Thinking of trying to 'tune' my own car.

The car in question is the Focus that my name suggests, however it is no longer turbo and is reverted to NA. Doing car mods is tougher in Germany vs the greatest nation on earth; LOL, the 4th just happened so patriotism is ok right?

Anyways, I'm feeling ballsy enough to attempt it and have a decent understanding of the theories behind tuning. I'd more than likely be doing SCT because doing a stand alone unit is more trouble than its worth to me. For those of you that have done your own tuning, can a pretty ok mechanic try this without too much hair pulling? i understand its not the same as turning wrenches but its something id like to try, any pointers are welcome.

so wwgrm do? should i full send it?

The key to calibration/tuning is to know what you want and know how to get it. 

And to interpret data to make that happen. 

If you can do that, tuning is pretty straight forward. 

First, get the basics done as best as you can- these would be the basic tables running a fully warmed up engine pretty steady. Use a decent and safe spark tune and go to town on the air/fuel stuff. Then tweak the spark so that it’s as efficient as you can without knock. 

Then tune the fully warmed up transients. 

Then tune the warm ups. 

To make it easy, if you can use a WB O2 sensor, that’s the way to go. 

You don’t need to go too deep in the theories, as long as you know how your specific system operates.  

I've done my own, and I have paid to have it done.  What are you trying to achieve? 

Looking at your username, if there was a ford racing tune available for whatever you have I would spend the money on that.  If you have built something up I might try to go it alone.  As alfadriver said, if you understand the system it isn't too bad.  If you don't understand the system, or don't have good data (injector  data for example), you will start wanting to pull out hair quickly.

I will also point out that there are a lot of people who present themselves as "professional" who just aren't.  Ask for references.

alfadriver said:

The key to calibration/tuning is to know what you want and know how to get it. 

And to interpret data to make that happen. 

If you can do that, tuning is pretty straight forward. 

First, get the basics done as best as you can- these would be the basic tables running a fully warmed up engine pretty steady. Use a decent and safe spark tune and go to town on the air/fuel stuff. Then tweak the spark so that it’s as efficient as you can without knock. 

Then tune the fully warmed up transients. 

Then tune the warm ups. 

To make it easy, if you can use a WB O2 sensor, that’s the way to go. 

You don’t need to go too deep in the theories, as long as you know how your specific system operates.  

ha, my job title is analyst but names/titles are not always true.

when you say the fully warmed up transients, i assume you mean accel/decel?

i have a wb02 in the car already so, bingo! LOL

when you say specific system can i assume you mean software? if im wrong, please elaborate.

pushrod36 said:

I've done my own, and I have paid to have it done.  What are you trying to achieve? 

Looking at your username, if there was a ford racing tune available for whatever you have I would spend the money on that.  If you have built something up I might try to go it alone.  As alfadriver said, if you understand the system it isn't too bad.  If you don't understand the system, or don't have good data (injector  data for example), you will start wanting to pull out hair quickly.

I will also point out that there are a lot of people who present themselves as "professional" who just aren't.  Ask for references.

knowledge/experience, im ready to move on to something new to try out. ive done some bodywork, rebuilt a motor or two, little wiring and stuff like that. id like to get my feet wet for tuning in a cheap 4 pot NA car, maybe when im done in Germany, and if it's something i enjoy, ill revert back to turbo and tune that myself. $350 isnt that expensive to give it a shot, even if it is... yolo? thats stilll a thing right?

as the other gentleman said 'system,' im not sure which system that you two seem to be referencing. are we talking injector specs/outputs? how an engine operates? how timing/afr works? the software itself?

to kinda wrap this up, these two posts are emboldening me to whip out that visa and do something stupid LOL
from the five part video series im watching to dust off some of the rust, its more or less exactly what im expecting to do.

I wouldn't call using a handheld tuner "tuning". More like "lightly tweaking".

In reply to AwesomeAuto :

It should've linked to the advantage 3 software where you can make custom tunes. Unless you count fuel tables and such light tweaking, which I get. Not too different than playing with the knobs/screws on a carburetor.

Curious how you are restricted in German on mods?

I ask because a few months ago I did phone interviews with two companies over there but chose to stay in the US for now lol. 

In reply to TurboFocus :

Yes, transients mean accels and decels, 

and the system reference is about the controller you use. They all do the calculations a little different, but there’s no need to know all of them. Engines all run the same. 

So you know, if you choose the SCT solution, I can’t help. Not really allowed because of who I work for. 

But I bet enough here can. 

What kind of tweaks do you want to make, and what do you expect to get from it?

