Improved My Tune Greatly Today.

1064 Views 14 Replies 12 Participants Last post by a_manifestation, Apr 7, 2008

5twenty

Discussion Starter · Apr 4, 2008

One thing about the Sniper Commando software I have is that I KNOW a perfect tune is possible with it because it has hundreds and hundreds of different parameters. Most of these parameters are set automatically when you input the data about your car when the initial tune is made in another software, Special Forces. I know, stupid names. Anyway, the problem for a rookie at this like me is that I don't know what 99.9% of these do or what they should be.

The tune was very powerful but not very drivable. Any increase in throttle resulted in an instant lean condition, 18+, then after a little coughing and sputtering it would 'catch' and run strong at that particular throttle setting.

So I gave the symptoms on one of the Sniper forums and one guy got back to me and told me he had the same symptoms and lowered a particular parameter (intake manifold volume) from 13 to 10.5. I have no idea what those numbers mean but it worked for him so I gave it a try. My number was 20. WTF? So I tried 17. Much better right away. I kept making new tunes with this mystery number lower and lower. Right now I'm at 12 and each time the car feels much better. It is very driveable right now and the AFR is much better. I haven't tried WOT yet because it's raining but hopefully I'll get a stab soon.

I'm very excited now that it drives more like a car. Now, I'm closer to where I want to be when I go back to the dyno on Tuesday.

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stlwagon

· #2 · Apr 4, 2008

That's the problem with these software packages. There isn't a lot of supporting documentation so changing a particular parameter doesn't often make sense. SCT PRP does have a training manual and CD but it's not like being formally trained.

GT speeder13

· #3 · Apr 4, 2008

sounds like a good deal, cant wait to hear the results from the up and coming dyno tune!

RetroGT2006

· #4 · Apr 5, 2008

That sounds too hard, for me id just leave it up to the pro b/c id be nervous to mess w/ numbers that i dont know what they do. But it seems like ur piecing it all together little by little.. thats pretty sick

pcfrisch

· #5 · Apr 5, 2008

I had thought you were getting a tune at your dyno place.

hotshot

· #6 · Apr 5, 2008

he did get a dyno tune if i recall correctly but he didn't get the entire thing tuned. he only had up to 4,900 RPMS and the power was still going up. He made a TON of headway and got a tune that was driveable. Now that Dan has tweaked it even more, when he goes back on tuesday for the final dyno runs, he will have his car at WOT all the way up to 6,000 RPM's and we will get to hear the results of his numbers that only we can dream about

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stlwagon

· #7 · Apr 5, 2008

hotshot said:
he did get a dyno tune if i recall correctly but he didn't get the entire thing tuned. he only had up to 4,900 RPMS and the power was still going up. He made a TON of headway and got a tune that was driveable. Now that Dan has tweaked it even more, when he goes back on tuesday for the final dyno runs, he will have his car at WOT all the way up to 6,000 RPM's and we will get to hear the results of his numbers that only we can dream about

I'm sure he'll be running beyond 6000 rpms. My makes power to about 6600 so I'm sure he'll be there or beyond.

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5twenty

Discussion Starter · #8 · Apr 5, 2008

RetroGT2006 said:
That sounds too hard, for me id just leave it up to the pro b/c id be nervous to mess w/ numbers that i dont know what they do. But it seems like ur piecing it all together little by little.. thats pretty sick

Not for the faint of heart. The only thing I'm doing is watching a pro and learning from him. I have dual air/fuel gauges so as long as my eyes are on that I feel OK making small changes.

pcfrisch said:
I had thought you were getting a tune at your dyno place.

What hotshot said. I'm 2 hours into a 4 or 5 hour tune. Today I'm just making small changes to that tune trying to save myself some tuning time. I think it drives much better. We'll see if I affected power. I can always go back to the tune I started with. $150/hr. adds up quick, anything I can save by doing myself is more mod money.

stlwagon said:
I'm sure he'll be running beyond 6000 rpms. My makes power to about 6600 so I'm sure he'll be there or beyond.

I'll see how high it goes. I'm aiming at 6500 max right now. My supercharger likes it that way. MMR says the motor will rev to 8000.

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88_stanga

· #9 · Apr 5, 2008

money you save is mod money!? what else is there left to do!? haha. im glad you finally got to drive it. What do the people you work with think about this project? im sure you have clued them in on it.

hotshot

· #10 · Apr 5, 2008

88_stanga said:
money you save is mod money!? what else is there left to do!? haha. im glad you finally got to drive it. What do the people you work with think about this project? im sure you have clued them in on it.

just about the only thing left to do it to install some gray "ghost" stripes. that would make it un-freeking-believable, not that it wasn't already dan :wavey

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myltlpny

· #11 · Apr 5, 2008

I really admire your willingness to jump into the internal workings of your engine like this. As someone looking to learn more about the auto world, you've really inspired me.

JetBlack

· #12 · Apr 5, 2008

88_stanga said:
money you save is mod money!? what else is there left to do!?

He doesn't have clear corners yet.

BluebyU

· #13 · Apr 5, 2008

5twenty said:
So I gave the symptoms on one of the Sniper forums and one guy got back to me and told me he had the same symptoms and lowered a particular parameter (intake manifold volume) from 13 to 10.5. I have no idea what those numbers mean but it worked for him so I gave it a try. My number was 20. WTF? So I tried 17. Much better right away. I kept making new tunes with this mystery number lower and lower. Right now I'm at 12 and each time the car feels much better. It is very driveable right now and the AFR is much better.

I'm just theorizing, but the intake manifold volume is probably the amount of air from the throttle body to the intake valve. The stock plenum is surely larger than supercharger. You might want to try putting different mods into the software and see how they change different parameters. And hopefully the Sniper forums have as many cool people as AFM. It sounds like there is at least one:happydance:

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MickMach

· #14 · Apr 5, 2008

pretty neat to be able to do a tune yourself....getting educated

a_manifestation

· #15 · Apr 7, 2008

I love my Sniper setup. I went with the Special Forces and think I may upgrade after I start modding more seriously. I had to send mine back for a replacement and they were very helpful. Got it back and made a tune. Considering I have no mods but axle backs I could tell a difference. Now I need to save up for a CAI. Thinking about that C&L Racer. :gringreen

5Twenty, when are we going to get to hear this monster? We already know you been sitting in it making motor noises, but does it sound anything like what you thought it would? :happydance:

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