theRedhatch

hey guys i got a 92 eg hatch with a d16z6 i want to run low boost for fun, gonna get a ebay turbo kit and a few extra higher quality pieces like the oil drain and return but i was told i will blow it without a tune....

right now it has the stock ecu for the d16 but i was looking at Chipped ECU p28 on ebay says comes with BASE MAP? whats that mean? is that a base tune?

and if i buy this Chipped ECU for $179 how much do you think it will cost me to get it tuned?

thanks guys just learning here and thats a few things i have been wondering lately

theRedhatch

@ezone where you at bro help me out

marek91

Hi,

A basemap is exactly what you described. its a base tune for the engine you are running. (Not usually intended for boost).
If you plan on running low PSI on the turbo, like 5-8 pounds. your car will run... I would suggest investing in a Boost gauge and Air/Fuel gauge. This way you can at least monitor how much boost you are running and how rich/lean you are. With that info you can adjust your boost and fuel as needed.
Now if you want your car to run like a top, then you would be best to get it tuned. Some tuners are able to fabricate a tune for you and send it to you with out seeing your car(Once again not the best) but better then running on a stock ECU.
Ideally you would want to go to a place that can properly dyno tune your car and has the ability to program your OBD1 ECU.

But regardless. If you are on stock internals and you want to run 20 PSI of boost, you engine will not last long regardless if your ECU is tuned or not.

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

ezone knows stock cars, asking about modifications is not what he knows about.

regardless, turboing will always require adjusting ignition/fuel supply adjustments.

you can do without, but it will be an engine for each week?

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

I think this is where I step in. While ezone has an immense amount of knowledge with regards to stock honda engines, I have a metric crap ton of (albeit largely theoretical) knowledge with regards to modifications.

Like marek said, the base map will be enough to get your stock engine running. While your car will run with it while boosted, you're setting yourself up for failure without modifying the fuel supply needed to facilitate the extra air intake from a turbo. Without a tune, you'll be invariably running quite lean, which leads to bad times. If anything, I'd rather run rich with a snail running the show.

As far as dyno tuning, that really depends on the shop you go to. From my research of shops I was looking into (and one that I used), what I'm about to give you seems to be fairly average price. When I got my car tuned for boost, it cost me $150 for the first hour, and $100 for each hour after that. It's been some time, but if my memory serves me correctly, they charged me $250 for tuning costs. You do have to make sure that the shop you choose is capable of tuning with the chipped ECU you have. If they don't have the capability, then they're gonna tell you that you're **** out of luck.

Adding onto what marek said (his post is actually quite helpful), at a minimum, I'd have a boost gauge and a wideband AFR gauge. You buy a cheap AFR gauge, it's gonna be a narrowband one, and it's just gonna be a shiny sweeping light show that tells you absolutely nothing. A typical AFR gauge will tap into one of your existing O2 sensors, and, unless you're rocking a 2004 or newer civic, it's going to be narrowband. An AEM UEGO AFR gauge (which includes a wideband sensor) will run about $150 (via amazon prime), and you'd have to get that O2 sensor bung welded into your exhaust pipe, something like within 6" from the turbo exhaust outlet.

And with regards to boost level, I can only speak for the D17A2, but that engine can only handle like 8psi max without extra reinforcement.