Tuning advice

Hey everyone, I'm after a bit of professional advice from you. Im in the final stages of my 383 stroker build. I have the following questions for you.

1. Would you recommend a flex fuel setup for e85/pulp and how is it setup?

2. Would you recommend wideband o2 sensor, do I need 1 per down pipe or just after main collector?

3. Would you recommend a 5bar map sensor?

4. Can you advise if start up tune is possible to download for ecu once built is finished and installed?

5. Can you recommend tuner in qld or wa they know does good work?

Thanks in advance guys

Hi Tony, some of your questions don't really have black-and-white answers but please see below:

1. This is personal preference and will depend on what you intend to do with the engine. E85 or flex fuel is great for high compression N/A engines or turbo/supercharged engines that are knock limited. It'll require a flex fuel sensor and an ECU capable of running flex fuel. You can check our ethanol and flex fuel course for more details as there's a lot that goes into the setup and tuning: https://www.hpacademy.com/courses/ethanol-and-flex-fuel-tuning

2. Yes, a wideband for tuning and closed-loop fuel control is really helpful provided your ECU supports them. Ideally, I'd run one per bank but a single sensor after the collector that samples all cylinders is still acceptable. This webinar is worth a watch for you: https://www.hpacademy.com/previous-webinars/121-wideband-lambda-sensors-essential-knowledge/

3. This totally depends how much boost you intend to run. 5 bar will allow up to 4 bar (58 psi) of positive boost which is a lot unless you're building something pretty special. I'd choose a sensor that provides 0.5 bar minimum headroom above and beyond your maximum expected boost.

4. Our practical standalone tuning course will show you how to develop a start file to suit your specific engine/sensors/inputs/outputs. This is preferable to using a 'start-up map' that can often have baked-in errors or mistakes: www.hpacademy.com/courses/practical-dyno-tuning/

5. Sorry I really have no idea of the lay of the land over there when it comes to competent tuners. I'd suggest jumping on some forums and see who is worth using locally to you.

As Andre pointed out more politely, you've given next to nothing to comment on.

I would assume you're running a 'classic' small block Chev' [thumbs up!] - but what nominal compression pistons and heads? Alloy or iron? Camshaft type and spec'? N/A or forced induction? Those are just starters.

1/ For the fuel type, I'd suggest the cheapest that is compatible with the compression/boost you intend using? Other things to consider is the availability of your preferred fuel - for example, my stock 'shopping basket' specifies 98 RON, and that's significantly harder to find than the usual 95/96 "high octane" - and if using E85, what the fuel quality is like, as sometimes that "85" is more 'a suggestion than what you actually get.

2/ Depending on how the engine is built, one per bank would be best, but if you have them running into a common collector, that may suffice.

3/ N/A or low boost, 3bar will be fine, as Andre suggested, if running more than a 20 PSI, or so, the 5b ar will be the way to go.

4/ That's going to depend on what you're using, and whether you can find something similar to work from. Andre has a good point - if it's a badly done "map", you may be starting with inbuilt problems. But you may also have problems if you do it yourself without experience - maybe an option is to download a map, or several, and use them as a way to learn by comparing them and what you're learning.

5/ As Andre said, that's something you'll need to sort out yourself, unless someone reading has a recommendation? It would help if you posted the ECU make and model, as some 'tuners' will have more experience than others, or you may find an otherwise ideal 'tuner' doesn't have any experience with the relevnt software and won't use it.

Thanks andre and gord.

Gordon sorry I didn't supply further Info, it's a ls1 stroked to 383ci.

I have gone 10.5:1 compression, vcm suite 232/234 cam. Currently running na but plans to possibly turbo it later on.

Ecu is a haltech platinum 2000 sports

I will have a look at the links Andre posted and take both your advice on board to continue the build. Thank you again for your advice, it's greatly appreciated:)

For an NA build you really only need a 1.05 bar map sensor and that's going to give you the best resolution. I'd suggest upgrading if/when you turbo the engine and realistically a 3 bar would be sufficient as it's very unlikely I'd imagine that you'll want/need to run more than 2 bar (29 psi) of positive boost.

There is a Haltech Elite worked example in the Practical Standalone Tuning course that might be beneficial to you. There are differences between the Platinum and Elite but also they are very similar.

Awesome thanks andre