FITECH EFI TUNING tips, info sharing, ideas, settings, etc...

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pishta said:
Whay are you guys running such a rich Idle at 13.5? Would it not be better to run a slight lean idle like 15:1? curious.
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Pishta,
Your question was interesting, so I tried to find some information about ideal idle AFR. Turns out the first site that came up in Google was very informative. Thought this might be a useful reference for most.

AFR+ Basic Functionality - Understand AFR Values, Wideband O2 Sensors, and Fuel Trim vs. Auto Tune Modes of our Fuel Controller.

Travis
 
Does Fitech have a support email? I sent an email to their info@ address, but thought that somebody might have a specific email or person I could contact for support. Started mine today using AFRs based on what I was using on my E85 blow thru carb, but it was a bear to start, idles horribly and has no throttle response. After warming up to 170 idle improved a bit, but I want to get some feedback from FiTech before taking blind guesses at what to set. Mine is a E85, single turbo blow-thru 360.
 
the three guys that I have emailed in the past are
Cody
Bryce
Kirk

And USUALLY i get a response.

Customer service is jason
all with the same @ address as you have indicated.
 
Talked to Cody several times. Good guy; very helpful, patient. I never felt like I being rushed off the phone.
 
74SwingerSpe said:
Pishta,
Your question was interesting, so I tried to find some information about ideal idle AFR. Turns out the first site that came up in Google was very informative. Thought this might be a useful reference for most.

AFR+ Basic Functionality - Understand AFR Values, Wideband O2 Sensors, and Fuel Trim vs. Auto Tune Modes of our Fuel Controller.

Travis
Click to expand...
I read the idle part but still don't buy it. Idle is no load, no reason to run anything fatter than stoich, buy i suppose they know more than I do about this but have read many thay idle and light cruise should be on the lean side but that may be coming from a mileage attitude. Thanks
 
ENGINE SIZE: 360 Magnum, GT45 Turbo, E85.
FITECH SETUP USED: 1200 Power Adder. -8AN Feed and Return. Dead-headed to the Fitech unit. Using an external Aeromotive boost reference fp regulator. Boost reference connected to the Aeromotive and capped at the FiTech unit per instructions from FiTech.
ENGINE VACUUM: ~4 at idle and warm.
CAM SETTING (1,2,3, or 4) AND YOUR CAM SPECS: 2, 284/290, 112, 515/515 lift hyd roller. Currently using Setting #2 as per Code. He said between 2-3 with my cam profile.
IAC COUNTS @ idle and cruise: idle is within the 3-10 range when warmed up.
TIMING CONTROL: Y/N? No
IDLE RPM: 750-800, still experimenting
TARGET IDLE AFR: 12.8-13.0
ANY ADJUSTED PARAMETERS AND WHY?: AFR Idle through Boost settings for E85 and Turbo. Did the IAC step adjustment as well with the idle adjustment screw. Increased CID 30% for the additional volume e85 requires.
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subcom said:
ENGINE SIZE: 360 Magnum, GT45 Turbo, E85.
FITECH SETUP USED: 1200 Power Adder
ENGINE VACUUM: very low
CAM SETTING (1,2,3, or 4) AND YOUR CAM SPECS: 1, 284/290, 112, 515/515 lift hyd roller.
IAC COUNTS @ idle and cruise: idle is within the 3-10 range when warmed up.
TIMING CONTROL: Y/N? No
IDLE RPM: 750-800, still experimenting
TARGET IDLE AFR: 12.8-13.0
ANY ADJUSTED PARAMETERS AND WHY?: AFR Idle through Boost settings for E85 and Turbo. Did the IAC step adjustment as well with the idle adjustment screw. Increased CID 30% for the additional volume e85 requires.
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First start was horrible. Felt like it was flooding. I nursed it until the temp came up and it improved a little at idle and off-idle. At that point I shut it off and let it cool back down for a few hours. Next time it started right up but idled really rough. The IAC setting seems to have provided the best results. As soon as it stops raining around here I'll take it out and see if I can get it "learned".
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Hi subcom,
I noticed your cam setting was 1. Given the specs of your cam, wouldn't 2 or 3 be better? I'm not sure what difference that would make, but it seems I've seen others with "similar" cams using a different setting.

