Well my car is running and about ready for break in (a few things need to be put back together today before I can take it home) and I HOPE I don’t jinx myself by reporting on the status. My frustrations with the tuning progress ended up being all hardware related, not RMS software – a burnt wire here, a stuck bypass valve there, and about a dozen other little things that had to be diagnosed one by one (vanos solenoid needs replacing today).

Osh stayed in touch morning, noon and night while the car stayed strapped to the dyno and plugged into every possible diagnostic tool. We had everything streaming into my ftp server so Osh could look at the data close to real time and help find where the problems were and/or modify the DME programming.

Today the car has a rich running (for now) drivable program that Osh will fine tune after I put a 1000 – 1500 miles on the car. No CEL’s or other issues so far after a couple of days of testing.

It did get put through one full throttle dyno run and as I expected my current setup gained a lot of top end hp/torque but gave up some mid range torque with the lower compression, open exhaust and very short intake runners (some of which will regained with the final programming as the car’s A/f and timing are fine tuned). I drove it yesterday afternoon and the loss of midrange range torque wasn’t noticeable so I’m very optimistic as to the final outcome.

The car winds up extremely fast and actually gets into the power band quicker than before. I believe the key to success so far has been our ability to provide Osh with a sufficient volume of data that allows him to make the proper adjustments with out undue guess work.

Redline for the initial dyno run was set low at 6400 rpm, the torque curve was just beginning to flatten and the hp curve was climbing straight up. Final redline on the car is set at 7500 rpm and I should see some impressive numbers in that last 1100 revs. Boost at 6400 was between 11-12 lbs.

I don’t know if anyone is interested in the preliminary numbers but they were pretty good – 428 hp and 340 lbs of torque. Final numbers will be close to 500 hp at the wheels. I know we’ve had one bad RMS saga after another but looks like this story is headed for a happy ending and I’ll give all the credit to Osh and the Racz brothers at Racz Performance Motorsports (RPM) in Kirkland, WA.

That’s all the info I have for now but when I get the car back home I’ll keep everyone posted and take a few pictures (the new G Force lip spoiler looks great), who knows maybe I’ll make the 600hp club when it’s all said and done.

500 hp at the wheels :eek: :eek: :eek:

Bejesus ... great news. It just sounds like if you can get Osh to do the tuning ... things can work out ... but, doing it over a long-distance = not as good results perhaps??? :dunno

Great to hear!

Good Gawd that's a beast! What year M Roadster do you have?

It's great to hear that your situation all worked out. 500 rwhp? WOW!!!

I am patiently waiting for my 6 injector setup which should be arriving sometime next week according to Osh. I will be sure to give my take on RMS story then. Hopefully it will be something similar to yours.

When did 400 rwhp become not so "WOW"? Or is it just me? But 500 rwhp, that is a "WOW".

Cool, jcarp! Thanks for sharing!

So, John, how might another Stage III'er get that much power out of his car. Can I put my technician in touch with you?

Great news, BTW!

Hey, hey, hey, your "400 rwhp coming soon" is not even dry and you are shooting for 500 rwhp? Can I get my doctor in touch with you? :D

Once Osh sends the intake and the car is done, I am moving onto rods and piston upgrade. Eventually, I will be shooting for 500+ rwhp. ;)

You gorillas suck.

Yeah yeah. You got a car that runs well and I don't. :(

God ... I can't believe this ... 400 rwhp is now like :orangesle ... before 400 rwhp was the elusive figure ... now it's considered blah....

coughitsnotthepoweritswhatyoucandowithitthatcounts cough

:devillook

Dang, it took me a few minutes to make out what you said, Dave. But eventually I related it to what Dave would say in a situation like this. :D

You know what's really funny about all this? When I was typing the first post I kept thinking to myself about how much money this was going to cost Phil:biglaughb

Hardy-Har-Har...:D

So give us some details, Mr. Envelope Pusher. What parts am I missing here?

damned Texans! Big state, big hats, big power, damn. Congrats on the preliminary stuff John. Next we'll get some big Grey Goose 'tini's and leave the cars at home ha ha! Fabiola's ready for one too!

where's the bookie? I wanna get in on the betting...

so far I have a pint that sez phil can't resist the yet-to-be-disclosed upgrade;)

Hmmm .... I'll take your bet and I bet a case of your favorite/anyone's beer, that Phil will be able to hold out for awhile. Awhile being defined as more than 4 months.

