Got boost... and a few questions

[fmicle]

I got Morgan's Blitz S/C kit last week (thanks Garm for hooking me up) and installed it over the weekend. :thumbup: Considering my limited level of expertise, I am very happy with the outcome. The car is running great and I'm enjoying the "whining" :wub: and the powa that comes with it but...

When the engine starts cold, it revs relatively high, around 2,000 rpm for a bit. Once it warms up and the idle goes down below 1,000 rpm the idle is not as smooth as it used to be. It's irregular and goes up and down, I'd say as low as 600-700 rpm and as high as 1,000 rpm. Almost like the ECU is struggling to keep the engine running at idle. If I touch the accelerator just a bit, everything smooths out.

My problem is that *sometimes* when idling at this low RPM, the CEL comes on. It's P0171 (too lean) and P0300 through P0304 (random misfire on all cylinders). I've only had the kit on for 2 days now and started the car maybe 10-15 times so far and I was wondering, is it just an adaptation phase for the ECU or is it something that could be fixed? Or SHOULD be fixed? Since this only happens at idle, I'm not very concerned about it, but I'd still like some opinions.

I changed the spark plugs from the stock ones to the Blitz recommended ones. Yesterday for instance I left home, drove for 30 minutes, with 2 stops inbetween, then took the car up a moutain road, pulled over to check the map and while idling on the side of the road, the CEL came on. It might have even been more than 45 minutes or so since I had left the home.

Any thoughts?

[evoyuin]

well, in my opinion and i'm no car expert either haha, but in my opinion, u do need turbo ecu's. the stock ecu won't read the amount of pressure turbos take in. if its not the ecu, try getting a flash or a dyno tune.

[cdydjded]

What plugs did you install?

[fmicle]

Problem was, I had a vacuum leak. I bought a gasket sheet from Kragen's, cut my own TB gasket, also applied some "Right Stuff" (foam gasket maker), which took care of it. The idle is so smooth now that I can't hear it from inside the car with the radio turned off, I need to look to my tach, to make sure the engine is still running. Paranoia :wink:

The Blitz kit was designed for a stock car. Which means it was designed to work with the stock ECU and not need anything special, no extra tuning, etc.

I installed the Blitz recommended ones: Blitz Iridium 77.

[ezhacker1]

how much did you get hers kit for?

[evoyuin]

oh cool, i didn't know that they made turbos for stock ecu's =) awesome! but i'm glad u got ur problem fixed..and that does stink when u have a vacuum leak.

[cali yaris]

evoyuin, the Blitz is a supercharger, not a turbo, just so you know.

The Blitz kit was designed for a stock car. Which means it was designed to work with the stock ECU and not need anything special, no extra tuning, etc.

Not quite accurate. The kit does require their fuel controller (technically a piggyback) that must be wired into the ECU.

[fmicle]

^ That's right of course... What I meant to say is that it's supposed to work out of the box, Blitz took care of the "tuning" part in the provided fuel controller module.

Garm, do we actually know if the ECU itself can deal with the extra air or does the controller tell the ECU lower air values and at the same time tell the injectors to pump more fuel. I wonder if the ECU even "knows" that something has changed?

[cali yaris]

Well, remember how well your car didn't run before you wired up the controller?

[fmicle]

Well, remember how well your car didn't run before you wired up the controller?

That's true, but now I wonder whether it was mainly because of the vacuum leak. Once I wired it and still had the leak I had the impression that it was running a little better, but I was really too stressed out to make an objective observation... The one day I did take the car to work and back with the leak, the engine stalled 5 times on my 9 mile commute, mainly at traffic lights when I had to press the clutch while pressing the brake pedal as well. And that was with the controller wired and running.

In retrospect I think I shouldn't have tried to run it without the wiring, just to save myself some head-aches and false paths, but I still believe if it hadn't been for the leak, it should have run fine :rolleyes:

[Doc Zaius]

Well, remember how well your car didn't run before you wired up the controller?

Hey well... I've had my fuel controller unplugged for months (with the supercharger turned off) and it's been running totally fine. fmicle's problem probably *was* due to the vacuum leak.

[1.5]

nice problem solve it makes you feel so good when u solve a problem yourself.

[Doc Zaius]

Why would you unplug the fc? Turning the switch to off should be fine. Did you cover the ends of the plugs?

Nope... I thought just turning it off would be fine too. When the weather turned cold, it would start running really bad... like REALLY bad! CELs (misfires), white smoke smelling like unburnt gas, undriveable. I don't have an A/F gauge, but I'm guessing from the fact my long-term fuel trim was at -43% that it was running a *little* rich!!

So yeah, I unplugged it, and the car drives just fine... a bit sluggish due to the extra piping and having to spin the compressor blades. And yeah, the connectors are taped up.

I should really get an air/fuel gauge to keep an eye on this thing... I think I'm the only Blitz owner running rich with stock injectors!

[Morgan]

Not that it makes any difference, but my supercharger(err, your supercharger) would show 9psi and peak at 11psi occasionally.

Did you ever get the methanol installed? The AEM corrected a stumbling issue I had at WOT. ...just curious?

[cali yaris]

white smoke smelling like unburnt gas

I think rich / unburnt fuel is black smoke, not white?