Travis
 
ken5124 said:
the three guys that I have emailed in the past are
Cody
Bryce
Kirk

And USUALLY i get a response.

Customer service is jason
all with the same @ address as you have indicated.
Click to expand...
Got a great response and tips from Cody. I think I can get mine squared away with a couple of rain free days. Thanks again!
 
I did a full reset this morning as per instructions from Cody and then reset all of my parameters. Trying Cam setting #2 and my usual AFR targets for idle and E85 under boost. I followed the IAC setting instructions and engine starts right up! Took it out for the first drive this evening. It is still idling pretty erratically but seems to level off after reaching operating temperature. I drove a few miles to the local E85 gas station and got into boost a few times in 3rd gear. Boost comes on quick at ~ 4k and it appears that the ECU is zeroing in on my target AFRs diligently while in boost. Power doesn't seem quiet as brutal as it was with the blow thru carb but I'll give it a chance to learn. I'm happy so far. Need to drive it some more, let it learn and maybe try tweaking a little to get the idle situation more stable. On the way home I enabled the data logging at the dash board and then leaned into it while in 2nd gear, brought up boost momentarily and then let out of it and turned off logging. Downloaded the logs onto my laptop and opened up in Google Spreadsheets. Super easy to follow and the numbers are pretty much right on. Also, if you are looking for the pro software, it's on the drive of the hand held computer along with docs and other files.

Screen Shot 2016-08-31 at 11.00.09 PM.png
 
Received this from Cody. This should probably be a sticky at the top of this thread and I imagine it's the boiler plate instruction set for troubleshooting all setups.

Resetting to a stock calibration:
From the main menu go to the very bottom and select Write Cal To ECU. Once in this menu scroll down to the second to last selection, it should say Default v8 T195. Once on this file select it and it will download to 100 percent. After this is done it will revert to the main menu. Now go to Go EFI Initial Setup, then Engine Setup, now input all of the parameters that are needed for your application, making sure to save each one individually.

After you have entered your information and saved it go up and select Dash Board. Once in dashboard turn the ignition key off and wait for all the data to black out. Once this happens turn the ignition key to the on positon and start the car.

IAC Steps:
Turn the driver’s side throttle adjustment screw IN (clockwise) half a turn to start with, with that done turn the key on and go to dashboard and find TPS and make sure it reads zero. If not, then shut the key off and wait for the numbers to go black then turn the key on again. Once that reads zero start the vehicle and find IAC Steps on dashboard. This number needs to be within 3-10 at warm idle. If the number reads zero then slowly turn the screw OUT (counter clockwise) until the IAC steps reads between 3-10. If the number is above 10 then shut the vehicle off and turn the screw IN as stated above and repeat the process until the IAC steps are between 3-10.

Reset Learn:
All Fitech EFI systems have learning procedures that the system uses to adjust the active fuel tables it is using for operation. Sometimes if there are outside problems such as bad misfires, exhaust leaks, or any other situation that could cause poor readings on the O2 sensor, the system will try to compensate in order to keep the car running. If this happens it alters the fuel map in ways that may not be optimal for proper running the engine normally.

To reset the learn is a very easy procedure. Go into the Go EFI Initial setup then find Reset Learn. Once in that menu find Reset All Learn, highlight this and push right on the joy stick to go to #1, then save that to the ECU by pressing IN on the joystick. Once that is saved go back to the main menu, and then up to Dashboard and select it. Once on dashboard turn the key off and wait for the numbers in the value side to go black. This mean the system has saved. You have now reset the learn function.

