eCtune

So here is an easy riddle... Customer comes in with a Fresh Build today, car is tuning nicely, no smoke, no noises...no wiring issues, I'm happy. Tune the Low Cam, part throttle maps...all great. Tune the High Cam, as soon as it switches over, Code 22 pops up. I notify the customer, I can disable VTP, but if there actually is no oil pressure (or low) for some reason, we wont know without testing...he says go ahead and disable. Continue tuning the high cam...everything appears normal. Go to do my first pull, setup the boost maps fuel and timing, check all parameters for accuracy (rev limits, VTEC point etc. I always set VTEC low for the 1st pull, and high for the second pull to set the VTEC point. Do 1st pull (VTEC 4600), car sounds normal...AFRs are in the 11.5s up to 5800, and start falling off to 10.5 by redline...nothing to concern me. 7.5 psi car makes 190 whp, seems low. Do 2nd pull (VTEC 5800), car sounds normal...I adjusted the AFRs slightly, all boost regions are in the 11.5 range. Power is still low, only 197 this time. So I look at the graph on the dyno, and basically the curves are identical except for up top where I adjusted the fuel in the maps. Light turns on in my brain...the question is, whats wrong? Setup is B16 head and Block, Pistons/Rods, T3/T4 50 trim. Slight hint, this B16 head used to reside on an LS bottom end in a previous setup.

the hole where the oil enters the head to enable VTEC is still blocked from the previous LS/VTEC config.

haha, that must be the case!

Had that happen to me a few years ago when my motor was first built. A shop built my motor, I put it in the car and went straight to the dyno. VTEC wasnt working, checked everything and all checked out good. Decided to pull the head off and found out the oil passage was welded shut and head machined flat. Come to find out that my original head was sent out to get ported, I guess they didnt send back my original head but sent a head made for LS/VTEC. The shop did not notice and put everything together. Easy fix though and luckly a friend of mine had a LS/VTEC conversion kit with the oil sandwich plate and steel braided line and I could dyno my car that day. And Im still running that setup no problems.

ahhh the fun of building engines... first thing that came to mind, the barn door is open but the cows are in the other pasture. Then I realized that I talked to my folks too much last night.

IF that is the case (oil passage blocked) the non vtec and vtec curve should be identical.

Synoptic wrote:IF that is the case (oil passage blocked) the non vtec and vtec curve should be identical.

And they are! That was the biggest clue...that and the fact the torque was falling off hard and the code 22 popped up. Customer is coming back tomorrow after install the sandwich plate and VTEC line.

Synoptic wrote:IF that is the case (oil passage blocked) the non vtec and vtec curve should be identical.

Not if the fuel and timing values are different in the high cam maps cause the ecu is switching map.

Civic Tsi wrote:

Synoptic wrote:IF that is the case (oil passage blocked) the non vtec and vtec curve should be identical.

Not if the fuel and timing values are different in the high cam maps cause the ecu is switching map.

Pretty sure he's talking about the dyno curves.

I've had that happen before, wasted a day or so of my time

sewell94 wrote:I've had that happen before, wasted a day or so of my time

I am glad I caught it at the second run. Rear main seal is leaking on the car so the car wont be back today.