VEC1 settings question

[Nexus-6]

Installed the little bugger the other day - it was after all, very easy...the upside down contortionist bit was entertaining to say the least.

Right now, I'm at low +12 / high -20

Question is - the is very little difference between -12 and -20 on the high adjustment on the gauge. Anything in between lights up the first blue LED.

When I zero'ed the high dial out, I was lighting both blue LED's under WOT...very rich. I assumed that as I went up the dial towards -20 that I'd begin to tickle the last green led/first blue but no matter what, it's just the first blue. I'm assuming that -20 is both normal and safe here?

Low setting...a bit tricky to distinguish on the 45-55mph roll that Sean suggests in the notes. About the only perceivable difference I could note tonight on moderate throttle was the very smooth continued roll achieved after letting up in 2nd or 3rd gear now...where before, it would immediately decelerate and gurgle, she coasts very smoothly now on throttle lift.

This is all after just 20 minutes of play time...will have to tweak more.

Also, is it okay/safe to bump the dials in large jumps (0 to -20 in a single adjustment on the high for example) or must you dial it in 2 positions at a time/drive before adjusting more?

(any other tuning tips would be greatly appreciated...especially for the low settings! )

 

[BigCarrot]

Take it to a Dyno! I'm going to Speedworks in Lewisville Thursday to do mine. Wanna go?

 

[Nexus-6]

I would but I'll be out of town this week - [******]!!

Did you get yours installed this week? What initial settings are you at?

 

[BigCarrot]

I put it in yesterday. I did +4 -8 Hell if I know! I really don't want to go crazy with it and run it too lean! No A/F meter. I bought it used. I saved a ton, seemed logical.

 

[monnieh]

I'll goto speedworks with you. Can you go Wednesday?

 

[McGuireV10]

It's very hard to tune right by feel. Definitely take it to a dyno, it's worth the money.

Although I still wasn't happy with my tuned-by-feel settings when I showed up at the dyno place, it was interesting that my current best manual settings yielded 399 RWHP, but after tweaking on the dyno it hit 422. That's a pretty big difference, and well worth the small price of a dyno run. Get a bunch of people together and make a day of it, it's fun.

(Later I picked up more by chopping off the cats.)

 

[holdontight]

Anyone in the lower NY area know of someone that has a dyno and is familiar with adjusting this calibrator?

 

[BigCarrot]

Monnieh, I can't do it Wednesday, but I'm in on Thursday! Can you make it? Holdontight, it's not hard at all. All you do is slap it on the dyno and run and turn the knobs until the A/F ratio flattens out. Anyone should be able to do it.

 

[V10 MOJO]

seems like the settings are not standard. im at +12 -4

 

[V10 MOJO]

and if im not mistaken, dont you want the farthest LED to the right (blue) to light up under WOT?

 

[ElDiablo Viper]

I tunned my on a dyno but when I went for a drive I changed the settings. The car now feels faster than before.

 

[Nexus-6]

rdustman - I think it's the first blue led/last green led, not the furthest to the right blue led that you want lit up under wot...

 

[BigCarrot]

I can't really feel much difference when I turn it while I'm driving. I'm just gonna hit the dyno so I know it's right.

 

[Nexus-6]

After a bit more searching, Sun Ra Kat offered this advice...

Find a nice level spot where you can maintain exact throttle position at say 45mph. Turn the low dial + one notch at a time. Your rpms will slowly increase as you do this...continue to do so until it stops gaining, then back one down to the last position that resulted in a positive RPM change.

It's raining like mad here now so I tried this out at idle in the garage at a steady 1000rpm...every + notch up on the low resulted in a small bump in rpm (+/-50)...at +9, it stopped. +8 was the last increase noted.

Now, this isn't an exact science and certainly isn't going to replace the dyno but at least I got to play with it this weekend a little bit.

The high adjustment is much easier - floor it until the last green led/first blue led is just lighting in the upper rpms under wot.

 

[jimandela]

Nexus-6,
so what did setting did you end up with?
+8 -?

 

[BigCarrot]

I don't have the A/F guage, so the high will be tough. I'm putting it on the dyno just to be sure!

 

[Nexus-6]

Jim -

Right now I'm at +8 and -20...the difference between -16 and -20 was nil from what I could tell. Both lit the first blue led, anything less lit either both blue leds or just the far right blue led.

At a high setting of -20 under wot in the higher range it's still lighting up the first blue led...that indicates an a/f ratio of around 13.2:1 - a long ways away from a lean condition of any kind so I feel pretty safe with that.

I was hoping to straddle that last green/first blue but it just won't do it even at -20

 

[Dixter]

I don't see how you could ever tune a Vec1 without the display. When I put mine
one I didn't get one of the wires on correctly and the Vec wasn't doing anything
at all. But the only way I could tell it wasn't correct was that the lights on
the Vec didn't move at all.

I think I'd call and purchase the display.

 

[BigCarrot]

Nah, the dyno should cure what ails me!

 

[jimandela]

the setting that i am using now seems to be near perfect.
+4-8

 

[McGuireV10]

+16 -20

40 RWHP difference from 0/0...

Creampuff my ass.

 

[Nexus-6]

Creampuff my ass.

Whoa now - you might get a lot of interesting offers with talk like that around here!

Those are some great numbers...

 

[ElDiablo Viper]

I'm at 437RWHP and 480RWTQ with VEC1

 

[BigCarrot]

I was at 436 stock, 445 after exhaust. I wonder what with the VEC1? 455 would make me a happy man!

 

[Nexus-6]

Nice #s too El - what are your mods again?

 

[Nexus-6]

Okay - just got back from a 20 minute test run.

+8 on the low seems to be about right. But honestly, I can't tell much in the 45-55mph 4th gear test. I arrived at +8 by dialing it in until I noticed no further RPM changes on a flat road while cruising steady. Yeah, again I know - real scientific.

I have noticed that I don't get the 1st gear bucking nearly as bad, if at all now...I have to idle out of the side street behind my house and before, idling in first gear with no throttle resulted in massive bucking and lurching. No so any more.

High setting - still at -20. There isn't a setting between 16 and 20 so it's either 16 or 20 and both result in the same LED register. So, I went with -20 and leaner trying to get closer to 13.7:1 by keeping it at -20.

My wife summed it up best. She's always professed to like the ZR1 more mostly because of the 7K+ pull and the gearing. Tonight, she finally proclaimed that the Viper feels to her as if it's accelerating like the ZR1 is up top. I would have to agree - no more flat spot after 4K.

I'm going to have to go into dyno BC just to see what my seat of the pants settings result in. I'm going to head over to 21st Century in about 2 weeks if you want to go then too.

 

[Nexus-6]

Oh yeah - one more thing...

What is this first gear bog that everyone talks about when I'm searching for VEC tuning tips? Is that the bucking I used to have? To call it surging was an understatement...so I want to see what everyone means by surging.

Oh and while I'm at it - folks keep talking about how it improved drivability. What exactly does this mean to you?

Obviously running harder up top under WOT is one thing (that doesn't need reasoning), but what do you mean by 'it improved my drivability' or 'made the car much easier to manage/drive'

 

[ElDiablo Viper]

K&N + smooth tubes + Corsa + no cats + VEC1 = 437RWHP and 480TQ

 

[BigCarrot]

Improved drivability is probably less bucking. Mine bogs when you turn the low side to the negative. I guess it's not getting enough fuel.

 

[Kurt 97 GTS]

I went to 21St Century to dyno my 97 after putting on my VEC1. I decided to rent it for an hour, which gave me plenty of time to "test and tune". Worked great and I highly recommend you do this if you have the time!