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Basics of How a Tune Works on the LNF
Written by Terminator2   
Wednesday, 05 May 2010



The Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) LNF uses a Bosch E69 GDI ECM. This ECM is a torque based engine controller containing approximately 2,500 tables that control all engine functions. There are approximately 600 tables that control fueling alone. A typical ECM contains only approx 250 tables total by contrast. A Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) based fuel injection system is much harder to control and optimize than a typical Multiport EFI system which is why there are so many tables In the ECM that control fueling.
At the heart of this ECM is its torque based control system that uses driver input via pedal position to determine driver desired torque. Think of it as 100% pedal is equal to 100% driver desired torque. The driver desired torque value is fed into the Desired Airload table (DAL) which uses driver desired torque (pedal position) vs RPM to determine actual throttle postion. By raising or lower the DALs one can effect how the car reacts to pedal input from the driver. You can make 50% pedal 100% actual throttle opening or vise versa by raising or lowering those values. The DALs are regulated by the Maximum Airload Torque table (MALT) whch determines the percentage of actual airload allowed based on RPM. The Combination of the DAL and MALT helps determine actual throttle postion and does regulate the wastegate to some degree but does not allow for the desired boost level to be raised above 238 kPa, 34.5 psi absolute or 20 psi guage without modifying another table that we HP Tuners users do not yet have access to.
The GM stage tune rasies this desired boost ceiling to 285 kPa, 41.5 psi absolute or 27 psi gauge without raising the Desired airloads. The Superchips Tune also raises the desired boost levels without changing the desired airloads. Vince's infiniboost tune tricks the ECM into thinking it is seeing 238 kPa even though it may be seeing up to 300 kPa. We HP Tuners users have to runs external wastegate regulators or boost controllers to hold the boost levels above 20 psi until they decide to crack more of the ECM for us.

Read more...
 
Kappasphere.com
Written by Dave Brandon   
Monday, 26 April 2010

Kappasphere Billet Grills

 

 

Billet Grills For Sky

Was: $319.00
Now: $99.99

Get silver lining for your Sky.
These grills give your roadster first-class style. Pieces of high grade aluminum were cut, spaced, polished, and carefully arranged to create a stunning grill set that transforms the face of your vehicle. Grills only available for 2.0L Redline.

High Quality Design and Production

  • Custom built to ensure exact fit for quick and simple install.
  • Set includes center and valence pieces for a complete look.
  • Special polished treatment makes an elegant, professional statement.
    • Shined on the face and painted black on remaining sides to emphasize the sliver lines in the bumper spaces.

High-Grade Material

  • Corrosion resistant aluminum for a long-lasting product.
  • Little maintenance needed, just a simple cleaning, and your grills will always look new.

Model Compatibility

  • Saturn Sky Redline 2.0L

In stock and ready to ship!

 

Order Here
 
Gasoline direct injection engines work to co-exist!
Written by Jim Marotta   
Wednesday, 24 March 2010
 

Source: Motor Age


1 2 3

At the 2009 SAE World Congress, there was a sense of urgency in the air as automotive engineers attempt to tackle the U.S. government’s 35-mpg Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard that goes into effect in 2020.

The new standard increases fuel economy by 30 percent from today’s standard. While most manufacturers are taking a multi-faceted approach — which includes diesel, hybrid, fuel cell and electric power sources — one transitional technology is helping to extend the life of the gasoline engine and push fuel mileage and performance forward by leaps and bounds: gasoline direct injection.

The History
Diesel engines always have used direct fuel injection, which squirted fuel, under high pressure, into an engine’s cylinders rather than into the intake manifold. In a diesel engine, the process of injecting fuel directly into the combustion chamber at the top of the compression stroke initiates and controls combustion. The Robert Bosch Company in Germany perfected the modern mechanical injection pump for small diesels in 1927.

Injectors are positioned to the side of each cylinder, aiming the fuel directly into the cylinder adjacent to the spark plug and alongside the intake and exhaust valves. Fuel is sprayed into the cylinders atpressures of up to 2,150 psi, about 35 times more intense than port fuel injection.

Gasoline-powered German and Soviet fighter planes in World War II employed a variant of this direct injection system. Though there were some performance and fuel-economy benefits with direct injection, the most important plus was the ability to provide uninterrupted power during violent dog fighting maneuvers that often caused carbureted engines to sputter and hesitate.

The first automotive direct injection system used to run on gasoline was developed by Bosch, and was introduced on the 1955 Mercedes Benz 300SL. Engine power was double that of its carbureted counterparts and allowed a top speed of up to 161 mph, making it the fastest production car of its time.

