Timing advance having no effect in power

[swansem]

hey guys, so I've been having this issue for almost a year now where my turbo wouldn't have a boost spike anymore, it still builds and holds boost fine until redline but the spike it had before is now gone, I did everything possible, checked for boost leaks, replaced N75, DV, PCV valve, Wastegate Actuator(plus readjusted preload), MAP, MAF, etc....after having done all this only one thing remaining would be the turbo itself that probably has gone bad...but then all this has also led me to discover something else, which now I'm not sure if it might be related, I have a Revo tune(K04) on 93 oct, so I've tried to play with the boost and timing settings using the SPS Select + module from Revo and I've noticed it makes no difference whenever I put timing 4 or 8 ??? as in before, I couldn't go past timing 4 before I started seeing some corrections, now I start seeing only -3 not until I set it all the way up to setting 9(max)..and it feels like it's making no difference as far as HP goes....could this mean there's something wrong with my ECU or tune? If I change let's say from 4 to 1 I do feel the difference in less power but not if I go up in the settings....? could this also be related to the boost issue not spiking as before?

Anyone here with REVO who has experienced this before or has any input, I would truly appreciate it.

Btw I’m located in South Florida where is HOT and humid as balls right now 🥵 so this is all weird to me...

[pudding]

If you're in Florida, stay well away from Timing 9 

I emailed Revo years ago with similar questions regarding my Edition 30 (European GTI model with the K04 as standard) and this is what I got back. The bit in red is absolutely key.  The ECU will only deliver what you ask of it providing the conditions are right, both mechanically and atmospheric.

His paragraph about targeting 15-16 deg of timing in boost relates to our UK Shell V-Power, which is 99 RON.  I think your US 93 Octane is around 97/98 UK RON. The take away there is, exceeding T6 may not have any benefit unless running 100+ race fuel.

As with all tuning, and especially timing, it should be done on a dyno.....and you stop adding timing when the torque does not increase, and back it off a degree or 2 for safety.  Remember these are fairly high compression engines (for a turbo motor) with a little cotton reel turbo, so torque builds very quickly.  I suspect in your local conditions, the intake temps are high and the ECU will pull timing past 45 degrees C (113 F), which will pull the power back.

I run B7, T5, F8 which runs great, and funnily enough, is what he recommends     Our UK summers hit 90 F at the most, which is roughly the same as Florida? I can't run anywhere near T9 in those temperatures, not even with an S3 intercooler upgrade.

Hi Kev

Thanks for the email, We always advise the SPS units are set up by the REVO dealer as this is the ideal way as most of the time datalogging is required to make sure the switch is all set correctly. To give you a brief rundown of what the different settings are meaning please see the below:

The boost settings vary from 0-9  , B0 = Valet Mode, B1 = Stock like boost control, B6 = is approx. 1.25 bar, B9 = is approx. 1.35bar., however on a stage one car without running an intercooler you would typically run around boost 6/7. A higher setting doesn't always equate to more power, the setup has to be balanced with the quality of the vehicle and the conditions it's being run in. Higher boost can lead to an increase in heat and therefore less boost at higher RPM.

The timing settings also vary from 0-9, T0-3 is typically for poor quality fuel, T4-6 is for normal 97/98/99, T6-8 is for V Power or higher quality fuel. Overall timing advance/knock correction to be monitored to setup; Vpower should allow for around 15-16° with 2-3° correction. Typically 2-3° between fuel quality.

Depending on how healthy the vehicle is sometimes even on V-power T6-8 is not always achievable.

Fuel settings vary also from 0-9 typically on F0 it would be around 0.78 lambda and then there is adjustment to F9 which sees approx. 0.835 Lambda on a Stage one vehicle with the stock fuel pump and the fuelling set within the map you would start with B9 but look to adjust from there, looking to achieve between 0.81 and 0.83 under load.

For your vehicle being a 2007 car these had the earlier high pressure fuel pump we would suggest settings of B6-9, F6-9, T4-5 depending on conditions.

We typically start logging a vehicle on B6, F9 , T3/4 and change/monitor the settings from there.

Kind Regards

Paul Wallace
Global Technical Support Engineer

REVO

+44 (0) 1327 301 901
+44 (0) 7969 318 788
paul.wallace@revotechnik.com
www.onlyrevo.com

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