Tuning myself... Help!!!

[87chrisss]

trying to tune the buick! its been parked for about 3 months it was at the bodyshop where the battery was taken out so all my tuning defaulted..so i just finished spring cleaning new fuel filter new plugs r42ts gapped @ .32 new air filter new pcv valve..also just made my own boost controller from an air compressor psi adjuster....so my TT chip is for 30# injectors 22/20 deg timing @ 21-22psi on alky...running an SMC alky single nozzle with denatured alcohol.. i cant pass 15lbs of boost without having some knock..the o2 rdgs look good in the 800's but im getting some knock...i went into the fuel adjustment and added 18% gain at WOT on all gears.. and raised up my FPR to about 40# with vacuum on still got knock??? went in on 3rd-4th WOT timing spark curve and took away about 4degrees of timing..still getting some knock?? WTF???please help any suggestions?? can my injectors be clogged im getting good o2's but having some knock?? what do i try next?? have been testing since 7pm its about to be 3 am...FML also the knock wont come in till higher in the rpm range once in third i'll WOT and 3/4 seconds into it my knock gauge will shoot me 2 green dots and i let off what givess?? take out more timing? it ran fine before i even put fresh 93 octane today

 

[SHADOWII]

Are you sure your alchy pump is running? If the tank got low on alchy, it could cause the pump to seize. Some times you can free it up by spinning the pump manually.

 

[gusszgs]

trying to tune the buick! its been parked for about 3 months it was at the bodyshop where the battery was taken out so all my tuning defaulted..so i just finished spring cleaning new fuel filter new plugs r42ts gapped @ .32 new air filter new pcv valve..also just made my own boost controller from an air compressor psi adjuster....so my TT chip is for 30# injectors 22/20 deg timing @ 21-22psi on alky...running an SMC alky single nozzle with denatured alcohol.. i cant pass 15lbs of boost without having some knock..the o2 rdgs look good in the 800's but im getting some knock...i went into the fuel adjustment and added 18% gain at WOT on all gears.. and raised up my FPR to about 40# with vacuum on still got knock??? went in on 3rd-4th WOT timing spark curve and took away about 4degrees of timing..still getting some knock?? WTF???please help any suggestions?? can my injectors be clogged im getting good o2's but having some knock?? what do i try next?? have been testing since 7pm its about to be 3 am...FML also the knock wont come in till higher in the rpm range once in third i'll WOT and 3/4 seconds into it my knock gauge will shoot me 2 green dots and i let off what givess?? take out more timing? it ran fine before i even put fresh 93 octane today

Have you verified that your fuel pressure is rising lb for lb along with your boost?

 

[3.8L V-8 eater]

Have the same SMC kit you have..Did you hit the prime button and see if makes the motor stumble?? Are these pulls in 3rd gear?? Best way to tell is go about 60 mph and roll into throttle watching for KR till you reach WOT...Maybe it is false knock in 1st or second gear...Like mentioned above is the boost rising at 1 to 1 ratio?? At only 15lbs of boost with alky that should not be an issue...

 

[87chrisss]

alky is working yes it stuumbles when i test it..it shows spray on...also yes the pulls are on 3rd gear rolling into WOT

 

[87chrisss]

i cant verify the gauge is on the FPR in the engine compartment but if the car was leaning out it would show me a lean o2 reading,,the o2s are in the 800 which is correct by most tuners some people even go into the 780's on alky pump gas tune.. im in the 800's which is good not sure if its false knock.,,so should i take the rod off wastegate and stomp it and see if she shows me some knock?? if she does show knock it will mean its false knock.. and if she doesnt show any knock without the WG rod what else should i look for once i place the rod back on WG? take out more timing?

