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What tuning should the car be set at ?

  • Premium 95 RON fuel or higher eg 98 RON

    Votes: 22 84.6%
  • Leave it as is so I can run 91 RON if I'm cheap

    Votes: 5 19.2%

Tuning car to run on Premium

4K views 29 replies 8 participants last post by  Casper 
#1 ·
Hey all.

I'm contemplating having the xr6 set up to run on 95 RON(premium) fuel instead of the crappy 91 RON stuff. Should I do this ? Is the benefit that great ? Would I even notice the difference at the pump with price ? Any feedback on this would be great.
 
#2 ·
There is nothing to setup on a AU, simply pump the fuel in.

I feel AU's do gain from higher octane fuels because of the higher CR of 9.6:1.
The improvement isn't huge, but is worthwhile IMO.

The premium fuels such as BP Ultimate, Shell Optimax, and Mobil Synergy 8000 should also be more refined, so an should run a little cleaner.

Rick.
 
#5 ·
With the unichip everyone was focussing on the air fuel ratio's being leaned out to 12's from 10's on the ford to give good results but of course if you rock up with a tank of Optimax (thats what APS recommended) then you can also tune the ignition advance to suit the better fuel. The knock sensors in the AU mean u can still run ULP if you like but the knock sensors will remove haeps of advance and power.

I think with a unichip the ign will be able to be advanced up a few more degress on PULP and that will see small but significant gains. More than air filters and intake boxes and the like.
 
#7 ·
No all AU's run knock sensors so they won't ping. As soon as the knock sensors hear a ping(detonation) it retards the ign back 10 degress and then steps it back up till it pings again. the ecu is a 16Mhz processor which isn't fast but its doing this prety quickly and many times a second.

It will hurt performance to run on ULP but not the engine even if it is tuned to run on ULP.

Even the BA XR6T can run on ULP.
 
#9 ·
Soxx you're probably right I just said 10 degrees as an example really i don't know the value but was talking to the APS guys about it at the Unichip demo day at Autotech and they were saying when it intervenes it knocks the ign back a lot so even with the new intercepted value it still works fine.
 
#11 ·
I wish.

I was in the garage looking for ideas and the only thing that I saw was some Acetone. I used that in an old two stroke bike of mine when I was 13 and it WORKED for about 10 minutes and melted the piston.

No I am just going to drive it in and run it up the strip to see what the Croydens 142rwkw can do. I was pleased to see those no's on the dyno but I don't know if I am getting used to it or what but it doesn't feel that quick. I mean it only 10rwkw less than bluedrivers AU XR8 220!

I know from experince though the track doesn't lie like a dyno will.

You look at the terminal speed and the time and you can see how well the engine is producing power and not just that peak no.
 
#12 ·
91RON is BBBBAAAAADDDD!!! Premium is a must and with a chip the tuneing can be so good that the difference could end up being A LOT of rwkw....how much is a lot? I'm guessing somewhere in the 5-8rwkw range myself....just an educated guess, no backup info on this one. I only EVER run 98RON myself now. Even without my beloved chips.
 
#19 ·
I tried a 3" stainless intake pipe on mine and could'nt tell the difference. Admittedly I am not pulling big rwkw but it does rev.

My blind test was simple drivaround the test track (sorry neighbours) with all the windows down stock then with the pipe couldn't say it made any diff at all. Likewise my Autolite 985 DEV sparkplugs compared to iridiums.

However winding up the windows it sounded faster or louder and it fouled the bonnet (it was off an EF?) and totally pissed me off so I sold it on ebay.

I remain to be convinced any of these intakes make any difference. Colder air will work but less restriction in the intake before the throttle body well it would have to be really bad to begin with to make any diff.
 
#20 ·
I have to admit that, after a long debate with Soxx prompting me to do some more homework, the stock AU throttle body piping to the airbox is pretty good and any major mod to it will see minimal results at best. I think Hamo found 0.1 seconds at Calder with his but thats too subjective as other factors probably contributed. I doubt that I'll change mine at all now. The minimal gains are not worth as much to me as the "stock look" of the current setup. That is till you look a little closer and realise its not so stock anymore anyhow.

I have to say that the best change I did to my intake was to add an extra pipe from behind the headlights to the airbox to allow more air in. Even with the XR8 snorkle BOTH of them suck enough to pull your hand in. I personally think that, even for the 6, the XR8 snorkle is still a restriction. No proof, just bum o meter.
 
