Rocket Man's 02 Denali Build Thread AKA "THE BEAST"

[Rocket Man]

Justin @blackbear had emailed me my new tune on Tuesday so today I figured I'd go ahead and load them onto my Autocal so the blower tune is ready for install. He put all of my tunes in one setup file so they all loaded at once. And since I found out that I need to run 91 octane or higher for the blower from now on, and nearly all the 87 octane needs to be gone from the tank before I install the Whipple, today I ran the truck below 1/8 tank and filled with 92 octane. I figure another tank after this and I'll be good to go. And since I'm running 92, figured I might as well run my 91+ octane tune until my blower is in so I just went out and installed it. I love the Autocal.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Justin @blackbear had emailed me my new tune on Tuesday so today I figured I'd go ahead and load them onto my Autocal so the blower tune is ready for install. He put all of my tunes in one setup file so they all loaded at once. And since I found out that I need to run 91 octane or higher for the blower from now on, and nearly all the 87 octane needs to be gone from the tank before I install the Whipple, today I ran the truck below 1/8 tank and filled with 92 octane. I figure another tank after this and I'll be good to go. And since I'm running 92, figured I might as well run my 91+ octane tune until my blower is in so I just went out and installed it. I love the Autocal.

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Did you notice a difference with the 92 tune?

 

[Rocket Man]

I didn't really notice much when I ran it last time, that's why I went back to regular gas and the 87-89 tune. I haven't driven it since I just installed it a few minutes ago but I'm sure it adds a few hp. I just didn't think there was enough difference last time to justify spending the extra for 92. But since I'm stuck with premium gas now might as well run the tune for it until I start running the blower tune.

 

[67RS427]

I always run premium in my cars/trucks that can take advantage of it... The 6.2L in my case "Recommends" it. As an engineer and having a degree in high performance technology I can tell you that you might not notice the HP difference but there is a subtle difference in HP and MPG. The ECU pulls timing to compensate for the lower octane IF you have the higher compression or tune needed to use the higher octane. By using lower octane and having the ECU pulling timing you are lowering efficiency and or HP/MPG. The guy I bought my 07 Denali from ran 87 octane it's entire life and I put premium, drove it a hell of a lot harder than him (65 yrs old) and I am still getting 13MPG...

 

[Rocket Man]

My MPG was absolutely unchanged running 92 octane and the 91+ tune, ran it for 3 full tanks and used the calculator method so I know my MPG was accurate. I don't need a degree to tell me it wasn't worth spending money on premium fuel. You have a different engine, mine was built to run on 87 and doesn't have the higher compression like the LQ9 found in the Escalade which also makes my LQ4 a better choice for boosted applications. And Justin @ BB built my tunes for me. It's different than running a stock tune. That's why he made a tune for 87-89 and a separate one for 91+, so the ECU isn't looking for higher octane when I am running regular. I get 11 MPG the way I drive whether I'm running regular on the 87-89 tune or premium with the 91+ tune. And I'm not about to run regular with the 91+ tune....I know the ECU will retard the timing if I was to do that.

 

[67RS427]

My MPG was absolutely unchanged running 92 octane and the 91+ tune, ran it for 3 full tanks and used the calculator method so I know my MPG was accurate. I don't need a degree to tell me it wasn't worth spending money on premium fuel. You have a different engine, mine was built to run on 87 and doesn't have the higher compression like the LQ9 found in the Escalade which also makes my LQ4 a better choice for boosted applications. And Justin @ BB built my tunes for me. It's different than running a stock tune. That's why he made a tune for 87-89 and a separate one for 91+, so the ECU isn't looking for higher octane when I am running regular. I get 11 MPG the way I drive whether I'm running regular on the 87-89 tune or premium with the 91+ tune. And I'm not about to run regular with the 91+ tune....I know the ECU will retard the timing if I was to do that.

No argument there... There isn't gonna be an improvement without the higher compression. My motor is not as boost friendly as yours thats for sure. My heads are, bottom end, not so much... I'm getting 13mpg right now with really no highway use and me driving like an ass. I reset mine once for a freeway cruise and saw 19 - 21mpg but I've got the 6 speed, kinda cheating. Anyways, don't wanna clog up your build thread, just wanna add that you WONT see an improvement with premium gas unless you do have higher compression. Definitely recommended when you go with the Whipple though and any boosted application. Are you planning any Meth? It helps open the tuning window and gives you a little safety net for tuning/knocking...

 

[Rocket Man]

Premium is absolutely necessary with the Whipple. I have no plans for Meth, Justin @ BlackBear has my tuning in his hands and I trust him. I'll be running an AFR gauge with automatic 3-hour looping datalogging and my Autocal has datalogging capability if I feel I need more data to send him. I have complete confidence there will be no detonation. They have run many blowers on LQ4's for hundreds of thousands of miles with no problems. I'm hoping you have a trusted tuner for when you install your LSA blower- who are you planning on going with?

 

[67RS427]

Premium is absolutely necessary with the Whipple. I have no plans for Meth, Justin @ BlackBear has my tuning in his hands and I trust him. I'll be running an AFR gauge with automatic 3-hour looping datalogging and my Autocal has datalogging capability if I feel I need more data to send him. I have complete confidence there will be no detonation. They have run many blowers on LQ4's for hundreds of thousands of miles with no problems. I'm hoping you have a trusted tuner for when you install your LSA blower- who are you planning on going with?

You're in good hands... LQ4 is a bulletproof platform. I'm tuning myself with a friends help on the HP Tuners platform. He is the one helping me do the fabrication on the 67 Camaro and is more than qualified for the fine tuning. He's been doing OEM tuning for many years and custom stuff as well. I'm actually gonna buy my own HP Tuner and will have some extra credits so I will be able to tune some other friends cars as well. I've got a buddy that picked up a $1,500 GTP for his wife and already wants a pulley & tune, easy money... No dyno needed, just a good wideband and dataloging

 

[Rocket Man]

Sounds good. I'm just an amateur and want this to be as easy as possible. My years of building engines are behind me and my experience is with the old dinosaurs with distributors and carbs. The last engine I built was a 460 Ford with 429 Cobra Jet heads ported and polished running a Weiand 671 blower and nitrous back in the 80's. It was in my jet boat and I blew it up a few times lol. Seems I was always wrenching on that motor but it sure was a fun damn boat.

 

[67RS427]

Sounds good. I'm just an amateur and want this to be as easy as possible. My years of building engines are behind me and my experience is with the old dinosaurs with distributors and carbs. The last engine I built was a 460 Ford with 429 Cobra Jet heads ported and polished running a Weiand 671 blower and nitrous back in the 80's. It was in my jet boat and I blew it up a few times lol. Seems I was always wrenching on that motor but it sure was a fun damn boat.

I hear you... I know carbs are reliable and once you know how to get them dialed in they are great. I went through 3 of them on my 67 when it was NA before I got it right. Now its all Holley EFI. Computers are intimidating but it's my thing. I love computers... It makes everything so much easier. You just need to know what numbers to type in thats all. Tell it the AFR you want at what RPM and plot out a timing curve. Fuel pressure, timing, blah blah blah... It's a lot to learn but once you do it goes fast and you learn a lot about engines and how they function. I'm still learning and my LSA build will be my first "self" tune before my 67 Camaro with the help of my friend. It's scary but all fun at the same time. Till shit blows up that is... Good luck with yours, I sure hope you get time next weekend! Keep us posted.