'99 ohv 4.0 cam build

[QueenCitySleeper]

It lives

Alright well yesterday, with lots of help from my brother and cousins, I completed everything from setting the cam position sensor to finishing the exhaust. I didnt take many pictures along the assembly process but if there are any questions, I can answer them. It runs, in fact it runs very well. That Borla sounds pretty nice too

So Ill work on getting that tune this week. Does anyone have any advice on some questions I should ask James at Henson Performance?

 

[Dono]

Nope.
All I did was purchase the xcal3 from him.

THen, when it came in there was instructions on emailing him the required information (The strategy from your ecm (You get that whn you plug in the xcal3 to your odb port) and a list of mods along with engine/trans.

I seriously doubt he will need you to add a wideband 02 sensor. Lets hope not, anyway. Your not adding a new maf, or new injectors or anything like that so I'm sure you wont have to.

I was amazed how exact James had my air fuel ratio (I had him do a tune for me before I decided to go forced induction) once I added my wideband o2 sensor and lodded. I had no wideband 02 when he sent me the first tune.

Congratulations!!!!!!

 

[QueenCitySleeper]

Sounds good. By the smell of it I think its running pretty rich. I guess the that's what the tune is for though. Ive also got some oil leakage from the valve covers near the firewall. I used the cork gaskets from the Felpro kit and I didn't tighten them down too hard to avoid crushing. Ive since tightened them down more to try to stop the leaks. Has anyone had any trouble with cork gaskets? It only leaks once the motor is at operating temperature.

 

[Dono]

I have never used the cork. Running rich? Hmmm.
Id have thought you'd be running lean. What do I know.....

 

[jd4242]

Never use cork.all most all ways will leak.honestly you should be running just fine,if you didnt change your maf and have a good working O2.all he will prob do is adjust minor things to gain a little more power and shift points .to me its not really worth the cost of a tune unless your FI or have power adders.its going to cost you OVER $500 for a couple hp,but you will gain some cool features with the hand held

 

[QueenCitySleeper]

It runs great, but it smells rich. Maybe its just because I gutted the y-pipe cats and excessive fuel is not being burned off. Darn the cork gaskets. Guess Ill be replacing those

 

[jd4242]

It runs great, but it smells rich. Maybe its just because I gutted the y-pipe cats and excessive fuel is not being burned off. Darn the cork gaskets. Guess Ill be replacing those

Your lose power by gutting a cat and thats exactly why it smells rich.

 

[QueenCitySleeper]

I don't understand how I can lose power by gutting those cats. Im running 2.25" pipe to a straight through muffler with ported manifolds so I should have sufficient back pressure. Its not like Ive got dual 2.5". Well I guess I wont know until I open it up. Ive being staying light on the throttle and not revved past 3500. Once I get those new gaskets and about 1000 miles on the new parts Ill run her wide-open. That cam really wants to take it to red-line, its amazing how much quicker the rpms climb. And congrats Jd and Dono on the supercharged 4.0, thats awesome. Jd Im surprised you made close to 200 whp with those monstrous tires and automatic, that thing has some balls no doubt about it.

 

[jd4242]

I don't understand how I can lose power by gutting those cats. Im running 2.25" pipe to a straight through muffler with ported manifolds so I should have sufficient back pressure. Its not like Ive got dual 2.5". Well I guess I wont know until I open it up. Ive being staying light on the throttle and not revved past 3500. Once I get those new gaskets and about 1000 miles on the new parts Ill run her wide-open. That cam really wants to take it to red-line, its amazing how much quicker the rpms climb. And congrats Jd and Dono on the supercharged 4.0, thats awesome. Jd Im surprised you made close to 200 whp with those monstrous tires and automatic, that thing has some balls no doubt about it.

Google it.it causes a hollow effect on the air flow and traps gasses in it,alot more to it but canter remember off top of my head.gutting cats is the most done thing that people think it adds power but does not,makes it louder but no power.yes the 422 cam is worth every penny!!& i made over 200hp

 

[QueenCitySleeper]

gaskets

These valve covers are leaking all over my driveway. I looked up my gasket kit and apparently Felpro puts the crappy cork valve cover ones in the kit and sells the Permadry Plus separate. They look to be the traditional steal with rubber seal. I guess Ill get some of those ($33) and run a permatex bead on them also just ensure no leaking. Im kind of second guessing the tune. Jd you said it doesnt help that much? A local Sunoco sells 110 octane. I was thinking that if I had a tune that would give me some more timing I could run that race gas sometimes. Would a hot tune with some 110 octane give a nice boost in power with my stock 9.0:1 compression? What do you guys think

 

[jd4242]

These valve covers are leaking all over my driveway. I looked up my gasket kit and apparently Felpro puts the crappy cork valve cover ones in the kit and sells the Permadry Plus separate. They look to be the traditional steal with rubber seal. I guess Ill get some of those ($33) and run a permatex bead on them also just ensure no leaking. Im kind of second guessing the tune. Jd you said it doesnt help that much? A local Sunoco sells 110 octane. I was thinking that if I had a tune that would give me some more timing I could run that race gas sometimes. Would a hot tune with some 110 octane give a nice boost in power with my stock 9.0:1 compression? What do you guys think

