ECU Safety Tuning

Zumble · 01-08-2007, 02:15 PM

I'm just wondering what everyone else is doing in terms of reprogramming the ECU to be safer.

I currently have my intial IAM set to 0.75 on my car and the boost control is set to turn off at 0.70. Fuel map switch at 0.65. I also have the car set to listen for knock and correct all the way up to 7000 rpm. I'm thinking this will keep my engine pretty safe.

What do you other guys do?

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Ziggyrama · 01-09-2007, 11:18 AM

I am not sure what you mean by safer. Safer than stock? Safer as in just general things that should be done to keep the safety a factor?

Being safer than stock is pretty hard. Stock tune is already very conservative. I am putting my trust in hands of Subaru on this but I believe they most likely did their homework when it comes to setting up knock detection ranges and making sure all IAM and learning rates are conservative.

As for general safety, match your knock detection to your application. Chances are, you'll see higher loads so adjust for that. Keep the rev limiter in reasonable place. Set up the fuel cut so that if you have some kind of a mechanical failure, you won't explode by accident. Try to keep your closed loop AFR reasonable.

I believe the safest way to go is to get the base maps right for your setup with some room up top. Boost, fueling and timing, in that order. Perform periodic inspections of your car. Look at basic mechanical systems and check your fluids. Pay attention to what the car is doing and note changes in behavior. Cars are like people in some regards. In normal, daily situation, if they start acting funny all over sudden, make strange noises or leak fluids, there is most likely something wrong with them. Pay attention.

I know this is a general answer but I am not sure if there is a magic pill that will always keep us out of trouble. Sometimes you gotta pay to play....as I learned painfully over this weekend.

Zumble · 01-10-2007, 09:52 AM

I was thinking that changing the way the ECU protects the motor and leaving it less margin for damage would help us that tune our own ECUs. I don't think boost control turns off in the stock tune until the IAM reaches 0.30! I think the car already experienced a lot of detonation already at that point. If the driver isn't logging at that time, he/she could be beating the engine with a bad tune/mechanical malfunction for a while. I think having boost control turn off very early is a good idea.

Discuss..

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ziggyrama

I am not sure what you mean by safer. Safer than stock? Safer as in just general things that should be done to keep the safety a factor?

Being safer than stock is pretty hard. Stock tune is already very conservative. I am putting my trust in hands of Subaru on this but I believe they most likely did their homework when it comes to setting up knock detection ranges and making sure all IAM and learning rates are conservative.

As for general safety, match your knock detection to your application. Chances are, you'll see higher loads so adjust for that. Keep the rev limiter in reasonable place. Set up the fuel cut so that if you have some kind of a mechanical failure, you won't explode by accident. Try to keep your closed loop AFR reasonable.

I believe the safest way to go is to get the base maps right for your setup with some room up top. Boost, fueling and timing, in that order. Perform periodic inspections of your car. Look at basic mechanical systems and check your fluids. Pay attention to what the car is doing and note changes in behavior. Cars are like people in some regards. In normal, daily situation, if they start acting funny all over sudden, make strange noises or leak fluids, there is most likely something wrong with them. Pay attention.

I know this is a general answer but I am not sure if there is a magic pill that will always keep us out of trouble. Sometimes you gotta pay to play....as I learned painfully over this weekend.

Master2192 · 01-10-2007, 04:42 PM

I think your way of trying to make the car safer is slightly flawed. First on the knock detection range, after about 6000 rpms the engine is so noisy that the ECU has a hard time determining knock from just noise.

Changing the boost control to turn off at a higher IAM is probably a good idea, but it would be much safer to just have a tune that doesn't knock in the first place. As would having a fuel map that is rich enough to prevent knock under all driving conditions. You could also do as the factory does and set the IAM to 8 and have it increase itself if it is happy with the tune or the engine is in good shape mechanically. Setting the IAM to 16 makes the car wait for something to start going wrong significantly before reducing timing/changing fuel maps/turning off boost control so your idea of increasing the value of when these switches occur is only good if tuners continue to leave IAM at 16.

