Tuning: MY03 pistons and BBi Stage 1's in a MY05 truck

[AH64ID]

This thread will be about tuning a late CR with early CR pistons and BBi Stage 1's.

Truck: 2005 5.9L QCLB 3500 SRW NV5600 4x4 3.73's
Pertinent Mods: BBi Stage 1 for MY03, QSB480 pistons, Hamilton 178/208 cam, Garrett GT3782R, rest in sig.
Tuning: Smarty S-06 Revo UDC.
Truck Use: In the summer it tows the camper around for plenty of family trips (17-19k GCW), and in the fall/winter it's used for hunting (lots of slow speed driving) and playing in the snow. It's not my DD. It sees a LOT of dirt/gravel, towing and not towing, as well as pulling steep grades loaded and unloaded. The truck weighs about 8,500 loaded for winter.

My previous dyno/tune net me 415/850 corrected and that is where I plan to tune the new setup to, peak hp may go up but I am shooting for 300 rwhp at 2,000 rpms. It works well for how I use the truck and I rarely have to worry about EGT's when towing up 6%+ grades, unless it's 85 deg at 6,000 feet plus.

Thanks to the stock injector flow sheets that Brian provided I was able to compare the flow of the MY03 BBi Stage 1's to the OEM MY04.5 nozzles at 3 pressures from 0-2000us (3626, 14503, 23206). What I noticed right off the bat is the BBi's flow very similar to OEM nozzles at low pressure and pulse width. That's a GREAT thing because that means the idle, cruise, and low power tuning is smoother and more likely to be smoke free. I think I was able to find the point where the injectors start increasing their flow, and when they do they are very uniform in the added flow. This again really helps the duration map adjustment, especially since I am decreasing duration to keep the same amount of fuel being burned as previous.

So I am sure people are going to wonder why I spent the money on BBi's when I plan to cut the fuel to not increase power, well the ability to cut the fuel is a big reason. In addition to cutting fuel the BBi's have a great reputation on quality, and that's something I wanted. I needed to swap nozzles at a minimum and couldn't see spending money on OEM injectors with 93K miles on them, even thou they tested near perfect. It just made sense to give these a shot, both in the tuning and the longevity/efficiency departments.

Okay, back to cutting duration. I feel this is a GOOD thing, and provides many benefits. My research has shown me that peak pressure should occur 12 - 15 ATDC, but there is no way to measure it. By using less injector open time I can reduce the timing, which reduces negative torque (combustion prior to TDC, nearly impossible to not have and still make peak pressure at the desired point), and it reduces stress on the cylinder head bolts/studs/gasket. I should be able to get a short, hi flow injection that burns quicker and more efficient than a longer pulse for the same fuel. A shorter pulse width also means that the injector will be open less time ATDC, and hopefully create peak pressure at the desired point. While it still makes power having the injector open after 12-15 doesn't make the motor as efficient as it could.

The other thing I plan to do is drop peak rail pressure from 23,206 to 21,756. I personally don't feel that the 1450 less psi will effect atomization, and thus combustion efficiency, but it will reduce the parasitic drag on the CP3 putting more power to the flywheel. This lower peak pressure will also reduce wear in the CP3 and injectors. The main reason many tuners increase rail pressure is to inject more fuel in the same amount of time, which reduces the need for a lot of timing. Since I am already able to cut my duration by quite a bit the additional 50-75us required to get the desired fuel injected isn't a big deal since I will already be reducing my WOT pulse width by 500-600us.

I have peeked at the MY03 stock files, but their pilot is smaller so the timing (especially at idle) isn't going to be apple to apples with a MY04.5 ECM. Some of the timing difference MY03 vs MY0.45 are hardware, some are pilot, and most are emissions.

 

This is an example of the difference in timing and duration for my previous tune and the BBi's. Values are removed, and this was my initial tune and the values have changed, but not much.

 

[AH64ID]

So as of today I have about 320 miles on the setup, and there is nothing but good things to say.

