Hey guys-

Just got back from Europe last night and ran over to the shop who was supposed to be tuning my Emanage Ultimate this morning, and they weren't able to work on the car because there were issues with the car when it came to them.

I called the family member who drove the car from the installer to the tuner, and he told me that the car stalled multiple times at idle when sitting at lights. He didn't think anything of it and thought it was just because it was untuned, as I had told him to stay out of boost. There is also a CEL, and the car smokes when it starts.

Details:
Greddy Kit with E-manage Ultimate
Greddy RS BOV
RP Catless Midpipe [cause of CEL, presumably]

The tuner told me that the installers had given it 3 degrees of ignition advance, which befuddled him.

I'm sure the tuner will figure it out eventually, but at their $95/hour rate to troubleshoot. If any of you turbo gurus can think of anything in the install process that would have caused these problems, you could save me a lot of money and get my car to me quicker. The irony is I still haven't driven it!

Thanks,
Michael

 

change your EMU to AccessPORT

 

thanks for the helpful response.

 

Though his response was a bit curt, it isn't without merit.

If for no other reason than you apparently do not have a tuner available to you who can work competently (and cost effectively) with the E-Manage.
Adding timing is seldom a "fix" for anything.

That said, we probably need more info about the working condition of the motor before any assumptions can be made about its prognosis.

When you dropped the car off, it was N/A and running correctly?

 

I did a PCA DE in 95* weather in College Station in late June. No CEL, no smoking, car ran beautifully and I have in-car videos to confirm that. I drove the car back up to Dallas, then flew out to Oxford.

Whilst in Oxford, my brother drove my car from Dallas to Houston [255 miles] in 95+ degree weather, no smoking, no CEL, just the regular TPMS sensor light.

Car was delivered to installer in the same condition. Catless midpipe was installed with the Turbo, and I got charged to replace an extra engine mount in the process. When the car was picked up, it smoked on startup, backfired between shifts even though it wasn't taken above 4k rpm, and had to be held above idle to keep the car from stalling at lights.

I've known VTA cars to stall under heavy braking on track without a decent tune, but from what they told me [remember, I'm in Europe while this was happening], the car would drop below 900 or 700 rpm and stall. [idle issue? maf?]

When the mechanic at SGP Racing [Greddy distributor/one of 2 competent E-Manage tuners here in Houston/VQ Gods] started the car, smoke billowed out the exhaust for a few seconds, then stopped.

There is currently a CEL, I didn't ask the tuner whether or not it was due to the midpipe, but he expressed that the greddy kit had never given a cel before.

Thanks.

 

keeping it simple.

start here if you have not read it.

lots of good info..

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-major-horsepower-upgrades-93/greddy-turbo-kit-f-qs-post-them-here-59834/

as to the cel. get the code, then go to the next step..

beers

 

Bit of an update.

Forgot to clarify that the vacuum line from the wastegate is already run to the turbo outlet so it's not a lack of fix #2 here.

I called the tuner today for a progress update. They're having problems with the smoke still, alongside an engine chatter/hesitation that he says has something to do with the butterfly valves. This goes beyond my comprehension but perhaps that can help you gurus?

In addition, the 3 degrees of ignition advance at idle are ramped up AS SOON as you blip the throttle, and they peak at 7 degrees.

He also said something was wrong with the map on the EMU, as it was not the "stock" map.

Like I said, I'm out of my league.

 

I havent looked into my bag o info yet so I dont know much about the ignition degrees. But with the smoke, do you have header wrap on anything? Could it just be residual oil from a previous/current oil leak. You will get hesitation for a few drive cycles until the PCM learns the calibrations. The best thing to due to save yourself headaches and engine problems is to contact MazdaManiac and get the Cobb AP. I am no FI guru but the AP is a cakewalk. Good luck to you and your new venture.

 

No header wrap, but the bodywork was covered in the heat wrap stuff to protect it from the heat from the DP, as the kit prescribed.

Engine bay is exquisitely clean, several months ago I had a FMC leak... I had it repaired at the dealer, and then I cleaned everything up after that. I polished the turbo piping when I bought the kit, so I'd notice an oil leak [at least an external one]. I haven't checked the wheel wells but there are definitely no drips under the car. The smoke is coming out the exhaust pipe. My Boxster S has an ongoing overfill/air baffle problem and the symptoms are the same, it just smokes till it heats up.

Cobb AP might be down the line, we'll see. Don't the ignition symptoms indicate a PCM problem as opposed to a piggyback problem?

 

Michael, when I first installed my greddy kit used, it also smoked for a whole week. There must be oil and residue that was existing through the lines and pipes from the ex owner.
I strongly recommed an AP from MM. If you ever plan to data log your car let me know if you don't mind me using the tool also.

 

As in the Kane/MM logging software? I've got the OBDScan APEX but I don't like the output files it delivers as far as format...if you just meant temps on track and such. I'm fairly sure my OBD2 reader only pulls narrowband AFR and will be worthless for true readings. [why would people shell out the big $$ for a wideband02 if they could just pick up an OBD2 scanner and hook it up to their laptop?]

I also picked up the USB cord/software for the EMU, but at this point in my life I don't have a lot of time to learn stuff like that, which is why I didn't just install the turbo myself. Plus with SGP in Houston as one of 2 Greddy distributors, and RP // Gotham in Dallas, I'd rather leave my car in capable hands than risk screwing something myself.

What are you making to the wheels? I didn't know you ran the Cobb...

 

Im new to this forum so I dont really know where to ask my questions and all that

but i have been having similar problems, difference is my emanage that came with my kit will not run the car period. all i can do is rev it with the emanage in and then it stalls

i just run the stock and i was able to get the car to idle but like you it stalled almost everytime i stopped and if it didnt it was idling at around 400rpm

i dont know if its the software or something wrong with the turbo, the wastegate is hooked to the turbo outlet as well

 

same problems with my car when running the stock greddy map but now my car wont start at all. wheni hooked up the lap top i discovered that alot of the maps are empty