Another 9 second Turbo Buick

[Dhos1]

So.....why buy FAST or XFI if you can have a solid 9 sec reliable car on the stock ECM?

 

[Dhos1]

Should I not put 1600 bucks towards a great tune and dyno

 

[neat]

That's a nice pass on a standard chip and alky...With 60lb injectors what was your injector duty cycle??

I dunno. It's not my car, so I don't have the finer details. I did briefly look at the data from the power logger on one pass, and I want to say IDC was about 65%, but I wouldn't swear to it.

 

[Mr.Spool]

Rode along with a friend to the drag strip today. His 87 Regal clicked off it's first 9 second pass. He's been chasing 9's with it for a long time, so it was great to finally see that single digit ET.

The car went 9.95 @ 134. The main mods are:

RCG built 3.8L
Champion Aluminum heads
Extreme Automatics 200-4R
Precision 64/66

Here's a video I took of the pass. Be sure to watch it in 1080p. I painted the car for him a few years ago, and it looks SO much better in 1080, lol. Also, in 1080p, you can see it pull the left front tire about 10 feet from the starting line. The boost comes on and it power wheelies a little.

Excellent

 

[Mr.Spool]

So.....why buy FAST or XFI if you can have a solid 9 sec reliable car on the stock ECM?

Ask your vendor

 

[forcefed3.8's]

I really dont think any vendor said you couldnt run 9s with a stock ecm. That was an assumption made by the average ill informed owner. Plenty have run 9s even 8s with a stock ecm. Without all the modern add ons.

 

[turbo89]

I really dont think any vendor said you couldnt run 9s with a stock ecm. That was an assumption made by the average ill informed owner. Plenty have run 9s even 8s with a stock ecm. Without all the modern add ons.

I think the better question to be asked is "how much will i gain over a stock ecu with an aftermarket ecu .. and why"

 

[forcefed3.8's]

You gain added features and safety. Same timing and AFR , same power.

 

[3.8L V-8 eater]

Even with alky injection I would think those injectors had to be pushed to the edge....I guess someone could tune the car by pulling fuel and replacing with more alky via settings in the pac controller

 

[turbo89]

You gain added features and safety. Same timing and AFR , same power.

I would think the biggest difference is data acquisition .. which SHOULD lead to more power if your utilizing the aftermarket ecu.. as well as more efficient application of that power

If not you just blew $2k for no reason.

 

[Pronto]

I know a 9 second car that was saved by the XFI when their fuel pump started to fail in the dyno. The range it was able to adjust fueling was more than a chip could do.

 

[ttypewhite]

So.....why buy FAST or XFI if you can have a solid 9 sec reliable car on the stock ECM?

There is more to it then just wide open throttle. A aftermarket ecu allows you to really fine tune the car and play with the maps better to extract the most out of the setup, in both WOT and regular driving, start up etc. XFI/FAST system gives you more cells to broaden your tuning platform where general percentages overall can not do. Will it work, absolutely. But lets be real, the benefits of a XFI/FAST system are outstanding over the stock ecu once you start getting into bigger injectors. The majority of responses you will hear are based on the fear of tuning with a XFI, not the advantages of having it. $1,600 is money well spent imo. No better gift then knowledge. This platform has really opened my eyes in what is actually possible through the XFI/FAST system

 

[434nova]

It's on about 28 PSI. 60lb injectors. It runs about 10.3 AFR at WOT most of the pass. I don't know how much timing was in it on that pass. Power Logger showed no knock. It has a single nozzle methanol injection kit from Julio.

I don't know enough about the engine management stuff to give a qualified opinion on the differences / benefits of a stand alone as compared to the stock ECM.

Is the motor a stroker and what ar exhaust housing on the turbo?

