X-Charger questions help!

[$ilent$eal]

Ok so I am done messing around with all these little mods and have decided that at tax time i'm going in big. But I have some questions first.

The x-charger comes with or without a tuner, I was thinking of getting a tuner with it. I understand that a tune would be written for my 2005 explorer upon shipment of the kit. How good is this tune going to be out of the box (so to speak)? I have heard a few stories that some people were barely able to drive over 3800 rpm until that got their kit dyno'ed.

I have found a place here in seattle that can do the install for around $700, brads custom auto, they quoted me on 8 hours of labor. And a few other places that have in shop dyno setups. Would it be wise to get my truck dyno'ed after the install, or should the can tune be good enough?

If I do go with a dyno tune (and have purchased the tuner with the kit) how does the dyno process work? Do they use my stand alone programmer to adjust the timings? Then do they get saved to my tuner? I found this one shop that will do 4 pulls for $150, any idea how many pulls it takes to tune something like this? And would dyno tuning to perfection further kill my fuel economy? And yes I understand that flooring the throttle all the time is the main cause of bad fuel economy. I just dont want my normal daily driving to take a hit in the wallet because of the engine thinking its race time ALL the time.

David

 

[Limited02]

If I was in your shoes, I would do the install myself and spend that $700 on getting it tuned. I am suprised that you found a shop that would do your tunes that cheap. Most around here(KS) are at least $300 for a tuning session.

I'd order it without the tuner, install the supercharger myself and tow the Ex over to the shop. Have them order the hand held tuner they use and get it tuned on the dyno.

Another thought would be to email James Henson(hensonperformance.com) and let him know what you are doing and buy a tuner from him($400). He could set you up with a good starter tune, then you can data log how everything is running and he can fine tune the tune from there.

I really on use one tune from my tuner and I think you will do the same. If you can get it tuned right you shouldn't use much more gas. I have talked to a few shops and they have said most people do no lose any gas milage if at all. But if you are like me and drive like it's your last day on earth, then gas milage will suck

I doubt I was much help because I think I left you with more questions Good luck and keep us posted on what you figure out.

 

[2000StreetRod]

Dyno time is expensive

My intake modifications were minor compared to adding a supercharger. However, they were significant enough to require a custom tune. I bought an X3 and custom tune from Henson Performance and deferred dyno testing until the very last of the performance tuning phase. Unless you're only going to drive your vehicle at the drag strip, you'll need driveability as well as WOT performance. I don't see how a dyno is going to be useful in achieving driveability.

As previously posted, if you give James a description of your engine configuration he will be able to provide you with a safe "starter" tune. It will probably include shift improvements if you have an automatic. After a few tune iterations your vehicle will be quite driveable and you can start the performance phase. The X3 will provide instrumentation for the current and future engine configurations. You'll learn a lot about how the PCM operates and be able to better maintain your nonstandard vehicle. Remember your local dealer is usually not prepared to repair nonstock blown vehicles.

 

[$ilent$eal]

Ok I gave henson an e-mail, told him what i was going to do and he said i needed to buy a datalog wideband and a tuner. I was Looking at his products and the wideband thingy is +$350 and the tuner is another $400. That's a lot of money just for a one time tune that seems to have to go back and forth a few times between me and james just to dial this thing in. Would it not be easier to get this kit installed at a place that has a dyno station? I have no doubt mr. henson can make great tunes, it's just that I want this to be as simple as possible and am unsure about spending $750 on hardware for a tune.

 

[2000StreetRod]

wideband A/F ratio meter

I purchased a wideband A/F ratio meter thru eBay for considerably less (see the thread link in my signature) before I decided to purchase an X3 and tune. It gives a lot of visibility into what the engine is actually doing. I wouldn't even consider running a turbo or blower without an A/F ratio meter. If something goes wrong with your fuel ratio at high boost you can quickly destroy your engine.

The first thing you should decide is if you want to be involved in the blower installation and tune development. Obviously, the simplest (and most expensive) thing to do is take it to a shop and tell them to set everything up and send you the bill. I recommend using only one shop for the installation and the tune. If the blower isn't installed correctly by one shop, you won't know until you take it to the tuning shop. Get estimates from the tuning shops to compare your options. Realize that when the tuning is done you won't have any instrumentation or reprogramming capability. When the engine quits running well you'll have to go to a tuner to find out why.

Do you have annual pollution inspections in your area?

 

[$ilent$eal]

Ok yea, that was kind of what I was thinking. There is a place here in seattle that can do the install plus they have an in shop dyno for the tuning (something like $150 for 4 pulls). And yes I have emissions here in washington.

I guess I am starting to get a little overwhelmed as to what I should be really doing here. explorer express says they will ship the kit with a tuner and a tune from bamachips. Ok that being said, what can I expect from that tune? They say on the site....

"EXCLUSIVE BAMACHIPS TUNING
Master tuner Doug Studdard of BamaChips Tuning has spent many hours dyno and road testing the X-CHARGER systems. The tune from BamaChips is very well developed and on the conservative side for extended engine life and awesome response and performance. Plus, several safeguards are built into the tuning to protect your engine."

Now thats what I am looking for, extended engine life and engine protection. I was not necessarily looking for every drop of HP I could wring out of the thing., and wont be going to the drag strpi anytime soon, this is my daily driver. For some reason I just thought that getting a dyno was going to be more efficient then the pre-installed tune. Maybe I should just forget about the dyno for now and just go with the tune that comes with the kit?