Zumble · 01-10-2007, 07:45 PM

Actually, my basemap states that the IAM is at .75 so I do let it increase itself. Problem is, you can have IAM go up to 1.0 or 16 without ever going wot. I'm not saying this is a replacement for a safe tune but this is a safety net. This is great for people who constantly change their maps.

There is also the bad gas scenario. You put in a tank of bad gas and you start flogging the car. I think often people have no idea that there is something wrong with the car and they just continue to flog the car. By setting the boost control threshold to a higher number you will get a ECU indication that something is wrong and the car will protect itself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Master2192

I think your way of trying to make the car safer is slightly flawed. First on the knock detection range, after about 6000 rpms the engine is so noisy that the ECU has a hard time determining knock from just noise.

Changing the boost control to turn off at a higher IAM is probably a good idea, but it would be much safer to just have a tune that doesn't knock in the first place. As would having a fuel map that is rich enough to prevent knock under all driving conditions. You could also do as the factory does and set the IAM to 8 and have it increase itself if it is happy with the tune or the engine is in good shape mechanically. Setting the IAM to 16 makes the car wait for something to start going wrong significantly before reducing timing/changing fuel maps/turning off boost control so your idea of increasing the value of when these switches occur is only good if tuners continue to leave IAM at 16.

01-08-2007, 02:15 PM	#1
Zumble Scooby Specialist Member#: 34860 Join Date: Apr 2003 Chapter/Region: Tri-State Location: NY Vehicle: 2005 Forester CGM	ECU Safety Tuning I'm just wondering what everyone else is doing in terms of reprogramming the ECU to be safer. I currently have my intial IAM set to 0.75 on my car and the boost control is set to turn off at 0.70. Fuel map switch at 0.65. I also have the car set to listen for knock and correct all the way up to 7000 rpm. I'm thinking this will keep my engine pretty safe. What do you other guys do? * Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

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01-09-2007, 11:18 AM	#2
Ziggyrama Scooby Specialist Member#: 53665 Join Date: Jan 2004 Chapter/Region: NESIC Location: Northboro, MA Vehicle: 2011 STI Stg2 w/EBCS 2012 Tribeca Ltd.	I am not sure what you mean by safer. Safer than stock? Safer as in just general things that should be done to keep the safety a factor? Being safer than stock is pretty hard. Stock tune is already very conservative. I am putting my trust in hands of Subaru on this but I believe they most likely did their homework when it comes to setting up knock detection ranges and making sure all IAM and learning rates are conservative. As for general safety, match your knock detection to your application. Chances are, you'll see higher loads so adjust for that. Keep the rev limiter in reasonable place. Set up the fuel cut so that if you have some kind of a mechanical failure, you won't explode by accident. Try to keep your closed loop AFR reasonable. I believe the safest way to go is to get the base maps right for your setup with some room up top. Boost, fueling and timing, in that order. Perform periodic inspections of your car. Look at basic mechanical systems and check your fluids. Pay attention to what the car is doing and note changes in behavior. Cars are like people in some regards. In normal, daily situation, if they start acting funny all over sudden, make strange noises or leak fluids, there is most likely something wrong with them. Pay attention. I know this is a general answer but I am not sure if there is a magic pill that will always keep us out of trouble. Sometimes you gotta pay to play....as I learned painfully over this weekend.

01-10-2007, 04:42 PM	#4
Master2192 RIP 10/12/83 to 02/10/08 Scooby Specialist Member#: 83254 Join Date: Mar 2005 Chapter/Region: NWIC Location: Roy, Washington Vehicle: 98 2.5 RS 04 WRX	I think your way of trying to make the car safer is slightly flawed. First on the knock detection range, after about 6000 rpms the engine is so noisy that the ECU has a hard time determining knock from just noise. Changing the boost control to turn off at a higher IAM is probably a good idea, but it would be much safer to just have a tune that doesn't knock in the first place. As would having a fuel map that is rich enough to prevent knock under all driving conditions. You could also do as the factory does and set the IAM to 8 and have it increase itself if it is happy with the tune or the engine is in good shape mechanically. Setting the IAM to 16 makes the car wait for something to start going wrong significantly before reducing timing/changing fuel maps/turning off boost control so your idea of increasing the value of when these switches occur is only good if tuners continue to leave IAM at 16.