looking for FAST tuner help

[67ragtp]

If anyone knows of a guy that can tune FAST EFI, in the tri-state area it would be very helpful. Just got the car started and really think I could use the assistance of someone who knows the software well and perhaps a dyno facility. I live in nothern NJ(oakland) and cant believe there are know dyno shops in my area. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks Rich

[ProdigyCustoms]

You might want to call FAST and see who they have for dealers in your area. We have a couple guys that can fly in.

[TravisB]

we also just gat a car started this weekend it was our first time to use it but seemed to go pretty well.

[67ragtp]

I will call FAST, I have to admit if I didnt have Dave Page from FAST talking me through the initial start up It would have been frustrating. The engine didnt idle upon turning the key, it was like 9.0:1(blinding pig rich) and the timing table had like 30 deg in it at idle, after he showed me how to make corrections to the base fuel map and spark map it really smoothed out. In 20 min. on the phone with him it was quite a learning experiance, cant thank him enough. One of the biggest problems I have is trying to understand how kilopascals in the base map correlates to load and engine vacuum in inches of mercury. I guess Im still thinking standard inches from carb tuning.

Thanks Rich

[camcojb]

I will call FAST, I have to admit if I didnt have Dave Page from FAST talking me through the initial start up It would have been frustrating. The engine didnt idle upon turning the key, it was like 9.0:1(blinding pig rich) and the timing table had like 30 deg in it at idle, after he showed me how to make corrections to the base fuel map and spark map it really smoothed out. In 20 min. on the phone with him it was quite a learning experiance, cant thank him enough. One of the biggest problems I have is trying to understand how kilopascals in the base map correlates to load and engine vacuum in inches of mercury. I guess Im still thinking standard inches from carb tuning.

Thanks Rich

Yeah, you'll get used to it for sure. KP is opposite of vacuum, so for the smoothest idle with highest vacuum you're looking for the lowest KPA. When tuning the idle initially I like to get a whole block of numbers highlighted on the fuel map, say 6 or 9 that surround the cursor on the screen; however many it takes that the cursor isn't moving out of this area at idle, and then go up/down depending on the a/f and how the engine sounds.

One other tip I use when tuning is to give the engine what it wants. Some combos aren't "happy" at 14.7:1 or similar A/F at idle for example, and you can hear it by how they run. Don't be afraid to try a slightly richer A/F there and see if the engine smooths out and sounds better. Don't get hung up on a certain number.

Jody

[kennyd]

as travis said , we just got ours started this weekend , after some tuning it runs better . it also was super rich on the first tune . now we have to tune cold start and under 120 degree water temp , so we are going to put the water temp sender in a cup of room temp water so we have more time to tune it cold .
the only complaint i have is , we ordered ours with without a pre-terminated harness so we had no instruction for the harness except a wiring diagram .
and it didnot tell you some of the wires had to be connected to make it run .
other than that i love the system , i like the computer controlling the fuel pump , cooling fan and the ac compressor .
the tech help at fast is great to work with also , dave and jay are super help !

[Diesel77]

Call Craig at BDS (blower drive systems), he can tune your FAST and, he can do it remotely. He needs a dedicated phone line to dial directly to your laptop as high speed cable wouldnt work with the softawre version, couldnt get through the firewalls, this was a year ago and could be different now, maybe high speed cable will work now?? This guy really knew his stuff, it was $90 per hour and he nailed the tune up in a few mintues.

[67ragtp]

Jody,

should the typical a/f ratios be close to 14.7 or above 13.5 for mild cruising such as back roads and highway driving? I know what you mean about not getting caught up on a number, its nice to hear what kind of numbers you guys have seen in your experiances, my application is a normally asperated 427 sb with a 1300 cfm 4150 style throttlebody, nothing extreme 500hp/500ftlbs. Any advice is appreciated, thanks guys.

Rich

[camcojb]

Jody,

should the typical a/f ratios be close to 14.7 or above 13.5 for mild cruising such as back roads and highway driving? I know what you mean about not getting caught up on a number, its nice to hear what kind of numbers you guys have seen in your experiances, my application is a normally asperated 427 sb with a 1300 cfm 4150 style throttlebody, nothing extreme 500hp/500ftlbs. Any advice is appreciated, thanks guys.

Rich


cruise areas I can almost always get pretty lean, 15:1 or beyond. There's no load and you'll pick up some mileage. I shoot for 12.8 to 13.2:1 WOT on a naturally aspirated combo. Some like to be 13:1 or so and others pick up being a bit richer at 12.8 or so.

At idle the individual runner setups I've tuned always wanted to be around 13:1; wouldn't idle well any leaner, yet they'd cruise much leaner. The Mule didn't like anything leaner than 13.5 to 13.8:1, you could hear the engine change when it got leaner, so that's where we left it. Most my other solid roller setups have idles at 14:1 or leaner, just depends. You can hear the engine gettting "unhappy" when you start to lean it or richen it too much at idle and light cruise, so you'll need to experiment where to set it at.

Jody

[64duece]

If you get in a pinch, we're down in South Jersey, although heavily booked at the moment.

[67ragtp]

Thanks guys appreciate the info. - Rich

[vipercuda]

If you can't get it figured out the best guy I know is Bob Ream. He is at my shop tuning three cars right now. He will fly to you if necessary. I would try to get it figured out but if you don't call him. Imagine Fuel Injection in Phoenix. He is a magician with injection........

Thanks
Mike Staveski
owner of Time Machines Inc.