Page 1 of 22 1234511 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 423

Thread: The LNF Tuning Guide

  1. #1
    Senior Tuner BackyardTurbo_FTW's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    East Suckburg, PA
    Posts
    1,163

    The LNF Tuning Guide

    If you follow this guide and just copy/paste these settings into your tables I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS. While these settings are not a race map or something insane, they are FAR from stock! Be sure to log your car and guarantee its safety!

    Hopefully if you're reading this you have installed the software, plugged in the MPVI and loaded the drivers for it. Make sure you check in My Devices that it's showing up MPVI Chan A and Chan B!!

    I had some issues just getting mine to read, here's what I do and seems to be working for me. Unlock the car and get in, close the door, open the door, close it again. Plug the MPVI into the PC as well as the OBD2 port. Turn the Key to ON, the position JUST before it would crank and start. Turn off the auto lights as well as the radio and anything else that is on. Then select Flash -> Read from the VCM Editor. It should bring up a little dialog box, click begin. On my car this took ~20mins!!!! So don't get nervous if it's taking awhile!! You may find leaving your driver window down and doing this thru the window allows you to have a life for 20mins instead of sitting in the car the whole time.

    After you read the file, you will be prompted to buy a license. If you plan on tuning other people's SS', it maybe worth it to buy same model/year license for 6 credits at this time!!! If you plan on just doing your own, get the single license. SAVE YOUR STOCK ROM!!! And make sure you name it accordingly. EX: 09_Stock_CobaltSS_Turbo.hpt


    Now that you have your rom it's time to tinker! First thing to start with would be the: Max Airload Torque Table. Across the top is the RPM obviously and the value below each RPM is the Max Airload in % the VCM will be looking for. Starting at 4500RPM and going to 6300RPM adjust the Airload to be 99%. If you look at the start of the table at 1650RPM, you will see the value is 72%, then 75, 74, 75, (yes I rounded for this discussion). Smoothly ramp up the MAL to the 100% point at 4500 RPM.

    Stock

    Tuned


    Next will be Power Enrichment Lambda. This will be your commanded WOT AFR from 60-100% throttle. I personally never liked the way the car ran 14:1 during most of the band while WOT, so I changed it to be a steady .88 from the point I hit my boost spike. People will argue the AFR, make it what you want, that isn't the point here! To change the WOT AFR goto the 3K RPM cell in the 100% column. Highlight from there to 6K RPM (bottom of chart) and make the values .88.

    AFR = 14.68 * Lambda.
    so
    12.771 = 14.68 * .87


    If you feel you want a similar change at other TPS values, then go right ahead and change them. I made my 90% run .87 in the same areas. I would DEFINITELY NOT go making gross changes to this table, you can mess up the car with this one! I should also add, I ramp the PE in now compared to the flat PE I used to run. Seems to make the car a lot smoother when going WOT below 3K RPM.

    Stock

    Tuned


    Next up is the Desired Air Load Table. This is where you set the boost values you are trying to achieve. This is prolly the most complicated part of this, and not that it's hard, it's just a lil confusing at first. Down the side is RPM and across the top is TPS %. There was a few different views on how to adjust this table, all had pretty much the same idea. Starting with the 90 and 100% column, I made the DAL's 300 down to 2500RPM, 325 to 5K RPM and 350 from there to redline. I then selected from 50%-100% and did smooth selection a few times. I then went back and input the same values from above BACK into the 90-100% columns.

    Stock

    Tuned
    (These values are NOT a direct correlation to MAP KPa!!!)


    Now you will want to mess with the Max Torque vs RPM vs Gear. This table is where you can adjust the power/torque per gear and RPM. You will find with the above adjustments the car will be extremely hard to handle at lower RPM's, in traffic especially. So you will want to reduce power slightly using this table. There is no REAL science here IMO, this is also another table you can adjust a lil here or there and feel changes immediately.

    Stock

    Tuned


    Now we'll do a little with the Timing tables. There are (4) in total to adjust and you MUST adjust all 4 tables! I've read to change 1 and then copy/paste to the others but after looking over them, each table is a little different then the last. So I would just make similar changes to the high load areas and use the KR Histogram in the logger to adjust your part throttle areas the same. Here's an example of the 1 Timing table, use these value at YOUR OWN RISK!

