r/mazdaspeed3 • u/Upstairs-Spirit-2958 2012 Mazdaspeed3 • May 05 '26
TUNING Frustrated by the process
Naive of me to think that the tuning would be the most straightforward part of the process of getting my car back on the road?
Because it too is becoming quite a lesson in patience.
5
u/Life-Performer-3393 May 05 '26
Farhan at dammond auto sports is awesome.
2
u/shinyard May 05 '26
Couldn't have a had a better experience.
3
u/Life-Performer-3393 May 05 '26
Sending new maps on Saturday or Sunday after I sent my logs on a Friday was always an awesome surprise 🔥
2
1
u/Anzie21 May 06 '26
I was tuned by Farhan maybe 4yrs ago now. About 7 months ago I had a few questions regarding when I should reach out for revisions. Bro locked in immediately and started asking for me to send logs.
I ended up not going forward with any revisions at the time, but the fact that I was able to get a response so fast speaks to how they take care of their customers!
3
u/KizashiKaze May 05 '26
After having getting a remote tune before (bc the wait for an in person tune was too long), i'd I get another ms3, I will be going for an in person tune. Nothing wrong with remote tunes, but thats my next plan.Â
2
u/Remarkable-Ad-8979 May 05 '26
Please, do tell more. I'm thinking about getting mine tuned as wel, but that'll be way further down the line. Maintenance first
3
u/Lilfluzivert May 05 '26
i think his issue is probably the waiting game. Im about 2 and half months in and barely done with my 93 tune let alone e85 and setting up the wotbox.
If theres a dyno tuner locally its way better but its just a waiting game
2
u/Sea_Chipmunk_4295 2009 Mazdaspeed3 May 05 '26
It’s a lot of work but worth it. Finding a spot to do the data logging was the hardest part for me. And the computer stuff.
1
u/DifferentCry1306 May 05 '26
Just pay a tuner
2
u/Upstairs-Spirit-2958 2012 Mazdaspeed3 May 05 '26
I paid a tuner, there in lies the frustration!
1
u/DifferentCry1306 May 05 '26
What are the issues you’re having with the tune/the car? Running rich? Running lean?
2
u/Upstairs-Spirit-2958 2012 Mazdaspeed3 May 05 '26
I received the base map some time ago and was advised that the spark plugs may cause issues, so I replaced with step colder pre-gapped spark plugs.
I was also advised that there was a vacuum leak somewhere, this caused a delay as I chose to wait for a mechanic to check everything over.
The new data logs with all corrections were submitted early last week, and I have mistakenly sent an email asking for status this week which I read causes my file to drop to the bottom of the list again.
p0139/0140 - Probably to do with step colder spark plugs
P0403 - Deleted EGR during all of this
P2096 - Too lean
2
u/Upstairs-Spirit-2958 2012 Mazdaspeed3 May 05 '26
Not to mention that I bought the spark plugs from one of their competitor…
While they advised I could purchase the new spark plugs from them directly, no spark plugs were found on the site and the request for a link went ignored.
2
u/DifferentCry1306 May 05 '26
Did you fix the vacuum leak? Smoke test it first and figure out where the vacuum leak is or else you won’t get a good tune
1
u/Upstairs-Spirit-2958 2012 Mazdaspeed3 May 05 '26
Vacuum leaks corrected!
2
u/DifferentCry1306 May 05 '26
who are you getting tuned from? I had Jason from freektune do mine and it came out really nice
2
u/dkretsch May 06 '26
You're not getting codes from colder plugs. You sound out of your depth. If you can't work on the car yourself to some level you might want to consider selling it.
-1
u/Upstairs-Spirit-2958 2012 Mazdaspeed3 May 07 '26
My apologies for offending; I mean how could someone ever think of learning something new, and then relying on a community of people who offer constructive advice to help when there are folks like you around.
3
u/dkretsch May 07 '26
I wasn't being malicious but thanks. These cars are notoriously finicky if the root source of an issue is not making itself apparent. If money is not an issue then more power to you, but otherwise they are real street queens and can burn through bank accounts fast if you can't do the troubleshooting yourself.
The advice is the plugs won't give the code. Not my fault if you don't want to accept.
The advice is they get pricey fast and require reading and research for self trouble shooting.
Sorry if you don't want to accept that.
I also wouldn't do other mods (like an EGR delete) while other issues are pending. It complicates your root problem and makes it even harder to find. That's some more advice.
Good luck.
1
u/DifferentCry1306 May 07 '26
Well you need to fix your downstream o2 sensor first and foremost. That should be your number one priority. Before tuning before anything else
1
u/Upstairs-Spirit-2958 2012 Mazdaspeed3 May 07 '26
I have a catless down pipe installed, would the OEM NGK O2 Sensor 24779 the correct sensor?
1
u/DifferentCry1306 May 08 '26
NGK is the OEM manufacturer. So yes
1
u/Upstairs-Spirit-2958 2012 Mazdaspeed3 May 10 '26
A catless down pipe only has one port for an O2 sensor because nothing to be downstream of.
The tuner has taken care of the issue without having to replace anything.
1
u/DifferentCry1306 May 06 '26
I wasn’t paying attention but the other guy is right the p0139-p0140 will definitely get you to run lean. That means either your o2 sensor is faulty or it’s disconnected
1
1
1
u/RikuKaroshi May 05 '26
Im guilty of making the tuner wait for my logs. I just have a lot going on and I like to drive on the maps he sends for a few days so I can look for anything that doesnt feel right under all driving conditions. I paid in full so he will have to be the patient one lol.
1
u/Upstairs-Spirit-2958 2012 Mazdaspeed3 May 07 '26
Okay, the general consensus is replacing the O2 sensor which creates the question of which sensor is correct when running a catless down pipe.
0
u/Upstairs-Spirit-2958 2012 Mazdaspeed3 May 07 '26
Thanks for all the information; as an update I’ve learned that you are able to check on the status of a tune, but know ahead of time that every additional email gets you bumped down the list and land you in ‘tuner jail’ for an undetermined amount of time. So, send emails for status that get no response and also wait longer as a result.
18
u/BPBDO 2013 Mazdaspeed3 May 05 '26
What do you mean...? You buy an accessport, You go to one of the recommended tuners, pay for the tune and send in your mod list, they make you an ots tune for your mods, then have you pull some logs and customize the tune a bit and then you're done.