how to tune a turbo buick

[liv4gnz]

i been searching and searching and still do not know what i am looking for on this car when tuning

how do you tune a turbo buick

i have a scan master and turbo tweek chip and adjustable waste gate plus mods in sig

there is no sticky on this just random information everywhere on saying to do this or that

how should i start off default settings on chip how much boost

what settings are safe for riche or lean where is the border

does anyone have liek a write up on how to tune instead of hearing everyones opinion on what to do where alot of times one post cancels out the previous one or says the next one is wrong

anyone? this car is killing me a ****en 14.4 is ridiculous for this combo

 

[rmar]

Quick Reference Page For the '86/'87 Turbo Regals and '89 Turbo T/A

Start here.

 

[liv4gnz]

yea thats pretty much just numbers but im talking like hands on info on how to start tuning from start to finish maybe some one will get a good sticky up here

 

[liv4gnz]

idk what to do any more i cant really find any help

i put the fuel back to 128 i bumped the timing to 132 .5 knock

fuel at 131

idk if im just guessing on these idk what im looking for i have an alky kit sitting in my room with 14 gallons and a chip

i dont wanna th row anything in until i get this set up im like still blind when it comes to this on this specific car

and like 30 views with only one reply forwarded to gnttype.org

im not the type of person to get discouraged or lose interest in something

but it just feels like im alone here

i appreciate any replys to this thread to help me out

 

[Dabigguy]

Please do not take this the the wrong way, but you have only had your car for about a month,take your time. When you get in a hurry to go fast, mistakes happen. There is no, free, tried and true tuning method. The people with all the answers do this for a living and aren't too keen on doing all the legwork for you for free.....knowlege, it's how they make a living. There are some pros on this site, but most are just regular guys that do this for the love of these cars. BTW, 30 views and only one reply in an hour and 45 minutes isn't too bad considering that some guys haven't even gotten home from work. If you want good quality answers, you must wait. If it is quantity you want.....

Every one of these cars are different and respond differently to things. We all have to try things and see how it works with our own individual cars. If you have scan data, that can help us with tuning.

Putting parts together is the easy part.....tuning takes time.

 

[Dabigguy]

I am assuming that you ment that your car went 14.4 at the strip. What tires were you using, what was your mph, 60'? Was it hot and humid? Air temp has an effect upon these cars. What was your scan data from this run?

I've found that it helps to keep a notebook logging all the info (O2, boost, fuel pressure, air temp, knock,....) and changes that you have made for each run. That way, you see what works and what doesn't......and only make one change at a time, 1-2# of fuel pressure or boost change per run.

 

[theCATman]

Read up here (click link) to get your sensors set correctly and working together with each other. This is the 1st & foremost thing. If things are out of spec, the car will not perform up to par. Then begin playing with boost, chips, alky, etc.

Tuning

 

[JOHNDEEREGN]

Have someone help you... if you keep running qurter mile blasts your gonna be picking up pieces and quick.

 

[notacarlo]

Have someone help you... if you keep running qurter mile blasts your gonna be picking up pieces and quick.

Excellent advice.

 

[notacarlo]

When I first started with these cars, I tuned fuel pressure with a block of wood and a hammer......wonder who taught me that

Just because you have the combo does not mean the car will run like everybody elses.

The car might be fine....this isn't aimed at you as a person....but there could be driver error.

How many TR's have you launched prior to this one?

These are different animals man.

At this point I'm ready to fly out to help. Something ain't meshing here.

 

[liv4gnz]

i know but i cant seem to get a break with the car and believe me after owning 3 dsms

but like im not asking alot im not asking for some one to spoon feed it to me

like

as far as timing and fuel start there

do you have to add mroe fuel when increasing timing

when you tune on the scan master does the 1-2 have different timing than the 3-4

i bumped it to 133 for the 3rd and 4th setting and same for 1-2

and 1 over all fuel is at like 135

it pulls alot better with no knock but is this the right way to tune it or am i doing somethign wrong

am i looking to increase timing without knock

im just asking for pretty basic information nothing in detail where i would need expert help to pay some one i think its common knowledge all you guys have but are thinking this way too far

thanks

 

[300kGN]

Read up here (click link) to get your sensors set correctly and working together with each other. This is the 1st & foremost thing. If things are out of spec, the car will not perform up to par. Then begin playing with boost, chips, alky, etc.

Tuning

this link is like perfect for like learning about how this system like works:biggrin: I think it will benefit you to learn what the parts are and what they do and why. I always get a chuckle when the ignorant find out I have a GN that does NOT run 10's. Its never a simple task to make any car significantly quicker and reliable. Stop looking for a guru and magic bolt-ons and return to the basics. The laws of physics still apply to the legendary GN.
Get a logging device/program, an AFR with logging capability is a good idea, and tune fuel/timing/boost starting at conservative levels. If your trying to "tune" based on weather or not it "feels" better or worse you are wasting your time, board time, and soon enough your head gaskets.
Do a search on timing, AFR, and boost to get an idea of what is a safe starting point for your combo. Add timing and boost separately while maintaining no knock retard. Add fuel as required to keep the AFR safely rich (10-11:1) lean it out carefully and SLOWLY for more power.
patience grasshopper[/I
BTW what are "3 dsms"?

