Wester's Tune just installed

roden001 · July 15, 2005

Well, I took part in the most recent Tbyrne group purchase (fabulous folks to do business with, by the way), and the PCM arrived yesterday. I was on call, so I didn't get to install it until this morning.

So far so good, I think. Two weeks ago I installed a 57 series K&N FIPK and got decent improvements in throttle response. I didn't see any of the increases in sound until I installed the PCM today. Now my truck sounds like a freakin' race car.

I think mine will be one of the PCM's that takes a little time to learn the truck, though. It idles okay, but accelleration is a little sluggish for now. However, it was already some improved even at the end of the first run (<5 miles).

My main concern at this point is a rattle coming from under the hood when I'm at wide-open-throttle. I've heard some refer to 'knocking,' but I'm not sure what that is, nor what it sounds like. My noise sounds like somebody rattling three or four gravel rocks inside an empty Coke can. Like I say, It only happens at WOT.

What is it, and will this be one of the things that goes away?

BlueTahoe · July 15, 2005

What tune did you get? 91/87, 93/91 hot tune......

What octane gas is in the truck?

What you describe sounds like spark knock. This could be caused by running too low of octane fuel for your tune. I don't know the learning process so I don't know if it would go away as it learns.

I have had mine for 4-5 months and have never noticed any spark knock but the tune did improve quite a bit over the first 500 or so miles.

BlueTahoe · July 15, 2005

Something else dawned on me too. You have an oiled air filter. You could have a dirty MAF that would contribute to spark knock. Pick up a can of no residue electrical cleaner and clean the MAF good. All you do is spray it down good from both sides and let it air dry. DON'T touch the wires!!!!

I clean mine with every oil change.

vhato · July 15, 2005

Edit: BlueTahoe beat me to the reply button. Anyway, he is correct as well as what I wrote.

Well, a custom tune should wake it up. Don't expect anything amazing.

The sluggish acceleration may be due ot the pinging (knocking) you are hearing at WOT. Pulling ignition timing can solve this problem, but that will pull horsepower too. Of course pinging looses power anyway.

What is interesting is these Custom Tuners know how far they can go on an "average" engine. Some can handle a tad more, others a tad less. Your pinging sounds excess which can be attributed directly to your custom tune, but it may not be "its fault".

1. What kind of octane did you tune for?

If your tuned for 93 octane and you aren't running it, you will ping.

2. It is possible the gas in your tank is not the same octane as was advertised.

Try a different brand.

3. Maybe you are using "No Name Fuel" and who knows what you have. Sure it is true it comes from the same pipeline (kinda), but cheap gas is....cheap gas. Pay a little more and pour in some name brand quality stuff.

4. Fuel systems may be clogged. You may have trash in the injectors, build up in the combustion chamber. Who knows. The relaxed "stock" timing may have hidden this problem, but your new performance tune is proving its value and showing you the issue a bit sooner.

Running Higher grades of Fuel and/or cleaning your fuel system can resolve these problems. The "last resort" should be a phone call to your tuner and asking him to back down your ignition advance, but that would defeat the reason you wanted a tuned PCM in the first place...More power.

1BADHD · July 15, 2005

Something else dawned on me too. You have an oiled air filter. You could have a dirty MAF that would contribute to spark knock. Pick up a can of no residue electrical cleaner and clean the MAF good. All you do is spray it down good from both sides and let it air dry. DON'T touch the wires!!!!

I clean mine with every oil change.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

BINGO! Mine sounded BAD. I shot it with some carb cleaner and she runs better and I can keep the skinny pedal to the floor without hearing a rattle snake under my hood.

roden001 · July 15, 2005

Thanks for the responses.

I'm pretty sure I got the 87/91 tune. At the time of installation, I had 1/4 tank of 87 octane from Shell station. The first place I took the truck was back to Shell station to fill up with 93.

I'll go now to the parts store to get some electrical cleaner. So I just disconnect the MAF sensor and spray that stuff on the connector pins?

