Rep Power: 279

I have no money. I need my car to NOT blow up AGAIN. Here are my options:

Option #1:
Take the fuel system as is (stock with RSX-S injectors) and bring the car to Turbotrix for a dyno tune at 5psi and remove my boost controller, running off the wastegate only. Who cares about power... I need a car to drive to work. Total cost = $450 for the tune.

Option #2:
Buy a AEM F/IC and harness for $400-whatever and take the car with the stock fuel system to be tuned by Turbotrix. I can recover about $250 for my E-Manage... I lost the serial cable. This will be a much more stable and powerful set-up at the same 5psi... but the extra cost is painful. Total cost = $850 out of pocket, $600 after selling the E-Manage.

Option #3:
Praying to Jesus, Vishnu (or Ganesh.... whatever), Allah, and all the other children's characters my car survives the lean-condition winter air of New Jersey, saving every penny I have to buy SRT-4 injectors, a walbro pump, injector clips, the AEM F/IC + harness THEN taking it to Turbotrix to tune it to around 10psi. The biggest problem here is that I only can spare about
$10 a week on my current pay. The car will eat itself before I could save enough to buy everything 112 weeks from now. Total cost = $1,120 out of pocket, $870 after selling the E-Manage.

Keep in mind NONE of these options include a wideband O2 sensor... I just can't afford it and the car is in more danger of blowing up if I don't tune it properly than if it leans too much while driving. It leans too much already.


The moral here... don't turbo your Civic if you think there is even a scarily remote chance of you losing your job before it's completed.

So what does everyone think I should do?

 
Rep Power: 279

My current inclination is option #2.

 
Rep Power: 0

Dude, if you have a Tial WG, I've got an extra 3.7 psi spring that you can have if you want to run even less boost to guarantee the safety of your car. PM me your address and it's yours, gratis if you need it.

I would do option 1 for right now and save up for your wideband. Once you get that installed, then look towards ditching the e-manage. 10 psi on your setup is too much to run all the time, but you probably know that.

AEM F/IC with the harness is like $500+ IIRC, so keep that in mind. If you shop around and hit a junkyard for your clips, you can get the SRT-4s w/clips for around $60. Add $100 for the Walbro and yeah, there you are.

 
Rep Power: 287

do option 2 and tell me how it goes. i need to find a good tuner that tunes AEM FIC really well

 
Rep Power: 279

Well... I have a fully built bottom end... so with the proper fuel system and controller in option #3... I think I can hold 10psi daily. But foos... you wouldn't think to get the AEM F/IC before the wideband still only tuning for 5psi? I mean... the RSX-S injectors can handle the WG spring... thats part of Dezod's standard set-up and they'd be tuning it during the winter anyway... so if anything I'd have a problem in the summertime with it being too rich. And besides... my car never goes over 4000RPM. There's no risk of me beating on it at this point... I can't afford a mistake.

The problem with either option #1 or #2 is having to re-tune eventually. I think that option #2 is better because they'd already have a base map if I ever upgraded the injectors and pump.

I don't know. I know there are cheaper way to do #3 but I can't think like that right now.

Chris and Paul... any comments from you two?

 
Rep Power: 321

i'd go with option 2, but why dont you just pull off the turbo until your more financially stable?

 
Rep Power: 287

logic, id take clint up on his offer for the 3.6psi spring. i believe its a .2bar spring isnt it? anyways, that way you can just run it off the spring and tune it to run slighty rich until you have enough money for a full tune.

 
Rep Power: 0

All depends on how much cash you want to hemorrhage right now man, which is why I suggested Option 1. If you've got the cash, then obviously Options 2 or 3 make the most sense right now.

Or do like Rennen suggested.

Option 4: Pull the EMS, put stock injectors back in, pull the charge piping to run a regular filter, and drive it like that until you're in a better position to do it correctly.

This way you can sell your emanage and RSX injectors now and start collecting the rest of your parts while your car is still drivable. No need to pull the turbo assembly. It won't drive like stock, but at least you won't be in any danger of breaking your car while you go back and forth to work.

 
Rep Power: 360

turbotrix sucks...i work .5 miles from them, and they are worthless..they couldnt even tune my car when i was boosted..plus i got many friends who know the poeple there and they suck at mostly everything there..blowing up cars, to not using proper **** to change out parts...

 
Rep Power: 252

get an xfc,,,tune it via email

 
Rep Power: 279

Well... exturbo6 is there a ANY reputable dyno tuner in New Jersey?

And Clint... thats operating on the assumption I still have my stock injectors... LOL. I'd have to find some. Shouldn't be more than a couple dollars off someone here though. I think I have all 4, they're just sitting on my garage floor which can't be good for preserving them.

Chris - that's an option I was thinking about too.

