Bout time. Lookin forward to updates.

 

About the only thing still on the books right now is watching out for a spare ECU, and keeping an eye on the remote tuning scene.

 

hahaha... this format is kind of nice! I get to click on the shit I am interested in and skip the stuff I'm not... you might be onto something here!

 

The Cerma engine treatment should't be used until you have 30,000 miles according to Cerma. You won't notice any difference until an engine is completely broken in and the tolerances aren't as tight .

 

Instructions are included for new and low-mileage cars. They just call for a lower dose.

As far as the wisdom of treating a brand new car -- I still think it was a good investment. Cerma is big on wear prevention, and not just mitigation. Get that thin layer in a new engine, bring that wear to near halt, and you have enough left over for a couple of maintenance treatments down the road.

 

Completely false, Jim. The goal of CERMA is to reduce friction and protect the metal from wear. Waiting until 30K miles is silly. The original proponent worked with CERMA John to establish that they can be added within a few thousand miles when new or after a rebuild.

 

I did mine right at 3k miles using a half dose, like the directions state

 

Nice build thread, now I have a good reference point for installs :smile:

 

Followed a lead on car-part.com, and called up an auto wrecker in Quebec. The French-English communication was dicey at best -- but I think I've just bought a spare ECM for $200 (CDN).

 

...and now I'm a little worried. Seems justifiable when they have my money, and I get an awkward call this morning asking where I found the computer. With a bit of language barrier, I thought he was asking where I looked up their catalog, or found out they had this part. Perhaps he was checking how I came up with the part number I needed.

Turns out he was trying to verify where the computer is physically located, in the car.

 

hmm, hopefully they can remove it without damaging it.

 

I'll take note of any Sawzall marks. Or mangled connectors. Hopefully they'll just lop off the harnesses and send them along.

In the meantime, it occurs to me that if they never actually had it off the car, I'll be lucky if they even had it IDed correctly. They never actually came right out and said it was a Rally edition donor car, and the odd combo for a manual-trans with conventional key ignition (no push button) has it's own part number.

 

In a development that should surprise nobody, they sent a more common 391312BFK0 instead of the 391312BFK5 they reported.

I'm assuming the keyless ignition vs. conventional ignition makes this unusable, but if anyone familiar with tuning these knows different, it would save me some phone calls.

 

The guys at the salvage yard are giving me the gears, so I'll hold onto the mismatched spare ECU for now. The feedback I've gotten about compatibility is that it *might* be the same hardware, and *might* accept a flash with the programming from a car with a standard ignition key. Maybe. Still welcoming firmer details if someone has tried this before.

Worst case, if it ends up I can't use it, I may have a great deal for someone on a spare ECU for a 2016 VT with MT and push-button start.

 

Always have salvage yards either confirm the part number and/or send a picture of the actual item.

eBay seller fronts for salvage yards do this all the time.

 

Yep. Took my chances, because I doubted I'd see many of the correct ones, especially in Canada. Turns out I still haven't.

 

Less screwing around this time. I'm getting the correct computer from this donor car. Looks like most of a Rally Edition (with pretty tame front-right collision damage) is still up for grabs from Gagel's Auto Parts in Florida if anybody needs something.

As curious as I am about flashing the conventional key program on a smartkey ECU, I'm probably going to let the 391312BFK0 (2016 MT, smartkey) unit go. (edit: already sold it).

 

This looks more promising. The other one has already found a new home.

 

Well, I'm a glutton for punishment and/or retarded. The exact ratio is open for debate.

Contrary to the interchange information I've seen, and the glancing sideways look I took without actually removing my ECU, my Rally Edition is factory-equipped with part 39131-2BFK0. Not sure if this is unusual for Rally Editions. Maybe it's normal. Maybe it's a Canadian-sold car thing.

So this means the first spare ECU I bought was the correct part. This was even a lucky accident, because I was sent the "wrong" one. Yet in a spark of brilliance, rather than do a little hands-on fact checking, I sold that one in order to instead source a difficult-to-find Rally Edition ECU from the US -- which it turns out is technically wrong for my car. Sigh.

I guess I can take consolation that:
a) I was waiting for my tuning equipment anyways, and this hasn't caused extra delays.
b) The proceeds from my sale fully covered the cost of the second ECU.
c) I may have answered my original question about compatibility (the hard way). Obviously my Rally has a conventional ignition key, yet it uses the "smart key" ECU. Seems likely I'll be able to swap between them.

 

Smart key functions would lie in The body control module? Maybe...


Turbo Got Dam it
13 Veloster Turbo Base AT
1/2 Gut
Modded airbox
BPV to BOV
More to come.

