opinions on aircare issues

[Mike Canzian]

basic idea is im running way to rich..at least 30 % +
but i have a big fat front mount with the stock turbo ( 2g tsi 7blt awd)
which has a fat lag cause of the size of the intercooler

so my idea is that the car dumps in the fuel, but the oxygen comes in too late
because of the stupid intercooler and thus puts a massive amount of unburned fuel (HC) out of my exhaust

had anyone else had an issue like this? im almost willing to just skip the intercooler and go straight to the TB
but that cant be the only solution

so far i have checked:
all breather systems
all air induction systems
fuel rail and fuel injectors
plugs and wires

everything seems to be working fine
so why do you think im not getting enough air to mix with my gazzzoline?

(CO = clogged oxygen)

[John Hartman]

please post your readings from the aircare paper.

I do this for a living and can help you but I need some actual facts   


your theory, while it sounds ok, is not what is the issue.  your car is a mass airflow car and thus, the ECU does not add fuel till it has the air for it.

you may have extra lag from the large intercooler and piping, but the ECU doesn't give 2 shits.  It just knows how much air has flowed thru the maf sensor and calcuates fuelling from that and the density of that air due to temp and atmospheric pressure.

All the turbo does is allow more air to flow.  And on these older cars(as compared to newer stuff like Mazdaspeed, newer Subaru, newer Audi/VW etc), it doesn't even take into account charge air temps after the turbo and intercooler.

Now, all that said, if your lag is really bad, I suspect you have a big boost leak somewhere. This WILL cause your car to be laggy and more importantly, have tons of extra fuel because its loosing that air outside that already has been counted by the MAF.  Any time air is lost after the maf sensor, its not a good thing.

Oh, on that note, is your blow off valve recirculated?  Because if its open to atmosphere to sound good, you WILL have these issues.

Being that your car is a 2g, you can also check your long term fuel trims with any scan tool.  If the car is always taking out fuel, then maybe there is a fuel pressure issue, or a clogged injector(s) or a bad O2 sensor etc.

But, do a proper boost leak test, and make sure your bov is recirculated.

[Jason Harwood]

I was gonna say, sounds like you've got a leak past the Air Flow Sensor.

[Mike Canzian]

ill start with the air care readings

CO: 15.011
HC: 5.00

yeah thats high eh ahaha

ive done a leak test with a smoke machine and im getting no leaks... i recently sealed everything up
prior to the install of the intercooler ( i had a pretty massive leak previously)
the injectors have all been cleaned when i brought them to school at bcit
i brought them all up one psi so i have 58 across the board

my idea other than the intercooler size was that the gasket on the bov being a 1g has been leaking
but i put 10 psi through while i smoked it with an airgun and no smoke was evident  


its probably something so obvious that im avoiding it bugs me quite a bit,
im guna inspect all my intercooler pipping and hose today to look for small cracks
i have no access to a smoke machine anymore
thanks for the opinions
keep em coming


addition: i did a few tests this morning and found my EGR was stuck almost open from all the carbon deposits
while not a direct problem with my AirCare issue, i thought it was interesting. Talon - 1 drive ability problem 

[Jordan Kruger]

go to the insurance place   tell them where you live in merritt     insure for a year then transfer to your other address after 


go away aircare.   

[Remi Raymond]

go to the insurance place   tell them where you live in merritt     insure for a year then transfer to your other address after 


go away aircare.   

Get in accident

get sued for fraud

lose house, job, car, life etc.

Yeah sounds like a great plan

[John Hartman]

fix the car correctly.

you say your EGR is partially stuck?  You need to replace that.  If its open when its not supposed to be your engine won't be running correctly and it will show up on the aircare.

now, you say you put your injectors up 1 psi and are running 58 psi?  Is this at idle or with the fuel pressure solenoid line removed?

Either way thats WAY too much base pressure.  A 2g car is supposed to be about 42 psi base pressure.  Your injectors will be spraying quite a bit more fuel at 58 psi than at 42.  This will make the engine run hugely rich.

Also remember that your car has a rising rate fuel pressure regulator, so if you take 58 psi and add a meager 15 psi to that you are now running 73(!!!) psi at full boost.  If you are running 20 psi its nearly 80psi at full boost!!!  Neither the injectors, the pump or the regulator were designed for that, and the ECU is not designed to have that much extra fuel in the system.  It does not know its there, and it doesn't have enough adjustability built in. And even if it did, thats only in closed loop.  Once you are in open loop, its out the window.


Look on VFAQ and make a boost leak tester or buy one, they are cheap to make and not bad to buy either.  You can make one for well under $20.  This will allow you to test your system up to more than you will be running for boost.  you won't be guessing but you will know.

The other thing that is bad for super rich conditions is a bad coolant temp sensor.  the one for the ECU, not the dash guage.  If its bad, it will tell the ECU its -64 or something equally rediculous and the fuelling calculations will be made for air at that very dense temp.

And also a bad O2 sensor can cause this too.  There are a few others, but these are known things to check/look into.

Also check your base timing(if your year is adjustble) and your valve timing.  Pull the upper cover and turn the engine over till you have both the lower mark and the cam gear marks where they are supposed to be.  A timing belt off one tooth will also cause horrid aircare.  And even a couple of degrees of ignition timing can cause a horrid fail too.

[jesse dobbin]

Switch to propAin..... Jk 

[Mike Canzian]

no no no dont worry thats not the base pressure hahaha its 42 and 43 psi across the board
anyways
i de-carbonized the egr and its fully operational now, millions of difference in how it runs and preforms now
but egr is generally NOx is it not? i mean, sure having a rough run could make the car run rich but not constant enough to have a
+15% c.o level

coolant temp sensor is ok
o2 sensors will be probed soon
timing is Ok

im thinking this BOV is the route of my problems

i just got really lazy all of the sudden

[Jordan Kruger]

go to the insurance place   tell them where you live in merritt     insure for a year then transfer to your other address after 


go away aircare.   

Get in accident

get sued for fraud

lose house, job, car, life etc.

Yeah sounds like a great plan

lol!  hey its not my way of doing things    :p    Shoulda said I know an idiot that does this.    lol  Aircare can also be good for a driver that cares about their car. Where else would you notice you have an emission problem. And if thats the case, you most likely can fix it and bring your car back to optimum running condition. Ide support aircare if the dump trucks had to do it.

[John Hartman]

a working EGR helps prevent NOx yes, and a non working one will cause lots of it, but one that is sticking open partially or fully will cause misfires.  This will cause unburned fuel to go thru the system.  It will also cause the air fuel ratio to be frigged up and this will cause the ECU to add more fuel.

But if your BOV is not recirculated, you HAVE to do this.  Each time you shift or idle the car, all that air that has been counted and is now dumped before it gets to the engine is still getting all its fuel.