Finally...going to do the shark

[Scorpius]

Got it ordered, comes tomorrow. probably do it friday.

got a walmart brand charger made by everstart. looks just like this one cept color and logos.
http://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-SE-520MA-Automatic-Dual-Rate-Chrager/dp/B0009IBJCG

should be good at 10amps on manual. will check battery voltage before beginning and report back to everyone my thoughts on getting bit by the shark. :rockon

[static667]

Nice. I'm in for a write up on the gains.

[danewilson77]

In for details. Congrats.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[Scorpius]

INSTALLATION COMPLETED!!!

Lets start off with what we're dealing with for shark installation.

First off the car. 2004 ZHP with cold weather package, gruppem air intake, the garage door opener, hardwired V1, nav system, bluetooth phone. I am the original owner since .08/mile on the car. Car has 161,168k miles on it at start of shark project. My fuel usage according to my computer is:

Position 1: 24.2 mpg - reset about 2 weeks ago when i did the new spark plugs and the crankcase ventilation cause of a broken hose (it's not easy..but yes...you can do it! If you do your own brakes and bleed them....GO FOR IT!)

position 2: 24.8 mpg - reset hmm...at least 4-6 months ago.

Prep..Order the part. I got it from turnermotorsport.com 2nd day air (for free) since i found another site with same price, free shipping AND they would throw in a magnetic oil plug (dang...forgot to ask turner on that one) oh well...

On way home from work i kept thinking of how to test before and after. so i threw on the cruise control, 5th gear and reset my trip odometer and recalc my fuel at same time on position 2.

So with cruise control on and a 2 mile run in 5th gear this was my fuel mpg calcs based on speed.

60mph - 36.7mpg
75mph - 30.6mpg
80mph - 31mpg
95mph - 24.2mpg (hmmm....wonder where i drive at mostly when you compare it to calc 1 above) lol.

So then i started thinking..unless i do this at exactly the same spots tomorrow on way home, perhaps not a good measure. so. i picked an intersection near my house, set the car for 55mph and reset when my car was at the intersection, then turned off the moment my car hit my turn into my neighborhood.
3 runs produced exact results as below.

55mph - 1900 rpm - 1.1 miles duration - 46.1 mpg on computer.

ok great...baseline taken. small but should be comparable is my thought. (i'm sure there will be debates on it lol)

ok so...i know the risk, i gotta work tomorrow and the warnings say i could mess up my dme and i'd be up crap creek. but i just can't wait. package came today. it's getting installed :-)

so. what do you need?
Battery charger - mine Everstart WM-520A - has 2 and 10 amp setting and most important MANUAL setting.
a mirror
a shop light - nice to have so you dont have to open doors.

So lets begin.

1. Read instructions - done.
2. open up battery compartment IN TRUNK.
3. check voltage - 12.48v
4. put on charger, turn on, read voltage 13.20v
5. turn off the following in the car. V1 detector, radio, disable bluetooth ON PHONE, turn off MONITOR on nav (its a handy selection onscreen at main menu)
6. notice that the trunk light is on since it's open. Have fear of messing up DME so that latch..PUSH IT UP with finger, or the barrel of a screwdriver like it's hitting the lock hinge on the bumper. this makes the trunk lights go off. Now you are REALLY safe.
7. re-read instructions again. dont wanna mess up DME
8. have a smoke. Pray you don't mess up DME.

ok so...time to get it done. per instructions my car didn't need any fused pulled. NICE.
1. closed doors, windows down, made sure charger on.
2. insert shark injector into OBD port. (key in ignition but in OFF position)
3. rechecked charger. Voltage at battery still 13.20v
4. time: 8:13 pm - lets start.
5. turn ignition to ON where check engine light and oil lamps all come on (position just before cranking it up)
6. now that power is on car again cut OFF the monitor on your NAV. (your radio should still be off from the first time you turned it off)
7. I waited 2 minutes. then pressed the green button. Time. 8:15pm - GREEN LIGHT FLICKERS. good.
8. now...lets check batter voltage. 12.98v - good. .22v drop.
9. 8 minutes pass 8:23pm - RED LED solid, green flickers. - good.
10. voltage check at battery, still 12.98v
11. 8:27pm red led goes OFF, green LED pulses - good.
12. 8:28pm - just after the prior step within about 15 seconds i hear a noise like when you first turn the ignition sounds like the fuel pump priming or something. checked light again. wow. DONE - Solid green light.
13 - turn off ignition - waited 2 minutes
14 - 8:30pm - turn ignition back on to check engine light position. wait 2 minutes.
15 - 8:32pm - press button on shark. green led pulsates again for about 20 seconds then goes SOLID green.
16 - turn ignition completely off. wait another 2 minutes. then remove shark - DONE. 8:34 pm.
17 - battery check. 13.33v, remove charger, recheck. 12.81v (not bad for the original battery eh?)