 
Rep Power: 360

well, im going to text my buddy and ask him...but i would not go to turbotrix honestly man...they tuned my car and it was running so rich, i was going 170 miles on a full tank of gas...amoung blowing fuses b.c they could install **** right..just trying to look out for you. ill get back to you in a few, im going to lunch.

not for nothing, id go with chris and his idea...u cant go wrong..prob the best bet so far..but ill still find out for you.

 
Rep Power: 252

**** Steve knows how I can tune plus ask Drew and Clint. Those are some references if you want to ask them..

 
Rep Power: 0

Yeah I gave my extra set to a member here who lives in Hungary otherwise I'd send them to you. I have one other set, but I need to hang on to them in case my set up (knock wood) goes **** up.

You'd really like the XFC in my opinion. I don't know anything about the AEM, but so far the XFC is a wonderful little EMS.

I'll ***** out BnT more once I get my sticker Chris! You already got a shout out and your website graphic in my video!

 
Rep Power: 279

That's a lovely idea Chris... I know you know your **** from when you discovered this little problem of mine over the phone. But that PCS XFC is more expensive... what like $100 more?

But in order to properly tune it - wouldn't you need me to have a wideband hooked up to it for the correct datalogging?

 
Rep Power: 252

yeah you need a wideband. but if going turbo you should have one anyways.

 
Rep Power: 279

Yea I know... everything these days is what I "should have." I think it boils down to I need a wideband and a new fuel controller before doing anything. So that's an additional $289 for an Innovate Motorsports wideband gauge/plug/etc. on top of the fuel controller.

So now it's:

Option #1:
$907 plus tuning costs for a wideband and AEM... still keeping RSX-S injectors and stock pump @ 5 psi.

Option #2:
$1013 plus tuning costs for a wideband and PCS... still keeping RSX-S injectors and stock pump @ 5 psi.

 
Rep Power: 0

*chiming in late*

Go with the safest route possible. Even if you have to pull the turbo. At least you'll have a car to drive until you can afford more.
Seriously, if you can't afford to break it, don't try.
Unless you don't mind riding a bus in Jersey.

 
Rep Power: 251

pm sent logic

p.s.
How do you tune "via email"? Paul never got a chance to finish the tune on my car so I am running very rich at WOT. Is there anyone I can send my map to?

 
Rep Power: 360

we dont have a bus system.

 
Rep Power: 279

Jersey isn't too cool. I mean, where I am in A.C. we can give our money to Trump, but that gets boring. LOL

 
Rep Power: 252

I can tune the PCS system via email as long as I can get the datalogs

 
Rep Power: 279

You know... I've now driven this car with the screwed up 9psi map turned down to 5psi at least 60 miles a day at around 60mph 5 days a week for 3 months or so. I have put about 5,000 miles on it since discovering this tuning issue. Other than a serious misfire problem at idle, no issues that I know of... wonder what it's doing to my $1,400 worth of internals.

 
Rep Power: 0

A 9 psi map and a 5 psi won't really be much different though.

If you're tuned for 9 psi, backing down shouldn't give you any issues as long as the tune is solid. If you think about it, you have to be at, and go past, 5 psi to get to 9 psi. The map doesn't care whether you stay at 5 psi or keep going to 9 psi. It's going to dump fuel according to the engine load/rpm intersection point on the fuel table.

 
Rep Power: 252

It should be ok, but hard to tell w/o a widebandso that you can monitor that tune yourself

 
Rep Power: 331

i dont understand why you just run no boost until you get more money? thats what i had to do over the summer, i ran practically stock until i could buy all the **** i needed for my rebuild. all i had to remove was the emangle, drop in the stock injectors and pull the turbo/mani and some charge pipes to put the stock exhaust back on. I didnt even run a cat (i dont own one). It wasnt fast but it got me where i needed to go without putting my car in danger. plus i had a full blown interfooler :P

oh, and ive been running a wideband since day 1. im even on my second sensor but it provides vital engine info, id get that before anything else.

 
Rep Power: 279

Does the XFC have a built in pressure sensor? Or do I need to buy a sensor/cable that goes into the unit?

 
Rep Power: 252

PCS has a 3bar map sensor that you need.. You can get it from PCS or me or paul

 
Rep Power: 279

So if I got the Innovate wideband, its wire has a connection for the piggyback and another one goes to the gauge... I think. I'd have to wire the gauge to wherever and the other end would go right to the piggyback? Or is that another cable?

Then I tap this MAP sensor into my charge piping and the wire goes straight to the piggyback?

 
Rep Power: 252

The 5volt output on the wideband will go to the XFC. They already have a wire for that to go too. Do not tap your charge pipe at all...3bar sensor will run off of the vacume lines that your BOV and all is attached too