I know ill get alot of crap for saying no .but there is more to than just a engine tune for your model .he may be able to squeeze more power out your year motor and that with other changes to shift points can make a big difference .yes he can add some timing in,think they run WAY btc like 30ish(cant really remember ) but under load and heat its dangerious even with 110.i would like to see dyno and track numbers untuned, then tuned.i would imagine the dyno wouldnt show huge gains but track would show better.basically its not unsafe to run without a tune for what you have done but would
help.i would like to see the Final cost of the handheld and all tuning and compair it to power/track gains.i know he sells the hand held for $389 and that does not look like it includes any custom tunning.

 

[QueenCitySleeper]

Thanks for the advice. As you can imagine, I really dont want to drop that kind of money on something that wont make a noticeable difference. Like you said it would be really nice to see track and dyno numbers. I have a 5-speed so shift points are not relevant to me. It sounds like from you and from other threads that improving shift points and line pressure is half the benefit of the tune. Ill hold off on the tuner for now unless I find evidence of significant gains. When these parts are broke in Ill get some track times.

 

[jd4242]

Thanks for the advice. As you can imagine, I really dont want to drop that kind of money on something that wont make a noticeable difference. Like you said it would be really nice to see track and dyno numbers. I have a 5-speed so shift points are not relevant to me. It sounds like from you and from other threads that improving shift points and line pressure is half the benefit of the tune. Ill hold off on the tuner for now unless I find evidence of significant gains. When these parts are broke in Ill get some track times.

Im not saying it "wont make a difference" but being the ohv is not a big hp making motor and your changes are not huge power adders and you have a 5speed.i couldnt see 15-20 hp worth the cost unless you just have it to blow.the changes should still be within the range of the ecm control,really you probably only uped you power by like 30ish hp maybe less.i would bet your around 170-180hp if your 2wd 5speed

 

[Dono]

I'd wait and see what kind of gas mileage you are getting. That will probably answer your tuning question.
$389 comes with a custom tune from Henson Perf. I noticed the real difference in the adjustments made to my automatic trans. Your standard, so that doesn't apply.

Yup, it would have been cool to do a before and after 1/4 mile time with the tunes. It would have been easy to do is a track was handy.

I'd get the valve covers sorted out, and drive it for a while, Then you can make a decision on the tune.

How's the power now?

 

[jd4242]

My suggestion would be find a dyno near you and go do some pulls.they will give you a print out and let you know how your motor is running and ask them thier opinion if you need a tune.my guy charges $350 for flash tunes and that includes the dyno pulls,or $$75 for 3 pulls with print outs no tunes

 

[Dono]

My suggestion would be find a dyno near you and go do some pulls.they will give you a print out and let you know how your motor is running and ask them thier opinion if you need a tune.my guy charges $350 for flash tunes and that includes the dyno pulls,or $$75 for 3 pulls with print outs no tunes

better yet.

 

[jd4242]

better yet.

Mine was obd1 so it was harder to tune so i imagine obd2 would be even less prob$250ish range for tune and pulls

 

[QueenCitySleeper]

the power is good, definitely noticeable. Yes Its 5-speed 2wd. I put in the new valve cover gaskets today and so far no leaking. Im hesitant to really open it up and run it, should I give it some time for the new parts to break in? Also Im still running the stock paper air filter, I was thinking that a K&N high flow drop in would benefit the other air moving mods Ive done. So even if I went and did a dyno tune, Id still have to purchase the SCT tuner right? Or do some dyno shops have tuners that are licensed for so many uses? Im not very knowledgeable in the area of tuning

 

[jd4242]

the power is good, definitely noticeable. Yes Its 5-speed 2wd. I put in the new valve cover gaskets today and so far no leaking. Im hesitant to really open it up and run it, should I give it some time for the new parts to break in? Also Im still running the stock paper air filter, I was thinking that a K&N high flow drop in would benefit the other air moving mods Ive done. So even if I went and did a dyno tune, Id still have to purchase the SCT tuner right? Or do some dyno shops have tuners that are licensed for so many uses?

Yea upgrade that filter.no a tune shop hooks directly to the ecm?no hand held or anything.there is three ways to tune,flash/dyno(the best), a hand held(2) and a chip.handheld and chips have to have programs written for it and you can switch back and forth but still should be dyno for max gains.a flash is just done on the dyno,one set tune.you dont need anything to just go do some pulls and get a print out on the motor.he then will tell you if and what he would suggest changing

 

[QueenCitySleeper]

ok great, that really clears things up. A flash tune is really what I was looking for in the first place and there are a ton of speed shops here in Cincinnati. Thanks for the good info, it really helps and saves me lots o money