403 LS2 FD - LS7 Build for 2020!

[largeorangefont]

Shiiiiit. You should have got a shifter gasket. It makes life a bit easier when installing the shifter, you can do it after you get the trans in the hole with limited access.

[MPbdy]

Shiiiiit. You should have got a shifter gasket. It makes life a bit easier when installing the shifter, you can do it after you get the trans in the hole with limited access.

Had no idea those exist lol. Why doesn’t tremec use that stock?

[wickedrx7]

Shiiiiit. You should have got a shifter gasket. It makes life a bit easier when installing the shifter, you can do it after you get the trans in the hole with limited access.

Had no idea those exist lol. Why doesn’t tremec use that stock?

Exactly! This is a game changer for next time I pull my shifter.

[shainiac]

I wasn't able to find a shifter gasket for the 6-bolt Magnum shifter, so I made my own. I bought a 1/16" 12"x12" sheet of silicone sheet from amazon and traced the stock shifter out. Using hole punches makes it a lot easier than trying to cut a bunch of small holes with a razor.

Also, I believe the Magnum uses a Ford C6-style output shaft. You should be able to find used or even new yokes for cheap to use as a plug. I'm using the Inland Empire bolt-together rear yoke. It's a nice piece and allows you to unbolt the driveshaft, but leave the yoke in the tailhousing. It's not cheap, but it does make removing the driveshaft way easy.

[largeorangefont]

That IE driveline yoke is probably the highest quality piece on my entire car. 

[MPbdy]

So I took the car for a shakedown late yesterday.  Everything worked with the new coils, radiator seems to be crankin' and it holds pressure great.  Longer pushrods seem to work.  I must say, for the amount of crap I've done to this thing I'm quite happy that it seems like I at least screwed it back together properly lol.

I have a lot of laptop time in my future dialing in the new MAF sensor which I'm not super excited about.  Funny how as you get older some hobbies start becoming chores.  I used to love living in HPTuners on my cars.  I cludged a tune together using the MAF curve from one of my old LS7 MAF attempts and my STFT's were off 25-45% lol.  I'm going to check my fuel pressure and do some light tuning and then cruise the car up to my dad's to put the new axles in, and maybe take a stab at putting my 1 7/8" headers on finally   Don't want to put too much tuning effort in until I know if that is happening or not.

The latest version Samberg shroud is different YET AGAIN...so I can't use my nice powdercoated unit, and it makes the intake not fit in the damn car either.  It raises the filter like 3/4-1" from where the old one was.  The shroud and rad fit the car better, but it doesn't fit well under the hood.  I think I could have figured out the hood clearance part, but the angle wasn't compatible with my nifty new angled TB spacer...sooo out of frustration I've just thrown it together for now.  I recall years ago someone built a mount that holds the filter under the shroud...maybe that's the play.  The LS7 will have a different intake obviously, so I'll probably just run this until the next time the manifold is off, or the new engine goes in. 

Seems to throw some mighty quick revs with the 30 pound clutch.  Excited to drive it hard.  Oh, and it stayed in reverse when I backed it up!  I guess the shifter was at fault all along.  I can't say it is love at first shift with the Sikky unit.  Part of it is the high price, and part is the long throw.  It feels like it gets a little stuck in gear so it makes driving soft feel like a chore.  The old shifter was more direct and just clicked in and out of gear very precise.  More effort + longer throw + more play (I think just internal slop amplified by the longer throw) is moving in the wrong direction.

Engagement of the RPS is goofy.  It is way up at the top of the pedal, which with my seating position basically puts my knee in my chest.  I got it to slip about 2 out of 10 take-offs.  If you don't get it just right the thing is on/off.  No issues with the mass in either the tune returning to idle or driving it away from a stop.  30 pounds is more than enough rotating mass.  Hill starts are tricky when you can't find the bite point and then the bite point is as thin as a c-hair lol.

I need to get the car tuned and start wailing on it to get a real impressing of everything.

[Exidous]

Tuning the MAF isn't THAT bad. Just use a histogram to get it close in HPTuners. Within 5-10% down low. Up top the histogram will get you within a % or two. Down low you'll have to do it manually but go slow. Very small increments. It's not nearly as linear as the VE table.

[MPbdy]

Tuning the MAF isn't THAT bad. Just use a histogram to get it close in HPTuners. Within 5-10% down low. Up top the histogram will get you within a % or two. Down low you'll have to do it manually but go slow. Very small increments. It's not nearly as linear as the VE table.

