2004 Mustang GT new engine

[maxbyte]

Hello, HPTuners, first-time member here. Nice to see a supportive community like this.
I have recently built a new engine for my 2004 Mustang GT. Nothing exotic, as this is
a daily driver for 9 months of the year. My focus has been handling, performance and
fuel economy.
The new engine is a 4.6 2v, same as the factory, but with an aluminum block and
a few upgrades. I'm using the original PCM, which is EEC-V, and i'm using O2 sensors with cats.
The upgrades are:

1. Mildly ported heads (casting flash removed on the long-side radius, and gasket matched)
2. Gasket-matched intake manifold
3. Stage 1 cams (226/230 @.050)
4. 24lb Ford injectors (the original engine had 21lb injectors)
5. Long-tube headers and full 2-1/2" exhaust (factory is 2-1/4")
6. 75mm throttle body and plenum (original is 65mm)
7. 10.5:1 compression (original engine was 9.7:1)

At the moment, the PCM is running a "Diablosport" 91 octane "tune". The car runs very rich
at idle and WOT, according to the wideband (Innovate LM 2) and my nose. I typically see
0.71 lambda in WOT pulls to 4,000rpm (the engine now has 1700km, so probably past
"break-in").
I have a brand-new MPVI2+, and i've been sifting through the forums for relevant
information... so (deeep breath) it's time to start tuning. I have the injector specs from
Ford, does it make sense to change the high and low flow rate, breakpoint and pulse width
minimum to the Ford specs for the 24lb injectors? Or is there something obvious i should
do first?
Thanks for taking a look... regards, kevin

[maxbyte]

I decided to add the injector data to the tune. It appears that WOT pulls now show a maximum of 0.81 lambda. My first impression after one drive is that the engine idles better. It was stalling at idle after warming up before the tune change, but it seems stable now. I hope. ...regards, kevin

[maxbyte]

I've put about 300km on the car since the injector update. After disconnecting the battery for a few hours, my long-term fuel trims are reset and now steady between 0-5 +/-. In closed loop the A/F is consistently close to lambda on my Innovate LM-2, and my short-term fuel trims are cycling nicely, so my upstream O2 sensors are working properly. My spark advance goes from 13 degrees BTDC at low RPM WOT, to 21-25 at steady-state cruising, to 37 on deceleration. The forums contain a wealth of non-relevant information on whether or not these are normal or desirable numbers, so any additional tuning would be a total WAG. The engine is running well, about 2000km on it now. I'm starting to run it up to higher RPMs, last drive i hit 4500 on 2nd and 3rd gear WOT pulls. Another couple drives and i'll bump the pulls up to 5000rpm. I'll do the second oil-change in a couple days, then make a dyno date.
I'm currently datalogging with the Innovate LM-2 and the Diablosport I3. If i try to datalog with the MPVI2+, my dash gauges swing wildly and the Service Engine light comes on and off intermittently. I see this issue has been discussed, addressed, discussed, addressed and finally abandoned in the forums. So far this $700 plus MPVI2+ investment has allowed me to do exactly one tuning-related change. I'm not excited about it any more. I think they work well with non-Ford vehicles. ...regards, kevin

[decipha]

if you want to really tune it give me a shout

[maxbyte]

Thanks for the reply, yes, i really do want to tune it. ...regards, kevin

[maxbyte]

I'm looking at Engine-Airflow-General. Under MAF Calibration, in the Airflow vs Voltage chart, there are two columns. The column on the right is airflow (i'm using lbs/min), but the column on the left lists values that start at 0 and top out at 1024. Is there a way to change this to 0v-5v? I can do the math to convert it, if that's what i should do... Or am i misinterpreting this? ...regards, kevin

[mstang_man]

I'm looking at Engine-Airflow-General. Under MAF Calibration, in the Airflow vs Voltage chart, there are two columns. The column on the right is airflow (i'm using lbs/min), but the column on the left lists values that start at 0 and top out at 1024. Is there a way to change this to 0v-5v? I can do the math to convert it, if that's what i should do... Or am i misinterpreting this? ...regards, kevin

If you want MAF voltage then take the AD counts 1024 to (0) & divide each by 205. The only one you really need to adjust is the Airflow side. Use histogram Maf Vs Airflow, good to go for adjusting the MAF transfer. i attached a histogram pic of what your asking. You can tune using MAF voltage just not my favorite way.

[maxbyte]

Thanks for the note, mstang_man, unfortunately VCM scanner doesn't work reliably with my car. I've been datalogging with my LM2 wideband and my Diablosport I3. I'm overwhelmed with information from the forums, but i'm not getting a clear idea of where to start without the VCM scanner histograms. I'm hoping somebody with a similar car will take pity on me and tell me how to move forward. ...regards, kevin

[mstang_man]

SO if you are getting Lambda or AFR reading you can build an excel sheet to make Maf adjustments. i attached a sheet you can try, there is instructions included on the sheet. this way you can use you wideband data.

