Tuner Blew my Engine!

Joe R

New Member
Established Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2014
Messages
61
Location
Rapid City, SD
So had my Mustang with 2.3 whipple,e85 and most supporting mods besides forged internals. So it was running good before I took it to him I had just wanted to make sure it was running good. Car was previously tuned in Denver and altitude had changed so didn't want to take any chances. He told me the previous tune was lean I think like 12 something and it was knocking around 7k rpm. He adjusted the afr to mid 11 and the rod snapped at 6200rpm at 653hp.. Is he just a shitty tuner or had the damage been done already with previous tune and finally busted when he ran it? Just pissed because I'm out 400 bucks and now gonna spend 5k for a built shortblock which I don't mind it's just a lot of money at the moment..
 

Joe R

New Member
Established Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2014
Messages
61
Location
Rapid City, SD
Maybe it wasn't running 100%.. I did notice it like losing power in the higher rpm's like if I were letting off guess then stepping on it again. Could that have been what he was talking about maybe it wasn't getting enough fuel and I was being an idiot driving it like a Maniac lol
 

Woody6799

Active Member
Established Member
Joined
May 31, 2011
Messages
3,594
Location
New Jersey
You will never truly know the answer to that... there are far too many factors. All you can base things on is what you know the car was doing before and what you saw the tuner do in front of you. I cringe every time I see my car make a pull because I have visions of it exploding in front of me. I will say that mid 11's afr is a good and healthy place to be in most tunes... but if it was knocking at 7k it is possible damage was already occurring... 11.5-13.3 is a fairly normal range depending on your tuning goals.
 
Last edited:

R.D.P.

Extra Sprinkles
Established Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2013
Messages
4,620
Location
Louisville, KY area
Would help if you said what type of Mustang it is. I'm going to assume it was a Coyote engine? If so, you - or in this case the previous owner was pushing it pretty hard if you were at almost 650whp and still had at least 1k rpm to go. There are engines built to handle boost from the factory and those that aren't. You start throwing double digit boost at a Coyote and your asking for it.
 

Joe R

New Member
Established Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2014
Messages
61
Location
Rapid City, SD
Oh yeah it's a 2011 GT.. Yeah that's what I was thinking I just want to blame somebody lol just a shitty feeling seeing that happen when I see cars pushing that and they haven't blown up.. I guess they're all different and they probably had a good tune.. I guess it's time to start buying stuff to build a shortblock
 

R.D.P.

Extra Sprinkles
Established Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2013
Messages
4,620
Location
Louisville, KY area
Oh yeah it's a 2011 GT.. Yeah that's what I was thinking I just want to blame somebody lol just a shitty feeling seeing that happen when I see cars pushing that and they haven't blown up.. I guess they're all different and they probably had a good tune.. I guess it's time to start buying stuff to build a shortblock

Don't believe everything you read. You can bet some of those cars were wound out on the dyno to get a number, and haven't seen that boost\rpm since.
 

decipha

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2008
Messages
1,019
Location
New Orleans, LA
sounds like the problem was the previous tuner, you should not have to retune for altitude changes, and it never should have been so lean and detonating, me personally i take my e85 tunes richer than both of them for more power and safety
 

decipha

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2008
Messages
1,019
Location
New Orleans, LA
most likely the culprit was timing

how much timing were yall shooting to her ?

And what exactly is the damage?
 

Bad500Chris

Ace
Established Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2010
Messages
1,023
Location
Your Town, CA
You will only find the true answer when the block is torn apart and inspected but my money is on the problem already was present and the block just happened to let go at a bad time.
 

SonicDTR

Wasn't me.
Established Member
Premium Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2007
Messages
5,244
Location
Midwest
Really impossible to tell. It could be that something cracked on the previous run and then finally let go. It could be the tuners fault. It could have nothing to do with any of that. Maybe this dyno loaded the car just a little harder than previous?

I assume every dyno, pull, or race is the last one for my performance vehicles. If I cant afford to repair it, or have another ride, then I cant afford to be racing, dynoing, or pulling in the first place.
 

speeddemon2000

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2004
Messages
1,974
Location
Atlanta, GA
You're doing 635 on non forged internals. I am sure there are people that do that but there is a reason when ford built the 03 cobra it had forged rods and pistons. It's very rare for a rod to snap on an 03 cobra. I am sure it has happened but I have never remember seeing some one post up a broken rod on an 03 cobra and I have been on here for over 12 years.
 

Regulars520

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2012
Messages
1,589
Location
Midwest
Why did it ever reach 7k with a knock? He should have seen the fuel leaning out and known what was coming. He should have richened it an excessive amount then leaned it out over a few pulls. I have never had a good tuner go until it knocks
 

Swervedriver

Member
Established Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2003
Messages
878
Location
NC
You should be able to request the datalogs both the baseline and the one where it spit rods.
 

Joe R

New Member
Established Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2014
Messages
61
Location
Rapid City, SD
Yeah I'll ask him for it.. Yeah I don't understand what he was doing. Car didn't have a boost gauge and he knew it was running a very unsafe amount and he still just threw it on and went wot knowing it had stock internals. I even told him it was running weird and I wasn't sure how good previous tune was. I mostly blame myself but I would think a guy who tunes cars for a living would hook some shit up to see the boost levels and not run it to hard to see what the deal is. All I know is I'll never take it to him again and tell everyone to steer clear from him. Oh well
 

Joe R

New Member
Established Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2014
Messages
61
Location
Rapid City, SD
I told him I wanted it safe and I'm not sure what previous tune had it at but will have to look again. I was surprised cause after first run he said he adjusted the fuel and ran it again and 3rd run he turned up timing and it blew. When he was telling me this I wasn't even paying attention I was just in shock that my car blew up. Got a hole underneath the passenger side motor mount. Just aluminum pieces and piston ring . It's getting torn apart next week at a shop across the state. I'm going with a forged Aluminator
 

black99lightnin

move along
Established Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2004
Messages
13,087
Location
Louisiana
Maybe it wasn't running 100%.. I did notice it like losing power in the higher rpm's like if I were letting off guess then stepping on it again. Could that have been what he was talking about maybe it wasn't getting enough fuel and I was being an idiot driving it like a Maniac lol

if it was going in/out of power like detonation, that's what blew the engine.
 
Last edited:

Joe R

New Member
Established Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2014
Messages
61
Location
Rapid City, SD
if it was going in/out of power like detonation, that's what blew the engine.

Could he have figured it out before it blew up? I much would've just bought forged rotating assembly instead of going through this whole mess of towing the car across the state to get worked on.
 

tones_RS3

I like members members.
Established Member
Premium Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2016
Messages
21,281
Location
MA
It sounds between the two tuners, it was a lost cause from the start. Who were the tuners, the first and the second? I'm "assuming" no one like Lund/VMP/AED,....etc.
Good luck going forward!
 

Joe R

New Member
Established Member
Joined
Sep 9, 2014
Messages
61
Location
Rapid City, SD
It sounds between the two tuners, it was a lost cause from the start. Who were the tuners, the first and the second? I'm "assuming" no one like Lund/VMP/AED,....etc.
Good luck going forward!

No I don't think the first tuner was any of the great places. Somewhere in Denver. Guy I took it to was here at 02 dynamics in rapid city. He does a lot of nice cars guess I just went in with a ticking time bomb. Yeah taking my car to Excessive Autosports who are very good and they'll be installing my new Aluminator block and I'll be Running N/A till next year and I'll be getting a Paxton
 

Users who are viewing this thread



Top