#21 ·
Casper said:
I have to admit that, after a long debate with Soxx prompting me to do some more homework, the stock AU throttle body piping to the airbox is pretty good and any major mod to it will see minimal results at best. I think Hamo found 0.1 seconds at Calder with his but thats too subjective as other factors probably contributed. I doubt that I'll change mine at all now. The minimal gains are not worth as much to me as the "stock look" of the current setup. That is till you look a little closer and realise its not so stock anymore anyhow.
As I've said a few times, the AU setup is pretty decent, however the piece which sits between the flexible elbow and air box lid is restrictive, no question.
It, and the snorkel are the first two things which can be changed quickly and easily for proven gains once hp rises.
It simply needs to be replaced with a 3" pipe with a small bend which can be made by an exhaust place for >$30, I paid $15. Once painted semi gloss black, it looks standard. The air box lid opening also needs to be cut a little bigger once this 3" piece is fitted.
Why would JMM supply a complete 3" mandrel bent setup if the standard unit wasn't restrictive.
I have to say that the best change I did to my intake was to add an extra pipe from behind the headlights to the airbox to allow more air in. Even with the XR8 snorkle BOTH of them suck enough to pull your hand in. I personally think that, even for the 6, the XR8 snorkle is still a restriction. No proof, just bum o meter.
I have that too.

Rick.
 
#22 ·
agree plenty of poeple have told us the same thing the bend on the AU intake pipe leading into the T/B is restrictive, on my brothers AU we changed it with one bought from Difillpo.
i think JMM ones are the same, because Darren Difillpo tells me he is the only guy that can bend that mandrel degree of pipe in Australia.. with no welding....
.
Running a Large pipe/tube striaght from the T/B out of the headlight worked well for us, when Rod and i got our last PB's at Calder...air is nice and cold striaght in they love it...
 
#23 ·
Soxx said:
As I've said a few times, the AU setup is pretty decent, however the piece which sits between the flexible elbow and air box lid is restrictive, no question.
It, and the snorkel are the first two things which can be changed quickly and easily for proven gains once hp rises.
It simply needs to be replaced with a 3" pipe with a small bend which can be made by an exhaust place for >$30, I paid $15. Once painted semi gloss black, it looks standard. The air box lid opening also needs to be cut a little bigger once this 3" piece is fitted.
Why would JMM supply a complete 3" mandrel bent setup if the standard unit wasn't restrictive.

I have that too.

Rick.
Yes, I have changed that piece of pipe too, as I said mine looks stock but isnt. The irbox lid is off the EF with in internal pipe removed to fit the pod too. JMM seemrd pretty happy with the setup and didnt recommend that I change it any further based on my budget. No doubt a full mandrel bent set up would see "some" improvement but certainly not enough to make it worth my already restricted dollars.
 
#24 ·
Casper said:
Yes, I have changed that piece of pipe too, as I said mine looks stock but isnt. The irbox lid is off the EF with in internal pipe removed to fit the pod too. JMM seemrd pretty happy with the setup and didnt recommend that I change it any further based on my budget.
Sounds exactly the same as what I have on the XH.
Brendan seemed to think it was fine too, apart from a complete mandrel bent pipe.
No doubt a full mandrel bent set up would see "some" improvement but certainly not enough to make it worth my already restricted dollars.
I will try one at some point, just to squeeze the last poofteenth of kw out of it.

Rick.
 
#25 ·
Soxx said:
Sounds exactly the same as what I have on the XH.
Brendan seemed to think it was fine too, apart from a complete mandrel bent pipe.

I will try one at some point, just to squeeze the last poofteenth of kw out of it.

Rick.
I will too one day but I cant see it high on the list. All comes down to bang for the buck. At the moment the same money can get me far more bang in other areas. Once it comes down to finding that extra 3kw I may get one...IF it ever gets down to that.
 
#26 ·
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Q) Will I get more power from using premium unleaded?
A) Yes. Street Machine Magazine tested 3 EF falcons and they all gained ~4rwkw throughout the rev range. Also 2 of the 3 EF’s were being retarded by the knock sensor in the midrange with regular unleaded.
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too bad the FAQ did not get a lot of support...
 
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