Cranking fuel adjustments:
With the key on go to the Go EFI Tuning menu, find Crank and Warm up. There you will see three cranking fuel selections. For cold starts add or subtract fuel from Crank fuel 65f, for hot starts add or subtract fuel from crank fuel 170f. Changing these settings should help with your start up issues along with setting the IAC. A good starting point is to change the settings in intervals of 10 to find which way you need to adjust the system to work better.


Accel pump/ Fast Accel adjustment:
If the system is having a hesitation or bogging issue, and you IAC steps are between 3-10 at warm idle, then your next step would be to adjust the accel pump function to increase or decrease the fuel added on acceleration. To start with turn the key to the on position and then find Go EFI Tuning on the main menu and press enter. Then find Accel pump and press enter. You will see a menu with multiple different settings, you need to focus on the Accel pumps (20f, 65f, 170f) and Fast Accel (20f, 65f, 170f). These setting adjust how much fuel, at varying temperatures, the system injects when you accelerate. Accel pump is used for any normal throttle input, Fast Accel is for any fast throttle inputs or Wide Open Throttle.


Hesitation: If the vehicle has a hesitation (when you step on the throttle and the engine does hangs and/ or almost dies and then suddenly take off) this normally is a lack of fuel so you would fix this by increasing the Accel Pump (for normal throttle input hesitations) or Fast Accel (for fast throttle or WOT inputs). You would make changes starting in increments of 10, to the temp range that you are finding the issue to reside in.


Bogging/engine loads up/slow to respond: If the vehicle is bogging (when you step on the throttle and the engine is slower/sluggish to come up to a higher rpm) this is normally caused by over fueling. To fix this you would need to reduce the amount of fuel it is injecting as an accel pump shot. To do this this decrease the Accel Pump (for normal throttle input hesitations) or Fast Accel (for fast throttle or WOT inputs). You would make changes starting in increments of 10, to the temp range that you are finding the issue to reside in.


Choosing a cam selection:
Cam selection is based on vacuum load of the engine. Cam 1 is for 15Hg or above, Cam 2 is for 10Hg to 15hg, Cam 3 is 8Hg to 10Hg, Cam 4 is 8Hg to 6Hg. These are estimates and you may need to switch between them if the vacuum load is between two different cam settings to get the engine to run better for your application.


Idle Return:
If the engine is not returning to idle quick enough for your liking or is dropping too quickly and killing the engine then you may need to adjust the rate at which the injection system comes to an idle. To do so you need to go to Go EFI Tuning, then find and select Idle Control. Once in this menu you will see several settings, the only one we are going to work with is Decel open IAC. This number should be at zero as a base setting, by going negative you are reducing the amount of time it takes to return to Idle, and by going positive you are increasing the time it takes. Normal procedure of adjustment is to add or subtract 10 to start with and then adjust it to your liking or what the engine needs. Then once the setting is input save it to the ecu by pushing the joystick IN, the handheld will show Send To ECU Successful. Once this is done make sure to go back to the dashboard and turn the key off until the numbers clear out on the value side. This shows that the system has saved.


AFR Target Adjustment:
AFR: Air Fuel Ratio. Some vehicles may have greater needs for fueling that the self-learn may not be able to adjust in a great enough amount to operate correctly right out of the box. The injection unit is always trying to maintain a targeted AFR throughout its operation. It is either adding or taking away fuel at any given time from its current fuel table in order to do this. The AFR target is what the computer is constantly adjusting for (the higher the number the more lean the mixture, the lower the number the more rich the mixture is), but some engines need different fueling depending on the CID and cam they have. To adjust these numbers you must go to our Go EFI Tuning menu then to AFR targets, typically adjusting any AFR target should be done .01 at a time either up or down as the AFR has drastic effects on how the engine runs

Once in this menu you will see 10 settings you can adjust. Number 1 is for Idle AFR which can range from 13.4 to 14.7 on average depending on the engine. Adjusting this setting will help idle quality and takeoff from an idle. The 1100, 3000, 6000 at 45kpa cruise are your cruising AFR ratios, these can vary from 13.8 to 14.7 on average depending on the engines needs and your desired fuel economy. The cruise AFR only effects cruise so it will not affect your acceleration or other AFR settings. WOT 1100, 3000, 6000 are your acceleration enrichment settings and are used for adjusting the desired fueling for accelerating under either part throttle or WOT. The average for these settings only ranges from 12.4 to 12.7, any accelerator needs beyond that will require one of our technicians to go over with you. Boost 1100, 3000, 6000 180kpa should stay within 11.5 to 11.7 on most engines with boost, any further adjustments to your boosted AFR settings should be brought up with one of our technicians.
 
