G'day,

I just put on the standard Vortech Kit for my 03 5AT Coupe and I must say Im dissapointed by the power it makes. I figured bang for buck this kit would be pretty good... but thus far not really! Ive read everywhere that everyones pulling high 300's with the base model kit (Std Pulley) but Im no where near that! Ok for a quick rundown:

My Mods that matter:
Aftermarket Headers
Plenum Spacer
Borla Exhaust (Standard Cat Convertors)

Pre Vortech Dyno Run on a Dyno Dynamics: 222.6HP
This was done in 3rd Gear as 4th would hit speed cut before revving out the engine. (ignore whats said on the dyno graph about what gear the run is done in)

Today, I ran the car on the dyno and only hit 272.5HP - again done in third gear and all the parameters the same on the dyno as last time.

Interesting Findings:

6/7 PSI by redline. It was about a 35degrees celcius day this afternoon. Should this be all I expect from the standard pulley?

Air Fuel Ratio of about 9-10:1 - This is waaay too much fuel. Running standard intake pump and the supplied Fuel Pump. Not sure how I can lean it out. I have 98RON fuel, and im sure the blackbox is tuned only for 91RON - so power can be made here im sure.

So what are my options in regards to tuning the standard black box? Is there software available? My tuner should be able to do something im sure.

General Feeling in the Pants: Car feels like it has way more torque, and definately sounds good. The exhaust note has changed alot - and sounds very angry indeed. Could be all the extra fuel. But otherwise I AM impressed with how seamless the power delivery is, the driveability and how well the car still changes gear on partial throttle. My Engine Check Light is also now on so Im not sure whats wrong, but the Black box must be working ok since the car drives well.

Just to explain the dyno graph, you can see 4 lines, the top line being the Vortech Power Run, the next line down is the standard Run, the next dotted line under that is the boost when running on the Vortech Run and the bottom line is the boost when running the standard run (of course 0).

Any insights to what I can do would be great, as this is fairly unchartered territory in Oz as Im only one of less than a handful of V35/Z33 that have been supercharged in the state I live in.

Thanks heaps!
JK

 

what do stock Z/G's make on that exact dyno?

most dyno dynamics dynos do around 220whp stock for MT
I'd assume 5AT's would be around 210whp.

it's completely possible that that dyno is calibrated different than other DD's

 

I think that irrespective of dyno type, since i used the same dyno within 5 days of each other for each run that it shows that Ive only made 20% HP increase with the kit. I honestly thought Id see 370whp with the plenum and exhaust mods... Was I expecting too much? I would even be content with 330 or so...

Maybe a real ECU is needed to trim the fuel, get some more agressive timing into the engine..

AT gearbox is hopeless on boost, you have to almost shift at 5500RPM for it to do anything in time in 1st to 2nd... 2nd to third for me is only about 500rpm in advance for a good shift.

JK

 

Once you get your fuel worked out you should see a big bump in power.

Email Jeremy Tibbs at Performance Factory and see if he can help you out with a base map with a UTEC.

 

I forget the conversion but 98 ron is not the same as 91 octane.

 

Fortunately I got the kit from him and have emailed him about software for the blackbox.

There is nothing else i can do about fuel - its just hardcore rich. I dont think i want to play around with the FMU that was provided...

91 AKI Octane (US measure) = 95.5 RON Octane


JK

 

What headers and exhaust are you running? as well as which plenum mod

 

that's way too rich to make power.
if you can bring it back up to 11.5-11.8 range, you will be really happy

do you have the dyno graph with A/F print out? how's the AFR before the boost comes in?
what kind of FMU the kit supplied? check your base fuel pressure also

 

You should be able to tune the fuel back some with the software that came with the kit.

 

Absolutely. Don't worry, it may take some time but there is power to be pulled out of your tune, even with 91 octane.

 

95 RON is 89 octane....
http://www.csgnetwork.com/octaneratecalc.html

 

oops, I guess 98 is 91.

I have the R4 tuning software. pm your email address.

 

Hrrrrm, get new injectors, get new fuel pump, absolutely get a new engine management, a re-tune. I have a 5at and I recommend you to highly consider a external Tranny and Oil Cooler. A shopped messed up my car and was tuned unready and I was only hitting 303whp and 288tq on a dynojet, I was mad, had to be revived and now I'm happy with my new #s

 

Those results sound way off. Did you buy a used vortech kit? Could be defective.

 

It's a Dyno Dynamics, that's over 300 on a dynojet.