BOOST LEAKS!!!

This is the number one problem of cars that have Mass Air Flow Sensors. If your car is Turbocharged you need to perform a "boost leak" or "Pressure test" on your car. Even the smallest boost leak will cause your car to run poorly. During testing we have observed that something as small as one vacuum line being disconnected caused the Factory Computer to estimate an extra 5-7% more air volume being metered at 20PSI of Boost. This caused Air Fuel Ratio to become .7-1.25 richer than it should and the ecu had pulled an additional 3-5 degrees of ignition timing. It's a loose loose situation. When pressure testing your car, test it 10PSI over your target boost. We have seen cars with small throttle body shaft seal boost leaks gain 40AWHP when the small leak is repaired.

Vacuum Hoses

Secure all vacuum hoses. If your vacuum/boost reference hose happens to pop off your fuel pressure regulator while doing a dyno pull at 5500 RPM and 27 PSI your fuel pressure will IMMEDIATELY DROP 27PSI! Save yourself the melted piston and invest in a bag of small black tie straps to secure those hoses. If your boost gauge is tapped into your Fuel Pressure Regulator vacuum reference secure that also.

Hose Clamps

Make sure all Hose Clamps are tight and silicone couplers are on completely. It is a huge pain to have an intercooler pipe pop off that happens to be in a location that is impossible to reach while the car is on the dyno. If this happens and you want us to repair it you will be paying for actual dyno tuning time which is much more expensive than general labor.

Timing Belt

Double Check your timing belt and make sure it is on correctly. This is more common on 1990-1999 4G63s and 4G64s w/ a 4G63 head (no reference marks on the valve cover like the lucky Evo's.) Remember there are 15 timing belt teeth between the 2 top cam gear teeth on those years.

Spark Plugs

Does your car have the right spark plugs in it and are they gapped correctly? Are they tight enough? If not tight enough the plug could loosen up just a little. This would cause the plug to not dissipate heat correctly creating a hot spot in the combustion chamber. If it's too tight it's probably too late. Rule of thumb for every 100 horsepower over stock you should use 1 step colder plug. If you think your car will be making over 310 Horsepower to the wheels on a Mustang or Dyno Dynamics dyno, gap your plugs at .027 or below. Just for reference a stock Evolution 9 comes with a .024-.025 spark plug gap from the factory.

Ignition System

Generally speaking stock ignition systems can handle a good amount of power. So I will just outline some issues to look out for. If you have an Evolution and you plan on making over 400 horsepower to the wheels consistently purchase an HKS DLI at the least and gap your plugs to .025 or lower. If you have a DSM with a coil on plug setup without a AEM C2DI or an MSD. Purchase one now before you waste your and our time and your money on the dyno. If you own a DSM with stock coils and are planning on making over 450 horsepower to the wheels; purchase Iridium 7's if running methanol and Iridium 8's if using c16. Gap your plugs to 0.024. If you have a SR20DET and are planning on making over 330 horsepower to the wheels gap your plugs to .026 or lower and use a set of 7s. If you are confused about all this, call.

Base Ignition Timing

Double check your base Ignition timing before coming in for dyno tuning. If your car has stock cams but idles a bit rough and your Cam Angle Sensor Has to be maxed out in one direction to get your ignition timing to be right double check that your timing belt isn't off a tooth somewhere.

Wheels

Make sure all your tires are inflated to the same tire pressure. Be sure they are all the same diameter. Yes we have had people with AWD cars try to dyno with mismatched wheels!!!

Wastegate

Be sure your wastegate is up to the task of controlling your target boost levels. If you are tying to make 30 PSI don't come in with a wastegate that has a 5 PSI spring. Boost controllers can usually double the wastegate spring pressure, but boost isn't very stable when pushed that far. As a rule of thumb, do not go 75% over the wastegate springs rating. On the opposite side make sure your wastegate isn't too small this can cause boost creep.

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Electrical Systems

There is nothing more annoying than having to go in and tighten an engine ground strap that is stuck below a hot radiator hose and intercooler piping. Be sure to have all your electrical issues worked out before coming in for dyno tuning. If you are not sure if you have a electrical problem schedule a diagnosis before dyno tuning.

APEXi AFC's

First and foremost if you have an Apexi AFC and larger injectors for your Evo or DSM don't even bother calling us for an appointment unless you have an EPROM ECU chipped for your larger injectors, (at this point you should have just got a DSM Link or reflashed your computer) and you plan on running 93 or higher gasoline everywhere. If you don't know why we say this

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Fluid Levels

Please be sure that you have Clean oil and coolant. Double check fluids are topped off. Be sure you do not have too little or too MUCH oil!! Yes we have seen 1.5 quarts over the factory recommended level. Be sure to have enough gas. If you have methanol/water injection be sure this is full also.

Quality Gasoline

If we are tuning your car for pump gas please use 76 or Chevron premium gasoline. If your car has not been running for a long time and you just got it running don't forget to drain out all the old gas and run through a clean tank of gas before having us tune your car. Just because you have methanol doesn't mean you do not need good quality gas. Be sure that is full also.