Hey guys I am just getting into the modding game and I am going to have a LOT of stuff put on by xmas, so I was looking into my tuning options. I will still be N/A, with the possibility of going FI at some point but that is not NEAR 100% sure. Anyways, I see two different E-manages and all their options, and I don't really know which one I should get, or if I should even get one. The mods I will have are :

Injen CAI
Custom HKS Hi Power Ti True Dual exhaust, 2.5" piping
High Flow Cats
Plenum Spacer
Lightweight Flywheel
Racing Clutch
3.9 Final Drive

So pretty much everything but pullies (which scare me on reliability over time), cams, and headers (possible FI, so itd be a waste)

So what do I really want out of a tuning program, can someone explain how it works to me? Also, this "reflash" thing, where it raises the redline and rev limiter and top speed, is that something that I need to do seperatley from the piggyback? If so, why would anyone not just reflash and tell them what mods you have instead of paying for the piggyback and then paying for the reflash too? What sort of gauges am I gonna need for this? Thanks.

 

actually forget that, hehe

Can someone just give me a run down on what i would need to buy with the Blue vs. the Ultimate

Something like

Blue requres :

1) Main unit
2) some harness..?
3) ?


Ultimate requres :

you get the idea

And what are the benefits, I have read so I know what they are, but I don't understand them, can someone explain?

 

Blue is a minor tool compared to the ultimate and the UTEC


Around 900 or so bucks and it doesn't raise the rev limiter. Doesn't have knock protection.
Autosport harness, 300.00
Ultimate 475.00
Harness 90.00

Go with the Turbo XS UTEC for 945.00
You can order it from www.forgedinternals.com
It will be a more powerful tool than the ultimate.

 

Is the UTEC officially out yet?

 

Yea the autosport harness is nice, but you don't NEED it. So I wouldn't say the EU costs $900. I would say it costs more like $600-$650 and if you want an easier and cleaner install then add $300 for the autosport harness.

 

Nope, not an absolute but, it keeps you from cutting into your factory harness and lets you do the work on a bench instead of in the car. Not cutting into the factory harness is a nice feature.

The release date for the UTEC was 11/1 but, they held off to update the software. Should be out in the next 4 weeks.

 

So for me, who plans to stay N/A for at least a few years, what are the advantages to getting an the E-manage blue over the SAFCII, and then what makes the E-manage ultimate even more? I read the greddy site but I don't understand the terms, can someone give me a good rundown of these systems and tell me why I need the features? I just don't understand this stuff well enough yet to be able to read all the features and say OH, I should get this one. All I want really is to run the mods I listed above and get the max hp out of them, forget about future mods for the moment, I'm not so sure they will even happen.

 

If you are staying N/A. SAFC-II would be good enough for you. Its very user friendly as to adjusting the A/F ratio. I had similar mods before I went F/I, I was running lean and pinging bad during dyno sections. After 2 quick runs and adjusting the SAFC with its simple dialing, I was able to get a flat ~13:1 across the band...car was running strong all the way to redline.

A wideband would be a very nice option to have so you can street tune.

 

What is a wideband?

<-- noob

 

A device that reads out your air/fuel ratio at real time using a O2 sensor.

 

okay so this is beginning to be clear to me now

Get the SAFC-II, you can adjust your AFR at 200rpm increments with it

Get a wideband sensor to measure your AFR in real time (can the SAFC not do this?)

So then what do I do with this, lets say I order all this stuff and install it, now I have the means to adjust AFR and everything, so what do I do now to adjust it? Do I need to be on a dyno?

 

No, SAFC does not monitor A/F ratio.
Best to get a wideband unit that datalogs. This way, you can record and study your A/F ratio throughout the RPMs. Or else you will need a passenger to record down your ratio for adjustments later on.

You can either street tune(3rd gear pulls), or dyno. Best if you do it on dyno(5th gear pulls). Some dynos provides A/F readouts, you can go with that. However, to having to go dyno everytime you install something new can be a hassle sometimes, costly too.

 

so what does the passenger have to do? look at the wideband every 200 rpm interval and record the AF ratio? also is a 3rd gear run where you start in 3rd or what?

 

Yeah. But thats going to difficult tho, reading the wideband and RPM at the same time while you blast through the gears...thats why the datalogger(logs the data into your labtop and records it there, so you can adjust the SAFC while PARKED according to the data)
3rd run pull to redline. You need the readings across the rpm band all the way to redline, thus the pull to redline. No, you dont start at 3rd. You start at 1st, then 2nd, then redline the 3rd gear(recording). Dont need to redline 1st nor 2nd.
You are suppose to be doing redline pulls on 5th gear(4th if you are auto) cuz thats when the gears are 1:1. However, I doubt you can do that on the street...you will be far into the triple digits.

 

so by the time ive purchased :

SAFC-II
all harnesses/software necessary

Wideband 02
Datalogging material
harnesses, sensors, etc.



I could spend an equal amount and just get :

E-manage Ultimate
Harnesses

And be able to do more stuff?
If only the emanage could remove the rev limiter I'd be all over it...

 

E-manage Ultimate does not monitors A/F ratio(it logs) and dont think you will be able to tune it youself.

Unless you are a pro.

 

or you can get the UTEC. don't be cheap....it will cost you in the long run.

 

IMO for N/A it's not crucial to have a gauge monitoring A/F data real-time while you're just doing every day driving around. You want to be able to monitor/datalog via a WBO2 so you can tune, but once you've got the A/F tuned it may be somewhat of an overkill to constantly monitor it. The engine stresses and risk due to knocking etc are much less N/A than boosted, and the consequences far less immediate and dangerous.

Has no one tried upping the rev limit with the EU on a VQ35? There's a good possibility it may work as I believe it's supposed to be only a fuel cut the ECU provides, not ignition. Also, if there's power to be gained N/A it may very well be mostly due to timing advance with good gas. And the EU can do this, the SAFC cannot.