    Stock

    Tuned
    (Another tip is to take all of your low/mid range timing and smooth it out! You can either use the smoothing feature or sit there and hand smooth it perfectly! This will allow you to run more timing since you don't get any erratic timing changes causing false KR)
    Smoothing Timing Guide


    Whether you're running the stock downpipe w/cat or an aftermarket w/out cat you will want to change the Cat Over Temp Lambda table. If you have NO CAT, you can set ALL of this table to 1's to remove all cat protection! You have no cat to worry about melting! Otherwise, I would still lean out this table a little, leaving it just richer then your PE table.

    Stock

    Tuned


    You can also change the rev limit if you want to. You can also change it per gear which I am using myself now. 1st gear at 7K, 2nd at 6800 and 6600 for the rest.

    To do this you will need to change the RPM Limit in the following spots:
    Oil Temp Limit
    Trans Limp
    Transient Limit
    Both Normal and Short Incr in the Cutoff RPM vs Gear section

    (For Drag Racing Tunes, you should make 1st thru 3rd all go out to 7K RPM!!)


    And finally is Over/Under Boost Enable RPM. With the DAL's as high as above it IS possible to spike over 22 psi! So you will prolly want to turn of the Overboost Protection!

    You can find this in Engine Diagnostics -> Airflow -> Enable RPM

    Stock

    Tuned


    Now that you have your settings dialed in, it's time to flash it back to the car! Turn the key on, auto lights and radio off and plug the MPVI into the car and lappy. With your newly updated map open, Click Flash -> Write Calibration ONLY, VERY IMPORTANT!! You don't need to write entire!!!! This should only take a minute tops! Close the VCM Editor and close the car door. Start the car

    Finally, and VERY IMPORTANT as well. You want to LOG the car!! I can't stress enough how important this part is, especially since you have all the tools to finish the job properly! You will find that the Default Logger Definitions for the SS/TC aren't very good, so I've included a CFG file that will bring EVERYTHING you need up. You can then fine tune the CFG file using a Right Click and adjusting the Chart Settings. LNF CONFIG FILE (This is a good time to read the LNF MAF Tuning Guide and get those straight before adjusting anything more with your power!! I cant stress enough how important a properly tuned MAF is on these cars!!)

    LNF MAF TUNING GUIDE

    Once you load the LNF Config file, take the car out and drive it while logging. You want to be sure there is no KR during part throttle acceleration, if you goto Histograms and select #3 you can then drive the car and it will record and average of any KR that occurs. After you drive a bunch of miles and try to hit all different loads, you can go back and input the changes it shows you into the Timing Tables.

    If everything is seeming kosher, get into 3rd gear and give the car moderate throttle. You're looking to make sure the Wideband is indeed switching to the AFR we adjusted to earlier. If all seems well again, what the hell, go for a 3rd WOT pull. After you log a full pull (3k-6300) go back home and review the chart. If you filled in what I did above you should be seeing 20-22psi spike, holding at least 20 most of the band and tapering off to redline. The AFR should be a steady .88 during that pull as well! If anything has swayed a little, you should have the knowledge to adjust it to be steady.
    Last edited by BackyardTurbo_FTW; 09-03-2010 at 11:22 AM.

  2. #2
    Senior Tuner BackyardTurbo_FTW's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    East Suckburg, PA
    Posts
    1,163
    removed all pill mod info, ending up going faster without stressing the car/turbo more.
    Last edited by BackyardTurbo_FTW; 02-23-2010 at 02:04 PM.

  3. #3
    Senior Tuner BackyardTurbo_FTW's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    East Suckburg, PA
    Posts
    1,163
    Can we get a sticky on this bad boy? This one is def better then the last one

  4. #4
    Senior Tuner Iam Broke's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    2,305
    Quote Originally Posted by BackyardTurbo_FTW View Post
    Can we get a sticky on this bad boy? This one is def better then the last one
    Agreed.