So. now the magical moment. Lets start the car. Turns right over but...engine sounds different than normal, not in a bad way..just sounded like it was trying to figure out WTH is up for about 10 seconds, then sounded louder (i.e. meaner) than normal...

So...lets now test drive it and pray all is good. back it out and start down my road. right off the bat 100% i can tell you, throttle is PERFECT. I immeadiately can tell the lag is gone. I can also feel it pull up to speed better.

So...main road. As luck would have it....mustang, nice exhaust blips his throttle some. drop to 3rd, very quickly up to 60-70-80-90...backing off. i noticed ZERO points where it feels like a hand grabs you a moment slowing you, then releases you...like before. this time...smooth increase all the way up to 6500 rpm before shifting. This impresses me again. Oh...the mustang. He couldnt hang. all bark out the pipes, gerbils under the hood.

ok so i got distracted, lets get back home and do my final run to compare to the first. cruise control on...55mph...still 1900 rpm. 5th gear. at the intersection i reset it all again. then check my results at my same point turning in at home. hmmm...this time 41mpg.
If you recall, my comparison PRE-SHARK was 55mph - 1900 rpm - 1.1 miles duration - 46.1 mpg on computer.

So...I did 2 more runs back to same place, same speed on autopilot same distance.
trip 2 - 41.5mpg
trip 3 - 41.8 mpg

So my guess...It's gonna take the 100 miles or so to really get a good reading, as i recall with the BMW upgrades to the software or if you remove the battery, it resets the internal computer as to how YOU drive the car and adjusts accordingly. Good thing my comute is over 100miles roundtrip. I'll just have to keep an eye on it and see if after a drive into work am i at 24.2mpg or better.

So..my overall impression of the shark.

PROS - throttle control is WAY better than stock. Flooring it doesnt give the slight hesitation as it climbs up in the RPM band.
CONS - None really so far.

well...only one. You'll be paranoid doing it cause it can mess up your DME. of course, this really isnt a concern. turn off EVERYTHING including trunk light. READ the directions and follow them to a T. If it says wait 30 seconds, wait 2 minutes to be extra sure. If your car is easy as mine was (no removing fuses) and you can read, follow instructions. Then there is NO reason not to do this. Well...maybe one. Drive your car for 25,000 miles before you do it, so you know everything about your car, how it feels, how it sounds, how the responses are. THEN SHARK IT. You will then see it's value the moment you complete sharking it and press the pedal for the first time.

I'll post mpg numbers as i get them, but honestly. i could go down 2mpg and i wouldnt care. My throttle is right how it should have felt from day one, the car pulls a little nicer and...no hesitation at all..those right there are worth the $$. Plus, i'm pretty sure remapped for 91 octane, the computer should remap soon and give me as good or better gas mileage.

Thank you Chris at Turnermotorsport.com - I've been SHARKED!

[danewilson77]

Great writeup. Thanks.

HTC Thunderbolt+TT

[Marcus-SanDiego]

Excellent writeup. Thanks for taking the time to do it.

[az3579]

I find it interesting how everyone says the lag and hesitation is gone, yet mine has come back. Mine was great after sharking, but that horrible hesitation and a but of throttle lag has returned. I don't know if it has to be reflashed, but it'll be interesting to se what happens when I do it again...

Thanks for your take on the shark. Inspired me to try and fix mine.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

[Scorpius]

Mileage is working it's way up. Instead of my normal 24.2 pre-shark. I was at 25.4 after my 50+ mile drive into work. which...btw...I promptly destroyed it down to 24.8 on my last 1/2 mile playing her hard through the tight corners with the DSC off pushin it to the edge. :-) ahhh she's even more fun to drive now. I love my megan.

[webster]

nice writeup. i left my trunk lights on...luckily i had no issues. at least, not after i connected thru the trunk