Who is the best tuner in Southern Cali for stand-alone EMS on a E36 M3?

[highboostingm3]

My mechanic blew my engine trying to tune it with a Link Plus EMS system. I don't believe he really knows the engine & tuning well enough. I mean, how could he if he always sent his ECU's to Karl at AA to tune the OBDII?

The engine blew at 5PSI(supposedly): on the dyno. I don't know what really happened, I wasn't there. He said he had too much timing, it was 105 degrees in the bay, he thought I had a 50/50 91/100 Octane mixture which is a flat-out lie...yada yada.

My engine is apart right now. Bored to fit lower compression JE Pistons. A BMP turbo head gasket will be used for a combined compression ratio of 9.5:1.

Here is a list of the mods that I have:

• BMP Turbo Head Gasket
• Block Bored & Deck Cleaned For 9.5:1 Compression JE Pistons With Total Seal Rings & Moly Coating
• New Rod Bearing Set
• New Engine Gasket Set
• Used Cylinder Head With Valve Job
• LINK PLUS Engine Management System
• Deleted FMU
• MSD Ignition (4 coil and a 2 coil)
• LINK PLUS Ignitors
• Custom Harness For Plug-n-Play
• Turbonetics T3/T4 Hybrid 60-1 Turbo
• Spearco Intercooler
• Greddy Type S Blow-off Valve
• Greddy Profec B Boost Controller
• Methanol Injection
• AA Aluminum Intake Elbow
• 35 lb Injectors

Driveline Mods
• Euro 3.46 Limited Slip Diff Conversion from 3.91
• Sachs Sport Clutch
• Lightweight Aluminum Flywheel
• Custom straight-shot exhaust with race pipe in place of cats. Pipe can be removed & cats can be installed for smog.

I am afraid to have him tune the car again. He's paying to put the engine back together & all wired up. I am thinking of stopping there & towing it to whomever is a genius with something of this nature. So that I can rest assure the tuning will go perfectly as it should & the end result will be a a sick sick M3.

Please help me! Do you know of the genius in San Diego County, Orange County or L.A. County that I am looking for?

[EMC]

He's a bit North, but I'd give Vic Sias a call. If he can't do it, maybe he can recommend someone?

[highboostingm3]

Hey thanks for the reply! Wow! I figured more people would jump on this thread but...what I am doing...is it really that rare? Maybe with the Link Plus anyway & not a Haltech or something else. Doesn't matter though...having the correct timing & fuel maps for this motor, compression & 91 Octane versus boost amount is the crucial thing. Do you have his url or e-mail addy by chance EMC?

Thanks!
Cameron

[E36M3]

wow man. Sounds exactly like what I went through with a socal "tuner." Except my engine blew twice before I found Vic Sias. I have an Electromotive TEC3 stand alone that Vic tuned. It makes 454 to the wheels now thanks to Vic. And that was on 91 octane.

Sorry to hear about your troubles...

[highboostingm3]

Hey thanks for replying E36M3! So this Vic Sias...how far north is he? I might either borrow or buy an open trailer & tow my car to wherever I have to.

Wow! You blew your engine twice? Well, guess there are a lot of guys out there other than myself that have really gotten shafted with bad tuning. I talked to my mechanic this morning. Asked him how the hell he knows what timing to use, fuel, yada yada.

He says he has all of Karl's timing & fuel maps. Problem is those are going by 93 Octane when we have basically 90 Octane. Basically he doesn't know what he is doing & only wants to try to tune it for 100 Octane. Yeah whatever!

I want 2 fuel maps made which can easily be done with the Link Plus system. One with 91(90) Octane & the other with 100 Octane. I mean I want to drive this baby, it's not a race car.

[jmargo]

Vic is in Mountain View. his site is www.siastuning.com
Its best to call him though. 650 704 0771
Jason

[jonsibal]

highboostingm3, who was tuning your car when it blew? Just curious.

[highboostingm3]

Take a wild guess! I don't want to state names but a lot of people really don't like his company. I had no clue when I started 2 years ago. Thanks for the #. I just talked to Sias! He is 9 hours away! I don't know what to do. I need to find a good tuner down here.

