ECU Tune for MY 07 Liberty GT STI

[hodgysub]

Hi boys and girls,

I've just recently picked up a second hand 07 Liberty GT STI and tossing up if I should get the ECU tunned.

I've been told that it can help improve it's thirst by about 10% and also give the car more go at the wheels ... this is all great BUT, the question remains.

Who I MELBOURNE do you all recommend? I've spoken to MRT and they're not planning a trip down south till Jan / Fev 2011 ..

Can anyone help?

Cheers in advance!

[Greenman]

V tune...the only one.

[tangcla]

Ray @ AutoRacingTechnik- phone number 9459-0880.

I had my car tuned by him (but it's a 2.0T). Also speak to overl0ad, he got his 2.5T tuned by Ray as well.

[triptizine]

/in for local tuner..

I am going to the gold coast for xmas.. and enquiring if i can pop in and see paul on the way through

[Kekotic]

Sentinel uses/used HorsePowerFactory in Dandenong, a lot of ex STi people work there or something?

[hodgysub]

Sentinel uses/used HorsePowerFactory in Dandenong, a lot of ex STi people work there or something?

I spoke to HPF today, they seemed pretty up with it though after speaking to MRT I've been lead to believe they're not that flash (understandable considering they're kinda competition).

Thus far I'm leaning toward HPF .. V-Tune.. not 100% who they are / how to contact them, something about STI Docklands?

[Kekotic]

I spoke to HPF today, they seemed pretty up with it though after speaking to MRT I've been lead to believe they're not that flash (understandable considering they're kinda competition).

Are you saying MRT told you HPF is bad, or the other way around?

Thus far I'm leaning toward HPF .. V-Tune.. not 100% who they are / how to contact them, something about STI Docklands?

V-tune = Vin Tune, the guy who USED to work at STi Docklands, but apparently a customers car detonated and I guess they tried to sue STi Docklands and blame it on the tune or something to get compensation, so they stopped doing customer tunes and Vin went elsewhere. He still does tunes for friends (I saw him at the Rob Roy hill climb event and he was helping tune Adhar's dads WRX), but that's it...so it's no longer an option.

[hodgysub]

I spoke to HPF today, they seemed pretty up with it though after speaking to MRT I've been lead to believe they're not that flash (understandable considering they're kinda competition).

Are you saying MRT told you HPF is bad, or the other way around?

I was lead to believe that HPF are not that great. this was after speaking to MRT. That said, I don't like the idea of all hands on support for the car re ecu up in Sydney .. (it's a long drive if there is an issue)

Thus far I'm leaning toward HPF .. V-Tune.. not 100% who they are / how to contact them, something about STI Docklands?

V-tune = Vin Tune, the guy who USED to work at STi Docklands, but apparently a customers car detonated and I guess they tried to sue STi Docklands and blame it on the tune or something to get compensation, so they stopped doing customer tunes and Vin went elsewhere. He still does tunes for friends (I saw him at the Rob Roy hill climb event and he was helping tune Adhar's dads WRX), but that's it...so it's no longer an option.

ok thanks

[Kekotic]

I was lead to believe that HPF are not that great. this was after speaking to MRT. That said, I don't like the idea of all hands on support for the car re ecu up in Sydney .. (it's a long drive if there is an issue)

The things MRT will do to get your $$$.....
Send a PM off to Sentinel and ask him what he thinks of HPF

[Greenman]

I've had my car tuned by Vin recently..... And have had my car tuned by others in the recent past also.
As far as your tune goes it really depends on the relationship you develop with your tuner.
I've spent a lot of money with guys with whom I have eventually find out don't have the ability to complete that competent and fluent tune....and are also upfront and honest about what they can and can't do.... And ultimately what your car can and can't do.... Sure if you want your car to pump 20 PSI with stock internals you'll be up for a rebuild in two seconds flat.
Don't make your decision based on what I or anyone else tries to convince you to do.
Talk to many tuners..... Usually the ones who degrade and defame other tuners are the ones you should avoid.
I would also ignore rumours and stories about tuners.... There's always two sides to the story.... And the truth somewhere inbetween.... That makes three...LOL.
So in complete contradiction to all my advice I waited nearly a year to get Vin .... And $1000s with other tuners.
For the record I'm very pleased with my tune...Vin was around in the beginning long before most on here got out of nappies.
If you really want to chat pm me..... Maybe Vin can take you for a run in his Lib STI some day.

[Arith]

I've had my car tuned by Vin recently

Your Liberty or your Forester? Because I've heard that Vin specialises in WRX, Foresters, and the Liberty H6. He doesn't do very many Liberty GT's so his tunes are on the very conservative side.