In reply to kanaric :

every part you buy has to be approved by the gov't, if its not then you're required to get an engineer or something of the sorts to approve it. also the German gov't is extremely environmentally conscious, so things that may have an effect on the environment are pretty locked down. side story, we can't get AC or water fountains in some buildings i work at because of those environmental reasons.

TUV is less about safety and emissions and more about finding every minute problem with your car. if your OEM ford wheels do not match the car they came on (ex: ford mondeo wheels on a ford escort, god forbid you put ford wheels on an opel or something) you're liable to fail depending on how much of a dick the inspector wants to be. finding a good inspector that actually only cares about what TUV was intended to do is key to being able to enjoy yourself modifying cars here, i was luckier than the average bear and was pointed in the right direction after my first few failures. they'll still follow the law (gov't approved or engineer approved parts only) but will only actually fail you on REAL safety concerns such as a super rusty brake line, brake light is out, bad ball joints/wheel bearings or environmental concerns like not having a catalytic converter..

otherwise you'll encounter these real stories that happened to myself or good friends of mine:

your windshield washer fluid ran empty during inspection, fail.

your 2018 BMW headlights are too bright in the eyes of the inspector, fail.

OEM automatic mirror dimmers or your car has an OEM under-tray, fail.

your new gov't approved coilovers set your car at 6.99cm when the standard is 7cm, fail.

your gov't approved cat back went to 94 decibels when the standard is 94 decibels, fail.

one of the license plate light covers was slightly loose, fail.

ziptie is holding wire where 20yr old factory plastic holder broke, fail.

small rust hole in front fender, fail.

factory hood has a hood scoop on it, fail

wheels poked out past fender by 0.5cm, fail.

single drop of oil from engine, fail; plus required steam clean. engine comes out, gets put in bath thing and then reinstalled to find leak and fix. he went to a new inspector after going through a car wash, passed no problem.

wheels from a different model car put on, fail. went to a new/lazier inspector vs paying money for four new tires.

non-required fog lights not working, fail. yet removing them entirely and leaving holes where they were is 100% ok

finding a metal supply in the local area is difficult, those little silicone couplers and other ricer supplies at your local vatozone that come in hand sometimes are non-existent in the half dozen different chains ive been to. technically my USDM race H&R springs are illegal here since the german gov't never approved them, i guess polezei and TUV see/hear H&R and assume its legal.

the auto bahn is cool for the first few months and then the charm wears off when you realize that going faster than US posted speed-limits is irresponsible and stupid. i learned the hard way, even though i wasnt at fault for the accident. ended up cutting and replacing a quarter panel.

the ring is an amazing opportunity, but the pure unfiltered hate that TUV has the capability of raining down on you is obnoxious. im sure someone will pipe in that they never use zipties to fix small problems on a car, that their above using anything but top shelf parts or that their car has zero rust and when it does arrive it get fixed immediately by a professional welder. to that person, i say good for you; come to Germany, you'll fit right in no problem. for anyone like me though, zipties and cheap vatozone/home depot motor sports stuff is just fine if it gets the job done.

kanaric said:

Curious how you are restricted in German on mods?

I ask because a few months ago I did phone interviews with two companies over there but chose to stay in the US for now lol. 

Short version - cars have to pass a bi-annual safety inspection that's one of the most thorough in Europe. Any mods on the car will either have to have been checked, approved by engineers licensed to do so (usually working for TÜV) and recorded in the vehicle's paperwork (that you have to carry with you), or they have to have an "Allgemeine Betriebserlaubnis" (ABE) from the manufacturer that essentially states the parts are safe and legal for this particular vehicle. That goes for anything - even simple bolt ons like wheels, and in some cases, brand and size of tire.

Plus of course there is the emissions part of the inspections as well.

Usually the best way to deal with serious mods is to sit down with the engineer/inspector beforehand, walk them through what you want to do and get their input. You may have to come back partially through the build to have them inspect mods that are hard to get at or see (especially bodywork).

It's a bit of a faff compared to other countries in Europe, but usually doable if you know how.

In reply to BoxheadTim :

its 100% do-able, but if youre from an area that allows you to more or less do whatever you want... it can be nightmarish showing up with an already modified car or an older used car. things that would be no problem in a white glove inspection in the states can be marked as a major glaring problem here.

restoring my 78 opel ascona to be road legal here was damn near a 6 month trial where as in AZ i'd have been done in half the time, barring part availability differences

alfadriver said:

In reply to TurboFocus :

Yes, transients mean accels and decels, 

and the system reference is about the controller you use. They all do the calculations a little different, but there’s no need to know all of them. Engines all run the same. 

 cool, kinda what i figured you meant but im 100% appreciative of the clarification. stock ECU with the SCT hand held thing to flash it to the PC. best i can figure is that ill learn it one step at a time, kinda excited to learn this!

alfadriver said:

So you know, if you choose the SCT solution, I can’t help. Not really allowed because of who I work for. 