    Lots of good LNF info in one spot. Sub'd for updates.
    '12 Camaro T3 2SS/RS LS3 M6, SLP TVS 2300, Flex Fuel

  5. #5
    Advanced Tuner
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Reading, PA
    Posts
    352
    Another vote for a sticky! This is the closest you can get without someone making the tune for you.
    This is the first guide I've seen that talks about real HP gains with modifcations to the cam timing tables. Could you possibly add dyno graphs where applicable? Think of it as the icing on the cake .

    The intake cam movement is still counter-intuitive for me, but the dyno doesn't lie right?
    2013 Cruze Eco - CAI, Catless DP, Catless MP, ZZP FMIC, Ported Intake Manifold, Mild tune (17psi), best 43.5mpg, 175ftlbs (pid)

    2008 Solstice GXP - ZFR 6758, catless, AEM stage 1 water/methanol injection, Hahn Racecraft Intercooler, solo street race cat back, LE5 throttle body - 307whp on a dyno dynamics (stock turbo numbers), 100 octane EFR6758 numbers - 463whp/454wtq

  6. #6
    Senior Tuner BackyardTurbo_FTW's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    East Suckburg, PA
    Posts
    1,163
    We were very nervous to play with the cam at all. But I said F it and tried some small changes and saw improvements on the dyno! As I said above, the Intake Cam liked more - #'s up top. Im going to try Gimps' Exhaust table on the dyno vs stock and hopefully get a image to post up with it

  7. #7
    Advanced Tuner
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Posts
    676
    Looks good, I agree on the sticky! Maybe that would eliminate all the PM's I get saying "help me help me" and all the noobs starting new threads and cluttering the place up (on more than just this forum).

  8. #8
    Advanced Tuner
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Posts
    569
    Quote Originally Posted by BackyardTurbo_FTW View Post
    We were very nervous to play with the cam at all. But I said F it and tried some small changes and saw improvements on the dyno! As I said above, the Intake Cam liked more - #'s up top. Im going to try Gimps' Exhaust table on the dyno vs stock and hopefully get a image to post up with it
    Smooth those cam changes into the lower load areas. That will help prevent valve destruction. Like this

    Try this exhaust cam table it should help low end and midrange torque some and top end hopefully.
    Last edited by Terminator2; 10-09-2009 at 03:40 PM.

  9. #9
    Senior Tuner BackyardTurbo_FTW's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    East Suckburg, PA
    Posts
    1,163
    Thank you very much for the contribution! I'm going to try them out in a couple mins

  10. #10
    Senior Tuner BackyardTurbo_FTW's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    East Suckburg, PA
    Posts
    1,163
    I couldnt really get going fast enough to give an impression on the top of 3rd, but from a slow roll in 3rd and going WOT the car is out of control! Before in the log you would see the Boost ramp up hard and fast and the Maf line would gradually increase and then hold. Now the Maf line responds almost as quickly! The sound is even different! It doesnt sound like Im trying to cram 25psi in there now, it sounds like its taking it and asking for more!

    Thanks for the contributions! Im going to the dyno in the morning. Going to run the current tune with stock cam tables, then with both and finally with either one.

  11. #11
    Advanced Tuner
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Posts
    676
    Gonna give those cam tables a try now...

  12. #12
    Advanced Tuner Gimpster's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Palm Bay, FL / Austin, TX
    Posts
    445
    Heh, we both have very similar tastes on exhaust cam tuning it seems.

  13. #13
    Advanced Tuner
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Reading, PA
    Posts
    352
    I can second Term's exhaust cam table - mine changes are similar, but larger in magnitude
    2013 Cruze Eco - CAI, Catless DP, Catless MP, ZZP FMIC, Ported Intake Manifold, Mild tune (17psi), best 43.5mpg, 175ftlbs (pid)

    2008 Solstice GXP - ZFR 6758, catless, AEM stage 1 water/methanol injection, Hahn Racecraft Intercooler, solo street race cat back, LE5 throttle body - 307whp on a dyno dynamics (stock turbo numbers), 100 octane EFR6758 numbers - 463whp/454wtq

  14. #14
    Senior Tuner Iam Broke's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    2,305
    Loaded the Term2 cam tables from above today, 70 - 95 in 3.25 sec.

