94 Mustang GT: Moates Quarterhorse and Binary Editor Beginnings

The Quarterhorse arrived in the mail two days after I ordered it.

Current Configuration:  1994 Mustang GT Convertible, 306CI GT40 Heads, 1.72 scorpion rockers, FTI cam, 94 Cobra Intake, BBK 70mm TB and stock injectors / mass air.

I downloaded and installed BE on my laptop.  I eventually needed to plug in the dongle which I paid extra for.  The dongle is essentially a portable license.  I then plugged in the quarterhorse and had to install the drivers via device manager.  This was all done while sitting on my couch - QH was not yet plugged into the car.  I then updated BE and downloaded all the latest strategies and calibrations (I learned later I only need two of these... ).

I downloaded the CBAZA strategy and opened that in BE.  I then needed to know what computer was in the car.  Pulled the passenger kick panel to reveal it is a T4M0.  Downloaded the stock T4M0.bin and wrote that to the QH.  This gives me a BONE stock calibration.

Next I pulled the ECU only to reveal that there is a hypertech chip installed!  I've had the car for years and I never knew that.  Apparently it isn't compatible with an MCRP prepped 306 with an Ed Curtis cam!  It certainly wasn't running correctly.  Anyway, I pulled the chip, installed the QH and plugged it into my laptop.  I was still able to 'see' the QH.

I disconnected the negative battery terminal and turned on the headlights to erase any Keep Alive Memory and adaptive learning.  After a few minutes I connected the battery and started the car.  It ran, and ran much nicer than previous.  I hit the data logging start button and like magic I'm getting all these interesting readings from the QH - so I know it is working with the ECU.  I shut the car off and happily went on with my evening.

Then I started reading.  One thing that is nice is that this is not a new product / process.  People have been using the QH and BE for YEARS, which means there is a ton of info out there.  The best resources so far have been EECAnalyzer.net and the forum there, and Efidynotuning.com for the write ups.

Now I started playing around with the stock calibration.  I made changes for the cubic inches to increase to 306.  I also made a change to the fuel since I'm running 93 octane with 10% ethanol.  I then wrote that to the QH, Started the car and took it for a drive to do some data logging.

My main concern was the stock 19 injectors (serviced and flow matched by Accurate IS) and the stock mass air.  Will I peg the meter?  will the injectors be enough?  all the math pointed to the answer of maybe but it was all borderline.  I now had the opportunity to take the car for a drive and data log a WOT pull.  The pull felt pretty good but it was choppy from 4k to 6k RPM.  What I found was REALLY INTERESTING!

Fast forward to me on the couch again looking at the data log.  The first thing I learned is that large data logs are a pain to deal with.  I copied the data from the WOT pull timeframe from the huge data log (.csv file) and made a new .csv via excel - essentially a new data log file.  Now looking at this one is much more granular.  Here is what I learned by looking at the log.

1.  Air Charge Temp (ACT) was 40 degrees.  It was very cold out!
2.  At about 6k RPM the Mass Airflow Sensor Voltage (MAFV) is 4.81.  to peg it will be 4.9 or higher for an extended period of time.  Its CLOSE, but not pegged.
3.  Injector duty cycle (INJDC1 and INJDC2) is 97%.  This has me concerned.  more on this in a minute.
4.  Battery voltage (BATV) drops a LOT during a WOT pull.   Battery and charging system are good, but the volts dropped from a healthy 14+ to 12.08 (min value) during the pull.  I would have never known!
5.  The ECU demanded a 11.8 AFR (LAMBSE1 and 2) during WOT.  There was no correction happening, so I know MAF curve is good (it should be, since this is a stock calibration).
6.  RPM is very smooth up until 4500.  From there to 6k it seems to be 'choppy' (peaks and valleys in the graph).  I'm not exactly sure what this is from, but I have some ideas.
7.  ECU gave just about 27 degrees total timing at 6k.  This was also interesting.  I know from the dyno break in of the engine that it wants about 30 degrees to make the most power.
8.  I can no longer own a mustang without having access to the data that is provided by a tuning device.  It will be SO EASY to troubleshoot a problem with this thing.

Next steps:
I ordered a Kirban AFPR.  I'm going to increase the fuel pressure, which should keep the duty cycle of the injectors down.  Mass Air isn't pegged, so I'm going to leave that for now (although I do have a REALLY NEAT plan worked out to upgrade that in the future).  I'm also going to clean up the ground wires to the engine / chassis / battery.  I still can't believe how much that battery voltage dropped, and the choppy RPMs up top could be ignition related.  It certainly isn't fuel or air after seeing the log.

Some important things I learned from reading - for you forced induction folks - The calibration I'm working with scales to 100% load.  There are FREE calibrations that go to 200% load.  An NA motor will never see over 100% load, but a power adder will take the load into the 100%+ range.  The QH easily accounts for that!

An innovate wideband will plug right into the laptop (I need 3 USB ports though - QH, Dongle, Innovate) and will be logged along with the data from the QH.  That means the data log graph would not only include the LAMBSE (what the ECU is demanding) but also the LAMBDA from the wideband which will show what the engine is producing in the exhaust.  Once LAMBSE = LAMBDA, Fuel and Air are dialed in perfectly.  THAT is why tuning with a wideband is so important for modified engines.

My engine is not 'highly' modified.  Its built to be a VERY stout daily driver.  But by the time I'm done with this effort, its going to be a very fine tuned application!  More to come as I make more progress!