570 hp Massimio tune

In the spring of 2020 we developed the Massimo tuning for the Giulia Q. In terms of maximum achievable power, we did not go further than about 560 hp compared to 510 standard and a torque of just over 720 Nm, compared to the 640 Nm standard measured on a Dyno. In short, 60 hp and 80 Nm more. What we also achieved a lot of “gain” with was a greatly improved driveabilty of the Giulia Q. Standard can be compared to a rodeo horse. Wild, fast but difficult to control. The devil was in a far too aggressive throttle response. By curbing this, the high torque and power can be dosed much better. Along with the elimination of several other nasty character traits, the Q became a purebred racehorse. Very fast and with full control over the power. Our tuning turned out to be unique considering the fact that it is now highly appreciated by Quadrifoglio drivers all over the world.

Pressure spikes and boost drops.

Of course, our 570 hp wasn’t just plucked out of thin air. There was a reason behind that. Of course we looked to see if there was more in the barrel. There was, but we ran into an annoying side effect. When doing a full throttle run, it is indeed possible to generate more power by adjusting the turbo pressure higher. This works fine on a power bank, but not always on the road. The problem arises when you shift to the next gear at full throttle. In an automatic version, the engine will apply “rev matching”. Of course, the revs in the next gear have to be a little lower. The system does this by closing the throttle slightly, resulting in a pressure peak in front of the throttle. When this pressure peak becomes too high, the system intervenes by significantly reducing the engine’s turbo pressure. As a result, a power decrease of about 100 hp in the next gear. However, no error is generated. Which is remarkable, because there is certainly a kind of emergency run. Of course, we spent a lot of time at the time trying to figure out what exactly was causing these boost drops. To our great frustration, that didn’t work out at the time. With about 570 hp, the pressure peaks were of such a level that this phenomenon did not occur.

But still......

However, at the end of 2023, it started to itch again. For the first time, there was a colleague tuner who told the same story. He actually was the first colleague who shared our finding. Many other well-known tuners did not recognize the phenomenon. We have often been approached by Q drivers who had the Q tuned elsewhere. They suffered from “boost drops” after upshifting. One of them used our Performance Logger. The LOG files confirmed the story. We have been able to help some of these customers with our 570 hp tuning. In the end, the Q became faster than with the 600+ hp tuning because it now continues to drive without “boost drops”.

We took the towel out of the ring again and went looking for the viper. As is often the case, the solution afterwards is always easier than previously thought. You just have to know where to find it. By increasing the turbo pressure step by step and at the same time carefully studying the Performance Logger LOG files, we found the cause and dragged the snag out of the grass. This paved the way for more power. But the goal of 600 hp was not so easily within reach.

According to the booklets, the Q engine delivers its 510 hp at 6500 rpm. But what is striking is that after 6500 the power drops slightly and then, at 6800-7000 rpm, there is an extra peak. Often just a little higher than 510 hp. This indicates that there is more in the barrel. The rev limiter is standard around 7350 rpm. That too is special. 850 rpm later than the rpm of max power. Normally, those two speeds are closer to each other.

Ferrari F154 V8.

The Quadrifoglio engine is derived from the F154 3.8 V8 of the Ferrari California and 488. Engines that deliver their top power at 7500 and 8000 rpm respectively. Not at 6500 like the Q motor. With small steps we started to increase the revs. See how the turbo pressure holds up in relation to the control of the Wastegate (boost actuator). After all, a turbo should never function at 100% (closed wastegate) of its ability. So we intent to stay away from that point. But even more important is the ignition behavior. It next to mandatory to maintain the set value, otherwise too much stress will arise according to our philosophy. At least RON98/93 octane is the only thing the Q will be administered. The result? Our goal of 590 to 600 hp was reached around 7500 RPM. The rev limit is fixed at 7800 rpm.

800 Nm of torque.

But we weren’t just looking for more power. Some extra torque would be nice too. To achieve this, we had to make a special adjustment in the software. Normally, we don’t like to make such an adjustment because a so-called circular map has to be adjusted. These are two maps of which the outcome of one must be able to be filled in in the other with the same result as a result. If this does not go well, after a while you will get very strange phenomena in the engine behavior. So this has to be done wisely and prudently. The torque could thus increase to 780 to 800 Nm around 4200 rpm.

Estrema gearbox tune.

But there was another hurdle that had to be overcome at the same time. The 8-speed ZF automatic gearbox. Since the beginning of 2023, we have been able to make it our own. As standard, it shifts to the next gear at about 7100 rpm, provided it is driven in automatic transmission. In manual, it does not shift automatically in Dynamic or Race. Because the engine is limited to 7800 rpm, it would reach the absolute limiter of the gearbox at 7600 rpm. Unfortunately, that limiter cuts hard. Limp home, stuck in 4th and a restart is needed to get it reset  A situation which should be avoided at all times.
The big question is how many revs the ZF can make. A survey among specialists shows that this is 8000 rpm. We therefore set the absolute limiter to 7900 RPM. But don’t be afraid. In all positions of the gearbox (automatic and manual) the gearbox now shifts to the next gear at max 7600 rpm. In the lower gears, it happens sooner because the engine always revs a bit during upshifts. Otherwise, the 7900 could still be reached.

In short, the Estrema engine tuning MUST always go in combination with our Estrema gearbox tuning for the Quadrifoglio. Unless you own a manual version.

No dyno but the Performance Logger.

We already mentioned our Performance Logger. In the time that we have developed the Estrema version, the Performance Logger has also been developed considerably. The advantage is that we can measure the signals from both cylinder banks (there are two ECUs) at the same time. We added several parameters that were important to monitor the enormous power. In addition, we have even been able to make the determination of torque and power much more precise. This calculation consists of 3 parts.

1) the rolling resistance power = the ability to travel at a certain speed
2) the acceleration power = accelerating mass
3) the inertia power = starting the rotating mass. This manifests itself in an equivalent mass that counts as a correction for the accelerating power per gear.

Link to the Performance Logger SD.

In theory, the engine should show about the same power to the crankshaft in every gear. The Performance Logger now shows this. For us, this is proof that our calculations are correct and that we do not need a wealth bank. After all, a dyno has a major disadvantage. The temperatures of the intake air and engine (oil) are difficult to control. This is much better on the road.

With the Estrema tuning, we have given the A-position the stock torque and power level. The Performance Logger shows these values almost exactly. N, D and Race give the tuned torque and power. Everything has to be warmed up nicely. Engine, gearbox and also the differential oil. Not too high outside temperature, not too high air humidity. Nice flat tarmac, exhaust valves open.

On Quadrifolgio’s equipped with GPF/OPF filters, the top power may be slightly lower.