Operation
It might be easier to see how direct injection works by comparing it to traditional fuel injection methods first. With a conventional fuel injected engine, all cylinders are supplied with a mist-like mixture of air and fuel at a constant 14.7:1 ratio known as stoichiometric mixture. One or more injector nozzles spray fuel into the air stream being fed to the intake valves. This spray is mixed with air during the intake stroke and flushed into the cylinder, where it is ignited by the spark plug.

The throttle valve determines how much of the air/fuel mixture enters each cylinder. A closed throttle valve means little air in the engine, and thus a small amount of injected fuel, while an open throttle means a lot of air in the engine, demanding a lot of fuel. The air/fuel mixture inside the cylinder can’t deviate very much from the optimum 14.7:1 ratio of air to fuel. In particular, air/fuel mixtures that are too lean simply won’t ignite, creating a excessive NOx and hydrocarbon emission that must then be captured and processed by the vehicle’s catalytic converter.

Read more...
 
Converting your side marker lights into turn signals.
Written by Dave Brandon   
Tuesday, 09 March 2010

Converting your side marker into turn signals. Works on all Kappa's

Cut back insulation going to the side marker to expost the two wires, pull out the black wire and clip it as far away from the side marker as possible. This will give you room for the wire to reach the other harness.

Cut off/remove all the electrical tape going to the plug to expose the 4 wires.  I used a wire stripper on the blue wire to slide the insulation back a tiny bit and stripped the end of the black wire.  I then wrapped the black wire exposed end around the stripped section of the blue wire.  Soldered the joint and tapped everything back up.  It looks factory but has a much better safety feature.

Enjoy!

 
Custom Door Sills Available!!!
Written by Dave Brandon   
Monday, 08 February 2010
Custom Door Sills Available!!!!!!!!!!

CUSTOM DOOR SILLS- SNEAK PREVIEW SALE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



We at King Penn Industries do not have words to express how excited, proud, and relieved we are to present to you our Custom Illuminated Door Sills! It’s been a long road that has taken us many, many places and we are now to our destination where we KNOW we are providing you with not only THE ONLY custom illuminated door sills on the market, but the very, very BEST!!



Our Pre-Sale will begin TOMORROW (February 9th, 2010) at 10AM Central Standard time. We are expecting very high call volume so if we do not answer, we are on the line with another customer. Please feel free to call back throughout the day or shoot us an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will contact you ASAP.

We will be holding a 10 day Pre-Sale in which you will receive 15% off your total order, the pricing is as follows:

Regular Pricing & Sale Pricing
Standard Text - Non Illuminated = 149.00 126.65
Standard Text - Illuminated = 199.00 169.15
Custom Text Non Illuminated = 199.00 169.15
Custom Text Illuminated = 249.00 211.65
Pre-Sale Pricing 10 Days only: 15% OFF
Shipping is a flat 19.00 Inside U.S.
Pricing above is the pre-sale pricing and will ONLY last for 10 days.


Standard Text for the Sky:
Saturn
Sky
Redline

Standard Text for the Solstice:
Pontiac
Solstice
GXP LOGO

Colors of Illumination Available:
Red, Blue, Yellow, White, and Green

Install video Part 1

Install video Part 2

Read more...
 
Vertical Doors
Written by Dave Brandon   
Friday, 22 January 2010
VDI Vertical Door Kit for the Sky
DDMworks is proud to be a supplier of Saturn Sky Vertical Door Kit made by Vertical Door Incorporated (VDI). The VDI kit is the highest quality kit made specifically for the Sky that we have seen and bolts directly to your car with no welding. There are many happy Solstice owners with this kit on their cars that can attest to the quality of this kit.

So if you have been thinking about getting a set of VDI’s for your Sky,Solstice or Opel (yes we can ship these overseas), here is your chance at the best deal on them. These are not the cheap universal kits sold on Ebay, but instead actual VDI kits that will ship directly from VDI directly to you, so that you know if you have any problems with them we will be there to service them for you.

So here is the Breakdown:

Full Retail - $1895

Our normal price $1299

For the group buy we are going to offer the following

This group buy starts at 3 kits and we will go from there:

3 or more sets - Really Crazy big savings, the best price we have ever been able to offer!

VDI has offered us the best offer ever on these because of how well the last group buys have gone. This offer is going to extend a week through the weekend and will end next Tuesday the 26th at Midnight. To place your order, just give us a call at 864-907-6004 or send us an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will get you on the list.

You can also place your order through the website , just use the coupon code "bestprice" during checkout and the sale price will be shown.
Once the group buy ends they are quoting us 2-3 weeks to ship. They may be able to get some of the kits ready before that, but we can not guarantee that. I am going to stress this again, we have no control over the time it takes VDI to get these made and it may take longer, if you must have them right now, please do not order them in this group buy. However this is the best deal we have ever offered for the door kit.