[jonsibal]

If it is the same "tuner" from san diego, I think I know. I guess atleast he is willing and honest enough to admit his fault and compensate you for it.

Have you tried www.splitsec.com They are here in OC and they do a lot of custom tuning for OBD1 FI cars. Ask for Mark. He is the owner and tell him that Jonathan Sibal with the black BMW reffered you.

[highboostingm3]

Originally posted by jonsibal
If it is the same "tuner" from san diego, I think I know. I guess atleast he is willing and honest enough to admit his fault and compensate you for it.

Have you tried www.splitsec.com They are here in OC and they do a lot of custom tuning for OBD1 FI cars. Ask for Mark. He is the owner and tell him that Jonathan Sibal with the black BMW reffered you.

Thank you so much!!! Jon, you are the man!!!! I worship your ride by the way! Love the site! Did you do the flash yourself? Sick either way!

Yeah, it's the guy you are thinking of! I have been a nice guy & very supportive over 2 years so he was a good sport to suck up the $2600 labor. Taking the engine out/apart/sending to machinist/putting back together...yada yada.

Well, I am confused. I guess the stock ECU puts in up to 23 degrees of timing in the map. So when you FI I know timing gets taken out. How much is the question. It's 2003 & OBDII M3's have been around for 7 years. This has been done over & over again. Just if I could get timing & fuel maps through the rev range with 91 Cali Octane which is for a similiar setup at say up to 10 PSI if it'll work. Then maps for 100 Octane at up to 15+ PSI. Anyone want to hand them over? It's not like it needs to be a secret.

But to let you know, with this system on an M Roadster they did 560rwhp. Difference was the owner invented a crazy alcohol system with a 2nd fuel rail so after 5PSI 91 fuel plateaued while alcohol shot in at a progressive rate. This causes a liquid intercooler from heaven. Although the project is a major Frankenstein, the results were staggering. So it goes to show you that they aren't all that bad. They just need a little more practice. I mean 560rwhp? That's insane even for Karl at AA!!

[DocWyte]

Come on, if you mean MechTech, just come out and say it!

[highboostingm3]

I have the maps from Karl at AA for a car doing 15PSI on 93 Octane.

I know the timing must be too high. How high is the question? I don't have all the info, I mean the car probably has a few more mods than mine, I don't know. It is a start though. As long as we are using the HKS knock sensor & we are extremely careful. I might take a day or 2 off work just to be there & help.

Jesus...how much is that gonna cost me?

If I can do this right without towing my car 9hrs up to Vic Sias I will be a happy camper! I am too deep into all this Link Plus, MSD Ignition, Link Ignitors, black box special ........oops, that was boring.

[jmargo]

Have you PM'd NickG ?

[highboostingm3]

I have contacted him through other threads. But he is in South Florida & his expertise is with OBDI & II. Even though it doesn't really matter what computer you use...the timing, fuel & all that is the same.

Also, I think he is more familiar with supercharged vehicles. Besides, it doesn't seem like he wants to part with his information. It's competitive out there.

[17PSIM3]

Originally posted by highboostingm3
I have the maps from Karl at AA for a car doing 15PSI on 93 Octane.

Check your PM Box

[highboostingm3]

I just want it to be clear that when I mentioned the map from Karl, it's out of total respect for the man. We all know his service, parts & tuning are second to none. Jim at Mechtech has been working with Karl on tuning his ECU's for years. They share ideas & information. When I mentioned the map being too high in the timing I say this because it was for 93 octane which unfortunately Cali does not have at the pump. We have what is called 91 but what is truly 90 octane. It will be a great template to help us in tuning my vehicle but we will have to be very careful to retard the timing a good deal below his map in the power curve & gradually reach the destination where the a/f ratio is 12.5. I believe that is correct. Anyway, I don't plan on sharing any of the information if Karl does not want me to. Although I do thank him for helping Jim & myself so that we can achieve the level of power I am looking for. In return, when it's finished, I would be glad to send the complete fuel map for 90 octane fuel to him so he can tune ECU's for his west coast clients with possibly better results in the future. If better is actually possible that is.

