I have been on the fence but need some more infromation. I have a custom burned chip which is not working for my application. The tuner is leaning towards a standalone system to fine tune my car. Long story short I need the good the bad and the ugly of each way to tune my car. I have what I believe is a widely common setup. H/C/I with a small blower. I have had no drivebility since the blower 6+ months ago. I am in the process of rebuilding another motor and want all of my duck inline when I complete the swap. Thanks.
Tweecer/Pms vs standalone ??
- Thread starter sweet88gt
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txstang84
15 Year Member
bump for ya, I just bought a used PMS, and would like to know some more about it...any of the tuning gurus in here are welcome to advise...
I am a complete tuning rookie, but I LOVE my Tweecer RT. I have a NA setup, and having the ability to simply switch my tweecer off and run on the stock calibrations from the PCM is great. If I were to screw something up, and for some reason not have my tune saved, I can simply switch it off and run off the stock PCM.
I have no experience with any stand alone systems....actually, I am not all that experienced with the Tweecer yet either. I just thought I would throw my opinion into the fire.
I have no experience with any stand alone systems....actually, I am not all that experienced with the Tweecer yet either. I just thought I would throw my opinion into the fire.
txstang84
15 Year Member
hey Fett much appreciated, I thought about the tweecer RT, but I happened along a used PMS for a decent price. It's an older one, but I know people have been doing well with them for years. If it ends up not working for me, then I'll likely end up getting the tweecer, and selling the PMS.
I got it off eBay, and the instructions are coming with it, but I guess I'd still like to get some pointers from guys with the PMS already...
I got it off eBay, and the instructions are coming with it, but I guess I'd still like to get some pointers from guys with the PMS already...
The older pre 04 PMS has a standalone option from 4k rpm and up. I use it, you need it on if you rev past the stock limiter. I have my limiter at 6,800 in the PMS. The PMS is pretty easy to use, but at first it can be rough.
The newer PMS you can turn standalone on from as low as 2k rpm.
The newer PMS you can turn standalone on from as low as 2k rpm.
txstang84
15 Year Member
yeah, I read that on the site...sounds like the new PMS is a much more versatile piece, but, I've seen plenty of guys from when that thing first came out that swear by it.
Any tips from your point of view that would be helpful for someone just starting out with it?
Any tips from your point of view that would be helpful for someone just starting out with it?
One thing I noticed is they seem to be more used with pro m meters rather than c&l's.
I would say start out with small things first like tuning out idle problems like hot start suging and cold start stalling. With hot start surging keep pulling out cranking fuel until it starts up fine. For cold start problems you will usually have to add fuel in the COLD compensation menu (menu 8). With my car it would take like 4 times before it would start and i'd have to give it gas to keep it alive. They was b/c it was lean. Adding cold comp fuel fixed this.
One thing I know is tricky is tuning part throttle (low and med load's) under 4k (non standalone) You are basically tuning against the stock o2 sensors and it can be a pain. One other thing that makes it a PITA is longtube headers. They don't let the o2's get hot enough so sometimes they will cool down and read 0 which will make the car run lean. Sometimes i'll be cruising along and the car will start bucking and i'll look at the PMS and see the o2's reading 0 and my wideband showing lean a/f. What usually fixes this is shutting the car off for a few seconds and restarting.
I would focus on fixing any idle issues, then go straight to WOT. A wideband really helps and makes street tuning fairly easy.
I would say start out with small things first like tuning out idle problems like hot start suging and cold start stalling. With hot start surging keep pulling out cranking fuel until it starts up fine. For cold start problems you will usually have to add fuel in the COLD compensation menu (menu 8). With my car it would take like 4 times before it would start and i'd have to give it gas to keep it alive. They was b/c it was lean. Adding cold comp fuel fixed this.
One thing I know is tricky is tuning part throttle (low and med load's) under 4k (non standalone) You are basically tuning against the stock o2 sensors and it can be a pain. One other thing that makes it a PITA is longtube headers. They don't let the o2's get hot enough so sometimes they will cool down and read 0 which will make the car run lean. Sometimes i'll be cruising along and the car will start bucking and i'll look at the PMS and see the o2's reading 0 and my wideband showing lean a/f. What usually fixes this is shutting the car off for a few seconds and restarting.
I would focus on fixing any idle issues, then go straight to WOT. A wideband really helps and makes street tuning fairly easy.
txstang84
15 Year Member
Excellent info bro...weird thing about the surging, I don't get hot start surging-but man it does it bad on cold start. I typically have the same problem you mentioned when it's cold...it'll fall on it's face about two or three times, then it surges for about 2 minutes gradually settling into a good idle. Then again, I didn't do anything tuning wise upon initial install other than timing (14 btdc @ idle) and fuel pressure (40 psi)...I never touched the tps, or anything else for that matter. I do have the EGR eliminator, CANP, TAB, and TAD resisitors installed as well...(all that stuff from www.fordfuelinjection.com) they went into the harness before I ever installed it in the car.
Warm start is perfect though...no surge, no bucking, nothing, idle is steady at about 900-1000rpm warm.
At any rate, much appreciated for the info Grn-I'll keep it all in mind
Warm start is perfect though...no surge, no bucking, nothing, idle is steady at about 900-1000rpm warm.
At any rate, much appreciated for the info Grn-I'll keep it all in mind
txstang84
15 Year Member
txstang84
15 Year Member
Hey Grn! I tried what you mentioned with the cold comp adjustment-I brought it up to 18% right after cold startup-smoothed it right out! Beautiful! I also leaned it out a little bit, but looks good!
txstang84
15 Year Member
idle fuel...i was just playing with it, to see what to expect, but it'll end up going back to where it was-it still idles good though...I'm diggin this PMS thing, and I'm thinking about calling up AFM and upgrading to the series 3. For $270, doesn't seem like a bad deal...plus easier to use interface
sorry about the late reply, I just got back from a meeting...yaaaa
sorry about the late reply, I just got back from a meeting...yaaaa
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