GoPaul's Journal

[BSR-1]

I'd also be curious about any MPG changes with the tune.

[GoPaul]

Video above updated

[TJ91]

Paul. Thanks for the vid!
I cant wait to order my Vararam. Since I missed the group buy, im going to wait for dyno runs first before ruling out Injen. Cant wait to see dyno results!

[TJ91]

Hey Paul, how you liking the vararam in comparison to the Injen so far?

[GoPaul]

June 2011 Trifecta Tune Loaded

OK so I went to ARD for a dyno this past Saturday and didn't quite get the desired results.

Keep in mind I had previously got a dyno run at ARD in Oct of 2010 with the Injen air intake installed and the stock tune and got 257 RWHP.

All runs shown on the attached dyno sheet were done with the Vararam intake installed and with 93 octane fuel.

Run "Runfile 1304" and "Runfile 1305" were both done first with the 13HP tune installed - results show a max of 241 RWHP

I then reinstalled the stock tune and dyno'd again:
Run "Runfile 1306" and "Runfile 1307" were both ran with the stock tune and results show an improvement with a max of 253 RWHP



I have since reinstalled the 13HP tune and sent a data log off to Vince at Trifecta.

Initial feedback from Vince is that my datalog looks fine. Not sure if he's going to give me another tune though. I'm thinking my best bet at this point is to take it to the track particularly in the wake of Vararam's recent post about their intake and dyno'ing. I wonder if the tune works better with the intake on the street and that some sort of screw up (very technical I know) occurs when trying to dyno the intake and tune together?

Originally Posted by sales@vararam.com

We have noticed that some have asked about dyno numbers with the new VR system.

Those that have received their units will find this information in the back of their instructions under" Dyno-ing the VR system".
Most of this and much more will be on the V-6 Camaro page when it comes live.

First, there is no before and after dynoing with any system. The E38 computer must have learn time, or it simply will not bring in full ignition timing. It will not dial in the fuel trims, and the MAF scaling will be off.
The long-term fuel trims must set in at the very least, and that takes 28-32 miles. Driving on the dyno will not do this. We drove 48miles with the V-6 on the dyno.

What if you do a before and after test?
You will probably catch the ECU in the learn process before it has had a chance to fully learn whatever part it is your testing. In which case, your numbers will be off, and you will have worthless data. We test everyone’s products everyday from the flow bench to the road, and we data log everything. We see to it that we know more about our competitor’s products than they do. In this particular case, your dealing with the E38 ECU in the direct injection V-6 combination and how it reacts to changes in airflow.

Here is the most important information: The VR system is designed and set up for the road "NOT THE DYNO”. Specifically it’s optimized for 3rd gear. Third is a high load gear, and the final gear that the car will use at a 1/4 mile drag strip (6sp man) terminal speed is about 105mph.The system was designed to run 22.5-24 deg of timing advance all the way to 6750 RPM and -1-2% fuel trim at WOT in 3rd gear with a specific MAF scaling rate and flow number. It will do this in 100+ deg heat all day long.
The dyno will never be the same as the road. Our tech has worked with racing teams with multi- million dollar facilities, and they still cannot replicate the track perfectly on their dynos.


Here is an example of dyno data vs. on road data taken on the same day. We will look at the stock air box and how it performed in both conditions.
(All testing was conducted on the same day. We made over 10 dyno pulls in 3rd gear, and we data logged using EFI live and a wideband. All information is @ 6750 RPM.

DYNO vs Street 3rd gear pulls

MAF scaling HZ peak 7828-7850 Hz / 7380-7430 Hz

MAF flow rate 28.42 lbs per min / 24.5 lbs per min

Timing advance 21-19.5 deg / 16-14.5 deg (both are pulling timing)

Air fuel 12.10 / 11.5-11.70

Air intake temp 80-82 deg / 80-82 deg

Dyno HP 249- 253hp / OEM street hp? (VR estimate, 239-242hp)

As you can see, if you had designed a system or a tune on the dyno it would be off/wrong.