 

Quick update of progress and discoveries:

- The two ECU part numbers I have are interchangeable. (39131-2BFK0 - my stock, 39131-2BFK5 - my spare)

- The OBD2 flashing solution in its current "vanilla package" state (Tactrix Openport 2.0, PCMFlash w/ USB security dongle module 19) was able to clone my ECU to a the spare without issue or rejection. I had concerns that the "EEPROM" code that relates to security and VIN matching would not match and cause problems. Still unclear whether PCMFlash is catching and copying this part, or it somehow doesn't matter.

- SXTH's tune is pretty damn awesome. I'll save a full review for later, but the fixed low end throttle engagement is still my favorite perk. It feels like it should have all along. Top end is also very sweet, and we're discussing a revision to dial it in further.

 

So, what tune did you flash into it this first go round? How much boost, afr, timing, and dyno numbers at full tilt yo? Come on........

 

No dyno, remote logging only. We got started before their new tune/price structure came around, but it's probably considered part of the the "Bolt On+" spectrum.

Mark was super patient with me after a slipped clamp on my cold pipe, quickly discovered and fixed, somehow still led to two full days of lingering bizarre behavior and troubleshooting. Despite a full reset and scouring for additional mechanical issues, I was left mostly confused when the car seemed to suddenly smarten up on its own terms. Hoping that fiasco is behind us. I've been leaving the pesky behind-the-scenes numbers in his court, preferring to stick to the hardware poking, practical feedback, and log captures. The things I can't help but notice (number-wise) are a 7k rev limit, and boost peaks that seem to hang around 22-23 psi.

 

Hey, it's all better than stock regardless!

 

Sort of a belated update with a follow up on my recent install of a Tork boost (wastegate) solenoid, and the Turbosmart Kompact BOV.

I mentioned previously that the BOV activation was much too fluttery across the range. Softest adjustment made no difference. Firmer adjustment quickly set a trouble code. I wasn't too surprised, since others have mentioned getting the softer "blue" spring to resolve this. I e-mailed Turbosmart support, and was offered a replacement spring under warranty. It arrived in Canada about 10 days later. I found the overpackaging rather amusing.

Old spring was pink, new spring has a hint of green paint and was somewhat shorter. The stiffness wasn't obviously different when squeezed. Wasn't sure what to expect, since this wasn't the model-specific "blue" part I was expecting. Tried it out anyways. Took a bit of trial-and-error, but I found it's reasonably consistent one turn off of the firmest setting. Still getting a little flutter when lifting on full boost > 20lbs, but otherwise a huge improvement. Not sure if I'll complain any further, or exactly what spring they sent me.

 

The green spring is the standard spring in their Plumb Back model and is the "medium" spring. I was getting the P2261 code with it and switched to their "soft" blue spring. Being as your valve is adjustable you should be good now.

 

Interesting. I hadn't realized the plumb back model wasn't adjustable.

I see now where their list of spares shows the pink, green, and blue springs as spares for both 'Kompact' series. I'm still a little surprised at where the adjustment ended up with the 'new' spring. The valve was sticking open at idle until I got near the firmest adjustment, suggesting it was nearly too soft. Makes me suspect I ended up with someone's saggy worn-out returned part.

 

Still wasn't entirely satisfied with the performance of the Turbosmart BOV. The green spring their support dept. sent me did represent an improvement, but I was getting noticeable flutter at low rpms, and a bit of a bouncing chop at full throttle lift-off as well. I got tired of waiting for further support, and just ordered the softest blue spring on my own. (TS-0203-3001)

Problem solved. No flutter at either extreme. Crisp and clean sound. Finally perfect response.

The Veloster-specific kit had no business coming with their strongest available spring, which is frankly unusable. The medium spring was barely appropriate, and still set a trouble code a couple of times during the month I used it. Not sure why TurboSmart continues to severely misjudge this, since they must surely be getting feedback. (They certainly did from me.)

In other news, if anybody needs a pink (firm) or green (medium) spring for their TS Kompact, I have a couple taking up space in my tool box. Maybe you can use them on a different car, or make a pogo stick for your gerbil.

 

A little side note for interest's sake. It has recently come to my attention that not all Rally Editions were equipped identically. I took for granted my heated steering wheel and front seats were standard on the supposed 1200 Rallys, but may in fact be an (at least) Canadian market exclusive. It's not so much a surprise to be that they would do this for the Canadian climate, but that they would mess around customizing a low-production model to make it happen.

I went back to confirm, they mentioned these features as standard equipment on my window sheet. Granted, they also mention "e-limited slip differential", so grain of salt I guess.

Snapped some pictures. Forgive the wintery mess.