars running lean. The motors all stock except for intake, intake mani, header and exhaust. I just don't know where to start for an affordable way to "tune" my fuel. It feels lean and "crackly" at all throttle positions, idle, normal load, wide open throttle etc. My concern is... if I bought something like a wideband to check my AFR, and adjusted with a fuel pressure regulator Im told I could successfully adjust the pressure to get good AFRs during WOT and that if I disconnect my batt. for 5 mins it will clear the ECUs fuel "strategy" or whatever you want to call it and it will then set a good "fuel strategy" for normal load, idle etc... but that doesn't make sense to me, because if my ECU is trying to adjust for 14.7:1 during normal load right now(factory setting whatnot), and it isn't able to achieve it, would it be able to achieve it upping the fuel pressure? It feels lean at idle, so its not like its a lack of possible fuel... it seems like a lack of fuel the ECU is actually sending? Maybe I'm missing something here, any help or suggestion gents?
Comments
But, ECU tuning aside.... does anyone have any advice on fixing the problem using an adjustable FPR and a wideband? If I adjust to get a 12.5ish AFR through WOT, will my ECU be able to adjust itself for normal load and idle even though its currently not able to?
With Crome and other such programs you need to solder a few small components into the ecu. This will allow you to install a chip with the maps you create and also install a usb port for logging sensor info. You can also run your wideband's output to the ecu so you can log afr against rpm and map presure.
Check out a moates.net, they make a lot of cool stuff for diy tuning. Check out the demon, ostrich, burn2, and hondalog, and they also sell the chipping kit for the ecu.
The ECU could be at it's limits as to how much fuel it can add (yes there is a limit) under the long term and short term fuel enrichment protocol. If you raise the fuel pressure at the rail, those protocols will add more fuel. The ECU has no idea what the fuel pressure is. It knows time, and it knows mixture. So if it's lean it injects for a longer time. If it's rich, it injects for less time. Period. However, the ECU is only allowed to change the open loop mixtures by a certain percentage (10%, 20%, etc...). I'm not sure exactly what the actual number is, but there's a limit. If for some reason you've reached those limits (I'd be very surprised if you have), then it'll be lean.
Any how, the car was throwing a CEL so I checked it out and it was a code 23-knock sensor(it was finger tight
Also, when I put the manifold on, I had to get a longer piece of vacuum hose because the factory piece wouldn't reach... so I did. However when I ran my car waiting on it to throw a CEL today, I noticed the tubing they sold me was too weak to support the vacuum and it collapses when the throttle is on... anyway its the hose coming out of the front middle of the skunk 2 intake manifold going to the PCV valve(if you're familiar... if not heres a link, its the piece right under the label http://www.jhpusa.com/store/pc/catalog/ ... m-b2_d.jpg ).........also strange... theres coolant... condensating on the outside of this hose..any ideas? But, I checked for vacuum leaks with some starter fluid and couldn't find one, Idk if that hose coming from the mani going to the PCV valve could cause my problems though... high idle, car FEELS lean in all conditions although thats just me guesstimating, and lean overall according to my spark plugs.
But yes jaker, I'm going to get the wideband soon to confirm this, and if its not lean at idle the site bikewrench suggested has some very good packages for tuning the ECU, that look user friendly.
It sounds like something is leaking after the Map sensor.. Use brake clean or carb clean not starter fluid So make sure everything is is tight and you used all the gaskets
I am starting with:
14point7 wide band controller $60
02 sensor $50
obd1 chip kit $20
hondalog $30
burn2 $85
crome free $0
freelog $0
This is really all you need, only $250. Once I get to the point where I want to do some fine tuning, I'll spring for an ostritch so I don't have to reburn chips every 2 seconds.
If you want to learn to tune yourself crome free/freelog is the way to go as its free and has all the features you need. Once you become good at tuning you can make a better educated purchase on expensive software.
If you want to have your car tuned by someone else, find a reputable tuner and use the software he suggests.
$200 NGK power dex wideband
$300 Moates package for... just about everything else. burn2, hondalog, chip kit and ostrich.
$free Freelog
and I was considering doing the G-meter thing to further avoid a dyno, fees and not being able to do it myself. But moates is a great site, and has a ton of useful info...great recommendation!
Anyhow, I replaced the vacuum line going to the PCV valve with a much thicker one today, and it didn't collapse...but theres no way it could. Cars still throwing the 02 sensor CEL... I'll have to pull it tomorrow and do a visual, and take meter readings. When our cars throw code 41 o2 sensor.. does it go into a limp mode like the code 23 knock sensor? or what effect does it have on the engine?
Its a little pricey, but for the same price of a Hondata I can do unlimited tunes on all of my cars and I'm willing to pay the extra price for things like the ostrich2 to make it easier on myself and get the ball rolling.