legacydestroyer

Hey guys, so recently I upgraded to a MAP EF3 turbo, FIC 1250cc injectors, and a new Megan 02 housing. I already have 3" TBE, 3.5" FMIC, LICP, ARP head studs, Wally 255, Spoolin up COP, and 272 cams (not sure of the make, they were installed by the previous owner as well as all of the other mods, except for the new turbo and injectors). I still have stock intake and exhaust manifolds. Now, before I upgraded the turbo and injectors, the last dyno sheet that I had (done in 2010 by the previous owner on a mustang dyno) 312 hp and 316 tq. Car ran fine, idled ok, and pulled very well in the lower rpms and I enjoyed it. So of course I wanted more. Decided to go with the EF3 turbo for my goal of 450 hp or so, on a daily driver with pump gas. E85 is not available where I live. After install I took it to be tuned at a local reputable shop here where I live. First tuning session, he could only get me to 326 hp and I lost 50 foot pounds of torque for some reason. My tuner thought I might have a burnt valve cause he said one of the cylinder's compression seemed a bit to low compared to the others. I had one at 170, two at 165 and the fourth at 155 he said. He told me to check into this and get the numbers up and a little closer to each other and let him know and we would re tune. So I scoped the cylinders and saw a lot of carbon build up, engine has 136k on it. Ran some BG fuel injector cleaner through the rail and re checked. Cleaned a lot of it off, but not all. Ran my own compression test and saw 168, 165, 165, 159. Did a leak down test, warm motor, BEFORE the clean, saw, 10%, 9%, 13%, 5%. After the clean, warm motor, 8%, 8%, 9%, 5%. Told my tuner this, he said sounds good and to go ahead and bring it back in. Also I had changed my knock sensor, he said during the first tune it was reading erratic and making the timing adjustments difficult. So upon the return to the dyno, he said it had already picked up close to 15 hp without him doing anything. But after a day and a half of him having the car and working with it on and off, he could only get me to 340 hp. He did a pressurized boost leak test and smoke tested the system and found no leaks. I'm getting plenty of fuel, but he says he can't seem to get any more power from the motor. Currently at 26psi. He still thinks it may be internal in the head or possibly the wrong head gasket installed (too thick he thinks). We agree that with my mods, I should be at least at 400 hp if not over. Just wondering what you guys think here on the forum. I know some of you have similar set ups and are at that power level. Sorry for the long post. Thanks for any input you guys can give me.

slowsrt4:(

iTrader: (13)

I see you're in Wilmington, which shop are we speaking of?

legacydestroyer

Carolina Dyno. Ben, the owner, tuned it himself. I have a buddy that is good friends with him. He tuned one of his DSMs and it is fast as s***. He came highly recommended to me. Also, the other shops in town, do not have a great reputation.

legacydestroyer

Bump. Any ideas????

94AWDcoupe

iTrader: (125)

only thing I can tell you for sure is its not engine internals. that compression is just fine. something externally is holding it back. but that could be a whole crapload of different things that might be causing problems

legacydestroyer

I was thinking this too. But really, what besides a restriction in IC piping or in the intercooler itself could cause it? If it is something external in fact. and I know I don't have either of those problems. I don't know. I'm at a loss, cause I've spent some decent cash on this lately, wife is starting to get ill, LOL. But I'm not ready to give up. I was considering pulling the head next weekend and checking all the valves and cleaning up the combustion chambers of carbon build up while I was there. Plus getting to the bottom of a possible head gasket issue. Like I said, my tuner said some people a few years ago were installing thicker head gaskets thinking they could up the boost because they would lower compression, or something to that effect. He said it didn't really work that way and would cause a loss of power instead of a gain. I was going to get a factory gasket and replace it as well as the valve stem seals. Check the head and deck for warpage and hope it helps. Not really that expensive of deal to do. Keep the ideas coming, I don't want the $2500 I've spent on the turbo, injectors, 02 housing and tuning to be in vain. 30 hp gain so far isn't worth the money.

94AWDcoupe

iTrader: (125)

pulling the head would be a waste of time and money.

crappy cams, int and ex cams reversed, cams indexed or timed incorrectly. valve springs too soft causing float.
blow of valve blowing open, poorly matched injectors. clogged injector. (wideband averages 4 cylinders= you could have three at 12/1 and one at 16/1) restricted exhaust (collapsed muffler or resonator) intake restriction.

thats just 5 minutes of thought for you. there are dozens more possibilities.

tbaird58

iTrader: (1)

ive having this same problem but not with that power, im only making 270 with full bolt ons and should be making around 320 and me and tuner have no idea why im not making power and ive done all the same steps you have done and still cant find something. next step for me is start looking at the drivetrain. hope you find what your looking for lol ill be checking to see what progress you make

bphx123

iTrader: (3)

who is your tuner?

legacydestroyer

Pulling the head isn't that big of a deal for me. I have the time, and the parts wouldn't be too expensive. I don't mind doing the work at all just to be sure, and it's worth the effort to examine the valve train and clean everything I think. Now what you say about the cams is interesting, my tuner and I talked about the same thing. Cause I don't know what brand they are for sure. I don't have adjustable gears, and I know they are timed correctly. Pretty positive they aren't reversed, the car runs fine and idles ok. Not sure of the BOV opening too soon or not. The injectors should be matched ok and working properly, they're brand new. Not to say I didn't get something bad out of the box, I know it can happen. The exhaust should be good as well, it's 3" unrestricted with a test pipe. Guess I can look into that to be sure though. I'll be sure to check any intake restriction once I have it off when I pull the head. Thank you again for the ideas.

Craig King

iTrader: (11)

OP, what diverter valve/bov are you running? I was running an Evo 9 MR valve on my EF3 and it was getting blown open. Switched to a new GReddy valve and problem was solved. 396whp on EF3 with very similar mods as you.

tbaird58

iTrader: (1)

My Tuner is Jay at boosted tuning in Chico ca

batty200

iTrader: (3)

Drop the exhaust and see what that does. It is most likely not engine internals. Sounds like a loose actuator could be an issue. Also you could throw in some race gas and see if it picks up power.

legacydestroyer

By drop the exhaust, you mean unbolt the pipe at the 02 dump? And which actuator could possibly be loose, the waste gate? I'll check into these things this week. Thanks for the ideas, keep them coming and I'll keep you guys posted.

legacydestroyer

Sadly, I have no idea. I do know it is recirculated, but other than that, I have no clue. Do you think it is worth just getting a new one just in case? I don't know how much they are or which one to get. Suggestions perhaps? Previous owner installed the one that is on there. And is there a way to test to see if it is being blown open? Thanks for this info, this sounds like it could be the likely culprit.





Here is a pic of the one on the car. Stock maybe?