How do I clean my fuel system? Do I just buy some fuel additive? If so, what should I get?

I usually fill up at Shell because it's conveniently located between my house and work. I have no idea if Shell gas is supposed to be so badly inferior as to cause my problem.

Thanks again, fellas.

vhato · July 15, 2005

Shell has been known for years to contain higher than usual amounts of sulfur. Texaco also.

Citgo, Fina, Exxon, Mobil and the Big 3 favorite Chevron. The Techroline additive in Chevron fuels is the reason the big 3 have hauled in Chevron for ever and ever on test cars.

roden001 · July 16, 2005

Well, good news. Just went to the parts store, and no knocking this time. Got two or three WOT accellerations (now everybody in town thinks I'm a punk, I'm sure ), and no knocks.

I went ahead and got some fuel injection cleaner (STP) at the parts store, and am planning to add it to this tank of gas, unless somebody on here thinks that's a bad idea.

I also got some electrical cleaner, and I'm going to spray it on the MAF sensor.

Looks like this thing is working itself out. Whether it turns out to be the octane level, the brand of gas, or just the fact that the tune needed to learn my truck, I'll have to wait to find out, I suppose.

Thanks for the suggestions, and somebody stop me if this STP injector cleaner is a bad idea.

BlueTahoe · July 16, 2005

Good to hear!

To the clean the MAF you just take the air tube off of the MAF on both side. You will see a screen with wires behind it. You need to clean the wires behind the screen.

Sound like you should be all set if you do all you said. You could probably try stepping down in octane on the next couple of tanks and see if you get the knock back. If you do you went too low.

roden001 · July 17, 2005

Well, the rattle is back. Sometimes it's there, sometimes it's not. Also, the really loud under-the-hood air flow noise is also sometimes there, sometimes not.

I don't know what the heck is going on.

Butch 02 Denali · July 17, 2005

The K&N FIPK are pretty loud when you're heavy on the gas pedal. Not much you can do about it other than change to a sealed box intake like the Outlaw or Volant.

You didn't say if you cleaned the mafs? As was said, you must take the sensor out and spray from both sides with the cleaner spray. It's not the connector like you mentioned, it's the inside of the mafs, where the air travels through.

How many miles on it now? It sometimes will take 100 miles to fully learn. Your dual tune will also go into a learn cycle every time you put at least 5 gallons of gas in the tank. It will monitor the knock sensors and actually set the tuning level anywhere between the two dual tune levels that it detects no knocking at. Are you still on your first tank of gas?

roden001 · July 17, 2005

Thanks, Butch. First off, I *like* the loudness of the intake. I was just concerned about it being intermittent (from trip to trip, not within a given trip).

As for the MAF, I'd never seen one until two weeks ago (when I installed this FIPK), but it looked clean to me. As far as I could tell there was no blockage at all in the screen.

I probably only have about 15 or 20 miles on the tune so far--about four trips of 5 miles each.

I'm going to drive it to Birmingham and back today. It's about 50 miles both ways.

We'll see what happens. I think I'm really going to be happy with this tune, as soon as everything settles down.

BlueTahoe · July 17, 2005

The reason for the MAF cleaning is to remove anything that may have accumulated on the small sensor wires there should never be and blockage because that is what the air filter should be doing. It has been found that some oiled air filters like K&N could leave an oil residue on the sensor points behind the screen and cause it to not read accuratly. The electrical cleaners just remove the contaminants. I have never visually seen much on mine but still clean it as a prevenative maint. thing.

Butch 02 Denali · July 18, 2005

Yes, the SLIGHTEST of oil residue will cause a very slight amount of dust to stick on the wires and it will screw up the readings. You usually cannot even see that it's dirty.

roden001 · July 18, 2005

DON'T touch the wires!!!!

I clean mine with every oil change.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What would that do? I'm asking because I'm pretty sure I remember handling that thing, screen and all, with my greasy thumbs during the FIPK installation.

...sounds like I definitely need to spray that thing down. Will that fix whatever I may have gotten on there during the FIPK install?