 

[liv4gnz]

good thing you had to ask what a dsm is

you saved alot of time and effort and money and headache while dodging those

but seriously that was the best answer here so far the last paragraph you wrote

sweet and simple

idk if im explaining this to you right or your not getting what im asking

honestly i hate the search on THIS forum can never really get usable information

im pretty much asking for knowledge you use every day when you tune your car

idk what else to ask for just somethign to start with that tuning page was good but again i knew that stuff

the one guy said i am going towards taking advice and losing peoples business

are you kidding me whats the point of a forum where people come and pay for other peoples advice and what does and does not work?

they sponsor here because they have services and parts to offer for these specifics cars and would like people to know that so they have the option and atleast where to go for service

but than you can say that to any section of this forum it doesnt make sense what he was saying im not asking for you to come to my house with
your wide band and sit there for 2 hours driving my car up and down teh highway tuning it

and still i dont really have anything just people telling me where to look or read this or that

i have read pretty much every thread on tuning every post on tuning every write up otherwise i wouldnt be here still typing looking for information if i didnt find any

and yea i had the car for a month i did the spring cleaning the chain the gears plugs and supporting bolt ons only what was necessary to tune the car and only what im going to use thats why i asked about every mod im not going ou there to buy every go fast part i see if you can tell in my sig you can see that

whats the point of having a scan tool i know nothing about or how to use it and a forum here where pretty much every person on here knows how to use a scan master and what to look for but still cant seem to point me in the right direction

im just looking forward to friday to meet up with couple people on the forum and maybe some one this weekend

im not looking for any freebees i told him you give me a hand as a fellow turbo buick enthusiest and ill help you out too it works both ways

idk your misunderstanding me or dont know what im asking but i dont think im getting any where after this point like it was a good start

feels like you gave me all the advice to go into the maze but when i get in the middle idk where to go now

 

[notacarlo]

This may have been answered already.

What converter are you using?

 

[Beamer]

I can understand some of your pains, but you need to start by doing a few things. Firstly, look for some local turbo guys in your area and get to know them well. Ask here for who may live in your area. That is a great starting point.

I read all of the posts, but can't remember all details, but let's start here...

You have a scanmaster, correct?

With your TT chip - it is programmable, do you have the directions for it?

What are you using for O2 readings? If not a WB-O2, get one very soon. The NB-O2 is quite inaccurate.

Any alky? If not, realize that you will not get much more than 15 lbs boost on pump gas. You need to tune with fuel to get a 10.5 to 10.8 AFR, and look for zero knock retard on the scanmaster. That reading is the right side of the O2 reading. If you have alky, you can get 24 to 32 lbs of boost on pump gas - depending on number of nozzles and how your chip is set up. TT chips are usually best with a 43PSI base FP setting, but sometimes your combo may like a pound or two more base. Do you have a means of adjusting and monitoring your FP? That is a necessity as well.

I hope you have a good boost gauge. Do not use the gauge in the dash. What you want to do is start off with a safe boost level like 10 lbs of boost. Perform some WOT blasts and see what your AFR and knock number are. As long as they are safe, turn the boost up 1 to 2 lbs at a time and continue to test the same by looking at AFR and KR levels. If you start getting knock retard, either turn up the fuel and/or adjust the timing if you need to. It will take some playing around to start getting an understanding of what works best for your combination. After you get used to tuning, you can push for more power with a higher AFR number if desired for quicker times - maybe 11.1 or so. Also, with alky, you need a .2 to .4 lower desired number due to the alky combo with gasoline.

A logging system will help improve your tune to record how your car runs in each gear, if you need to adjust accordingly.

I guess that the best thing to realize here, is these cars are not the set the fuel pressure and run the he!! out of them kind of car. They require a knowledge of basics and what you need to avoid at any cost. Knock is our worst enemy. Head gasket changes will become a norm if you do not pay attention to that.

I know there have been many prior turbo owners that sold their car because they lost patience, and someone ended up with a great deal due to their fustrations.

Mike

 

[Beamer]

This may have been answered already.

What converter are you using?

Good point here also.

Your tranny combo can make or break your performance package results. It is necessary to allow your turbo to stall for quicker boost building. And weak shifting and slipping will slow you drastically.

Mike

 

[liv4gnz]

that was all i was looking for
answered all my questions
what to look for
what to read
and how to do it

thats it i wasnt asking the most advanced questions in the world, if anything the most basic questions

i guess you were all overlooking it i just needed a brief summary on what to do and what to to do one thing due to another and how things work togather and what affects the other

thank you very much and no it takes me a while to ever reach the point of having to sell a car due to that and i dont think im gonna start on this one

 

[liv4gnz]

in the middle of your reply it said

"adjust the timing if you need to"

as far as timing adjustment what is the difference between the 3rd and 4th setting besides the two gears for each setting

should the 1-2 shift be more or less timing than the 3-4?

how do i know when to advance timing from the scan master or retard it and by how many degrees?

it is a stock stall and good working trans no slipping

 

[liv4gnz]

and if i can a wide band o2 sensor do i just delete the stock one or i need another bung welded into the pipe?

 

[Beamer]

I can't help on the gear timing, as I am still learning myself and have a good friend to help me when I get there...

Also, I forgot to mention that you should start at the base parameters with the TT chip. Eric is very good with his chips out of the box for your combo. If you are getting knock in the upper MPH readings (like 3rd gear), then retard it a few degrees. The TT website has detailed instructions of how many points in the programming modes means for each degree of timing. I think it is 4 points to a degree. This proceedure can be used in each direction of gears and timing to increase performance. Look for any knock. Also, a knock gauge or monitor alarm is vital if you plan to tune to the limits to maximize you power.

I think a stall would benefit your TE44 turbo. Maybe we can get someone to chime in with some more input.

Mike