Tuesday, July 11, 2017

600+hp Built and Tuned STI - All the Sauce - Part 2

This is Part 2 of our full-on 600+ horsepower build.  We previously went over the engine build portion and the beginning of the fabrication and fitting process.  Read on to see how we finished up this build and what the tuning results were with our Flex-Fuel tune!






At this stage of the build we moved on to finishing up the rest of the upgrades and smaller details.  The turbo was covered in a PTP turbo blanket to help keep the heat where it belongs. A lightweight Odyssey battery was mounted in the stock location and held in place with a custom bracket and tie-down.  The AC lines running by the turbo received reflective gold tape to stay cool.  Speaking of cool, we added an aluminum Koyo racing radiator and Samco hoses to keep the engine at an optimal temperature.  The turbo is oil and water cooled, so it is going to add a lot of heat to an already taxed cooling system. The car was ready to start....





We installed an external oil pressure gauge to ensure we had good oil pressure before firing up the engine the first time.  We cranked the engine, verified we had good pressure and then fired it up using our own "start-up" map.  It started and idled smooth as butter, success!  We took this time check for leaks, verify everything was good and running properly, and then we did our initial engine run-in and camshaft break-in.  The car was allowed to cool, the oil was drained, a new filter installed and fresh oil poured into the engine. It was now ready for road testing.  Our own in house Cobb Protuner "Big Bob" set to work modifying the basemap and testing the car using the V3 Accessport. Once he was satisfied with his tuning we tested the car out over the next week.  We made sure everything ran smooth for short drive periods and checked for any leaks or issues.  We prefer to do this testing ourselves within safe distance of our shop, instead of just handing the car over to it's owner to have them do the initial "testing".  This ensures safety of the car and build, and the quality of our clients experience.  Nobody wants to get a freshly built car back to find out it has a simple leak that can cause massive headaches. 




Once the car had some miles on it and it was verified by us to be in good running order (important on a big build such as this) the oil was changed again and we strapped in to the dyno for our break-in tune.  This was done to verify the car will run properly at higher RPMs and limited boost levels, which is required for a progressive break-in on a new engine.  The car tuned well and put down over 400whp on wastegate pressure and 93 octane...not bad for a "break-in" tune!  The client came to pick up the car, we went over the build with him, and he was given our engine break-in procedure documentation.  We provide documentation to ensure our clients know exactly what we prefer for a break-in period, leaving no questions or guesswork. He was happy and on his way, with a promise to be back soon for the final tune.



After about 1,500 miles or so the car was back for it's dyno-tune.  This was it, game time, "All the Sauce". Once again our Protuner "Big Bob" got on the dyno for the first leg of the tune, 93 octane.  He fired up his laptop, and utilizing the factory ECU through a Cobb Accessport V3 he started to work his digital magic. With an eye towards the conservative side (to allow for pump gas variances) the car put down an impressive 505 horsepower and 442 ft/lbs. of torque to the wheels! We use a Mustang 500 AWD dyno for our tuning and testing, so this was a nice number for us to see.  The car was taken off the dyno, the tank drained, and filled with ethanol fuel.  The fuel provided to us was from a station local to our client, and it ended up testing out to about E70, so not a full E85 tune, but close enough for our purposes for that day.  With E70 flowing through the injectors Bob was able to coax out 608 horsepower and 548 ft/lbs. of torque to the wheels at 31 psi!  Success - we had met our clients goal of 600 horsepower with a few to spare.  Everyone was very happy with these results, and we were happy to see the Exedy twin-disc carbon clutch held up to the abuse!



At that point our tuner set about verifying the Flex-Fuel settings on the car.  With a Flex-Fuel kit and sensors it allows us to do a full Flex Fuel tune with our custom programming and maps.  The kit works by monitoring the Ethanol content of the fuel being delivered to the engine and then it will switch maps automatically on the fly.  With our custom programming and the kit installed the vehicle’s ECU will know exactly what the ethanol content is, whether it’s true E85, or a mixture of 93 and E85 resulting in E35, E50, E65 etc.  The tune and kit work together so that you don’t have to worry about switching maps on the Accessport, you just fill up with whatever gas you want and go! This setup also has the added benefit of being able to monitor the Ethanol content of the fuel and fuel pressure on your Accessport.  The Fuel pressure sensor and monitor is especially nice because it allows us to build safety parameters into the tune in case fuel pressure drops due to a bad pump or a clogged filter/injector. 


With some verification of the tune on the street the car was checked out once more and then handed over to the very happy owner.  This was a fun build for us and the results were exactly what we were hoping for.  We met the horsepower goal for the build, it came out very clean, and the car pulls like a freight train.  This setup is built to handle more power, and with more fuel being pumped through the system (single pump was running out of steam up top), and true E85, we can turn it up even more in the future!






If you are interested in building your car with a setup like this, or if you are just looking to get some performance upgrades, tuning, or work done with the care and attention we can provide, please contact us for a consultation on your project!


-Circuit Motorsports is a performance tuning shop located in Orlando, FL.  We have a professional tuner on staff who is a certified Ecutek Master Tuner and a Cobb Protuner. Our shop specializes in import performance cars from Subaru, Nissan, Mitsubishi and more.


Facebook - www.facebook.com/circuitmotorsports

Website - www.circuitmotorsports.net

Youtube - www.youtube.com/circuitmotorsports



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