The Blue Meany: 2012

18 October 2012

A New Dawn in Tuning

Over the years I have flashed an NC MX-5 probably 200 times. This would include my car (the Blue Meany) as well as numerous customer cars that have gone forced induction and had me do the installation.

The tuning part of the installation has always been the part that I have dreaded the most. It is amazing how time consuming driving, logging, emailing the log along with driving impressions, downloading a new tune, loading it onto the interface box, flashing the ECU and repeating the process at least a half dozen times (usually it takes at least a dozen times) can be.

What made the above process most frustrating was that when the customer picked up the car I was never really happy with how the car ran. It always seemed to be an interim tune that the customer could drive safely but if they wanted refinement (and power) they'd have to spend more time on the tune themselves. That day has ended now my friends.

I recently sold and installed my previously loved Cosworth supercharger. I did not include the Sniper interface box as I was still using it to dial in my new Begi turbo setup, so the customer had to source the tuning on his own. He chose to go with TDR and the EcuTek interface.

Once the SC was installed I emailed Jay at TDR the relevant ECU dump info and he had a tune ready for me in a jiffy and said that he'd be standing by ready to make revisions. I flashed the ECU and got my DashDaq setup and ready for a few days of the "normal" tuning process. Once the car was warmed up and I confirmed that the car and SC were not leaking any vital fluids I took the car out for an easy shake down run. Immediately I noticed that the cars ignition was missing and shortly the car threw a CEL confirming what I was feeling. I called Jay and let him know what I found and that I'd be taking the car back to the shop to fix the plague of the 06 NC, a broken #3 coil wire. Jay said he'd be standing by. I repaired the broken wire and quickly got back to logging amidst the corn fields of West Michigan.

I did my usual first tune type driving, setting the trims then gradually loading the car up more until KR showed up or AFRs got lean. However this time I found my self getting farther and farther from my shop. The car was not knocking and AFRs were near ideal. I began pushing the car harder, giving the brakes a real workout as I'd quickly decel from inappropriate speeds then back up again with grin inducing quickness all the while keeping an eye on the data logger. All systems were within spec and the car was amazingly quick. Could it be possible that this car is tuned perfectly on the first tune? Well, not quite perfect as AFRs were 11.1 from 5k on but otherwise this tune was perfect. Driveability was exemplary, AFRs were completely stable and predictable, power was what I'd expect at 10psi with a stock exhaust, and there was absolutely zero KR anywhere. I had to lug the motor to prove to myself that the knock sensor was still working.

After a long and delightful drive I called Jay to thank him for making my life as an installer easier and to commend him on the quality of this tune. Jay told me that he was sending a tune to get those 11.1 AFRs a bit leaner, which it did, and now after 2 tunes this car is ready to deliver to the customer. I am fully confident in the stability and safety of this tune and am amazed at the power we are getting out of a comparatively mild setup. It's just a total blast to drive.

I am still flabbergasted that the first tune was as good as or better than any tune I have ever experienced on any NC, regardless of the time put in to refine it. The day we have all been longing for where we can add boost to our cars and with little effort get it tuned with stable, predictable AFRs, no KR, stock like smoothness, and obscene acceleration is finally here.

I wrote this post for a thread on Miata.net

14 August 2012

Rattle be gone!

While I've been tuning the turbo, excessively rich tunes have made for some serious backfires.These backfires have caused the baffles inside of the resonator on my exhaust to expand and become loose and rattle like my muffler is full of bolts.
I replaced both resonators once this year but they too have become a little too rhythmic. I decided to repair the loose baffles by cutting slots around the pipe and welding the baffles to the resonator housing, eliminating the rattles. The results....now I only hear the mean sounds of the Meany

03 August 2012

DashDaq XL Data logger

I recently got a new data logger...now you say "but wait, surely you already had a data logger?" and you are right. I have had a Dash Dyno for years; however, just as every owner of the Dash Dyno has said to themselves "there has to be a better way" I decided to find that better way.

After some looking around I decided to order a DashDaq XL by Drew Technologies. The unit arrived, I plugged in the OBDII cable and with just a couple button presses I was set up and ready to monitor and log my cars data. It is incredibly simple to do most things..no reading of the manual or asking a buddy to help you figure it out.

In operation, once you have set up the parameters for the first time, using the Daq is as simple as pressing the one physical button on the unit. You can power on (actually awaken) the unit before or after starting the car and it instantly goes to the last screen you were on. Ready to log, just press the "log" button on the screen and it will automatically name the file to the next in the sequence (ie: log_005) and start recording. It is all so simple compared to other units.

As for the logging...this is where the unit hits the NOS and just blows the competition away.
the bullet points:

outputs to a .csv (excel) or LogWorks file format. Easily viewed and sorted using Excel or the free Logworks software by Innovative Motorsports.
audio and visual alams can be set easily on any data parameter
has "global log parameters" where it will log up to 16 parameters anytime you are logging, regardless of what is displayed on the screen....This is perhaps the best feature of the Daq.
can log up to 32 parameters!
very fast sample rate..logging 11 parameters I get a sample rate of 42 sets of data per second!!
records in the past- I have see it record back 23seconds before I hit the log button. Consider driving along, your car does something weird, then you hit the "log" button and you just recorded what happend 10 seconds before you hit the button!!!

The DashDaq also reads and clears CEL codes, providing the definition of the code in the code summary (ie: P0301 misfire detected in cylinder 1). The one shortcoming that I have found w the Daq is that it doesn't provide a Freeze Frame data capture when a CEL is thrown.

There are a few other things that the Daq does, from allowing custom screen theme design to performance meters..these are things I have yet to delve into but for me are just icing on the cake.

Watch this video to see the DashDaq XL in use

If you'd like me to email you my configuration files so that you can just copy them to an SD card and skip configuring the Daq let me know.

The unit is not cheaply built, nor is it cheap. It retails for $550 and in my case I wanted to monitor Knock Retard (KR) which is a parameter that is only included in a vehicle specific expansion for another $100. For me, the extra cheddar spent on the Daq is nothing compared to aggravation and lost time spent with inferior units.
I wish someone would have told me years ago about the DashDaq.

24 July 2012

Yeah, she's a badass

My wife driving at an AutoX at Tire Rack this past weekend. Any chick that can handle 13psi and 6 puck clutch deserves the respect of all. Good on ya Jess!