But I bet enough here can. 

What kind of tweaks do you want to make, and what do you expect to get from it?

 i bet you work for SCT dont ya! haha

buttonology, if thats a word... will be something ill struggle through. if there is an actual hiccup in the tuning, a point in the right direction to fix it would be appreciated. no need to hand hold me, but if you cant do that either, i fully understand!

tweaks? fuel tables, the euro block in my car currently has it running rich all the time. id like to lean it out a little bit for economy and to smoothen the lambda line out a little better than having it jump around constantly. if i can figure out how to install the USDM knock sensor back on i'd play with the timing a little. what do i expect? better afr's, maybe economy, and power that is 100% not feel-able by the butt dyno.

if im good at it, in the states, i'd like to give another try at running a turbo and tuning it myself.

yikes that is scary to me lol

In reply to kanaric :

it is, all in all though, its do-able just infuriating when they throw a couple days worth of small, unnecessary BS at you.

for the rest of the year or two, as long as you dont drive like a donkey or bring unnecessary attention to yourself, you'll be fine. bit of a faff would be understatement of the year compared to what im use to.

In reply to TurboFocus :

I work for Ford, and have been a calibrator for over 25 years. So while I know what very specific things to change, I’m not allowed to, since it’s not exactly legal to change one of our own calibrations. With so little time to retirement, I’m not willing to jeopardize  my career. 

Still, it runs rich?  It should be at stoich all the time. Unless you are driving hard all the time. 

As for the knock sensor, unless you have a calibration to go with it, just having it is not going to do anything. 

In reply to alfadriver :

other side of the house, spicy. LOL, i dont blame you at all. if it come to you with a problem and you can answer, like i said, i get it. no need to jepordize anything!

knock sensor would be OEM for USDM but not OEM for EDM, not sure how much that makes sense to anyone but me. to install it, as far as i can tell as high up, in the middle as i can and bolt it down/plug it in. its a US car with a Euro block/head.

yea, tad rich but its the worst at idle. high 11s to low 13s. i also rember in stock form in ran mid 15's at cruising, my guess is for fuel economy, id like to get back to that for lower rpm's; id tweak the ltft right? whats a good afr for WOT on an NA car. right now it zero's in on 11.7 but it seems a little rich for WOT, would low/mid 12's be better?

I hope you have better luck/skills than me. I've been trying to get my Holley Terminator to work as advertised for over three years now. Holley tells me it's my fault, that her E36 M3 works fine. Bitch. 

On a side note, is anyone here a prodigy/savant with Holley's HPEFI software or Terminator systems?  If so, shoot me a message. :D

In reply to TurboFocus :

It should be 14.6 at idle. Something is wrong. Almost all of the time, it will be running off the O2 sensor and at that point. 

For WOT, 11.7 is pretty safe. Rich enough to keep thing cool and knock down. 

Just adding the knock sensor won’t do anything without a calibration to go with it, regardless of where the sensor came from. The knock system in the code needs to be turned on. 

In reply to alfadriver :

I think we're talking in circles, probably my fault... but the OEM Ford calibration for an OEM Ford focus zetec knock sensor wouldnt work just because it's a European block/head/cam? Which as far as I know is the same as USDM stuff.

Old motor was a 2.0L dohc zetec USDM with a provision for a knock sensor.

New motor is a 2.0L dohc zetec Edm without a provision for a knock sensor. There are holes I can tap to put one in

Wiring, injectors, intake, exhaust, spark, tb, ECU, literally everything is USDM stuff minus head/block/cam.

In reply to TurboFocus :

Yeah, in that case you're fine.  We got confused a bit that more of the car was euro market than just the actual engine.  So long as the engine is very close to the US one, then the knock detection on the USDM ECU/sensor should work just fine.

In reply to TurboFocus :

What was originally installed is what matters. Doesn’t matter where the engine came from, if a sensor was not originally installed, the ECU would never look for it, even if you plug one in. 

So you need to find a computer that had a knock sensor installed for it to work. 

In reply to alfadriver :

Feel compelled to note that he's stated it's a US car,  US electronics/ecu.

Its had German hard parts transplanted.

At this point, it's just where to bolt it down so it's not flopping about the engine bay....

In reply to OldGray320i :

That’s perfectly clear. The point is that a knock sensor will do nothing unless the computer knows it’s there. And that is a software switch at a bare minimum. 

Just plugging in a sensor will not do anything without that. 

In reply to alfadriver :

What am I missing then?  Did his car not come stock with a knock sensor?

I'm assuming that as it sits now the software is trying to "read" it, but it's providing no data (not plugged in).