I'm running an MS2PNP that will be controlling my 1.6L GT2560 turbo setup. I'm doing the assembly and install myself, but I'll be getting a professional tune, aiming for 220bhp.

I want to get my expectations right before I bring the car in for a tune in the spring (on a dyno, by a pro). I have a few questions:

1. Do tuning shops generally tune idle well? I played around with idle tuning while still n/a and I hated it. I'm worried that even the pros won't get me a "factory" startup and idle. I don't want to be stressing about stalling at every red light or every cold morning.

2. Since tuning is expensive, what precautions and steps can I take to ensure a smooth tuning session? More specifically,
a) Should I set my wastegate to the lowest boost setting? I have a used HKS actuator that came off an RB20 turbo.
b) What about my blow off valve, should I set that to "soft"est when I bring it in?

3. Am I missing any other "pre-tune" preparations? Again, my knowledge of professional tuning is very limited and I don't want to make a stupid costly noob mistake. Only thing I'm aware of is the need to have a full tank of high octane and adequate fluids in the car.

 

Here's my experience (2 cents)...
I also have a 1.6 n/a at the moment with a MSPNP2, and as far as idle, I don't think it will ever idle 'just like factory'. Mind you, I have the idle done pretty well, no stalls or any 'no start' situations. And as weather changes I have to tweak the fuel table to keep it from hunting for a steady idle. The shop should be able to get a solid idle tune on it, might have to tweak it some yourself as weather changes.

As far as the wastegate, is it just an actuator or do you have Manual boost control? If its just an actuator you should figure out what it's set at and make sure it doesn't load some crazy amount of boost into the intake manifold.

As far as BOV settings, the only thing that changes is how fast or 'loud' it releases the air... I would just run it all the way open/loudest setting. If the shop needs to change it for some reason, they should be able to figure it out lol.

Lil Check List:
AFR Gauge?
VTPS Mod?
Boost Gauge?

 

It's an HKS actuator, so I'll do some research and set it at a lower threshold than I need at first. And the BOV, that's good to know (I had assumed the soft/hard setting was to determine when it opened, silly me).

Check list: AFR gauge done, Boost gauge coming in the mail, and VTPS... Didn't do that yet. Is it really 100% necessary? I thought MS ran off fuel load and RPM etc.
But if it's needed, I'll pick up an OEM one from BMW or something - again, if you have suggestions as to which is best, holla


Thanks for your help man!

 

Arriving at the tuning session with a mechanically sound car makes the process easier and cheaper. You do not what to pay dyno rental time to fix a boost leak, leaking fuel injector, bad coils, etc. You want the tuner to focus on tuning the ECU not fixing problems on the car. Make sure the spark plugs are fresh and gaped to 0.032". Have a second set at the proper gap in the glove box in case one starts to misfire. Having the wastegate actuator set to about 6-8psi is a great idea. The fuel and timing can be tuned at that level. The tuner will increase the boost and tune fuel and ignition in steps as the boost is increased to your desired target.

 

The VTPS mod is not necessary but it does help a lot with tuning. The OEM TPS only reads open/close and the VTPS can read 0%-100%. Basically helps the Megasquirt figure out what the hell is going on.

As far as which VTPS, the BMW seems like a common one, I did the 1.8 VTPS but had to switch the throttle bodies from an older Protege to get it to work. Kind of a pain in the ***. But the BMW sensor install might be easier.