[DragonSolGXP]

Hello,
I'm sure this solution is somewhere, but I wanted to describe the problems and solutions I found. And concerns I guess in case someone else has this problem. In all honesty I can't remember 100% if I bought the yellow charge tubes from DDM. It was 13 years ago and my memory sux. It could have been another company and I can't remember.

Anyway, for those that saw my last post, I was having problem installing the new 3 bar sensors.

Problem 1: First off, they were too small and didn't line up.

Solution 1 With the help of everyone (thank you) I was told to remove the metal bushings, they now fit/lineup.

Next problem, I didn't get the new o-rings with the purchase so the sensors rattles around and would leak. Solution, I got the o-rings off of Amazon.ca

202 Viton O-Ring, 75A Durometer, Black, 1/4" ID, 1/2" OD, 1/8" Width (Pack of 25) : Amazon.ca: Industrial & Scientific

202 Viton O-Ring, 75A Durometer, Black, 1/4" ID, 1/2" OD, 1/8" Width (Pack of 25) : Amazon.ca: Industrial & Scientific

www.amazon.ca

OK..cool. Now with the new o-rings installed the manifold sensor popped in, no fuss, don't forget to lube her up boys! (nothing sexual intended, but you take it has you may)

Problem 2. The intake sensor would NOT fit with the new o-rings NO MATTER how much I lubed it, or twisted and pushed. In fact I cut through a few o-rings and messed them up. Well I had 25 to try until I got it right... right? (I guess that's why they sell them in packs of 25 LOL)

So next morning (Yeah this happened Friday night after a really tiring week. Of course sh!t would go wrong)

Took a look after some rest. Pulled the charge tube off. I also looked at my wife's solstice (I know "his" and hers", I'm still pissed off she bought it. No room in the garage now) and I noticed the stock tubes aside from the hole for the sensor being a little bigger (maybe I didn't measure it) it had a "chamfer" along the edge!

Well... that would explain why I was chewing up o-rings like a bad of chips on a Friday night (my favourite pass time)

Solution 2: Luckily I have a small metal shop in the basement and a chamfering bit that just fit perfect. Did I say I pulled the charge tube off? Using a portable drill I carefully gave it a chamfer like the stock tube. Looking inside I also saw a layer of powder coat in the hole.

So taking the right size punch I wrapped some sand paper around it and removed the power coat to the bare metal. Something I noticed (look at the picture) the inside of the hole is scored!

I'm not a professional machinist by any stretch of the imagination but I'm sure I could have done better! But I had no intention of removing them since they would throw of the size of the hole too much...so using some steel wool I smoothed and polished the chamfer and hole best I could.

Before putting it back on I ran a towel through the tube a few time to get rid of the bits and pieces of metal. Something that I'm told would have been evident when I first bought it.

I didn't want to try the sensor until I had it on... I wanted the pleasant surprise or feeling of defeat to hit me with the tube back on the car. (I know... I need a therapist)

Incidentally, I tested the 3bar with the new o-rings on my wife's car with the stock tubes. FITS LIKE A GLOVE... a little silicon grease and pops on no effort.

So... the big moment of true. Lubing up the new intake sensor with the correct o-rings, I placed it over the hole and gave it a gentle push...

Yup.. popped right in like my wife's stock charge tube.

So at this point I figured I had finally won the day. I had defeated the monster and saved the "damsel in a dress".

Guess what?

PROBLEM FRICKEN 4!!! I can't open my new 3 bar tune from Lydon because I have the OLD SOFTWARE (I know, you warned me) and I need to upgrade for $289.

OK... I decide, yes I will do that. Checking the HP Tuner site I see that they are out of stock because
"Due to supply chain challenges, device upgrades are not currently available."

So I put the stock sensors in, and I'm sitting here writing this to vent and cry at the same time, while thinking to myself. Is it worth it?

So no Solution 4

 

[HHGadget]

Can you ask Lyndon to redo the file for the version you are running?

also, fyi you still haven’t gotten to the fun part (mabye this isn’t relevant to your install because I have an aftermarket CAC/IC) but getting the tubes geometry to sit just right and low enough so that they don’t rub against the hood side flange on the passengers side where the hood strut meets and rub off your beautiful paint job on them is something to be aware of.
I believe the DDM instructions mention dremel Ing off some of the plastic around the two outside airbox. Torx screws?
this is probably not a step you want to skip as you need every mm you can get.
Not a big deal but just be cautious the first couple times. If I had to do it again I would have placed some tape around that particular area and opened and closed the hood a few times to make sure you aren’t contacting the paint…

 

[HHGadget]

I should mention, nice work on cleaning out your hole. Looks pro to me

 

[HHGadget]

As you probably already know, but just in case you can keep the charge tubes on with the OEM sensors and tune and run “pretty” if not strong until you suds out the tune.

 

[DragonSolGXP]

Hi HHGadget, Thanks for all the advice. Actually I had the new charge tubes on for a while. It was probably the first thing I did when I got it...maybe second... but I must have worked out all those problems. I'm not sure if these are DDM though... I didn't have to do all that and they fit well without hitting the hood. I did have to trim a bit of the airbox bracket away however.

Actually I contacted Lydon last night. He said he doesn't have the older software anymore. I'd send him a copy of mine if he wanted to redo the tune for my version Anyway, I'm stuck until I can get some new HP Tuner hardware and software.