 

[87chrisss]

CONCLUSION**

I decided to start over re-checked every single vacuum line for any cracks pinches etc..ran thru the alky system everything inline unplugged battery to default all my settings restarted drove around so ecm can "learn" so here we go from scratch on WG rod started at 10 lbs.. set FPR at 43psi without vacuum..checked fuel lines checked injectors also checked the plugs for no reason just to check.. went through tps settings on idle and WOT checked for mal codes everything inline..went up to about 13 lbs still good no knock was getting close to where it started to show KR so i decided to add a bit of fuel at WOT because by o2's were low..turned the rod a couple times so far im back to 15lbs steady no boost spike nor KR my o2's are low in the 760's..didn't touch any timing still at default chip settings 22/20 degrees...haven't tested further im tired today..but seems like yesterday with more fuel i was getting knock?? and today less fuel and no knock? i dont understand sometimes these buick's are a bit sensitive chit man i was busting my head against the wall yesterday! tomorrow will give that rod a couple cranks see where i can get to on boost without knock..

 

[SS/GN]

Is it possible you are too rich and getting the motor loaded up.Just a question,I am way too much of a newb to tell others how to tune ,just a thought.Good luck

Kevin

 

[theCATman]

There is such a thing as a rich knock. Too much fuel will cause knock, but o2 readings around 800 is nowhere near too rich. 850+... that's rich.

760 is generally considered low, but every engine is different. Keep doing what you're doing going up 1 lb at a time, but something in the fuel delivery seems amiss.

How long have you been running the 30# injectors? They are pretty little to be running over 20 PSI. I'll just about guarantee they are at or above 100% duty cycle, and that's not good.

 

[turb0buick57]

You havent said how much knock your getting...is it showing on the scanmaster or just on a knock gauge? I would get a new narrowband 02 sensor also as part of the spring cleaning.

Not familiar with smc controller, but if its set up correct and your getting a small amount of knock then I would up/ increase the gain on the progressive controller. Adding the extra fuel through alcohol, not the chip.

 

[87chrisss]

i got very little knock 2.4 and under. its on both the scanmaster and knock gauge the knock gauge has never gone out of the green....but i bought the car with the 30lber's well theyre green striped so i assume they're 30#'s and the chip also shows 30#'s so yeah they're small but im sure there at or near 100% duty cycle but the chip says 30# 21-22psi at 22/20 deg timing..so im trying go up to the 20 psi..but i feel pretty good with the 15lbs im at know it's super safe.. especially that i dont know what's in the motor it has stock head studs so im sure its not forged internally but who know's? it does have a built tranny and a small converter possibly a 9" or a 9.5 converter its black and its between 2800-3200 stall shifts firm and nice.. but maybe it has a cam ? it does have a rjc plate. and the headers have been welded in the crack area's .but don't know? will pop the valve cover's soon to check .. dont know the story because the owner died his father took what he had and i bought it off his 70 yr old father which didnt know chit about it..he knew what they were worth though lol im planning to run e85 soon thats why i haven't bought bigger injectors yet.. but i also want to go thru the motor up and down before e85 and big turbo, arp everything...etcc billet main's etcc...then i'll go up on boost..but know just messin around with what i have if i can get a good deal on here on some bigger injector's and matching chip for alky i'll jump on it but it seems when some inj and chip go for sale they're gone instantly!

 

[TRICKSIXPA]

Well Green stripe are usually 42's to be certain there should be a set of numbers on the side of the injectors. it's usually Model #. You need to check your Exhaust manifold and crossover to make sure you don't have any cracks this will throw everything off on your readings. One thing to remeber is that the computer is always trying to compensate to whatever is happening to the car. Etc Running lean it will add fuel too rich it takes away. Take you time I am someone who likes to have imeadiate results and gets pissed when it doesn't happen. I always come back the next day and things fall into place. So first lets verify the injectors, check for exhaust leaks, and What Turbo are you running? Small turbos you only have to turn the alky Gain up a little No sure how the SMC works?

 

[87chrisss]

seems like i have 30#r's 5207009... im running what seems to be a stock turbo ported if i take the inlet bell off or look thru the bell it seems like its been bored/ported and also checked.. no shaft play what so ever

 

[TRICKSIXPA]

Fuel Injector SwapHere is the Injector flow chart.