Hodgysub, do your research by talking to the people who have had their Libertys tuned and what they thought of the experience and whether or not they developed any issues afterwards. Make sure the tuner has a good deal of experience with the turbo Gen IV Liberty, so that they know what to look for and expect. And can identify any issues if they arise. I once encountered a tuner along my mod journey who did WRX's and EVO's very well, and he thought the Liberty would be the all same. Granted he might have tuned some Gen 2 and Gen 3 Libertys, but he was hopeless tuning a 2.5t Liberty. Unfortunately he was a MRT/EcuTek reseller, so I was locked into EcuTek, which I didn't want. I'd try to avoid MRT if you can due to the lock-out issue and the price.

In the end it's your money and you can do what you please with it. But just ask around with people who have done it first hand and then make an informed decision.

[shelldrake]

Is it a standard STI setup? I thought being the STI version, it has already had an individual dyno tune by STI. If everything remains unchanged from the factory, is it fair to say that it's probably pretty damn close to as good as it can be anyway? I mean, think about the amount of hours Subaru would have put into the tune to make sure it drives well under all conditions.

It may be a different story, but I've had other cars with aftermarket computers and it's taken weeks of mucking around to get it right, and even then it's never going to be as good as a factory tune. *Unless their tolerances are far safer than they should be. No doubt, mixtures can be changed, boost can be increased and timing can be changed - But it's a compromise on something. (Economy, Reliability or Performance). If I had too much money, I would investigate the gains that could be had under all conditions without a significant compromise in reliabilty. *It would be difficult to measure the increased wear and tear on your motor though, until something goes "bang".

My advice, if you feel you havent got enough power, is to buy a second hand motor, then spend 6k or so on a rebuild with all the good gear (Forged Pistons, Rods, ARP fasteners), install. Sell the current STI motor. Then get the new one tuned to 18-20psi.

It's also worth noting that you're at the point of - "Law of deminishing returns" - Where your STI is tuned to a high level, you could pay $1000 for a noticeable 5-10 kw(?) increase. If it was a standard motor for the same money you might have picked up a noticable 10-20 kw(?)

...Or don't worry, be happy.

[Arith]

Unless he's continuously at the track or driving it like he's on the track on the streets on a daily basis, I think doshing out ~ $10,000 to drop in a new motor and rebuilding everything from the bottom up is a bit excessive. One can easily spend just $900 - $2,000 for a relatively safe tune with gains of 10-25kw. However it's not always about getting the big numbers for a lot of people. It's about driveability. Granted he may only gain 15kw, but it should be a lot more enjoyable to drive.

Otherwise if he's chasing more power, drop in the usual dump pipe, front mount, bigger turbo, exhaust, etc and he can easily gain a good 100kw and still have it as a daily driver with an occasional visit to the track. There are a hand full of people that have done it so far on this forum without touching engine internals, and so far it's been a number of years so far without any incidents. A good tuner can make it all work together without the bang.

[shelldrake]

Unless he's continuously at the track or driving it like he's on the track on the streets on a daily basis, I think doshing out ~ $10,000 to drop in a new motor and rebuilding everything from the bottom up is a bit excessive. One can easily spend just $900 - $2,000 for a relatively safe tune with gains of 10-25kw. However it's not always about getting the big numbers for a lot of people. It's about driveability. Granted he may only gain 15kw, but it should be a lot more enjoyable to drive.

Otherwise if he's chasing more power, drop in the usual dump pipe, front mount, bigger turbo, exhaust, etc and he can easily gain a good 100kw and still have it as a daily driver with an occasional visit to the track. There are a hand full of people that have done it so far on this forum without touching engine internals, and so far it's been a number of years so far without any incidents. A good tuner can make it all work together without the bang.

I agree. But it comes down to the expectation vs result for what money is being spent. I guess the best thing to do would be to do a direct comparison. Find someone who has had their ecu tuned by a reputable tuner, go for a spin and see if it's worth spending the money. Nothing worse than spending money, then being dissapointed. (Like the people who have spent many $$$$ on tunes that they need re tuning by someone else later. Paintjobs are the same...)

[Arith]

I guess the best thing to do would be to do a direct comparison. Find someone who has had their ecu tuned by a reputable tuner, go for a spin and see if it's worth spending the money. Nothing worse than spending money, then being dissapointed. (Like the people who have spent many $$$$ on tunes that they need re tuning by someone else later. Paintjobs are the same...)

Heh-heh. I was hoping that was my point in my earlier post. To do research by asking around who's had a tune, and asking what they thought. And, if possible, take a spin in their car.