Gearhead Tune and Impressions

[J-Will]

Just got off the phone with Matt, we had a great conversation.  He's not happy with the power, and says its just a little over stock.  OAR is indicating crappy gas, and the car is responding as it should to keep everything at a safe level.  His tune makes OAR a little more sensitive versus the stock usage of OAR.  I'm definitely leaving power on the table, but am limited by gas.  I believe this is the switch to winter gas.  There is the possibility that the gas station ripped me off, but I cant worry about that now.

After our conversation, I like this tune even more.  Which is difficult to say, when the car is effectively at stock power levels.  While offered, I do not think I'm going to take Matt up on making adjustments to the tune for the purposes of increased power.  The goal here is to keep the car within safe ranges, and I like that the tune is pulling timing and lowering boost to keep it safe automatically.  Cant wait for it to automatically add timing and boost

For now, I have no choice but to ride out the winter gas here in the area.  I'm going to play with some gas over the next few weeks and see if the OAR continues to go lower.  I am going to report back to Matt just to make sure that the car is doing what is intended.  If the 93 I put in it is acting like 88 (or whatever octane brings the OAR to the level its at right now), then what would 89 or even worse 87 do?  That said, when I see OAR return to a more acceptable level I will throw the SHO back on the dyno (tell me you didnt read that like this: thr-OH the S.H.-OH back on the dyn-OH).

J-Will,
Great to hear you are getting good response and service from your tuner.  That is really the core of any Tuner/client relationship above and beyond the quality of the tune.  Matt and Brad are just those sort of guys.

I fully understand not wanting to push it with winter gas.  Maybe touch base with Matt and see if he would be willing to adjust some once the fuel gets better come springtime, since he and you know that the tune is not where he expected due to fuel right now.

I idea with the GH tune is that it'll auto adjust once it gets the gas it likes.  Right now, its auto adjusting down.  We will see if that is indeed the case when I see an uptick in the OAR

[derfdog15]

Take a look at your KR values in your logs as well. And if you haven't already, check the knock sensor wires for chafing. If you have E85 available, try and add a few gallons to your next tank, as it will raise your octane level. Those two things can help to raise the OAR/confirm it is gas.

The Knock sensors wire chafing would lead to OAR closer to 0, due to false knock readings. This would have nothing to do with your gas, and would persist with non-winter blends.

Adding E85 would ideally bring your OAR closer to -1 from where it is now. If this happened, then you would know more definitively that gas is to blame here.

Winter gas sucks. That said, my OAR only ever got as bad as -.76 when I had my E20 Tune from AJP. There were points in winter when it was below freezing out, and I had -1 OAR and > 20 degrees of spark advance. I only ever ran Shell 93 (which is an E10 blend) and then got E85 where I could. ~3 gallons of E85 to the rest of the tank of Shell 93 V-power.

OH, also, the colder it is, the more fuel you need to get up and running until the car is warmed, and in some cases over all. AJP and I went back and forth with some datalogs the first winter I was tuned, and fattened up my fueling a bit. In the winter it kept me running as close to commanded/stoich as we could get. In the warmer weather this tune ran a little fat/rich but that added some slight safety.

[f8tlSHO]

Winter gas!!! Blahhh I run my e30 tune all year round with no issues... thanks Brad!!


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[J-Will]

Yes, good points derf.

KR caused the ecu to pull timing. All probably impacted from the crappy gas. I will take a look at the sensor and wires, that's a good idea just to make sure.

You'll see the boost and timing advance isn't really high also.

The car is doing what it's supposed to do and automatically decreasing the map, in this case to essentially use the stock one.

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[derfdog15]

Yes, good points derf.

KR caused the ecu to pull timing. All probably impacted from the crappy gas. I will take a look at the sensor and wires, that's a good idea just to make sure.

You'll see the boost and timing advance isn't really high also.

The car is doing what it's supposed to do and automatically decreasing the map, in this case to essentially use the stock one.

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If you don't want to wait for summer blends to be back, and have access to E85, I still would suggest adding a few gallons to your next fill up. If OAR starts to go back towards -1 with E85 in the tank, then you know its mainly a gas issue.

[J-Will]

filled the tank with a little bit of regular, no ACES, and the OAR has plummeted to -0.0607 after just a few miles.  I doubt its finished its path toward positive 1.  While this doesnt rule out anything like bad knock sensors, it strongly points toward the fuel. 

[Macgyver]

Do other Tunes/Tuners have this problem ?

[J-Will]

Do other Tunes/Tuners have this problem ?

Just to be clear, right now the operating theory is that I'm dealing with crappy winter fuel.

If that is the case, then yes other tuners would have the same problem. However, Gearhead's tune auto adjusts. Right now, it's decreasing power back down to stock levels. Better gas will increase power.

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[Macgyver]

Oh yeah I get that but no one else is saying their car is running this way using Unleashed LMS AJP BCB etc.

[J-Will]

Oh yeah I get that but no one else is saying their car is running this way using Unleashed LMS AJP BCB etc.

Those tunes are single octane purpose built. Those also require data logging, revisions and fine tuning (LMS being the exception).

The gearhead tune auto adjusts and requires no data logging. I'm bringing my experience to the table because of this unique feature. It's working as intended, unfortunately for me the fuel is causing the tune to load stock parameters.

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[ZSHO]

I came across the gasket for the HPFP while searching on the New Ford Site! Z 
Sorry for the later reply!
Gasket
Part #: CG781 (9417)
Fuel Injection Pump-Engine Mounted



https://parts.ford.com/shop/en/us/fuel-injection-and-pumps/gasket-6551899-1

[J-Will]

Thanks! For that low of a price I may just start with replacing the gasket.

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[SHOdded]

https://www.fordpartsgiant.com/parts-list/2013-ford-taurus/fuel-injection-pump-engine-mounted.html?Filter=(38591;30734;43021)&PNC=9350
AA5Z-9417-A

[ZSHO]

https://www.fordpartsgiant.com/parts-list/2013-ford-taurus/fuel-injection-pump-engine-mounted.html?Filter=(38591;30734;43021)&PNC=9350
AA5Z-9417-A

Nice find! Manu is the Master on pricing!  Z 

[J-Will]

I took my car in for its normal maintenance routine, and took the necessary precaution of removing the 3 bar and putting the stock tune back on.  OAR shot to |1|.  Once I got the car back home, I put the 3 bar and Gearhead tune back on, and over the course of several days watched the OAR continue to move closer to 0. 

This week we may have some good news to share.  OAR is slowly progressing toward |1| again.  I will wait for it to sustain better than |.8|, as that should be the mapping for max boost.  Then it'll be back to the dyno!