Less fuel?

[Sno Junkie]

I have a 2009 M8 BD turbo. I am running 9 lbs @ 8000 ft. with EBC. I ran this sled all year last year with fuel settings at 23/32/52. Injectors were at 95% on a long pull. It was on the rich side, but that is the way I like it. I also run a 50/50 100/91 mix. Around 100 miles ago I put in reeds. The sled ripped and ran perfect when I put it away at the end of last year.
Yesterday was the first ride of the year for us. The only thing I changed from last year was a headlight delete and a new oil tank from BD. When I assembled the oil tank the wastegate lever was in a binding situation...so i moved it to a place where is moved smooth and free. I never adjusted the wastegate arm last year...I bought the sled with the turbo on it and never touched it. I adjusted to the specs and feel it is done correctly, now.
Anyhow...we went out yesterday and it ran like crap. I tore into everything thinking I had screwed something up. My A/F guage was reading 11's/12's and EGT's were around 1000-1100 and I couldn't get it to come up on RPM. No codes...PV's were also working correctly. Finally i got pissed and just decided to ride it and see what happened. Occasionally on a longer pull I could get it to clear up...so I started taking fuel away. I just couldn't wrap my head around it needing less fuel (didn't want to burn it down) , so I took a little away at the top and it got a little better. Then my A/F guge starting throwing a code (E8)...which can mean "rich condition". Once we got a little closer to the truck, I started to take fuel away in the mid and top (23/26/46)...it started to run a lot better...still not perfect, but I am positive if I took a little more fuel away it would. The only other change is I probably have a mixture of 75% 110 in it right now (I emptied the drum at the end of last year into my tank).
Why all of a sudden does it need less fuel? My numbers are actually a little closer to what BD says they should be (my top number was high last year...52 instead of recommended 46). Could wastegate not being adjusted properly cause this? Too much race fuel? Does the BD box show fuel pressure in stats?

Thank you!

 

[av8er]

I hate the Boonie Box

never again, did you have some water in your fuel, you mentioned bottom of the barrel, water weighs more than avgas so if your barrel sits outside, you will get water in the bottom of the barrel, i take the last few gallons and place it ina a large pickle jar and look for water contamination before it goes in the sled.

 

[Whimp]

if you change your fuel and the problem persists I'd start looking for a boost leak.... They can be tricky..... And the condition is just like you are describing... When you have a boost leak they run and act rich and you have to lean them out to make them run.....If your numbers are way different from last year I'd lean in this direction....

 

[m8lovin]

Headlight delete will give you more power to your fuel pump. After i unplugged my headlights i was able to lower my boost fuel on my attitude box , Just another thing to consider

 

[Sno Junkie]

Out of the blue this happened again yesterday. Ran perfect for the first half of the day, then all of a sudden it was loaded up and wanted less fuel. It happened on a decent downhill, so I first thought I just fouled a plug. Changed them out and still no luck. I started to take away fuel and the the problem started to go away. I am taking a lot of fuel away...like 10 points on the top (from 52 down to 42). On any downhill or low RPM is loads up really bad and my bottom is not snappy.
I am wondering if I have a fuel pressure issue. Has anybody ran into this? It seems like I have too much fuel pressure. I am running an older BD kit. I am reading boost pressure right off the turbo (newer kits read off intake housing) with a 1-1 boost sensing style regulater in tank.
I am hooking up a fuel pressure guage today. What do you see for fuel pressure on a '09 m8?

 

[Sno Junkie]

it is showing 53lbs at idle. Reached in and tapped on regulator and it climbed to 60lbs. Anybody had this happen?

 

[dvst8r]

Sounds like the regulator is going. Never had it happen on a sled, but have had a few go bad over the years on automotive apps.

 

[compound 1300]

Fuel pressure

I run 42 psi fuel pressure on my 09 m8.

 

[Rprecision]

Headlight delete will give you more power to your fuel pump. After i unplugged my headlights i was able to lower my boost fuel on my attitude box , Just another thing to consider

That is flatly false.

These two are compleatly seperated from the stator to the regulator to the ECU

 

[m8magicandmystery]

it is showing 53lbs at idle. Reached in and tapped on regulator and it climbed to 60lbs. Anybody had this happen?

get the bdx adjustable reg...its a good quality reg..

 

[Sno Junkie]

get the bdx adjustable reg...its a good quality reg..

What do you do with the stock regulator? Just leave it alone?

 

[BigAir]

I would be careful running the BDX regulator on a turbo sled. I currently have one, but am planning to change it out. I haven't had problems with it, but some sleds have. Kevin with Mountain Magic burned down at least one sled because the regulator stopped raising pressure with boost. He stopped using the BDX and switched out all the ones he was running. Last time I talked to him he was using the regulator that OVS is using. Dakota Performance also stopped using the BDX and recommended to me a Bosch regulator that they sell. I am guessing it is the same regulator that Twisted uses. The other nice thing about an external vs the BDX in-tank is the ease of adjustment. Trying to adjust it in the tank sucks, especially when you drop the wrench (don't ask me how I know). Also, when the tank is full you can't adjust it unless you want to stick your hand into tank of gas.

 

[dvst8r]

I would just run something a little more mainstream such as an Areomotive, and remove the stock in tank one all together.

 

[Sno Junkie]

I would just run something a little more mainstream such as an Areomotive, and remove the stock in tank one all together.

This is exactly what I was wondering. why aren't people running something like Aeromotive frrom Summit Racing. They are around $150.
I might do that or just get another stock regulator and use BD's system. It worked well for me and I like the simplicity.

 

[dvst8r]

Lot's of people that buy turbo kits, are not familiar with what is available outside of the sled world. Unfortunately this often means they pay a premium for a sub par product.