’05 Redline PCM tuning results!

[Bad GTP]

Congratulations to Mike Vanderhorst, who put down 249.5 WHP and 233.4 WTQ in his ’05 Ion Redline last night! His car has the INTENSE Stage 3 kit installed, and now has the INTENSE Stage 3 PCM to match. His fuel was 94 octane unleaded pump gas, and he doesn’t even have the boost bypass mod done.

The ‘before’ boost and horsepower show lower than normal because the boost bypass mod was not done. As you can see, the amount of boost pulled by the PCM is much more dramatic when the smaller supercharger pulley is installed.

As I mentioned in another thread, we just completed our first twelve hours of LSJ dyno tuning sessions, and we've learned a LOT! Rob Archer of Hoosier Performance and I worked together on all the tuning, and with our combined experience we were able to make some great things happen. We’ve also had the opportunity to dyno test some GM Stage flashes, and we’re proud to have produced even better results. I was pretty pumped when I got home at 2:04 a.m., and I don't think Rob would have gotten home until almost five o-clock this morning.



The HP Tuners software is functioning quite well, and we're working with them to make it even better. Notice how much healthier and consistent the air/fuel ratio is now. The factory tune was too lean at low engine speeds, and too rich at higher engine speeds. Also notice how much the area under the curve has increased. There’s a solid 10 WHP and 15 WTQ gain even before the boost was falling off with the stock PCM. Taking the boost changes into consideration, ~ 34 WHP at the higher engine speeds!

The INTENSE Stage 3 PCM will be intended for cars with 2.80” to 3.00” supercharger pulleys, 42 pound/hour fuel injectors, colder spark plugs with reduced gaps, and induction and exhaust mods (optional). You’ll be able to get it in three different varieties:

1. Binary File Only - If you already have or plan to order HP Tuners, INTENSE-Racing or Hoosier Performance can email you a binary file to fit your mods for $99.99. This would serve as an excellent starting point for you to begin your tuning, and can easily be loaded with the HP Tuners VCM Suite. No core charge, Security Relearn or Crankshaft Variation Learn procedures would be required in this case.

2. Mail Order PCM - If you want a mail order PCM, the cost will be $199.99 plus $200.00 core charge. You could then keep your original PCM if you like, or return it to us for a full refund of your $200.00 core charge. If you go this route, you won’t need HP Tuners, but you would be wise to purchase a scan gauge.

With a mail order PCM, you’ll need to perform the Security Relearn Procedure. This only takes a half hour, and doesn't require any special tools. Here is a link to a similar procedure to the one required for LSJ-powered vehicles: http://www.intense-racing.com/docs/05secrelearn.pdf.

With a mail order PCM , the Crankshaft Position Variation Learn procedure (commonly referred to as CASE Learn) will also be required to prevent DTC P0315 (Crankshaft Position Variation Not Learned) from triggering your Service Engine Soon light. Anyone with a Tech II (such as a GM dealership) can perform this special function for you in a couple minutes. Some discretion is necessary when asking your dealership to NOT re-flash the PCM. If they re-flash the PCM, all your special tuning will be gone and un-retrievable. Many dealers will perform the Crankshaft Position Variation Learn procedure for free, while others may charge a modest fee.

By the way, we plan to change our Stage 3 kit a little, and offer the PCM in place of the MAF Translator. If you already have a MAF Translator and want a PCM, you can either remove the MAF Translator with the settings changed to 0-0, or you can leave it installed for fine tuning and tuneability for other mods such as aftermarket cold air intake systems.

3. Custom Dyno Tune – This is the ultimate way to get the best possible tune, especially for more modded vehicles. No core charge, Security Relearn or Crankshaft Variation Learn procedures would be required in this case. We would tune your cars hands-on at our facility in Plain City, Ohio (INTENSE) or Indianapolis, Indiana (Hoosier). Custom dyno tunes can get quite expensive, and average ~ $375.