I'm dealing with a bad off-idle stumble I can't get rid of. Anybody have a similar condition? Happens under load or no load, just sitting. This is when it is still not up to operating temp. After 170 degrees or so it settles but I want this thing to be responsive even when it's still warming up.....kind a like an EFI system. lol. I've tried increasing the Accel Pump settings but can't really tell if it makes any difference. I've also tried all 4 cam settings for giggles, but no noticeable difference. From about 1000RPM to 2000RPM it feels like it's running on 4 cylinders. AFRs look good, so I don't see a lean or rich condition. My timing is what it has always been and I even tried advancing and retarding the timing to see if it made any difference. Zilch.
 
I posted this in the other FiTech thread, but someone mentioned it might do well here too:

I didn't like the idle at first either with the computer in full control, I had to turn down the learning.
What I noticed was the learn value for the fuel and IAC was jumping all over at idle. I reset my idle learn values under idle control. Then I turned down the "Idle fuel Learn rate" under 'AFR closed loop' menu. I put it down around 10. Then I set my loop up/down into the teens range (15 or so) and let the idle fuel stabilize a bit. I watched under the dashboard for the fuel learn number. Once it seemed to settle a bit, I turned the learn rate down to ~5 and upped the loop up/down on the idle back into the 20's. It got FAR more stable very fast.

Do this with the engine warmed up first, if you want to try it. Then let it idle a bit. I also played with the idle trim rates a bit in the closed loop AFR menu. These will be very different for every engine setup. Basically I just ran them way low, then way high and took notes, and zeroed in on what seemed to help most. The result was no longer seeing my IAC steps swing wildly from 0 to 20 and back while the AFR bounced from 9 to 15 and back. Now it idles with the AFR within .5 at the extremes, and the idle step will vary every 2~3 seconds instead of constantly.

I suggest watching the dashboard and data logging whenever you can. It really helps to watch the controls (fuel trims, IAC counts, AFR, etc) to see where extra work is needed to help speed up the 'self learning'.
 
subcom said:
I'm dealing with a bad off-idle stumble I can't get rid of. Anybody have a similar condition? Happens under load or no load, just sitting. This is when it is still not up to operating temp. After 170 degrees or so it settles but I want this thing to be responsive even when it's still warming up.....kind a like an EFI system. lol. I've tried increasing the Accel Pump settings but can't really tell if it makes any difference. I've also tried all 4 cam settings for giggles, but no noticeable difference. From about 1000RPM to 2000RPM it feels like it's running on 4 cylinders. AFRs look good, so I don't see a lean or rich condition. My timing is what it has always been and I even tried advancing and retarding the timing to see if it made any difference. Zilch.
Click to expand...

It's not a port EFI system, it still requires the engine to be up to temperature.

But, it could be something else. Mine runs great hot or cold... What's your IAC count at idle? If it's over 15 when warm, fix that first.
What IS your ignition timing at idle?
There's various ways to ensure good cold running that doesn't rely on the accel pump. I'd put it back where it was before you tried to tweak it to fix a cold start issue. Go to fuel control and up your fueling at 32F and 70F by ~10% and see if it helps; separately try upping the 'warm up' fuel a bit.
 
One other recommendation I would make: find the 'breakpoints' menu and take a look at it.

Under the display settings, enable the "PRO" tuning menu, then go to the 'PRO' tuning from the main menu and scroll to the bottom, #14 should be 'breakpoints'.