Just came back from a spin. It's sunny and windy, kind of cold for a June day. Had to turn on the heater to keep my legs warm...wearing shorts still. But it still boots. I hit 22psi at one point. I guess the 3 bar sensors are meant to give more boast?

Thanks for the encouragement!

 

[HHGadget]

The ECM will be getting inaccurate information from the 3 bar sensors and likely reporting inaccurate boost as well. The tune adjusts the math to match.

 

[kgschlosser]

The sensors them selves do not increase boost. They allow the ECM to be able to read a higher boost. Technically speaking if you have the OE turbo you are not going to get anything additional from the upgraded MAP and TMAP sensors. You will still be within the limits of the OE sensors . You will be running the sensor to it's maximum tho and it can cause the OE sensors to fail before their time.

If you had your tune done a long time ago, which is what it sounds like you really should have the tune gone over again. As time has passed a better understanding of how this ECM works has been gotten. If 22PSI is above what you have gotten before changing out the sensors then you definitely need to have the tune gone over again. 22psi is what you can get these days with an aftermarket tune alone. This is been proven to be a safe amount of boost pressure and nothing is going to fail because of it. The only thing I would recommend replacing are any worm gear clamps on the charge pipes. Replace them with t-bolt clamps. The worm gear clamps struggle to provide enough clamping force to keep the pipes from blowing off at those boost levels.

 

[Super Serg]

Is Lyndon the Westers guy? If so, I have an ECM from him and need to eventually have it tuned (within the next 6 months or so).

How does his procedure work? Does he also send you a laptop that he remotely signs into? Or are you using your own and sending him the files?

 

[DragonSolGXP]

The ECM will be getting inaccurate information from the 3 bar sensors and likely reporting inaccurate boost as well. The tune adjusts the math to match.

Sorry... maybe some confusion. Since I couldn't load the new tune I reverted back to the old sensors. I wont reinstall till i can load the new tune.

 

[DragonSolGXP]

The sensors them selves do not increase boost. They allow the ECM to be able to read a higher boost. Technically speaking if you have the OE turbo you are not going to get anything additional from the upgraded MAP and TMAP sensors. You will still be within the limits of the OE sensors . You will be running the sensor to it's maximum tho and it can cause the OE sensors to fail before their time.

If you had your tune done a long time ago, which is what it sounds like you really should have the tune gone over again. As time has passed a better understanding of how this ECM works has been gotten. If 22PSI is above what you have gotten before changing out the sensors then you definitely need to have the tune gone over again. 22psi is what you can get these days with an aftermarket tune alone. This is been proven to be a safe amount of boost pressure and nothing is going to fail because of it. The only thing I would recommend replacing are any worm gear clamps on the charge pipes. Replace them with t-bolt clamps. The worm gear clamps struggle to provide enough clamping force to keep the pipes from blowing off at those boost levels.

Ah ok. Thanks for the information. I wasn’t aware of that. When Lyndon gave me the tune for the 3 bar sensors he mention it was updated. So I assume its as you mentioned.

I have all the tubes fastened with the t-bar clamps except for one section. I’ll fix those up. Good point thanks.

 

[DragonSolGXP]

Is Lyndon the Westers guy? If so, I have an ECM from him and need to eventually have it tuned (within the next 6 months or so).

How does his procedure work? Does he also send you a laptop that he remotely signs into? Or are you using your own and sending him the files?

Yes. Thats him. About 13 years ago bought my first tune from him. I bought the HP Tuner, copied my stock tune, emailed it to him. He then changed it and email it back and i loaded it. That was 13 years ago. Since then I’ve gotten two updates for free, the last a few weeks ago.

 

[DragonSolGXP]

SOLUTION NUMBER 4

OK. I feel stupid yet strangely elated at the same time!

It seems that the old MPVI interface WILL work with the new software suite 4.12.1 (just downloaded).
When I spoke with support they made it sound like I had to upgrade the interface to the new version in order to get this working with the new software which is the only way to read the new tune I received from Lyndon.

HOWEVER, after doing a little research with google I discovered that the old Interface (MPVI) does connect to the newest software and will work. It will only not work with the newer cars which is fine. I just want it to work with my 13 year old solstice.

So after installing the new software, applying my app key, resyncing etc. I can see me car in the info tab. I'm going to do a scan and see how that works. If it all looks good I'll try the new Tune and reinstall the sensors.

I'll update this after I've completed.

 

[DragonSolGXP]

OK... everything worked out fine. The MPVI interface connected to the car with the newest software and I was able to write the new tune without any problem. Moral of the story? Maybe "Don't trust support. Do your own research first?"

Anyway, changed out the sensors and took her for a short spin. Seems peppier, but could be my imagination. Still only hit 22psi but I had limited space to test it.

Thanks kgschlosser for the explanation on what the new sensors do, I was under the impression that more boost was software limited.

Anyway, seems to run well.

The police around here are running a "campaign" to stop street racing and "dangerous driving", so I have to be careful how I drive. I wasn't able to fully test the tune. But knowing Lyndon it's probably great.

Thanks for everyone's help. It's been a while since I started playing with the car again. The lack of performance parts and discontinued GM parts scared me into doing the upgrades I held back on doing 12-13 years ago.

BTW... I told my wife on the weekend that she should be careful, don't get into any accidents with her Victory Red GXP because parts were scare. She looked at me and said, "Stay away from my car if you need parts" ... that's what happens when you've been married a long time