The VR system is designed to use the ram affect to dial in the MAF for full power when the vehicle is moving. The self inter-cooling allows us to run more timing and a stronger MAF curve without getting out of the ECU's parameters or running into unwanted detonation. On a dyno the airflow is simply not there nor is the road load to replicate this. On a dyno the ECU will bring timing in to quickly (much quicker than the OEM curve) which will cause the ECU to pull timing. Where as on the road it will not It will continue to add timing advance until it reaches the maximum commanded number.

This is one of the reasons we spend so much time in R&D at VR on our systems. They are much more complex than a cone and a pipe style setup. Even our MAF is complex. With features like a reverse venturi aero package. Sound frequency cancellation and A 7 O’clock MAF position with an integrated rear velocity stack for a 20%+ airflow improvement in the throttle body. Big power comes from the details, details come from R&D and stepping outside the "NORM”.
If you just want a dyno number that's easy it's the same unit with a different MAF setup combination and we could do that and it will pull great numbers and then it won’t run as well as the dyno numbers indicate on the street because the MAF will be over-scaled (to much air flow) and it will pull timing.

For VR to achieve our goal of 30+hp in real world conditions, we took our log data from our highest dyno numbers, 276 rear wheel hp@ 1500 DA. We replicated this on the street in 3rd gear in 100 deg heat + 3000ft DA. Then we started to turn up the wick even further. To increase power further we found that we would have to use a more conservative “ static base combination”. We had to do this because of where the MAF scaling, timing and AFR would end up under actual road loads. The end result of all this is what you have all been reading.

“She blazes the tires now “, “it's a different car”, “Smokes the tires through second “and on and on!

There's the real world and the play world, we design our systems for the real world, where our customers win races and set records.

VR Tech

I still think that the tune and the Vararam feels better on my butt dyno when driving compared to the vararam and stock tune, despite the dyno saying otherwise.

Only the track will prove otherwise I guess.......

[BSR-1]

I'm dying to find out.... Please keep us updated!

[Ir0nM4n]

ONE AWESOME CAR Journal!!! Thank you for all the work. I am waitng on my Vararam Intake and RX Catch Can. After reading your story on the Vararam intake I feel better. My question is now that you have had the Vararam intake on for about a month what do you think? Also if you dont mind me asking how much is a tune?

[GoPaul]

Originally Posted by MINI HLK

ONE AWESOME CAR Journal!!! Thank you for all the work. I am waitng on my Vararam Intake and RX Catch Can. After reading your story on the Vararam intake I feel better. My question is now that you have had the Vararam intake on for about a month what do you think? Also if you dont mind me asking how much is a tune?

Thanks I'm still loving the Vararam intake - I never did resolve the dyno issue but I know in my butt dyno it is giving me more than I had with my Injen and no tune. The tune itself was $400 plus the $200 for the cable which I bought - If you are thinking about adding LT headers further down the line (which I am) then it is worth it as you'll need it to remove the CEL code which LTs throw. Also if you buy the cable then you pretty much get free tunes when you need one.

[BACH]

dude - update your garage with the new pics and mods....

[GoPaul]

Originally Posted by BACH

dude - update your garage with the new pics and mods....

Done.



Appointment set for Friday at Barnett Pinstriping to get my pace car flat black rally stripes installed.

Pictures to follow........

[GoPaul]

August 2011 - Flat Black Pace Car Rally Stripes Installed

Thanks to Barnett Pin Striping who did a great job. For anyone wanting to get vinyls installed - a word of caution: Do not buy stripes online - these guys would provide and install (and warranty the product) for cheaper than you can buy/install them separately. Also half way through installation they noticed the stripes had waves in them due to incorrect packaging/shipping - they don't look too bad; however I may get Barnett to replace the hood stripes in the near future.

[Camaro2SSRS]

I've been on the fence about changing my stripes to flat black. It looks really good on your car!

[BACH]

photos look good. can't wait to see it in person.

[GoPaul]

September 2011 - Cup Holder Lighting Installed

Bought the matte black panel with "a bit more blue" led from 'sjmautoprod'. Very happy with the results though I may add a bit of rubber striping on the edges to get a more snug fit.