In there are settings for HIGH and LO map values, Low RPM, High RPM, etc.. These should be set according to your preferences as well as data that's been logged. I datalogged several drives to and from work and looked at the MAP values. The factory break points were pretty far off from what I recorded, and so I updated them accordingly as a test. Working the 'LO MAP' values really really helped fix my tip-in bog by a bunch. Changing the low/mid/high rpm also seemed to correct a few things with the timing and fuel tables.
 
Phreakish said:
It's not a port EFI system, it still requires the engine to be up to temperature.

But, it could be something else. Mine runs great hot or cold... What's your IAC count at idle? If it's over 15 when warm, fix that first.
What IS your ignition timing at idle?
There's various ways to ensure good cold running that doesn't rely on the accel pump. I'd put it back where it was before you tried to tweak it to fix a cold start issue. Go to fuel control and up your fueling at 32F and 70F by ~10% and see if it helps; separately try upping the 'warm up' fuel a bit.
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Thank you Phreakish for all the suggestions!
I just went back and checked timing. I think it was a little too retarded. I set it back to 12Degrees initial, 35 degrees all in. N/A it liked more timing and I had it clocked to about 38 all in, but with this turbo I need to be a little more cautious until I get the tune dialed in. Just logged some data sitting in the drive way with the engine warmed-up. IAC count is good at idle. If anything, maybe a little too low. 3,4,5...in that range, occasionally dipping to 0. I'm going to review your other recommendations and give that a shot. Thanks again! -Subcom.
 
Quick update. So, I believe the warm up issues are due to the fact that I have my timing cranked down pretty considerably an E85 likes more. When I advance my initial, the car is much more responsive and stable while warming up. Always was NA. So, I don't think this is a FiTech issue. Since I'm turbo'd I need to be conservative on the timing and this HEI ready-to-run distro is kind of limited. I tried connecting the vacuum cam, but it adds way too much timing, putting me at 40 degrees all-in. Car likes that, but not a good idea for turbos. With that exception, I'm pretty content with the FiTech. Took my car out today in hot/humid South Florida stop and go traffic and the temp creeped up to 215F. It did show some hot start type behavior after i shut it down at the gas station and started it back up, but I was able to nurse it back to a steady idle and it did start on the 2nd crank.
 
I was wondering if anybody would be willing to share the Pro Cal tuning software. I have the 600hp version and it didn't come with it, I have looked at every file on the sd card and couldn't find it.

Could someone upload the software, or email it to me so I can check it out?
 
72Duster440 said:
I was wondering if anybody would be willing to share the Pro Cal tuning software. I have the 600hp version and it didn't come with it, I have looked at every file on the sd card and couldn't find it.

Could someone upload the software, or email it to me so I can check it out?
Click to expand...
I will if I can figure out how to get it onto my laptop. I think it's on the display unit and all I have to do is connect it to my laptop with the USB cable. I will check tomorrow.
 
superchargeddrt said:
I will if I can figure out how to get it onto my laptop. I think it's on the display unit and all I have to do is connect it to my laptop with the USB cable. I will check tomorrow.
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I connected it with a USB then picked USB storage and all the files showed up. You can take the card out of the handheld and plug it in the computer too if you have the right card reader.
No big rush, but I do appreciate it. I want to read my data logs in it, I think they will be easier to interpret with the graphs.
 
72Duster440 said:
I connected it with a USB then picked USB storage and all the files showed up. You can take the card out of the handheld and plug it in the computer too if you have the right card reader.
No big rush, but I do appreciate it. I want to read my data logs in it, I think they will be easier to interpret with the graphs.
Click to expand...
I will look later today.
 
Hey guys. Got my 600power added together and tri e starting for first time. It's cold out and it started. Ran for 2 minutes and shuts off.
Tried again. Ran for 2 mins and just off.
While running it shows fault 76. But doesn't store the fault. Not sure what that means.

Any ideas.
 
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