[e30sd]

cameron,

whats up! i met you at a tea station meet when you brought the BEASTLY supra down. Did you sell it yet?

Jim Mcfarland or whatever his name is quite a shady character. I would suggest speaking with Jim Powell, as he is a local MechTech refugee. he might be able to shed some light.

P.S. there's a meet at KrispyKreme tomorrow! bring out the BEAST!

later man

p.s. i think i saw your car around d street in encinitas. maybe i was smokin or something...

[highboostingm3]

Originally posted by e30sd
cameron,

whats up! i met you at a tea station meet when you brought the BEASTLY supra down. Did you sell it yet?

Jim Mcfarland or whatever his name is quite a shady character. I would suggest speaking with Jim Powell, as he is a local MechTech refugee. he might be able to shed some light.

Hey what's up? I have been working really hard to keep her. My finances are looking better & I drove her on the freeway last weekend which basically sums it up right there.

I have talked to Jim online & I used to read his website before I went to Mechtech. 2 years ago I didn't even know of AA or anything, I just got Powell's website url from Brecht BMW in Escondido, Cali. I told the guys there I was thinking of turboing my M3 or buying an M5. I didn't want the 4000lbs or even a 4-door. Besides, the loan payment would have been hell.

Oh well, that was then...anyway, I had spent so much money at Mechtech it would have been stupid to try and sell the kit, then ship my car to AA for a Stage II. So I went to the next level. Well now I have to tune the car & Jim really wants to take great care of me so that he can start turning around all this hatred toward him.

I myself just want some serious healthy hp!

[highboostingm3]

Originally posted by e30sd
P.S. there's a meet at KrispyKreme tomorrow! bring out the BEAST!

later man

p.s. i think i saw your car around d street in encinitas. maybe i was smokin or something...

I'll try to make it but I have been working until 8pm for the last month or so to keep the Supra. I hope you guys will still be around at 10pm.

Do you mean the Supra at D-Street? No, I just drove it down to Cannon Rd., got onto the freeway for a quick pull up to 130mph, then pulled again down 78 east to Vista to talk to some audio gurus. That shit must be the chronic cause my Supra looks pretty different from most.

[DrZiplok]

As for 9 hours being too far... bah.

Many of the SF Bay area DSM crowd make regular trips down to Road///Race; if a bunch of import weenies can manage it, you should too. 8)

Seriously; tuning is hard. If there's someone that's regarded as being at the top of your particular game that's available, it makes little sense to go somewhere else just to save a few bucks in the short term. As you've discovered, it's not good accounting in the longer term.

[highboostingm3]

Originally posted by DrZiplok
As for 9 hours being too far... bah.

Many of the SF Bay area DSM crowd make regular trips down to Road///Race; if a bunch of import weenies can manage it, you should too. 8)

Seriously; tuning is hard. If there's someone that's regarded as being at the top of your particular game that's available, it makes little sense to go somewhere else just to save a few bucks in the short term. As you've discovered, it's not good accounting in the longer term.

I am not whining about the drive, I just don't have the time. Besides, Vic has all his experience with Electromotive & I have a Link Plus, MSD Ignition, Link ignitors & all this extra stuff that might make things a little confusing for the guy that didn't put it in.

Also, taking it to someone else that didn't do the original work I am now realizing can be bad. If something goes wrong I have read stories that one blames the other & vice versa. Now you are sitting there with a blown engine & you have to find the money to put it back together yourself.

If my mech somehow blows it again he knows that he will pay for the entire rebuild or I will sue him.

But at first I need to break in the motor so I might reset the OEM ECU back to stock, drive it without the B/C on for 500 or so miles, then tune it right with the Link Plus.

[e30sd]

Brad D. used to say something to the effect that "A Mechtech Turbo is like a handjob from a guy: you just don't want one."

Sorry, I'm being completely useless. Let me ask around, I'm sure somebody in the San Diego crew must know someone...

[highboostingm3]

Originally posted by e30sd
Brad D. used to say something to the effect that "A Mechtech Turbo is like a handjob from a guy: you just don't want one."