We always use the latest calibration files available from G.M. as the starting points for our tunes. The latest information is available at this link: http://calid.gm.com

In case anyone is curious about our tuning capabilities, our tunes currently hold the highest horsepower 3800 N/A dyno record, the 3800 M90 supercharged dyno record and 3800 turbo dyno record. We’re not just good dyno queens either. Some of our 2005 tunes include:

1. World's fastest FWD Grand Prix (9.64 @ 146 MPH)
2. World's fastest FWD Bonneville (10.71 @ 125 MPH)
3. World's fastest FWD Regal (11.51 @ 114 MPH)
4. World's fastest 2004 Impala (11.99 @ 113 MPH)

Also, here is a link to testimonials from a few hundred of our current PCM customers: http://www.intense-racing.com/testimonial.html#PCM

p.s. - we'd like to give special thanks to Mike Vanderhorst, Chris Kinzer, John Harbert and Dan Testa for donating their cars and time to this project, and for driving all the hours they did. Howard and Brian Turner of Dyno Tune Motorsports are always great to work with, so props to them too!

p.p.s. – sorry to repeat the above spam, but we want to try and answer as many FAQ’s as possible

[vandy0419]

Scott, thanks again for everything! Even that additional 12 hp since the last tune 2 weeks ago it is very noticeable!!! Oh, and that I need a new clutch here soon!

I also noticed, after studying the two dyno sheets, it appears I gained a few more horsepower in the midrange again between yesterdays baseline and final run. As if the 45 hp gain the last time in the midrange wasn't good enough!!!

This is definitely going to take the market by storm! For those of who don't plan on spending the $650 for the HP Tuners, this is definitely the way to go. Even those of you who do, you might as well get the flashed PCM for a good platform to go from or you could probably spend 8 hours on the dyno trying to get the a/f balanced out...which means over a grand in dyno time and tuning!!! As Scott said, these computers on our cars are tricky as hell.

For Scott to say that, you have to believe him. They do this all the time for grand prix's...I'd believe it!

[Blu_Redline]

Link to 2 of Mike's dyno pulls Vandy0149 on the Dynojet This is the real deal fellas. You can spend lots of trial and error or send $99 to Scott @ INTENSE to get a bonified power maker file for your HPTuner suite and then just tweak it here and there. From what I saw last night, there is only one difference and it is a big one... Intense knows what they are doing, we don't. Just my humble opinion. Time is money and it only took him 20 or so minutes to create my file from scratch. How long would it have taken any one of us newbies to PCM programming to get that job done? ( my car is making max power for the size of injectors -stock) Save the time, spend your $$ get a tune and make instant power.

[Breech]

Grats Vandy and Intense on the early progress. This is exciting stuff to watch, even though some of us have to do it from the sidelines I'd like to see what Intense can do in conjunction with the GM stage flashes as a starting point. Exciting times for LSJ owners with the best yet to come

[vandy0419]

Thanks for posting those up! From now on I will make sure to bring my memory card for my camera

[speedingredline]

Are you going to be offering any custom tunes for those that have the stage kits installed.

[Bad GTP]

Are you going to be offering any custom tunes for those that have the stage kits installed.

Yes.

We also plan to unveil our new Performance Packages by tomorrow (Stages 1 through 5).

[vandy0419]

Originally Posted by Bad GTP

Yes.

We also plan to unveil our new Performance Packages by tomorrow (Stages 1 through 5).

Whoa whoa whoa, whats stage 5?

[speedingredline]

Originally Posted by Bad GTP

Yes.

We also plan to unveil our new Performance Packages by tomorrow (Stages 1 through 5).

I tried you PM you, says you either not accepting PM, or you are not allowed to recieve.

[Rogue]

Originally Posted by speedingredline

I tried you PM you, says you either not accepting PM, or you are not allowed to recieve.

It is so hard to check PM's on all the various forums we are on. Please use our email accounts to get in touch with us.

Thanks!