FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: DO I NEED DIFFERENT SPARK PLUGS FOR HIGHER BOOST ON MY CAR?
A: Yes. We generally recommend using colder plugs when increasing the horsepower output of an engine. Please contact our office for more information.

Q: CAN MOTEC ECU WITH YOUR TUNING GET MY VEHICLE INTO THE LOW 11’S ON THE 1/4 MILE ?
A: Yes. MoTeC ECU with proper tuning can deliver the performance that you need to get into 11-second time-slips. However, this depends on how your particular car is set up and on your driving ability. Horsepower is not the only issue here. You must factor in the weight of the vehicle as well as your ability to leave the line.

Q: WHICH ARE BETTER, EXTERNAL OR INTERNAL WASTEGATES?
A: In general, external wastegates will outperform internal units. They are both larger and more reliable. However, having a properly sized internal wastegate for your specific application eliminates the need and the added cost for an external unit.

Q: IS THE MOTEC ECU UNIVERSAL?
A: Yes. MoTeC ECU will work with any type of engine will need to be wired to your application.

Q: DO YOUR RACE ENGINES COME WITH A WARRANTY?
A: Yes. We will warrant our race engines against manufacturer defects for 30 days. If you feel your engine suffers from such defects, please contact our office for instructions on sending in your engine for inspection by our Engineering Department. A copy of your invoice will be required at the time of inspection.

Q: WILL YOU MAKE CUSTOM INTERCOOLER AND/OR TURBO EXHAUST MANIFOLDS?
A: Yes. Racetune Engineering has finally reopened our fabrication facilities to the public. We can custom fabricate both intercooler and turbo exhaust manifolds. Simply contact our office to schedule a time for us to inspect your vehicle and to discuss your needs.

Q: CAN YOU DYNO-TUNE MY CAR?
A: Yes. Our 1000 horsepower Dynapack 3000 2-Wheel drive and 1500 horsepower Dynapack 4000 4-wheel drive dynamometers are available to the public for dyno-tuning and power-checks. Please contact our office to schedule an appointment.

Q: HOW MUCH BOOST CAN I SAFELY RUN IN MY CAR?
A: This is a question that cannot be easily answered simply because there are too many variables to be accounted for. We feel that this question would be best answered by your engine builder or, in the event that you do not have one, a professional engine builder and/or tuner that has experience working with your particular type of engine will know.

Q: WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF BOOST THAT THE GARRETT GTX30 CAN PRODUCE?
A: We have tested this turbo many times and actually destroyed a few, the limit of these turbos are 28 to 30 psi, any more than that the harmonics will kill the center cartridge, its not rebuildable and must be replaced with a new unit.

Q: WILL MY STOCK ECU ON MY MAZDA RX-7 WORK WITH SINGLE TURBO KIT?
A: No. To handle the enormous amounts of additional airflow, ideally you would want to use a stand-alone fuel injection system like the MoTeC M1 ECU.

Q: IS THE MOTEC COMPARABLE TO OTHER “STAND-ALONE” FUEL INJECTION SYSTEMS?
A: The MoTeC is actually a the most powerful stand-alone fuel injection system you can get needing to having manufacture support. The major advantage of MoTeC is that it has a very powerful data analysis logging capability to assist you in setting up the Crankshaft & Camshaft sensors. Some of MoTeC’s tuning parameters include: ignition timing map, fuel timing adjustment, injector pulse timing adjustment, boost control, acceleration enrichment compensation, ignition cranking fuel adjustment, water temperature correction, and rev-limiter control just to name a fraction of its functions. In addition, when using the optional MoTeC Display, all parameters including water temperature, oil temperature, and oil pressure can be monitored from the display & is fully configurable.

Q: WHY DO YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT MY CAMSHAFT SPECS ARE WHEN YOU ARE SIZING MY TURBOCHARGER?
A: To properly size a turbocharger for any application, we would need to know a great deal about the environment in which this turbocharger will be operating. A turbocharger is gas-driven turbine and its performance is ultimately linked to the engine and its characteristics. The engine’s camshafts are only one of the many variables that are of importance to turbocharger sizing.

Q: WHY DO SOME SHOPS PORT AND CLIP THEIR TURBOCHARGERS WHEN YOU DO NOT?
A: Porting and clipping are band-aids for incorrect turbo sizing. The turbine housing needs to be ported only if it is too small to begin with while the turbine wheel needs to be clipped if it is too small to begin with. By selecting the proper size turbine housing and turbine wheel, no porting or clipping is needed.

Q: WHAT SHOULD MY FUEL PRESSURE BE SET AT?
A: Fuel pressure should not be altered from factory unless your modifications require it.

Q: HOW DO I KNOW IF MY ENGINE IS DETONATING?
A: Pre-ignition, knocking, or detonation usually sounds like an erratic, high-pitched noise emitting from the engine. Another telltale sign of detonation are white specks on the spark plug electrode. Because the average person is unfamiliar with the sound of detonation, engine tuning should be left to a professional. Detonation can cause serious damage to pistons, combustion chambers and for rotaries serious damage to the rotors, rotor housing & irons.

Q: WHICH TYPE OF BOOST CONTROLLER IS BETTER, SOLENOID OR STEPPER MOTOR?
A: While stepper motors are quieter, they are also slower to respond. Solenoid boost controllers are much faster responding but are louder. While solenoids can be mounted in a way so that they are virtually silent, you cannot get a stepper motor to respond faster than a solenoid type. We recommend solenoid type boost controllers.

Q: WHY SHOULD I HAVE RACETUNE ASSSIST IN SELECTING TURBOCHARGER; WHAT MAKES IT BETTER?
A: If most of your engine’s horsepower is coming from turbocharging, then the turbocharger is just as important as selecting engine parts like camshafts and pistons. Proper sizing of a turbocharger will either make or break your car. With the large amount of different wheel and housing combinations that are available, it is easy for a “tuning shop” without enough practical experience to give you a turbo that simply will not work properly for your application. Racetune Engineering has an extensive in house R&D program where we work extensively on different engine and turbocharger combinations. Most other tuning “accessory” shops DO NOT have any hands on experience. Our R&D program allows us to have the knowledge of what turbocharger configurations will work best for your specific application.

Q: CAN YOU MAKE A CUSTOM PROGRAM FOR MY MOTEC ECU?
A: Real time tuning on your vehicle is possible for all 2WD and 4wd vehicles on our dynamometer.

Q: WHICH INTERCOOLER IS THE RIGHT SIZE FOR ME?
A: There is no such thing as too much intercooler. The bigger the intercooler, the better. However, due to the space constraints found on most import cars, intercooler sizing is often dictated by the physical amount of space available and/or the amount of fabrication a customer is willing to pay for. As a general rule, we would suggest using the 20″ x 11″ intercooler for applications up to 550hp, and the 24″ x 11″ intercooler for applications up to 700hp.

Q: IS A TUBE AND FIN I/C BETTER THAN A STACKED PLATE I/C?
A: Tube and fin coolers are better for several reasons. They are less expensive to produce, they are FAR lighter in weight, and they have less pressure drop across the core. Stacked plate coolers are effective for cooling, but they are expensive and heavy.

Q: CAN I USE AN EGT METER TO DETERMINE IF I’M RUNNING RICH OR LEAN?
A: Although an EGT’s reading may give you an indication of richness or leanness, it is, by nature, a slow-responding device and should not be used as the main air/fuel ratio-metering device. MoTeC PLM air/fuel ratio monitoring devices are reliable start from $1250.00 on up. Any other brand air/fuel ratio meter should NOT be relied upon.