 

Clean, clean, clean! There is no smoke, and the puff at large power changes isn't really even thick enough to call smoke, its more like a light gray fog. At WOT there is no haze, smoke, or anything. These are all good indicators of a clean efficient burn thanks to the BBi's and improved piston design. The single biggest indicator of a clean burn is the exhaust brake. On my old setup after a 20 minute drive without the exhaust brake (or increased EGT's of towing) I would get a puff of smoke on EB activation from the soot accumulation on the brake and wall of the elbow, I don't even get a wisp of smoke now.. absolutely none.

 

Fuel mileage is hard to say, it looks good but the warmest I have seen since the install in 21° and with the duration map changes I cannot even begin to guess at the overhead error. I probably wont have good fuel mileage numbers until it warms up.

 

Power is great, it comes on smooth and pulls very well. I plan to dyno it in February to verify/obtain the 300 rwhp at 2000 rpms.

 

UDC has really made this all possible, my timing and duration map look nothing like any of the sample files.

[dorkweed]

Look forward to your future posts.  Especially injector stuff…………199,588 miles on the OEM injectors as of yesterday.

Edited December 17, 2013 by dorkweed

[AH64ID]

Aside from the stock injectors these are all I have ran, but there is a VERY big difference.

[AH64ID]

I filled up for the first time today, of the 468 miles on the tank 405 are the new engine. The 63 on the old engine was probably about 14-15 mpg based on what I normally get on that dirt road. The entire tank was 14.4, which included 70 miles of towing (empty flatbed for 50 of them, 21-22K GCW the other 20), plenty of idle time (cam break in, leak checks, etc), and it's been COLD! So I guess 14.4 is pretty good for a new engine and how the tank was used.

[AH64ID]

Dyno time is scheduled!!

 

21 Feb at 1400. Motor Mayhem in Meridian Idaho for anyone local who wants to come out.

 

I now have 1500 miles on the rebuild/tune and really like how it runs. I have done a little towing with it and its a much smoother motor, hard to tell on strength in a few miles and the camper was about 1,500 lbs ligher than loaded for camping.. but it pulls is very effortlessly from 1800 rpms up and on flat ground 1600 rpms in OD was very usable, much better than before.

[AH64ID]

I have put about 1300 miles on the truck in the last week, including a Boise-Seattle(Duvall)-Portland-Boise road trip. The weather was crap for nearly all of the loop, mostly rain and standing water on the roadway in addition to a 10-30mph head wind for 350 of the 500 miles from Boise to Seattle. I was about 9000 lbs GVW on the trip up with a bookshelf in the bed that was resting on the tailgate, and 9400 lbs GVW on the return trip and the bed loaded just below the be rails.

 

Overall stats for 3 of the tanks was 1238.9 miles and 71.537 gallons for an average of 17.32, with a low of 16.88 and a high of 18.3. The 18.3 tank even included a little towing when I got back home, enough to take 1mpg off the overhead in 14 miles.

 

I really like the way the truck runs, and based on the ambient conditions I cannot complain about the mileage at all.

 

I have a minor tweak or two to make to the tune, but I am waiting to see hp results at the dyno tomorrow and will adjust from there.

[dorkweed]

What was your speed???

[AH64ID]

±70 for the most part, some stretches at 65 and some at 73.

 

There were times the rain/wind was so strong, and so much standing water that I would from 3 psi on level ground to 8-11 psi!

[AH64ID]

Few updates.

I spent some time on the dyno last week seeing what the motor likes for timing and fuel and ended up with what I hope is a solid tow tune. I had to bump the fuel up a little over what I have been tuning but not too much. The flow sheets got me very close, and if I were running 23.6K psi I am sure it would have been close but I run less peak pressure.

