2013 WR450F glowing headpipe question...

[albertlui]

Hi all,

 

I had a brand new 06 before and now 13 WR.  I found that both headpipe will start glowing when idle for a minute.  In 06's, I changed to a larger # jet, by means of richer mixture, the glowing reduced much.  In 13's, I tried GYTR FMF map which is +2 in the lower area,  but not see any change.  Do I need to increase more?   Anybody tried to reduce the glowing by any mapping?  Thanks!

[FORMA MOTO]

If you have a stock bike, you will have lean running issues.

If you only change one thing you will not get good results

You need to get the GYTR ECU, Map, intake mod, and exhaust mod.

[albertlui]

Hi Krannie,  all done.   FMF Hex4, Comp ECU, intake mod.

 

I just found the following message in Power Tuner's manual...

 

The settings will not be reflected in the engine idling speed range (approx. 3000 rpm and at a throttle position of 2 degree of less). 

 

That means no solution to reduce glowing?  My concern is too lean will damage engine parts...

[JDLowrance]

Hi Krannie,  all done.   FMF Hex4, Comp ECU, intake mod.

 

I just found the following message in Power Tuner's manual...

 

The settings will not be reflected in the engine idling speed range (approx. 3000 rpm and at a throttle position of 2 degree of less). 

 

That means no solution to reduce glowing?  My concern is too lean will damage engine parts...

 

There is no solution needed....perfectly normal for the headpipe to glow red.

[270winchester]

It's normal.  One should look at the exhaust manifolds on a car going 70mph down the highway at night.  They glow bright red.

 

Love the FI on the new WRs.  I have ridden from seal level to 12K and the power from bottom to top is so smooth.  No more lost time tuning...

 

Hope yam FIs the wr250f soon...  

[albertlui]

update to this problem...

by use with the power tuner, i realised that the glowing pipe was caused by the high idle speed.  The dealer set the idle to 2300 rpm.  When I set down to 1700-1800 rpm, no more glowing...

[littlebigpuff]

the book says that the idle be between 2000-2300 or higher! i cant remeber  . also if anyone wone knows as to why these bike are rated at such a high idle  id love to know

[byggd]

The FAQ is your friend .....

 

Q: Why is my header glowing cherry red?
A: A red hot header is usually a sign of a bike that is jetted too lean, a condition almost universally found in WRs with factory-set carbs. However, the WR does not like to sit on the stand and idle. It will get hot in a hurry if it's not moving. If you're just putting around and get a red header, it's normal. Just don't put your tongue on it until it cools. If it gets red during normal riding, go fatter on your jetting.

[GP1K]

update to this problem...

by use with the power tuner, i realised that the glowing pipe was caused by the high idle speed.  The dealer set the idle to 2300 rpm.  When I set down to 1700-1800 rpm, no more glowing...

 

Might be no more glowing, but might also make your bike harder to start when hot. Mine needs to be at the high end of that idle range or it's a lot harder to start when hot. YMMV

[littlebigpuff]

is there a down side to have the idle set low in trhe 2012-2014  . i ddont mind the glowing headpipe bit i woulddd like her to idle lower

[vlxjim]

12-14's need to run at 2000 + -100 rpm. If not they are hard to start. And riding at low to off throttle well cause a stall and toss you off the bike. These bikes were designed to idle at that speed and thats the reason for the red head pipe at idle while not moving. Its not because there to lean. The comp ECU is not lean and still runs red.

[Bass Mechanic]

if you richen up the lowest speed block at low throttle setting it will stop that. mine did it to but once adjusted correctly no problem. yes the tuner changes the setting at 3k but the map changes the fuel for all RPM's either side of 3,000 to some extent. the changes are sloped between rpm set points. once i got my bike dyno tuned for the correct AFR my pipe doesn't glow anymore.

[mebgardner]

if you richen up the lowest speed block at low throttle setting it will stop that. mine did it to but once adjusted correctly no problem. yes the tuner changes the setting at 3k but the map changes the fuel for all RPM's either side of 3,000 to some extent. the changes are sloped between rpm set points. once i got my bike dyno tuned for the correct AFR my pipe doesn't glow anymore.

 

This appears to be the latest / greatest "fix" for glowing header on FI cycles.

 

I'm just checking, because I've got the condition, too. 

 

Configuration is:

OEM pipe, no changes to it.

New GYTR Comp ECU, not yet cprogrammed (ie: all 0's programming).

Airbox mod / snorkel pulled.

 

I have the Power Tuner tool.

The ECU is not yet over 5 hours, so I figure (if true) the ECU is still retarding the ignition -4/-5 deg.

I have a FMF Q4 pipe waiting in the wings for install. It's waiting for me to get done the "street legal" plate the cycle.

 

So, can I "get away" with the "red header" for some time, until the ECU times out it's 5 hr clock, and I get to the DMV to plate the cycle (to be quiet enough) on the stock pipe?

 

Or, is this really bad, and I should change the ECU to richen up the lower range immediately, as suggested in the quote?

 

Thoughts?

[mebgardner]

I decided to "bump up" by +2 units the FI map for the "Low Throttle / Low RPM" section of a FI "custom" map, and load that to the GYTR Comp ECU, for a '13 WR450F.

 

That's the "lower left" corner of an FI / Ignition map sequence on the GYTR Power Tuner.

 

Doing this reduced the red header glow pretty dramatically, but it's still there.

 

The off-idle throttle response is snappy with this setting, it's the only one I changed for this custom FI map.  Everything else is "liveable", for me, for now.  I'm hoping the fuel economy with an "all zero's" map (with the +2 exception in the lower left corner) is good too, along with being "livable" (for me) throughout the rest of the throttle range. Time will tell...

 

To be clear, I'm attempting to solve a set of constraints: No "glowing red header" (which I take to mean the valves are burning from passing too hot exhaust gasses for too long a period maybe caused from too lean fuel mapping, maybe caused from too retarded ignition), No "Boiling Over" from excessive low speed heat (from too lean low throttle settings), and "acceptable" fuel range from the stock tank (I'm cheap, so I dont want another tank, and I dont want more weight up high from more fuel), along with "acceptable" power (I want to know I'm riding a 450, not a 250).

 

"Acceptable" fuel range is translating to ~ 35-40 MPG, for now, *with mixed riding* to include some 4th gear travel. That's roughly a 70-80 mile range.  It's a little shorter than I really want, but that's my interim goal (along with the other constraints I've already written).  "Acceptable" power is a bit harder to quantify without a dyno run, so mebbe I'll do that. I dont know if / where I'll get access to one yet, or that cost (<sigh> another cost). I'm **guessing** I should be able to ek out 40-45 HP without serious mods, or sacrific too much fuel range.

 

So, within those parameters, I'm developing a new custom FI map.

 

I'm heading to the dealer service dept. soon to have them set the Idle / CO mixture setting using their "Factory" Programmer tool, then I'll re-visit this thread with the results (looking to reduce "glowing red header" further).

 

Too bad we dont have a "sticky" thread where we post FI map results ?