Installed an MAP EFIE now how do I know it's too lean?

[b1jetmech]

It's a nice unit and drove around a little bit messing the city/highway adjustments but would you all do to see if it's running too lean?

Chase

[Feral]

Chase:
 First sign of an engine running too lean in a automobile is Pinging and Run on after shutdown,although the latter will probably be hotly debated <GRIN> because that also requires a carbon buildup on the cylinder heads which used tp be all too common but now days is getting kind'a raire...
...by pinging I mean a odd rattling sound coming from under the hood and lack of acceleration... you can usually induce pinging by shifting up and flooring it on a steep hill while still going fairly slow...in other words put the engine under a strain...
make it work at LOW RPM and if its too lean you will hear it Rattle and your acceleration will be 1/2 its normal pickup,( or more or less)...
the absolute best way is to do a spark plug color test.... However a color test is the Old and outdated method,,,simply because cars normally run light grey colored spark plugs....   but Grey is ok but white is not.... and there is a fine line between the two !...
for me I do the Ping test.... its the best over all performance indicator we have , at least I think so ! heheheh
if you accelerate HARD and hear nothing abnormal... its still a bit rich... lean it some more, continue till it starts rattling and then back it off till it no longer rattles/pings... it takes many runs to check it but its worth it in the end.
... I used to do the same with the distributor and ignition timing... works a treat on older carberated cars.
.... I think you may find you can go as lean as possible and still not get pinging... if that's the case there are other sensors fighting you as well as that one. so don't be too supprised !
please keep us informed!
...
Bob....

[Tink]

Feral/Bob,
I'm wondering if the color test is valid with HHO. I say this because if the HHO burns 1000 times faster than gas won't that give you a complete burn even with a small amount of HHO introduced? In so doing won't that give the gray/silver color on the plugs even if you are still a bit rich? What do you think about this? By the way I had my CV shafts replaced the other day and my MPG went up by 3. They had at least 200,000 miles on them since I replaced them 10 years ago. The boots were all mangled and the units were dried out completely. The Toyota '89 4x4 22RE now has 386,000 miles on it and runs better than when new and getting 25mpg w/o HHO. I might add it doesn't look as good as it did in 1989.
Tink

[Cowboy]

You can add an O2 sensor set up in your exhaust.  There are many sold these days, though they can get expensive.  The only downside is that they are set up to be green at 14.7:1 and I think the addition of HHO will change the right number.  However, trial and error, or some more research on the subject might find you the right new number.

[hg2]

Chase

   If you have an OBDII PCM on the vehicle you using the efie on it won't let you go too lean before setting code and CEL(at least it does on my Dodge Ram).If you don't have that type PCM then it would probably be a good idea to buy a scan gauge then you can lean your LT fuel trims to zero and be safe.

[Bob]

Tink...
 I think your probably right on that buddy !
sense adding HHO (even a small amount) will more than likely change the plug color to light grey because of the More complete burn of the gasses... so a color check is probably not the best way to test for leanness !
...
Your truck gets 24mpg without the HHO... and thats fairly good for an R22 even in new condition ! so your doing realy well, my truck (not a 4x4) gets right at 38~39MPG with the Matt Valve installed and without HHO.
HOWEVER... I did discover a while back that it was "too lean" because it was missing a beat now and then going up the long hill.... not much but enough to make me notice
 ... at the time I had the "Matt valve" adjusted to give me 40~42MPG ! (without HHO)... and so I tried closeing down the Matt Valve just a fraction to see if I could get rid of the miss.... after re adjusting the Matt valve ever so slightly
the Miss went away and my milage dropped to 20MPG or something like that for the first tank and then came back up to what it is now at 38~39MPG and no miss
....
so right now I am guaging the lean-ness by the feel of the engine.... and I am fairly certain thats about as lean as I dare go for the kind of driving I do.
... perhaps that is a better answer than the plug color test....
its what I am doing and I havn't over heated the truck or had any problems with it. so its a good indicator that its good enough ! <GRIN>
....
Bob......

[Bob]

With all that said and done... it makes me wonder if all of the mileage gained by adding the HHO isn't just adjusting the engine to run leaner in the first place <GRIN> ... the Most I have got in mileage with my truck on HHO was 40~45mpg
 Yet I achieved that by using the "Matt Valve" and no HHO...
don't get me wrong , I am a fervent believer in HHO and its benefits in the engines
but I am really wondering what kind of gas mileage I will get when I finally do get a 5LPM cell under the hood of the truck again...
 Only time will tell but right now I have the truck about as lean as possible and still run correctly...
 Adding HHO should really boost my mileage now !.... or will it ? maybe there will be no change at all... just run better...
 really hard to say... the proof is in the doing!
Bob......