More information here:

Sky's - http://www.ddmworks.com/sky/exterior..._door_sky.html

Solstice - http://www.ddmworks.com/solstice/ext..._door_sol.html

Here is what it cost:

Subtotal: $1,299.00
414.00 savings: -$414.00
Total: $885.00

 

 
5th ANNUAL NORTH AMERICAN SOLSTICE/SKY MEET
Written by Dave Brandon   
Sunday, 10 January 2010

Happy New Year! - 2010 IS HERE!

[Click Here to see a list of Registered Attendees]

Planning for the 2010 NASSM is moving right along. We have many updates and some great news to inform you about! Don't forget, if you need general event information or you need to register, Click Here

Let's start with the news:

We're very pleased to announce that we have been in contact with Bob Lutz!
Mr. Lutz is Vice Chairman and Advisor on Design and Global Product Development for GM. He was the driving force that brought the Solstice and Sky to market. and Although our request for him to be our keynote speaker for Saturday's banquet might not fit into his schedule, he has promised to record a video message to the group that we will play at the banquet.

And now for the fun!

We are excited to inform everyone we have added some entertaining events to the schedule on Friday night. A Tiki Cocktail Seminar provided by Brian 'Midlife' will be held following the Friday Wingfoot Banquet. Brian held a seminar at SEM in 2008 and it was so much fun we coaxed him to throw one for nationals. Click Here for all the details.

If learning how to make new cocktails doesn't interest you, how about participating in a thriller killer mystery Friday night? There will also be A Murder Mystery Friday night, 'Bump off on Bourbon Street', will be provided by Kim 'ChiliSky'. This event was a blast at TOTD 2009 back in August and Kim and Robert are bringing it back with a new theme. It's guaranteed to be a romping good time! Click Here for all the details

There is also an excursion planned to Cedar Point, the premier roller coaster amusement park in the world! Located a little more than a 2-hour drive from Canton, this will be a day trip in a rented van organized by Robert 'Pepper' and will be held on Thursday. Click Here if you're interested in riding some first class coasters.

Also planning has begun for both the Cavalcade of Car (Car Show) and a proposed AutoCross event (AutoCross). Look forward to more details on both these events to follow soon.

Come for the run, stay for the fun. See you in 2010!

EVENTS

REGIONAL ATTRACTIONS

 
Body panel adjustments
Written by Dave Brandon   
Saturday, 17 October 2009

Body panel adjustments in PDF format.

Do you have fitment issues with some of your body panels?

Download the pdf file to view detailed instructions. 

 

Body Panel Adjustments

 
What is the Kappa Platform?
Written by Dave Brandon   
Monday, 12 October 2009

 

The Kappa Platform, or architecture, is a new vehicle architecture developed by General Motors to enable them to profitably build low volume production cars. This is the Platform that GM uses to produce the Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky and Opel GT. A vehicle architecture or platform is the basic running gear of the vehicle. It includes the chassis, its components, the drivetrain and many of the smaller items in building the car. The look of the car on the Platform may vary greatly or contain similar design aspects such as the humps behind the driver and passenger seats of the Kappa cars. This approach enables car companies such as GM to utilize the engineering and production capabilities to build multiple different looking cars aimed at different markets. It also enables them to leverage the majority of expense in production, design, and validation of a new car. Automotive companies develop new architectures or platforms rarely, but introduce new vehicles by using the platform to produce variants or follow on vehicles. Twenty-seven months could be considered overnight when it comes to developing a new vehicle architecture, and that's how long it took a team of enthusiastic engineers to develop the rear-wheel-drive platform for the Pontiac Solstice - a concept-to-reality sports car coming in 2005.

Read more...
 
Registration for 2010 in Canton
Written by Dave Brandon   
Tuesday, 18 August 2009
Registration for 2010 in canton is up and running

Visit our website at 2010NASSM.com

Step one: Click on Event registration and fill it out completely


NOTE when it prompts you for a password.
YOU CREATE YOUR OWN...it is not assigned...that way you don;t forget it
also..a message will come to you advising all your registration information.


REMEMBER- you must register to activate your USERID and password.
After you are registered you will have access to all the sub sets where you can make your hotel reservations and book your room etc.


The runs sign up is a 2-step process. First you select your Thursday and Friday runs.
The click UPDATE...then it will take you to the runs and you can choose the time you want
.

Once you fill it out and complete the pay pal section you will have access to all hotel accomodations, runs etc,.


If You have Questions to be asked before you register just go to the General information Tab and fill out a form...we'll get right back to you.
 

Polls

Which day is best for meeting up
 

From the Gallery