 

[2000StreetRod]

Inspection requirements

Before spending any money on performance modifications you should find out what your pollution inspection requirements are. Then you should find out if the X-Charger will meet them. You said the vehicle will be your daily driver. If it won't pass inspection with the X-Charger then you're looking at off road only or reconfiguring to stock every time you have to pass inspection. That's a situation I wouldn't tolerate.

Be advised that the "safe" tune coming with the X-Charger will have to be less than optimum because each vehicle varies with aging. An optimum tune can only be achieved with instrumentation and testing.

Also remember that pushing a lot of air into an engine will not be properly utilized without exhaust improvements. $5000 for possibly as little as 50 horsepower gain is not much return on your investment. That's why so many go with turbos because they are less expensive.

What is the general condition of your engine? Is it in good enough shape to sustain the additional stress resulting from boost?

 

[$ilent$eal]

Well I kind of figured it would be a general tune. I just want this thing to work "out of the box" so I dont have problems right off the bat. I will always have time to mess with it later if it comes down to that.

I bought this truck with 27k on it and right now it has 43k. I have babied this truck since day one. Oil change every 3k and tire rotation at the same time. All fluids changed when they need to be. In fact at 40k I had alot of stuff done, rad flush, diff. fluid change etc etc. So I consider this truck to be in top shape.

Oh by the way, the only mod(s) I have on it right now is a Magnaflow cat back, and JBA shorty headers.

This may sound dumb but how would I find out if the x-charger is emission's accepted in washington state?

 

[2000StreetRod]

Local requirements

The following is posted on the Explorer Express website for the 2005 SOHC:

CALIFORNIA SPEC OR HIGH PERFORMANCE MODELS
The X-CHARGER is available as a CARB exempted, smog legal California model. California emissions requirements are not just required in California, check your local regulations.

Look in your telephone book under local government, find the appropriate agency and contact them. Or search online for your local requirements.

As far as performance, the Thunderbird supercoupe came with a 3.8 liter V6 and an intercooled supercharger. Thunderbird also offered the 3.8 liter V6 without the supercharger. Look up the horsepower specifications for each to get an idea of what amount of power increase to expect. Yours will probably be less with the off the shelf tune.

If you want performance why not just buy a Mustang with a V8? It will handle better, accelerate faster and get better fuel economy and you can get one for less than you'll spend to add the supercharger to your Explorer. There is nothing you can do to convert a 4,000 pound box with a high center of gravity into a performance vehicle. With two vehicles you can have utility (Explorer) and performance (Mustang) as you wish for less money. That's probably what I'll end up doing after I sell my Tahoe and get down to two vehicles.

 

[$ilent$eal]

Ok so I tried calling my emissions place and all I got was a list of frequently asked questions bs. Apparently they do not want to talk to anybody. So I left an email. I did do a little googling and come to find out on other forums where guys have their mustangs blown and had to go through emissions say that they did not have any problems. Apparently as long as the catalytic converters and other emissions control equiptment has not been tampered with, removing some of the cats, then the test should be sucessful. But I will wait to hear more from the agency.

As for the thunderbird with s/c 210hp @ 4000rpm 315flb-ft @ 2600rpm vs 140hp @ 3800rpm 215flb-ft @ 2400rpm. So roughly 70hp gain.

Trust me I would love to buy a mustang. I just bought this explorer after my divorce so I could be able to drive the twins around in comfort. And I thought gettinga v6 would be economical. And it is. It's just the fact that it has no guts when it comes to power. As far as I am concerned I think the engine is very underpowered. I'm just looking for more power, not a dragster, lol. Trust me if I had the choice to do it all over again I would have got the v8 model!

 

[$ilent$eal]

Just talked to dave at Explorer express and the kit is carb exempt, also said it will be no problem for emissions here in washington. I guess the main difference is having the air filter in a closed box instead of an open box CAI design.

Got a response back from my local emissions agency...

"You would be changing the design elements of the certification for that vehicle. I would guess that the change would be considered tampering unless the supercharger was a “CARB” approved replacement part. The other thought is that if the vehicle passes an emission test, we do not look under the hood. The waiver program is the only time we would inspect the emission system."

So no worries!

 

[2000StreetRod]

Green Light!

You're lucky that you live in Washington state. I've heard that some of the large cities in the northeast have a visual inspection that automatically fails if there are any obvious modifications. At least that issue is resolved.

I thoroughly understand about the inconvenience of a two vs a four door. My Sport is the first two door vehicle I've owned in more than 20 years. My previous two door was a BMW 635. I am retired with three small grandchildren living in the local area. Our daily vehicle is a Toyota Highlander. I've had a Tahoe for 13 years and decided to downsize to an Explorer for my utility vehicle. It's about as easy to open the rear liftgate to store an item as it is to put it behind the seat.

I agree that the Explorers are underpowered with the V6. I might have purchased one with a V8 if it had been available. But I noticed that the SOHC had better published acceleration and fuel economy than the V8. I haven't been back on the dyno yet but I estimate my rwhp has increased about 40 hp with the intake modifications and the custom tune. That's enough to make a noticeable change.

If cost were not a factor I would prefer the supercharger over the turbocharger because of the ease of installation and the less cluttered engine compartment. However, my priority for my Sport is fuel economy over acceleration.

I will look forward to reading your posts on your progress.