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Trying to diagnose excessive negative corrections

Messages
12
Likes
5
Location
Springfield, TN, USA
#1
So I've getting some pretty bad negative corrections at WOT lately. This is on a Dizzy Stage 2 tune for 93 on the stock turbo, but I've experienced the same when I switched to the Cobb Stage 3 OTS tune. OAR has no problem getting to -1.0 under mid throttle and normal driving, but as soon as load gets high in anything higher than 2nd gear, I get a ton of negative corrections and OAR plummets back to anywhere from -0.5 to -0.2. Even part throttle on higher gears can get some pretty nasty negative corrections at times. Jason has been helping where possible, but I know he's busy and I'm hoping someone here has had a similar experience and found a fix.

I'll start by saying I don't think it's bad gas. I have gone to at least 10+ gas stations so far and in 4 different states, a vast majority being stations with Top Tier gas, yet the behavior is the same. Other than that, I've tried: changing out my old plugs to new NGK Ruthenium plugs pre-gapped by Ron to 0.028 (more like 0.026-0.027 when I double-checked them today, but I'm not going to open them back up for a 0.001 inch difference), changed my factory coils with 60k miles on them for Whoosh coils, and walnut blasted my intake valves.

Here is an original data log: https://datazap.me/u/plisky/dizzy-stage-2-old-plugs?log=0&data=7-9-10-11-12
datazap-chart.png
and here is another after the new plugs, coils, and cleaned intake valves: https://datazap.me/u/plisky/dizzy-s...s-and-cleaned-valves?log=0&data=7-10-11-12-13
datazap-chart_newplugscoilsvalves.png


The only thing that has had any effect so far was yesterday when I added a gallon of E85 to my 8 gallons of 93 then drove around for 15 or so miles before going WOT in 3rd from 2500-6500 rpm (sadly I didn't log this since my log monitors were empty). At first I still got negative corrections, but they were far less this time, with -2.25 max rather than the usual -6~, and this was also the first time I've ever gotten any positive corrections at WOT, as past 3500 it actually started adding positive corrections. OAR still dropped from -1.0 to -0.93 when the pull was done, though, and knock count for cyl 1 hit 7, which sounds bad. I know some may say that this points to bad gas, but if I have gotten bad gas at every individual gas station so far, then I don't think good gas actually exists.

Things I've not tried yet which have been recommended to me include checking the motor mounts to see if they might be introducing false knock, checking the knock sensors themselves, and checking the timing belt.

Before applying the tune I had the timing belt replaced at a shop and it was a total shitshow; they couldn't get the car started for a week afterwards and I'm guessing it's because they were struggling with the timing, and after I got it back I found some sloppy work, like one of the driveshaft bracket bolts being almost completely out. After telling Jason about this, he thinks that the belt could have jumped a tooth and said he would send me some instructions to check it myself soon. In the mean time, if anyone else knows what I can do aside from opening the timing cover up, I'd be happy to know.

My modifications are a Whoosh Motorsports V3 intercooler, NGK Ruthenium HX plugs gapped to .028, ST200 air intake with Velossa Tech Big Mouth Ram, Whoosh street-spec RMM, and a symposer delete.
 


OP
Plisky
Messages
12
Likes
5
Location
Springfield, TN, USA
Thread Starter #2
I might also try putting the OEM coils back on later and seeing if that changes anything, although I have my doubts
 


Messages
16
Likes
9
Location
Hartford
#3
So I was having a Similar experience. However, mine was way less extreme and I was able to connect mine to "Exxon Mobil 93" specifically.... Just like you, anytime I went WOT in 4th, 5th, or 6th OAR would drop to -.95 and I would see -2.xxx corrections across the board... never anything worse than that... I have seen someone in the facebook group with similar negative corrections to you. It turned out to be a DESTROYED passenger side motor mount...

Check your mounts and maybe also run a bottle of redline si-1 in your next tank to clean the fuel system.

..Yet something tells me this might just have a lot to do with the shoddy timing job.....
 