Yeah the VE table is going to be close enough to my old setup.  All I changed was the intake tube, and I'm running primarily off the MAF.  I got the VE table sexy before it is nice and smoothed.  The car ran really good SD, it just had some nagging bugs in SD only due to the E40 ecu and HPTuners.

I have swapped computers a bunch of times but I was smart enough to throw my old histograms and configs in my dropbox years ago so easy enough to jump back in.  Just need to flash in an OL cal and get to it.  Should only take a few iterations to clean up the MAF, and then a few WOT pulls.  I'll try and spend an hour on it tonight so I can actually get some driving impressions.  I also want to crank up the dwell on the coils and see if anything changes.

I found MAF vs STFT was actually the ticket for really dialing it in tightly once you get it close with the O2.

[Exidous]

Those coils can handle a LOT of dwell but the current can peak at something like 19A each at 10ms. Being N/A and not on methanol I highly doubt you'll see any benefit above 4.5-5ms. You'd be able to run a bigger spark gap which in turn speeds up the flame front and can then run less timing advance.

After I swapped to LS3 coils on my LS7 I ended up with some knock. Pulling timing did the same thing as closing the gap to .032". Oddly enough this is pretty common in the LS7 world to reduce knock.

[MPbdy]

LS7 stuff I see running much less timing than LS3, like as low as 20-24*.  I've been as high as 31* on mine and it made power on the dyno there.  The strokers in our drag car like 28-30* also for best power.  I've got mine backed off to 27* right now until I can get the tune done, then I'll crank up the dwell and see if it likes it.

I wired in some fat wiring harnesses and dedicated 75A relay for the coils.  I have the plugs gapped up at .055-.060 right now.  Going to crank them to 6-8mS dwell.  There is some power to be gained supposedly from having a long spark duration, which these can do a continuous spark basically for the entire combustion, but mainly for cleaning up idle and part throttle when I move to a huge cam in the LS7.  It is massively overkill and unnecessary but it was fun lol.

[FC3S Murray]

Nice work man, things definitely revs snappy.


I totally feel you when it comes to tuning being a chore! I still enjoy it but it's no longer new and exciting and I think because you know how long it takes to dial it in perfect that is the disheartening part of it.


So this is how I tune the MAF and have found it to be the most effective and efficient way to get those cells to +/- 2%
I use a histogram that uses my wideband AFR error percentage VS commanded AFR. I can send it to you if you want it.

1) get those off idle cells dialed in from a stop in 2nd gear (2800 hertz to 3400 hertz). Save data.


2) Get on a highway or bypass and in 4th gear roll from about 30mph to about 70 mph slowly and increases the throttle gradually(usually up to 60% tps). Save data.
The goal is to dial in all the MAF cells from 3800 hertz to 7000 hertz. No need to go any higher then 7000 hertz.


3) To dial in the rest of the MAF cells from 7000 hertz and up will be full throttle pulls.
Get in 4th gear and once you get to 2000 rpm start logging and hit it! Hit your spacebar key on your laptop right at redline so you dont get erroneous data on some of the cells during decel.


Pull over, look at the log, ignore any of the cells below 7500 hertz and repeat. Hopefully you have real time tuning for your tune...makes it so much faster then having to shutdown, rewrite calibration and restart.

With this process, it only took me an hour to dial in my MAF with my FAST manifold swap a couple weeks ago.

[Cobranut]

"Get in 4th gear and once you get to 2000 rpm start logging and hit it! Hit your spacebar key on your laptop right at redline so you dont get erroneous data on some of the cells during decel. "

Those of us NOT in Montana have a tough time doing that. 
For me, redline in 4th is around 160mph.
Not many places around here that I can "hit the spacebar" at that speed. 

[MPbdy]

Haha if your fourth is that long you can use third. You want a pull to be free of any traction issues and slow enough of a pull to get good data. I’m at 130 in 4th.

[FC3S Murray]

Lol...yeah Cobranut, I get it. I am spoiled by the numerous vacant highways up here in the Big Sky but I hit 120mph in 4th gear so it's not crazy fast or anything.


Third gear is definitely your WOT tuning gear 


I also forgot to mention that my full throttle tuning is performed on a  road that is a decent grade uphill. I try to put as much load on the car as possible. Lots of hills up here in Montana   

[Cobranut]

Yep. Third will often blow off the tires, and the revs build so quickly that it doesn't stay in a cell long enough to get meaningful data.
The only street tuning I can do is part throttle and drivability stuff.
Once I get that sorted out it's going back on a dyno for power tuning. 😃