However, this does not include six-spd transmission swaps or the like. Just the go-faster mods that John has.

I have to get out of the engineering biz so I can make some scratch like you guys!

John, what kind of tires are you running on that monster, now?

You're forgetting the "Wife Handicap" which has put the brakes on the 6MT project for a few months and again reminded me of the house project. So, the WRX will have to settle for an upgraded clutch and STi flywheel in the meantime. The 6MT will go in out of neccessity if the 5MT craps out rather than desire. :D

As far as the bimmer, I just wanna know if it's gonna be big bucks to get more power or just a few tweaks from what I already have.

My goal this year is not to spend major bucks on the car.
My goal this year is not to spend major bucks on the car.
My goal this year is not to spend major bucks on the car.
My goal this year is not to spend major bucks on the car.
My goal this year is not to spend major bucks on the car.
(I have to keep telling myself this because folks like jcarp are the devil.)

You know, Phil, just 30-40 more rwhp and I think we can get you running 11's... :evil2

God I love spending Phil's money!!

As far as tires, I just run S03's on the street which I do not like as well as the G-Force KD's that were on there before, but with Seattle wet weather they are a beter all around choice. On the track it's been Hoosiers but I just bought some Michelin Pilot Sport Cups to try.

A simple intake swap and you're there Phil - until rebuild time.

We all love spending Phil's money... :D

S03's are supposed to be good/safe for the wet and decent on the dry. What size rear tires are you running on the street and on the track?

225x45x17 front
255x40x17 rear

street and track

I know I'm behind the times still runnning 17" wheels, but I prefer the weight savings.

Not really, man. Everyone knows 17" are for "go", and 18's are for "show"... Never mind Phil's 19's.... :D

Heck, I'm looking into custom 15"ers for the 1/4 mile track, so I can not only save major weight (15x10's rear, 11 lbs each, 15x4's front, 7 lbs each), but also mount up pure slicks (26x10.5's front, and 26x4 skinnies up front)....

Originally posted by jcarp
God I love spending Phil's money!!

As far as tires, I just run S03's on the street which I do not like as well as the G-Force KD's that were on there before, but with Seattle wet weather they are a beter all around choice. On the track it's been Hoosiers but I just bought some Michelin Pilot Sport Cups to try.

A simple intake swap and you're there Phil - until rebuild time.

What exactly does this mean? All I need is that newer, double-aftercooled intake you got and I'll be set? Or are you just kidding and telling me my engine will need a complete rebuild?

:)I can already taste my beer james:)

I'm really not qualified to answer that question. I think you'll have to place a phone call to LA.

OT - Zenon - are you near Vancouver or Toronto? If near Toronto, I'll be up there next month I think at Motrex, or Motronics, whatever that DE event is called ... I might have to pay up then :( ... I thought Phil had more fortitude than this ... :D

ON-topic -

So, the S52 can handle how much rwhp on stock internals?

Phil needs that extra power to break into the 12's ... :D :D :D

No, he needs some sidewall on his tires for 12's... ;)

I never said it could handle that much power on stock internals, the difference between my car and Phil's is the intake and the internals. BUT for the price of an intake Phil could find out... he'd have it done in time for the Redskins' training camp and all those 'fast' cars.

James, I'm smack dab in the middle, Winnipeg Manitoba.

However I am planning to go out to Montreal for a week towards the middle of august and out west to the banff (canmore actually) area the last week in august... and also to edmonton toward the end of june....

van and TdotO are on opposite sides of the country where the heck are you? Would I be able to go for a rip in that monster of yours?:devillook

Feel free to PM any time, I always check 'em;)

I might be up in Montreal (with my car, by the way) in October...

hmmm, give me more details when you know them dave... I may be able to swing by there then too.

I won't know for sure, til Sept or so. But if I come, it'll be the week of 10/13 - 10/17...