[maxbyte]

I appreciate the reply, mstang_man, and thanks for the worksheet and instructions. You suggested i put the car in closed loop, then hold the rpm at each maf count and record the stft to use as a multiplier for the maf lbs/minute. Does it matter which bank i use for the stft? The stft changes every 2 seconds in closed loop in response to the O2 sensor, so should i take an average? Here's a screenshot of a datalog in closed loop. Except for wot pulls, the stft is close to 0.
...regards, kevin

[maxbyte]

I have another question about VCM Editor for my 2004 GT: In "Engine/Fuel/Oxygen Sensors/LTFT Bank vs. Cylinder #", cylinders 1-5, 10-12 are in Bank Number 0, and cylinders 6-9 are bank 2. Unless i completely misunderstand this, cylinders 1-4 are bank 1, and cylinders 5-8 are bank 2. ...regards, kevin
LTFT Bank vs Cylinder.jpg

[mstang_man]

I have another question about VCM Editor for my 2004 GT: In "Engine/Fuel/Oxygen Sensors/LTFT Bank vs. Cylinder #", cylinders 1-5, 10-12 are in Bank Number 0, and cylinders 6-9 are bank 2. Unless i completely misunderstand this, cylinders 1-4 are bank 1, and cylinders 5-8 are bank 2. ...regards, kevin
LTFT Bank vs Cylinder.jpg

on these older cars forcing open loop is probably the best way to dial in MAF. Yes, averaging will workout. What you should do hold the throttle long enough for the AFR to stabilize on the Wideband, and record that number. so you chart you posted is showing BANK 2 for LTFT vs airflow no need to mess that.

[maxbyte]

I reviewed my datalogs, and my LTFT numbers were consistently subtracting around 3.5% fuel at all MAF counts and RPMs. Then i looked at the only Ford tunes in the repository that were anywhere close (not very) to my car, and decided my MAF was reporting more airflow than seemed right. This is the factory MAF (YC2F-12B579-BA). I changed the Engine-Airflow-General-MAF Calibration-Airflow vs Voltage table by multiplying all the cells by .97. Just finished another datalog, and the LTFT is now averaging right around 0% to -1.0%, short term adds fuel during open loop and cycles nicely around 0% during closed loop. A/F is steady at lambda during closed loop. Does this sound like the right thing to do? ...regards, kevin

[mstang_man]

I reviewed my datalogs, and my LTFT numbers were consistently subtracting around 3.5% fuel at all MAF counts and RPMs. Then i looked at the only Ford tunes in the repository that were anywhere close (not very) to my car, and decided my MAF was reporting more airflow than seemed right. This is the factory MAF (YC2F-12B579-BA). I changed the Engine-Airflow-General-MAF Calibration-Airflow vs Voltage table by multiplying all the cells by .97. Just finished another datalog, and the LTFT is now averaging right around 0% to -1.0%, short term adds fuel during open loop and cycles nicely around 0% during closed loop. A/F is steady at lambda during closed loop. Does this sound like the right thing to do? ...regards, kevin

Yes you can do it that way. now that your dialing in you can take the LTFT + STFT and average it, then make correction to the Airflow side of the MAF. +/- 3-5% is well within standard.. here is a stock mustang 24lb injector MAF Transfer Vs Airflow to compare to your current tune.

1023.984375 46.166015625
971.296875 38.373046875
940.40625 34.6591796875
903.828125 31.0791015625
862.921875 27.431640625
794.46875 21.859375
742.625 18.197265625
714 16.29296875
648.40625 12.685546875
591.046875 9.8203125
574.546875 9.1357421875
557.296875 8.3515625
537.5625 7.66796875
517.9375 6.8720703125
496.78125 6.234375
485.0625 5.8369140625
447.296875 4.763671875
397.875 3.6572265625
379.40625 3.2978515625
338.828125 2.583984375
314.546875 2.203125
255.75 1.466796875
220.46875 1.1025390625
199.359375 0.9208984375
176.21875 0.7392578125
148.484375 0.552734375
136.46875 0.478515625
115.640625 0.365234375
5.203125 0
0 0

[maxbyte]

Thank you for the MAF numbers! What year is that Mustang? My MAF Airflow vs Voltage numbers are very close to the ones you posted. Should i continue to adjust the table, or is it close enough now that my LTFT is hovering around 0%? ...regards, kevin

[mstang_man]

Thank you for the MAF numbers! What year is that Mustang? My MAF Airflow vs Voltage numbers are very close to the ones you posted. Should i continue to adjust the table, or is it close enough now that my LTFT is hovering around 0%? ...regards, kevin

2004 Mach 1 stock come from factory with 24# injectors. adjusting is a decision you will need to make, if i am hitting the AFR in my base fuel and Wide open throttle then drive and test it out, you can always go in back and adjust later. there will be a point when you have gone to far and you start chasing your tail.

[maxbyte]

I'm going to take your advice and drive and datalog it for a few days. If my fuel trims look good and the AFR is at lambda in closed loop and .81 at WOT, what's the next tuning step? ...regards, kevin

[mstang_man]

I'm going to take your advice and drive and datalog it for a few days. If my fuel trims look good and the AFR is at lambda in closed loop and .81 at WOT, what's the next tuning step? ...regards, kevin

Depends, i usually set to the to lowest rows in MBT and BNK to 25* helps with stabilizing idle. once i dial in my fuel trims i work on my timing. me i look for bottom end torque, but you may want top end power.. it just a matter of what you want out of the car.

[maxbyte]

I'm more interested in low RPM torque. I chose cams that affect 1400-5400rpm, which is where i do all my driving.

1. Looking at the MBT table, you set all cells in the .90 load row to 25* BTDC?
2. Where do i find the BNK table?

I appreciate the help! ...regards, kevinMBT table.jpg

[mstang_man]

No sorry to confuse you, when i mean bottom 2 i am talking about SCT software, in HP it the top 2 rows load .10 & .20, and the BNK is the borderline knock table this were you really want to make all spark corrections. Copy your MBT and Paste it into the BNK( borderline knock). then just change spark in the BNK table only.