    70 - 125 in 11.1 sec. and I blew the 3-4 shift a bit, lifted throttle & then made up my mind to wrap it out a while. Held 240 kPa to 5800 in 3rd & 4th.

    Waiting to see the dyno results from your tests.
    Last edited by Iam Broke; 10-10-2009 at 08:29 PM.
    '12 Camaro T3 2SS/RS LS3 M6, SLP TVS 2300, Flex Fuel

  15. #15
    Senior Tuner BackyardTurbo_FTW's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    East Suckburg, PA
    Posts
    1,163
    So on the ride down I was feeling good about the timing changes, after the dyno tho and comparing each, I LOST whp above 6K!! I was shocked, I thought it felt stronger even. I ended up putting down 321/392. Ill load my graphs up

  16. #16
    Advanced Tuner
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Posts
    676
    So which one was better? How far apart did you do your runs?

  17. #17
    Senior Tuner BackyardTurbo_FTW's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    East Suckburg, PA
    Posts
    1,163
    Stock exhaust Cam phasing got the best results! Held power better and longer with it set to stock. With the above table it would drop off around 6K then dip further faster. Ill get my graph up tomorror to show the differences!

    Intake cam is honestly where I had the best success using the above table with just a lil more advance (-), I believe Im running a -8 in the 120/6000 cell and it helped smooth out the top of the band. Didnt net anymore peak whp/wtq but you will see what Im saying when I get the graphs up.

    I also didn't have a lot of time at the shop, we started a little late and had too many cars for the amount of time. Chris and the guys at Tillman were really nice tho and stayed late to squeeze everyone in. Im trying to setup a dyno day with him to spend some time on the dyno and test this a little further.

    On the dyno we used a large fan in front with a smaller one about half the size of the intercooler setup on the hot side. Then 2 bags of ice across the top of the Intercooler. The stock IC really shows it's weakness on the dyno with low airflow And my car was totally cooled off when we started, we warmed it up on the dyno and did some light driving until it came up to temp. Then did a pull. We then reviewed the graph and flashed it back to the stock exhaust table. So prolly 10 minutes there and then it needs to idle/drive easy for a couple minutes to get the trims to start reacting again after a flash.

    We did this same routine on another car and it did 3 pulls almost identical to each other!

    I tried the same Exhaust Table on a 2nd car and had a similar loss in top end.

  18. #18
    Senior Tuner Iam Broke's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    2,305
    When I loaded Term's tables to try the other day, it didn't rip 'em up in second like it did before, though the MAF was a bit higher, the VE was lower. Could have been the weather that day though. Hard to tell.

    Looking forward to seeing your cam timing charts. Thanks for all the help you give us!
    '12 Camaro T3 2SS/RS LS3 M6, SLP TVS 2300, Flex Fuel

  19. #19
    Advanced Tuner
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Posts
    676
    Interesting...

  20. #20
    Advanced Tuner Gimpster's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Palm Bay, FL / Austin, TX
    Posts
    445
    I'm typing this on my phone from a cow pasture (family reunion) so bear with me. Those results are very interesting. The dyno doesn't lie I guess when you're just doing comparisons (don't care about peak really I just care about how the curve changes) but it *seems* to go against logged airflow gains and trap speed gains. I'd say that more testing is warranted but right now it's the data we have. I honestly thought I was moving in the right direction (literally). Thanks for any more data/graphs you can post later on. 392 ft lbs is pretty ridiculous

    I've really only done cam tuning on one other totally unrelated motor. It never really resulted in massive peak gains but the major end result was shuffling the power around where I wanted it. My personal tuning goals have been to detune the lowend and bring out the topend. Guess I need to get over the fact this isn't a 3S-GTE and move on with my life. It also helped that on the motor I have a turbo that can breath up top. Maybe that's part of the problem

    not enough turbo.

    Back to square one for me, but I still want to do a through testing regiment. I want to shift that powerband higher for my personal driving taste.
    Last edited by Gimpster; 10-11-2009 at 01:47 PM.