R36 wanted for new ECU tune testing

[Lance B]

I agree with many of R36FTW's views on tuning as I also drive a modified jap car (mid 11sec GTR) but to say a mid 13 sec four door family saloon is not fast and not worth spending a cent on I disagree.

Yeah, I thought that was a little off the mark, too.

[DNA Tuning]

Just want to add that we don't get rid of knock control or anything like that.

If you were to throw in 91 unleaded even on our tune, when you put your foot down the power delivery will be severely hampered as the ECU will correct the timing big time, but even in this situation no damage would be done to the car.

Dyno'ing the car doesn't show how safe a tune is a to run; in an N/A car we can't modify how much air is being drawn in by the engine; for improvements in air mass intake, you need to look into exhaust/downpipe and intake upgrades.

The focus is on using the amount of air mechanically induced by the engine in the most effective manner possible. Yes a dyno run shows the power developed at the wheels, but is not an indication of how "safe" the car is to drive.

If anything, a dyno run can be used to look at how aggressive the boost is being commanded on a turbo car; if the torque is spiking very high, etc. then you know that's bad for the turbo.

In an N/A car, even if our program called for 40 deg BTDC of ignition timing, the ECU simply would not let you do it as it the knock voltage would suddenly rise and the ECU would cut the timing heavily. On a dyno curve you would see this as flat spots or dips in power. But again, no damage done.

Fuelling is a different matter, however our tune does not lean out the fuel mixture at full throttle for whoever is concerned about that. We have removed some of the fuelling at part throttle/low loads but this is for around-town fuel efficiency reasons.

On a personal note, I love the R36 as it is a fast car in my opinion whilst providing a luxury ride and all the toys you need. From a marketing point of view, it is difficult to sell an R36 tune as the gains are limited, but I would like the feeling of knowing that the engine is running at its peak, even if it only shaves a couple of tenths off a quarter mile run (not that many R36 owners would be doing that). The overall feel/character of the engine combined with fuel economy is, I believe, definitely worth it for the $730 asking price.

I was and still am away this weekend (went to another trackday at Winton) so R36 testing has been delayed slightly but will update everyone when more information is available.

[R36 DSG]

A dyno run will allow you to monitor in real time at speeds and loads not readily accessable on public roads, factors such as air/fuel ratios, knock levels and other readings that can help evaluate as to whether a tune is "safe".

[jasspa]

Guys, not sure if you have this issue, but I have always noticed that my R36 runs very rich especially on full throttle. This is very noticeable at night when someone is behind you with there headlights on and you take off and leave a cloud of smoke.. Hopefully a tune would fix this a bit as they seem to run quite rich..

[DNA Tuning]

Next time, try putting your foot down immediately after again; chances are you won't see a cloud of smoke. From what I can tell, the car warms up quite rich and leaves a fair bit of carbon deposits built up in the exhaust (sitting in the cats perhaps); when you go full throttle for the first time, the exhaust velocity dislodges all the built up carbon resulting in the smoke.

I would get a friend to follow you at night, try going full throttle once after the car warms up, and then do a similar run again straight after and see if you still get the puff of smoke. I can't imagine it being anywhere near as visible the second time.

[R34]

Yeah my R36 blows heaps of black smoke whereas my GTR is clean as a whistle by comparison
I rarely run at WOT anyway

[2muchcoffeeman]

John updated me yesterday with the new throttle mapping. It definitely makes the car feel more responsive.

Next step will be before and after dyno in the next few weeks.

[Guy_H]

Guys, not sure if you have this issue, but I have always noticed that my R36 runs very rich especially on full throttle. This is very noticeable at night when someone is behind you with there headlights on and you take off and leave a cloud of smoke.. Hopefully a tune would fix this a bit as they seem to run quite rich..

I would be most concerned if it didnt - it's nothing to do with carbon build up at all, its a standard trait of the FSI system, All RS4's, S5's etc all do it -its all part of the component protection strategy.

[Guy_H]

A dyno run will allow you to monitor in real time at speeds and loads not readily accessable on public roads, factors such as air/fuel ratios, knock levels and other readings that can help evaluate as to whether a tune is "safe".

Correct, knowing what we have seen running the R36's (and Passat CC's) on the dyno, this is an excellent idea. You can log the timing blocks with VCDS - it's good to see what they are stock.

[DNA Tuning]

I would be most concerned if it didnt - it's nothing to do with carbon build up at all, its a standard trait of the FSI system, All RS4's, S5's etc all do it -its all part of the component protection strategy.

Guy, what you are suggesting is that run after run, the car will keep dumping black smoke every time, which is not what I have seen or heard of. Not trying to prove you wrong, but having spoken to various owners and been in various R36's now, the first big puff of black smoke normally does not happen again on subsequent wide open throttle runs. I attribute this to carbon buildup in the exhaust/cats from puttering around, cold warmup/idling, etc.

At the end of the day, for those that are concerned, we only slightly adjust the wide open throttle fuelling and we leave the EGT regulation enrichments standard - in fact, EGT's are actually lowered when running our tune due to running more advanced ignition timing. So no, we do not remove any component protection systems in the ECU.