Need a good SPARK SCT Live Link Configuration

[SVECobraR]

Hey guys i took my 99 cobra with a bunch of bolt on mods to get tuned a couple of weeks ago and i ran into some problems. The tuner said that i was having some sort of spark problem because the dyno graphs were breaking up and getting intermittent dips in the horsepower curve.

During the 4th gear dyno pull i was able to hear the "hesitation" the car was experiencing around 4k and 5k rpms, it didn't seem bad but the dyno graphs were useless due to this. The motor is a fresh install and i have brand new Autolite 764's gapped at 0.054" in the engine. The tuner said that my AFR was safe at 12.8 and my fuel pressure was solid all the way across so he thought it was my coils. I replaced the stock 99 coils with the 03 mach 1 coils that came on my new engine and now i want to data log the car to see if the problems gone away.

I already have a couple of data logs with the Spark PID but i don't know what units it's in and whether or not the data i'm getting is bad. I spent hours trying to research the DRM's and PID to monitor the right ones but i don't know what half of those things mean.

Does anyone have a good configuration i could use?

Thanks in advance.

Here are some screen shots of the current data logs i have.

This was taken using the data log feature in the Xcal 3, i chose to monitor all available PID's.

This is a short 4th gear pull on the freeway, I ran out of room.

This is a longer 4th gear pull on the freeway i got up to 6200rpms i believe.

This is a 2nd and 3rd gear pull. I just noticed in this one i have 3 misfires but no misfires in the 4th gear pulls. Any significance to this?

 

[SVECobraR]

Ttt

 

[encasedmetal]

who tuned the car?
why such a wide gap on the plugs?
I really need to see your timing tables to determine where your timing is off, but it appears that your timing is jumping around when it should not be. talk to your tuner or new one

 

[SVECobraR]

It was tuned by greg over at RET. I can't get a copy of my timing tables but he was pretty positive it was a ignition, spark, problem.

 

[encasedmetal]

gap your plugs first- where you have them right now is ridiculous

 

[SVECobraR]

What gap should they be at? All specs I've found say .054", the tuner said that was correct.

Does Anyone have a good configuration for the live link? Sitting inside while I run the laptop is pretty hard with all the fumes.

 

[encasedmetal]

I would go .35 if i were you.
and you can configure livelink without it being plugged into your ECU. when it comes up with the option to connect- just select no, then choose your PID's

 

[SVECobraR]

Isn't .035 for boosted motors? If I'm running simple bolt ons why would I need a dramatically tighter gap than factory. I'm not against it, I just want to understand your reasoning.

Thanks for the live link tip.

 

[encasedmetal]

well you're blowing your spark out apparently so yeah tighten it up. your timing is all over the place per your datalogs- so tighten the gap and log it again

 

[SVECobraR]

I'm going to be regapping them at 0.045" per John from Accufab's recommendation. Can you recommend which PID i need to monitor to get the most out of my data logs.

 

[04sleeper]

Spark. Refers to ignition timing when datalogging.

So the numbers you see refers to what timing the engine is seeing at that given RPM. It has nothing to do with spark blowout.

 

[SVECobraR]

I regapped the spark plugs to 0.045" and took some more datalogs yesterday. The first two runs were on my way to lunch, my buddy was following behind me on his bike and noticed that there was a decent amount of blue smoke coming out of the rear.

He said it didn't look like it was coming from the tail pipes and that it might have been coming from underneath the car. I do have a small trans leak and small diff leak, but i have never noticed blue smoke before.

Also, this engine had been sitting for a while so i'm hoping its not my valve seals or my rings, that kind of worried me a bit.

Anyway onto the new datalogs.

The first two were on the way to lunch, i experienced oil burn, and misfires. This was a 2nd & 3rd gear pull on a freeway on ramp.

Again here i datalogged a couple of misfires.
This was a 4th gear pull.

These last three runs were done about 45 minutes after the first two with no misfires or oil burning detected.
A long 4th gear pull.

A short 4th gear pull.

A short 2nd & 3rd gear pull.

 

[SVECobraR]

Retune Update

I got the car retuned by another tuner who did a great job. The blue runs, run 1, are from the old tune, and 2 through 4 are the new tuners work. The red run, run 4, is the final tune.

I still need to go find some Autolite AR764's as it does misfire occasionally and the tuner said that the regular 764's aren't meant for gaps smaller than 0.050" and that the gap must be growing because of that.

I'm pretty happy to say the least.

 

[NateTermi]

Who ended up tuning it?

 

[SVECobraR]

Steve at Powertrain Dynamics. I'm not to happy about it being a diablosport tune but he assured me its the same thing and that i can use my Xcal 3 to datalog still.