Getting to know the LC2 can be a very daunting task. There are tons of wires, hoses, sensors and relays all over the place. I recommend you go here and start reading.
It will give you the basics and really help acclimate you to the motor and the car.
Here are some things that you need to sort out.
1. You need a Scanmaster.
The Scanmaster is the #1 tool that will help you not only learn how to properly tune your car, but also help diagnose problems that will come up. The very first screen tells you your O2 milivolts and degrees of knock retard. These two readouts will help you keep from blowing your new car up. Which is very important. I always found it best to tune for .780 - .800 Mv and no more than 2 degrees of knock that goes away after a second or two under WOT. In a perfect world, you want zero knock under WOT. (Wide Open Throttle) Absolutely a must have.
- What chip is in the ECM? The ECM is located in the lower kick panel on the right side of the lower passenger side footwell. Once the ECM is fished out of the plastic holder, there is a small plate that's bolted down with two screws. The large chip is your EProm. To determine which chip you have, first, disconnect the single orange wire that is located behind the battery. There is a quick disconnect electrical connector in this orange wire behind the battery. Be careful with the connector as it can be brittle and break. With the orange wire disconnected, fish the ECM out of the plastic kick panel holder, remove one screw and loosen the other so you can rotate the cover up and out of the way. Now, carefully pry the chip out of the ECM in a rocking side to side manner. There is a label that aftermarket chip makers write or print the chips specs on the bottom side of the chip. Never place the chip on carpet as static electricity can damage the chip. Give us this info and we will be able to help tell you what chip you have. This is very important, because it will help us tell you how much timing it has and if it's correct for your setup and or matched to your injectors. The bone stock chips, even the recalled ones from years ago, had to much timing in them for today's ethanol blended 93 octane fuel. So if it's a 100% stock chip, you need to either upgrade it to a Turbo Tweak chip or go through your fuel system so you won't have problems.
- What fuel injectors does the car have?
- Does the car have an adj fuel pressure regulator or a stock non adj regulator?
- Does the car have a fuel pump hot wire kit installed?
- Does the car have an upgraded fuel pump installed?
- Has the car ever had a Spring Cleaning done?
- Does the car have the original turbo on it?
- Does the car have a 160* thermostat in it?
- Does the car have the factory air box, or a K&N cone filter attached to the MAF sensor?
- Do the valve covers have K&N breathers or just the stock breathers?
http://www.kirbanperformance.com/product/241/Angled Billet OIL FILL TUBE and BREATHER KIT #7097.html
- Did the previous owner know about the importance of running ZDDPlus oil additive at each oil change? If not, you could be looking at some internal repairs very soon. Not running a zinc phosphorus oil additive in normal off the shelf oil, can and will lead to wiped cam lobes and eventual bearing failures. If it absolutely vital that you run the oil additive to protect your cam, motor and the turbo.
- You gotta replace the timing change with a nice double roller timing chain. Especially with a high mileage car. And don't reuse the timing chain tensioner if you go with a double roller. Also replace the cam button with a Torrington roller bearing cam button. The stock nylon cam button wears a hole into the front cover with age. It is very important that you inspect the front cover for wear from the nylon cam button. It might be worn to the point that you will need to replace the front cover with a new one.
- If the car does not have an aftermarket boost gauge and you are only relying on the factory LED lights, your boost could be off by as much as 5 psi. This can lead to detonation issues. Typically, on a properly sorted out 86-87 Turbo Buick you can run 14-17 psi of boost and 18-20* of timing under WOT with regular 93 pump gas.
- Does the car have the stock turbo downpipe, stock catalytic converter and stock cat back exhaust, or upgraded? These are parts that are typically upgraded for horsepower and performance.
- Has the drivers side header ever been repaired? The factory drivers side header always cracks between primary tube numbers 3 & 5 and need to be repaired or replaced if it's beyond repair.
These are things we need to address, so that you do not incur any un-expected damage driving it.Again, there's tons of information in the archives as well as a huge knowledge base from all the users.
Welcome aboard.
Patrick
Nice job Patrick.