OP
Plisky
Messages
12
Likes
5
Location
Springfield, TN, USA
Thread Starter #4
So I was having a Similar experience. However, mine was way less extreme and I was able to connect mine to "Exxon Mobil 93" specifically.... Just like you, anytime I went WOT in 4th, 5th, or 6th OAR would drop to -.95 and I would see -2.xxx corrections across the board... never anything worse than that... I have seen someone in the facebook group with similar negative corrections to you. It turned out to be a DESTROYED passenger side motor mount...

Check your mounts and maybe also run a bottle of redline si-1 in your next tank to clean the fuel system.

..Yet something tells me this might just have a lot to do with the shoddy timing job.....
Gonna hope the passenger motor mount is absolutely wrecked when I check it later then, but I ordered the timing kit just in case. I'll run a bottle of the Redline too while waiting for it to arrive
 


Last edited:
Messages
7
Likes
5
Location
Pennsylvania
#5
I had the same issue earlier this year, what i would suggest is go find an e85 station and put 1-1.5 gal of e85 and see if the corrections go away....Around here alot of our gas stations were getting not so great 93 and mixing e85 raises that octane up and protects against knock......and at least then if you still get them even after putting e85 in, that will eliminate the possibility of bad gas.

I say this because all the stations i was going to was also part of the "Top Tier" gas program and they all had shoddy 93

According to e85 stations app you have a speedway around Springfield that has e85.
 


Last edited:
OP
Plisky
Messages
12
Likes
5
Location
Springfield, TN, USA
Thread Starter #6
I had the same issue earlier this year, what i would suggest is go find an e85 station and put 1-1.5 gal of e85 and see if the corrections go away....Around here alot of our gas stations were getting not so great 93 and mixing e85 raises that octane up and protects against knock......and at least then if you still get them even after putting e85 in, that will eliminate the possibility of bad gas.

I say this because all the stations i was going to was also part of the "Top Tier" gas program and they all had shoddy 93

According to e85 stations app you have a speedway around Springfield that has e85.
Yeah I might honestly stick with just throwing E85 in every fill up, though I'd rather just stick to 93 for a 93 tune. I'll worry about it more when I do my G25/GBC22/S280 install I suppose.

I checked some other users datalogs on various tunes and my timing seems to be relatively in line with other owners, capping around 42-ish on low throttle and 6 at WOT. I have a feeling that if the belt was off, it would either be reaching those peaks or going past it. I found another person on reddit who had a similar issue, but his car wouldn't go past 14 degrees of timing because the belt jumped enough to retard the timing but not enough to throw a code, which is wild.

Nevertheless I have a Vibratechnics PSMM to install Monday and I might still check timing belt if that and another .5 gallon of E85 doesn't fix it
 


Messages
7
Likes
5
Location
Pennsylvania
#7
Yeah I might honestly stick with just throwing E85 in every fill up, though I'd rather just stick to 93 for a 93 tune. I'll worry about it more when I do my G25/GBC22/S280 install I suppose.

I checked some other users datalogs on various tunes and my timing seems to be relatively in line with other owners, capping around 42-ish on low throttle and 6 at WOT. I have a feeling that if the belt was off, it would either be reaching those peaks or going past it. I found another person on reddit who had a similar issue, but his car wouldn't go past 14 degrees of timing because the belt jumped enough to retard the timing but not enough to throw a code, which is wild.

Nevertheless I have a Vibratechnics PSMM to install Monday and I might still check timing belt if that and another .5 gallon of E85 doesn't fix it
When i had the correction issue it was the same tune (Dizzy Stage 2 V3 93...its pretty aggressive for a OTS 93 tune). The full problem ended up being that the spark plugs worked themselves loose over a year, one was actually completely loose...so i ended up getting a new set of NGK's gapped at .025 which lessened the extent of the corrections. Then when i put a gallon of e85 in it completely got rid of the corrections which ultimately led me down the road of going full e40
 




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