Joining the 400whp club
 

Just a little review of the trip I took to see Mike at Moto-East yesterday:

I drove down from Rochester, NY for a flex fuel install and tune by Mike after having already run a tune of his on 93 at 10psi since last August. For those of you who have not dealt with Mike, he is very personable and laid back, all the while being professional and responsive to questioning. His technician, Brandon, installed the FF kit while he did some tuning on a Mazda, and then it was time for my turn on the dyno. Last year I put down 323/240 running a 60trim kit from FA20club (modified to fit/function by John of Roc Euro--a side note that if you have a VW/Audi around western NY he is the guy to go to!) boosted to about 10psi. I went in thinking that my 540cc injectors might limit the potential of e85, but it turns out that was not the case; after a few pulls and reflashes we settled on a final tune that output 428/330 at 13psi running e60. Had my fuel not been a blend of pump and what I'm guessing is still e70 in Pennsylvania, we may have indeed hit 450. There was quite a bit of room for more, but I daily drive this thing! What a rush compared to my previous setup. I will ask for Mike to link the dyno plot and video, as I have but a paper copy of the dyno. It's posted on his FB page if you would like to see it now.

Just trundling along, the car feels much smoother running ethanol, and leaving with more than 100hp more than I came with certainly makes the cost of the kit and tuning well worth it. Now to try and keep a tread on my tires...

Nice!!

Mind if we get a list of your mods? Awesome numbers man!

Welcome to the club! Feels good, don't it? Haha driveability on e85 is the best, the car just feels so nice!

Congratulations on the numbers! Nice work!

My mods as far as drivetrain goes:
Fa20Club 60trim "kit"
Moto-East FF kit
GFB ebc
FMB Walbro 485 fuel pump
FIC 540cc injectors
ACT 6 puck sprung clutch
Motiv Concepts overpipe
STM front pipe
Ark Grip catback

Nice, any boost plot?. Im a fan of the 60 trim family of turbos.

As a suggestion you might want to look at your Boost controller settings, based on the shape of the torque curve you may have some boost creep, unless you guys specifically tuned a progressive boost curve ?

Yes I, too have noticed that, and it is most prevalent in higher gears under extended high load (such as this 5th gear dyno pull). When the turbo was installed, I was instructed to tap the turbo housing rather than later in the intake plumbing for the EBC. Would this effect the controller and hinder it from holding constant boost? Maybe upping the "Sensitivity" setting could be beneficial. It usually only increases by about .6-1 psi, and to be quite honest, I don't mind it, as it means the car only pulls harder the higher you wind it. It could also be caused by tuning, as you suggested, as Mike and I talked about reliability before each session, and we concluded that not having a huge spike of torque all of a sudden may keep the engine in one piece longer. All in all I'm not too worried!

i'm sure its tuned purposely that way, doubt Mike would leave you out like that without at least mentioning it to you if he couldn't tune it out. Keep an eye out on your boost, if you put a lot of load on the car (like step on it in a higher gear going up a hill), you will know immediately if boost is creeping if you go over 13psi.

That's what I meant when I mentioned it rising by as much as 1 psi during a pull--I do watch my boost gauge creep up. It's not a significant enough amount to get worried over though in my opinion.

I'm not sure how many have commented on the sound of the car when switching to e85, but I thought I would add that both engine noise and exhaust noise are dramatically reduced at steady state cruising now on ethanol. I know I'm not crazy, too, as my lady even commented, unprovoked, that the car seemed much quieter when cruising.

Hmmm I thought my car got quieter.. lol

Bumping my old thread as I prepare to make more power:

Car is currently in PA with Mike at Moto-East receiving engine upgrades, as I bent a rod in cylinder #1 on my previous setup. Since the car will be fitted with 10.5:1 pistons, ID1000s, and GSC beehive valve springs (among other things…), I am toying with the idea of upgrading my turbo from the current T3/T04E 60 trim. Unfortunately due to budget constraints, an upgrade would need to be able to fit the existing T3 housing with V-band. Does anyone have any experience with turbos such as Garrett's T3/T61 or BW Airwerks S300SX/83S74? A usable power band from 5k rpm to 8k is acceptable, but I do not want to sacrifice too much spool in the quest for greater power.