Craig Smith >>>>>>

[james007]

Hey Craig,

Would it be better for you if i posted my questions for you here, instead of calling you. I am sure you get hundreds of calls, but every time i talk to you, you are so willing to help. Are you too nice of a guy to tell people to "beat it".. I think so..LOL
Once again, the extent that you go to helping others is wonderful. Where would the buick guys be without you and lance?? Are the buick guys gonna mind you helping out a LT1 guy??

 

[james007]

idle question?? VE and Timing

At idle my car runs very rich, the VE tables at idle are 45. In order to get my car to idle at/near 14.7:1, i had to lower the VE numbers to 31. Is that to low, is there some other area i should be looking into??

Also, does timing have any effect on A/F ratio readings at idle? I have mine set high at idle (around 34-36 degrees. Can that cause any problems???


thanks for you help!!

 

[TwinTurboIroc]

well i dont have my FAST yet...should be in a few weeks

BUT

i've heard that you should be idling even leaner than that....somewhere in the low 15s for jut idling but could be wrong, maybe that was for part throttle on the highway

 

[RickWI]

If it wants 31 give it 31. Nothing wrong with that number.

 

[bobc455]

James-

You are right. My understanding is that your primary source of information should be whomever sold you the FAST unit.

In one case I had a situation that my dealer couldn't help me with and I had to call them directly, but that was an unusual circumstance.

There are way too many FAST units for Craig to support them all, thats why your dealer has to be your primary source of information. Thats also why you don't see places like Summit selling these units, they require a higher level of tech support than Summit is equipped to deliver.

Craig's presence here is a nice bonus, but you should consult with your FAST dealer for 99.9% of questions and if he can't help you then he should consult with Craig. Or, just post a question on this board and someone else will try to answer, there are a lot of good tuners here as well.

We should be thankful that Craig is willing to give the occasional bit of insight, but don't look a gifthorse in the mouth.

And on your other question, if the engine wants 31 to maintain it's A/F ratio, then give it 31!

-Bob Cunningham
bobc@gnttype.org

 

[james007]

My seller............

The majority of the time i call my selling dealer i get the feeling that i am bothering him. I have purchased three complete systems from him, along with three or four sets of injectors. Is that enough for me to think that i should be entitled to at least the kind of help i get from Craig??? Anyone new to this stuff (not racing but programming FAST ECU's) is going to have a few "dumb" questions in the beginning. I try to make sure i think mine through before bothering F.A.S.T.. I don' care to mention who my dealer was, cause there may good reason (to him) why he is that way.

 

[Craig Smith]

Aww, you guys...

Thanks for the flattering comments. Getting beat up on the phone by 100 people in a row sucks a little less when one or two people let you know that your help really is appreciated.

Bob hit the nail on the head. We now have thousands and thousands of customers. As much as I would like to be able to help all of them, there simply isn't enough time for that to happen. Our dealers are well aware of the fact that they have a responsibility to handle at least a good part of the technical assistance that a customer requires. That's the whole reason that we have the dealer system in place and why they make a margin on our product. I know who your dealer is and I will be mentioning this in our next conversation.

I'll always do what I can to help out when it is needed but the time I have available to do that continues to decrease. This is a great place to turn to if you need help - there are a ton of people here who know an awful lot about an awful lot and they're more than willing to share their knowledge with you. They might even not pick on ya too much cuz ya don't have a Buick.

To answer your questions, yes, give it a 31 if that is what makes your measured a/f ratio match the target. Changes in ignition timing will have some impact on this number; not too much, but some. As far as a/f ratio at idle, it can't be said to always shoot for 14 or 15:!. That just might be way too lean for some motors to idle happily. I usually pick an a/f ratio for idle the same way people set mixture screws on a carb. Lean it out until the idle speed quits increasing, and when it does maybe richen it up just a tad. Works well for me.

Good luck with the car, and thanks again guys!