Hey Myles you going to the Dragon this year?

 

If Javier blows up my car I'm getting out the car game and turning into this guy.... skip to 1:25 for the future Rotary_Redliner.

 

Yeah that awesome. I saw a video from him in 2011.

 

I sure hope so! I'm trying to get the dealer to sponsor it!

 

reddozen is running a bridge and he was there last year(2012)

 

I think that was him...helped him bleed his clutch...had a gold front cover?

 

^ not sure, I never saw his engine bay, only talked with him a bit and heard the car as he was leaving. He'll be at this years Deals Gap

 

OP, forgive me if this has been asked and answered. I gave up on the thread after about the third page of **** matching.

Did you hear a ding or subtle bell ring right before you lost power? Detonation can be a very low audible ping. Any idea what your AFRs were while you were at 13 pounds of boost?

 

I cannot remember what the lowest the Cobb reads again... is it 10.00 or 11.00 [it's been so long :-( ]? It was right around 10.5 or 11.5, but i was still running very rich. When the engine blew it seems to happen right as I let go of the gas, the exhaust sounded 'different' and I could barely maintain speed on the autobahn. Cruised to a stop and the engine died.

 

The sound is pretty distinct. 11.5 isn't all that rich if you were at 13psi.

 

How long had you been sustaining that boost level?

Did you have the hammer down in 6th gear or something?

 

I had already done a couple WOT runs before I had noticed my boost spiking. Yes I was in 6th gear and had to be doing around 150 mph... Blame it on the autobahn.

 

Faith in humanity -1000000.

 

Shadycrew you are very dramatic man... Are you gonna be okay ? This thread may be too much for you to handle. I'm sorry to have caused you so much pain.

 

Bump

 

Why? You been reading up on tuning a Renny with a Cobb?

 

HU?

 

^^^LOL now that was funny but cool at the same time

 

The engine build aspect (from my end) was attributed to trusting a builder that I know has an eye for detail. I asked Ray to rebuild my motor because I had a chance to see how he worked on the motors of other customers and he always produced quality work. The only aspect I contributed on that front was making sure that I had all new seals and (against the advice of some "experts") made sure that all my contact surfaces were resurfaced. I'm less than 10,000 miles on the new build so we shall see how that plays out.

You have your pick of the lot with regards to builders. We have builders who will slap together an engine with mostly new parts to eliminate the possibility of failures with used ones. We have builders who rebuild on shoe string budgets and simply do the best job they can with the limited budget of the customer.

I took priority in choosing a builder that would keep the stuff that is good, throw away the stuff that is bad and had the attention to detail and knowledge to understand the difference between the two. You simply have to decide what its worth to you. I'll warn you though, pay now or pay (more) later.

While we have tuners on the market that offer their services, I found that even the best of them couldn't provide the kind of attention to detail that I was interested in. They certainly had NO stake in the car because if it blew up then it was on me to fix. If you want it done right, do it yourself. I saw my current situation coming years ago and started tuning my car while it was naturally aspirated so I was much more familiar with the process when I finally went turbo.

There are a lot of resources available on this very site that can give you a big leg up with using the COBB. It is perfectly capable of tuning an FI RX8 and has plenty of table resolution to get the job done.

If you decide to go the FI route on your RX8 you might as well assume you're going much of the journey alone. If you have problems, you will have to diagnose them. If you need a tune, you'll likely have to figure it out on your own. Engine builds and factory mechanics of the car are still fair game for shops or experts but once you start highly customizing your own RX8 then you best be prepared to be the expert on it.

Good example. I needed my PCM reflashed after I fried one being a retard (during the diagnosis of another issue). Took the car to the dealership and gave very simple and specific instructions on what needed to be done. I got a call from the tech not 30 minutes after the car arrived in the shop because the guy was confused on the nature of the issue and the fix I wanted. After explaining it in person, everything was cool but it took intervention from me to get it done.

I don't have all the answers, but I make it by business to try to on my own RX8. That is the best advice I can give.

Sure, it might look crazy from the perspective of someone who has not been tuning for a long time as a means of generating income. From a hobbyist perspective helping people out or doing stuff for free, you operate from a position of no responsibility for the outcome and you also get to choose your customers. When you start taking people's money, everything changes. You're now expected to deliver a product in a timely fashion AND do so without causing any damage to the vehicle.

If you're Steve Kan and your mere name entices people to seek out your tuning services, you can charge whatever you want. Furthermore, you can charge outrageous prices to weed out the ricer boys who simply want to slap your sticker on the side of their car and brag that a nationally known tuner touched their car. I've seen it done plenty of times. So I'm sure Steve charges high prices so only the most serious customers apply and those people tend to be much easier (and mature) to work with.

 

I totally agree on doing it yourself whenever possible. Unfortunately trustworthy and capable builders and tuner are hard to come by.

When I typed, "(which is nuts to me)" I meant that it is nuts that people won't spend a measly $1,000.00-$2,000.00 on tuning. They will spend $5,000.00 to $10,000.00 to add forced induction to their car but yet they think $1,000.00 for a tune is ridiculous. The best turbo kit and engine build on the planet is useless without a proper tune.

 

Agreed 100%.

 

All that pointless blathering aside, the Cobb AP differs from an aftermarket ECU in that it works off the original factory mapping system for which neither one was designed to be used specifically with FI in mind. So you need to understand how the factory mapping is laid out, how the factory mechanical, electrical, and control systems operate and interact, whats missing from the equation that you have no access to or control of, and how to put it all together to have a reliable FI system. I can tell you that not only is it not detailed out fully on this forum, but that a lot of what is out there is incorrect, misleading, or just plain BS. Even if it is done to perfection that doesn't account for some clueless owner going out and hammering the **** out of it too early in the tuning process and not recognizing the warning signs to back off.

 

 

I never was one to care much for an infomercial

 

You have no idea exactly how much can get lost in translation Between a service adviser and the technician.
ill get a repair order that says " check noise" .....what noise? Engine, suspension, dash rattle? Talking to the vehicle owner almost always help clarify!