My tow tune came in at 415/800 in 5th gear. I did all my run's in 5th because I didn't want to spin my 75mph rated tired up to 125+. I did do one partial run in 6th to compare mid range tq numbers vs 5th, the 6th run was only up to 2500 rpms. The 5th run made 810 ft/lbs and the 6th made 857 ft/lbs, that tells me that even thou the tune I am running did 415/800 it's probably right at the 415/850 I was at before and right where I want it for where/how I use the truck.

I also did 1 run on a simple street tune I wrote, nothing fancy just wanted to see what it would do. 505/950 in 5th, first try.

I also did a stock tune run 400/710, that is 75/110 over my 100% stock motor on the same dyno.

All numbers were SAE corrected because I felt it was the easiest to compare based on different ambient temps and dyno days.

The day after the dino I loaded up the truck and went camping, about 65 miles each way with one 7% grade each way. On the way north I pulled it at 2500 rpms in 5th and peaked at about 1050°, on the return I pulled it at 2200 in 5th and peaked at about 1100°, great EGT's for the speed. With all towing there was no smoke or haze, and the response was excellent. This is a route I have towed on many times over the years. GCW was just over 17K.

With my current tire size (245/70R19.5) and the way the motor is built 5th gear is useable from 40-65+ in the mountains and pulls smoothly and cool throughout the range. It was a joy to drive on winding roads, and very smooth and quiet.

[War Eagle]

So on the stock tune then the higher (overstock) power is the combination of your new injectors and cam?  Does the turbo really add anything or is it just more of an enabler?

 

How do these numbers compare to what you were at before the engine mis-hap. 

 

Did you have stock numbers from before the engine rebuild (of course that would have been stock injectors + cam and turbo)?

[AH64ID]

The turbo is an enabler, thou I have heard reports that the stock turbo does limit power in the upper rpm range.. to hard to say thou. I don't think I ever ran the dyno with just a turbo on stock tuning.

 

I was 415/850 on my Smarty Jr UDC tune, I think the S06 was the same as the tune was nearly identical at WOT.

 

I ran 325/590 on stock about 6 years ago, stock everything.

[AH64ID]

It's been a few months since an update. I have a bit over 1,100 miles towing with the new motor and have made a couple small tweaks to the tune.

 

All in all the tow tune is very plesant to drive, doesn't make any smoke and has plenty of power.

 

I think I have it dialed in to where it won't go above 1250° at low rpms if I hit an unexpected hill at too low a speed (cruise at say 55 in 6th), which isn't the norm but it's nice to be good on the tune.

 

I pulled one of my normal grades last weekend as heavy as I have ever been, 18,920, and it pulled it at about the same temp/load as when I pull the hill at 17,500 and still never broke 1,200° in 5th at 60mph.

 

I then towed the TT a little lighter to put away for a bit this morning, and with a 15mph head wind at 1900 rpms (67) I was quite pleased. When I went to the larger tire my rpms at 65 dropped enough I wasn't sure how I would preform towing. I have about 150 miles towing at 65-68 and it works very well, but I hadn't taken any notes.. so here goes.

 

Flat ground, ~17,000 GCW, 1900 rpms, 67 mph. Load ±33%, rail pressure ± 14,000, Pyro ±950°, boost ±8 psi, LP fuel 7 psi, coolant 190-192°. Ambient temp 59°, pre-turbo IAT 63°, intake manifold IAT 70°. Puts me around 5° of timing.

 

I could pull those numbers all day long and be quite happy. I am guessing that it's around 12.5 mpg.

[AH64ID]

I think I finally found a limit yesterday.. A 4% grade at 71 in OD, ±2000 rpm, at 6800' at 86° I will hit 1250° EGT's when I am loaded up to over 19K GCW with a headwind.. Dropping to 69 kept me at 1200± on the 3-4% grade.

 

That's more power than I had with the old build at elevation, since the rwhp is the same all I can say is the cam moves more air.

 

I just did the calculation, and that's right at 10,000 DA...

 

I was climbing to Banner Summit from Stanly, Id.