 

[1952ray]

There is more to it then just wide open throttle. A aftermarket ecu allows you to really fine tune the car and play with the maps better to extract the most out of the setup, in both WOT and regular driving, start up etc. XFI/FAST system gives you more cells to broaden your tuning platform where general percentages overall can not do. Will it work, absolutely. But lets be real, the benefits of a XFI/FAST system are outstanding over the stock ecu once you start getting into bigger injectors. The majority of responses you will hear are based on the fear of tuning with a XFI, not the advantages of having it. $1,600 is money well spent imo. No better gift then knowledge. This platform has really opened my eyes in what is actually possible through the XFI/FAST system

Hey Mike, this is a Great reply. Thanks Ray

 

[neat]

Is the motor a stroker and what ar exhaust housing on the turbo?

No, it's stock stroke.

I think it's the .8XXX

 

[Mr.Spool]

I think the better question to be asked is "how much will i gain over a stock ecu with an aftermarket ecu .. and why"

There is no power gain and most of the time there is a loss especially coming off a car that is in tune.i have seen 9 sec power repeatedly made on a stock ecm no fouling of the plugs no stumbling on a maf car you can drive anywhere.there are several vendors that can cut a chip or tune an adjustable one for a 9sec pass.there are other vendors that need and sell and only tune on certain systems that they are familiar with.

 

[Mr.Spool]

Should I not put 1600 bucks towards a great tune and dyno

If you can't tune yourself and don't know a vendor that can cut a chip for a 9 sec pass then yes.certain vendors can't cut chips at all and only tune on certain systems.however whowever tunes your setup you have to follow their lead plain and simple.red a and Eric @turbo tweak just to name a few can cut chips for alot of different applications.if you have data you can fine tune your combo by working with the chipmaker to hit your mark like in the ve area down low not a big deal inmo but others may want to just have their car tuned by someone else and not look at it at all.its just preference and extra money

 

[ttypewhite]

There is no power gain and most of the time there is a loss especially coming off a car that is in tune.i have seen 9 sec power repeatedly made on a stock ecm no fouling of the plugs no stumbling on a maf car you can drive anywhere.there are several vendors that can cut a chip or tune an adjustable one for a 9sec pass.there are other vendors that need and sell and only tune on certain systems that they are familiar with.

Do you have "personal experience" tuning with the XFI/FAST system to make that claim? "I have seen" really isn't a good example unless you have tuned a car using the XFI to come to that conclusion.

 

[turbo89]

There is no power gain and most of the time there is a loss especially coming off a car that is in tune.i have seen 9 sec power repeatedly made on a stock ecm no fouling of the plugs no stumbling on a maf car you can drive anywhere.there are several vendors that can cut a chip or tune an adjustable one for a 9sec pass.there are other vendors that need and sell and only tune on certain systems that they are familiar with.

I very respectfully disagree

What you mention is only true if the individual just takes a "canned tune"
And doesnt apply any of the features that they have access to.

NO WAY in the world can you tell me you can't get more power out of a standalone and more importantly also be able to apply that power.

I made 8 sec power with a EEC IV and piggyback unit.. went to a standalone / ditched the maf and picked up from that alone.. and it wasn't a few hp either.. there are things chips just can NOT do

I think all things have their place.. on a 10.50 and slower car chips work just fine.. faster than that or to the guy that really wants to maximize what he has for a fraction more price wise.. stand alone

Dont dismiss the capability and potential of a standalone

Problem with todays gearheads they all want to hit the EASY BUTTON

 

[Mr.Spool]

Should I not put 1600 bucks towards a great tune and dyno

If you can't tune yourself and don't know a vendor that can cut a chip for a 9 sec pass then yes.certain vendors can't cut chips at all and only tune on certain systems.however whowever tunes your setup you have to follow their lead plain and simple.red a and Eric @turbo tweak just to name a few can cut chips for alot of different applications.if you have data you can fine tune your combo by working with the chipmaker to hit your mark like in the ve area down low not a big deal inmo but others may want to just have their car tuned by someone else and not look at it at all.its just preference and extra money

"I have seen" really isn't a good example unless you have tuned a car using the XFI to come to that conclusion

Are you sure about that?I have seen multiple files by various tuners that are highly regarded in and out of the buick world and have seen that when a car is in tune it's in tune and can be done on multiple kind of systems.