Sorry, I'm being completely useless. Let me ask around, I'm sure somebody in the San Diego crew must know someone...

Yeah I know Brad D. He is cool. He gets really into all of this forum, racing, videos stuff. But even he thinks that if he gets another M3 he will drop a 2JZ-GTE in there. If it's so tough to FI this engine then screw it I say. Same price as AA.

If I make some $15K that I didn't expect...I'll sell everything under my M3 hood & do exactly that.

[Beau]

I used to have a Link ECU in my late Miata. Tuned it myself, in fact brought it to MechTech for the dyno runs about 4-5 years back.

Tuning is not that hard. Hacking away at the OEM DME seems to be a chore, but most standalones are rather simple. In the Miata world virtually everyone did this themselves, whether it be Link, Electromotive, Haltech, Wolf, Motec, SDS, etc, etc. The most difficult things tend to be along the lines of getting your cold start enrichment and idle smooth. IOW, not things that will blow an engine.

What I suggest is get a manual from Link if you already haven't, read through, understand all the features. I recall the manual to my old school Link was about 100 pages, so it'll take an afternoon to familiarize yourself with it all, but it will be worth it.

I don't buy that tuning for 93 when using 90 crap. The knock sensor should have enough authority to handle such a situation. There was an egregious error there somewhere. If it was in the ECU programming then probably something like the timing offset was set to 10 degrees by default, Jim unknowingly set timing values to their literal values, everything was overadvanced by 10 degrees... boom! Regardless you should not just plug and play the values, it's always wise to start soft by going rich and retarded.

Anyway, what kind of tuning ethic was he employing? I mean a map showing a 15 psi run isn't exactly the most helpful thing. Do you even know the conversion factor between Karl's fuel values and what the Link requires? You need to get your base maps smooth in NA, then work up slowly from there, tuning at ~4 psi increments until you hit your target.

- Beau

[highboostingm3]

Originally posted by Beau
I used to have a Link ECU in my late Miata. Tuned it myself, in fact brought it to MechTech for the dyno runs about 4-5 years back.

Tuning is not that hard. Hacking away at the OEM DME seems to be a chore, but most standalones are rather simple. In the Miata world virtually everyone did this themselves, whether it be Link, Electromotive, Haltech, Wolf, Motec, SDS, etc, etc. The most difficult things tend to be along the lines of getting your cold start enrichment and idle smooth. IOW, not things that will blow an engine.

What I suggest is get a manual from Link if you already haven't, read through, understand all the features. I recall the manual to my old school Link was about 100 pages, so it'll take an afternoon to familiarize yourself with it all, but it will be worth it.

I don't buy that tuning for 93 when using 90 crap. The knock sensor should have enough authority to handle such a situation. There was an egregious error there somewhere. If it was in the ECU programming then probably something like the timing offset was set to 10 degrees by default, Jim unknowingly set timing values to their literal values, everything was overadvanced by 10 degrees... boom! Regardless you should not just plug and play the values, it's always wise to start soft by going rich and retarded.

Anyway, what kind of tuning ethic was he employing? I mean a map showing a 15 psi run isn't exactly the most helpful thing. Do you even know the conversion factor between Karl's fuel values and what the Link requires? You need to get your base maps smooth in NA, then work up slowly from there, tuning at ~4 psi increments until you hit your target.

- Beau

Thanks for all the info. I have the Link Plus CD-Rom & a map from the 560rwhp MRoadster. I will study it the next few nights on my computer at home.

You are right, I think converting Karl's info to the Link Plus will be too tough. I was corrected, it's not a 15PSI run but it is on 93 octane...it's all numbers on paper from 2 years ago with dust on it in a file cabinet, not even a graph of any kind. So we are going to start from scratch. We'll be very retarded & work our way up from there.

When you said

Originally posted by Beau
If it was in the ECU programming then probably something like the timing offset was set to 10 degrees by default, Jim unknowingly set timing values to their literal values, everything was overadvanced by 10 degrees... boom!

you mean that if the DME shows 23 degrees it's probably 13 because of the 10 degree offset but Jim would think it's 23? More info please!!!!: