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Tuning my Turbo'd Merc.

J

joncsfreak

New CEG'er
Joined
Sep 12, 2007
Messages
25
Location
Carson City, NV
Well, I know my turbo'd Merc is running rich...I can smell it and the A/F Ratio gauge is way in the rich.

What I'm looking at is the car will die if I let off the throttle......If I'm moving.
What I'm assuming is the fuel is just bogging it. But the speed idle wont kick in at all.

The car is fast though :p love the BOV....I get to 60 mph like its nothing.
 
yeah im still waiting on pics of how you made the focus downpipe work with the contique oil pan.


you will need to get someone to tune the car using the PRP software and an xcal. NPG comes to mind.
 
You can run the downpipe under the Contour's oilpan.... It just reduces your ground clearance to 0.5" :help:

No tuning with a turbo? Brilliant! Keep hammering on it. Didn't you know that the stock Zetec is forged titanium?. :nonono:

I'm getting really tired of these newbies that just throw a turbo on their Zetec with absolutely no tuning or research and are surprised when it blows up.
 
uh dude I JUST built it......lol.

I cant tune it when it was still being checked for leaks and being proofed...

and you do a rough tuning by yourself...then take it to a shop....unless you got the stuff to do it.

and this was a question whether it was fuel related or not....I don't need your input on how to turbo a mystique...
 
You do a "rough tuning" by yourself...


with WHAT???? Anything you can do a "rough tuning" with, means that you've already looked in to and purchased tuning software/hardware, and thus either are ALREADY TUNED or have the ability to do so yourself.

What exactly does a "rough tune" entail, if you don't mind?
 
well, I figured out that it was the air temp sensor that wasnt working properly...

and I'm sorry..I meant do a rough adjustment with things you can...fuel and air...AFPR...and a External Wastegate....to make it drivable tot he shop.....using a couple gauges .....
 
joncsfreak said:
..to make it drivable tot he shop...
Click to expand...


At 10psi!?! How about propping the wastgate open so it doesn't make any boost? The stock pistons were never meant for any abuse.

I'm sorry if I sound like a d!ck, but I'm tired of seeing guys come on the boards and blow up their motors a week or two later.

BP
 
Last edited:
ButtonPuncher said:
At 10psi!?! How about propping the wastgate open so it doesn't make any boost? The stock pistons were never meant for any abuse.

I'm sorry if I sound like a d!ck, but I'm tired of seeing guys come on the boards and blow up their motors a week or two later.

BP
Click to expand...
yeah, at least mine was a year later :crazy: although i would put money that its not the pistons (since mine are forged) but rather probably the STOCK head that is my problem.

you could also do what i did and just not install the injectors, intercooler to TB pipe, and put just a filter on the turbo inlet. this allows you to keep your NA intake piping to drive it to the shop. once at the shop you can spend the 30 minutes it takes to put on the last little bit of intercooler piping, injectors, and the intake piping with larger MAF to the turbo.
 
ohsigmachi said:
Hey, striker you get that thing apart yet? Are you sure it's the head?
Click to expand...
no, im gonna be tearing into it this weekend. i dont think its the rings as even with no rings at all it would have some compression. with the Probe pistons and Eagle rods i wasnt pushing enough power to risk them. my dad seams to think that either the valves arent opening or are stuck open for some reason.
 
If its in the engine its new....I dont have stock internals idk who said I do but I spent money on crankshaft new forged pistons new forged rods...eagle....prode..and eagle...thousands of dollars into it...it can handle 10 pounts...even 15 pounds...

But now I have an oil leak from the top but under the intake...I'm thinking the head studs came loose some how...I dont think my 5 layer head gasket will blow...
 
joncsfreak said:
If its in the engine its new....I dont have stock internals idk who said I do but I spent money on crankshaft new forged pistons new forged rods...eagle....prode..and eagle...thousands of dollars into it...it can handle 10 pounts...even 15 pounds...

But now I have an oil leak from the top but under the intake...I'm thinking the head studs came loose some how...I dont think my 5 layer head gasket will blow...
Click to expand...
in your case its not so much then about 10lbs of boost on stock internals but rather driving on 10lbs of boost without a tune. there isnt anything you can change without tuning the PCM as it controls everything. if your running 42# injectors without a tune you will be running extremely rich, which you already noticed. it dies when you let off the throttle cause the PCM doesnt know what to do cause it thinks the MAF signal is from a stock MAF as well as it thinks it only has 17 or 19lb injectors. stop driving it until you can get a full tune.


Im assuming your using ARP head studs for the focus. what i was told was to use a wire brush to remove the black coating that comes on them. you need to remove it from the threaded sections on the studs themselves, the bottom side of the nut, and the side of the washer that will face nut. i had the same problem with them coming loose the first time and it was enough to blow the OEM head gasket. i havent had any problems with them coming loose after massive speed systems told me to remove the coating from those sections.
 
how much was your tune striker?

yeah I am running rich...real rich, yeah I'll be pumping the boost way up there once I get everything running right...and tuned.

I'm assuming it'll be around $200 bucks to get a tune?

Ok I'll be taking the cam's out and get at the studs this weekend thanks striker.
 
a good tune with an xcal is likely to run you anywhere from $600-$800 depending on how long you are on the dyno.

once its tuned keep the boost low, about 10lbs, and drive it like that for a while. that way you can make sure everything is perfect before you up the boost. 10lbs is fast, 13 feels insane.

good luck pulling the studs with the head on. its vertually impossible to get down to them, much less get enough leverage on them to pull them out and put them back in (ive tried).
 
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