surging through the rev range particularly cold

[05gtwagonman]

Also Suff, looking at the mod list at the end of your posts.
You have the exact same Sube so it's a great oportunity to ask: I also have whiteline rear and HID's. What about the rest of your mods. Panel filter? Balance with the front sway? brakes? Muchly interested...


I put Kings in and I have to say they are a little too highly strung... I mean sprung... ha ho- oh whatever...

I think I need a softer spring as a 40k to 50km per annum sales rep... looks horn tho... Was just looking to fix the visual ride height front to rear issue from standard, could have lived with the rest standard...

[Spec B Wgn]

Just to be picky, and to clarify, suff, you didn't specify openecu, you did discount ecutec by proxy by saying that MRT and therefore ecutec had copyright issues...

Spec B: Are you affiliated with, in any way any tuning house or specifically MRT. I ask this for two reasons- You are very knowledable on this issue, and you are also very quick to take what could be thought to be the role of someone looking to protect the status quo in the tuning business...
Now b4 you or anyone else take offense, I have no problem with anything that you have written, I just like to know where all of us are coming from... You have been very helpful and I, in no way want you to take offense to this question... I also note that you have not posted anything that may alert the inquisitive such as myself, as to who you are, or what you do or who you know, in so far as a quick search of your posts might reveal... Just asking.

Suff: I think that your suggestion is really great, but regardless of where spec b is coming from, I would think that (if I know anything) we are talking a reflash of the actual chip in the ECU and the risk of this stuffing up, and the fact that you could so easily end up with a very expensive 5 seater lounge in the garage would tell me that this is one area that paying a pro is definately worth the money...

If there are newcomers, here's a question- Are there others who can back the earlier assertion that a re-tune can fix these types of issues at the same time? Subaru are still on this issue for me- not bad in that they agree that it is a pre-existing issue despite it has now fallen out of warranty...

Im from Adelaide first of all. have owned a few Subarus.

Im not associated with Ecutek or MRT.... i work in Finance..

At the end of the day it doesnt matter what chip, piggyback system, reflash etc etc you use it all comes down to the quality and expertise of the TUNER .

I use Ecutek because i trust my tuner who has worked closely with Ecutek themselves. Its a great piece of IT, like a lot of the other products out there, but only in the right hands...

You can pick maps up of the internet .., you pick what mod's you have, the map is downloaded onto your ECU l via another source....would you trust them... i wouldnt..some people do. But who you going to call upon if it goes pears shaped or you need some help.

Ecutek guarantee there product and so does S&J (my tuner) . i dont know many others that offer that piece of mind. im not a mechanic. I have basic understandings like most, but for me , when you already have a fantastic base to work upon like the factory ECU with all its safety parameters, enhancing it rather then confusing it with pirate software doesnt make sense..

Speak to some tuning shops not related or associated to the factory service centres and you will find they iron out problems quicker then Subaru.. Some of these problems you have, are common and have been resolved with superiour ECU programming the factory wont provide you.

[05gtwagonman]

As I thought... Thanks for the clarification.

And for the record- nope. I'm not gunna trust all but the best with mine either. You learn with age and experiance that the cheap option often isn't.

I have heard nothing but positives about S&J even up here in Qld. The problem that I have is the MRT authorised and ECUTEK authorised guys are a. on the northside and a long way to get to and b. ignored me for over 20min whilst they played around with about 6 200sx / sylvia projects that were in varying states of disarray, and clearly owned by kids who wanted to drift or race.

They didn't fill me with confidence...

[MY08GT-B]

You can send your ecu to S&J for reprogramming if you can be without your car for a little while. Obviously it wont be dyno tuned for your car, but I am sure Sean can work out a suitable map for your car which can fix your problems and give you a safe power boost also.

I have used S&J for a number of Subarus and even drove back to Adelaide from Albury to get Sean to do the work on my car. It might be worth giving him a call anyway to discuss your problems.

[Spec B Wgn]

As I thought... Thanks for the clarification.

And for the record- nope. I'm not gunna trust all but the best with mine either. You learn with age and experiance that the cheap option often isn't.

I have heard nothing but positives about S&J even up here in Qld. The problem that I have is the MRT authorised and ECUTEK authorised guys are a. on the northside and a long way to get to and b. ignored me for over 20min whilst they played around with about 6 200sx / sylvia projects that were in varying states of disarray, and clearly owned by kids who wanted to drift or race.

They didn't fill me with confidence...

understand your predicament.. we are a bit spoilt with Sean..

as a suggestion why not get on the phone to some of the "non subaru dealership " shops. and just ask them if the've had any experience with cars like symptons your experiencing..

If they have then progress..

[05gtwagonman]

Sorry that it taken so long to finally put an end stop on this fred but I think it's time.
The car was on the monitor etc as previously explained...
It was not throwing a particular type of data (never explained in more detail- must have been getting close to sensitive info or some crap...) that would usually end up with them drawing the conclusion that I had had the ECU tuned. I think that it was only that I had such a comprehensive record of service- BTW only with them since I bought it!- that they felt compelled to believe me when I denied ever getting ECU work done aftermarket.
After much more waiting they finally got a brand spanking new ecu in direct from Japan. Remember that this would be destined to be the third ECU in my car...
They replaced the ECU and handed my girl back. Drove smoothly but very soft at first. After probably 2 dozen resets and a new ecu previously I had never felt the car so dozy with a low advance multiplyer...
Two days of furious frottleworx and the AM was up and the car was the strongest I'd ever felt. There is a slight lumpiness to the rev range, but now I would consider this to be about normal. It doesn't , or hasn't done the cold thing in ages, and the worst of the lumpy hot has gone, but best of all the car has never been faster! the arse dyno reads up 10-15kw!

This work was completed 3-4 months out of wty- so I can thank Zupps Capas very much for that. My only negative is this- They blow an ECU doing an update. They manage to get a replacement the very next day to put in the car, and it turns out that the ECU is not throwing all the data.
HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM what are the chances that the ECU was a case of-

"THis ones got a small issue, but I bet he won't notice. It's going to cost us $XXXX from Subi who won't cover it 'cause we blew it up- so put this one in, it will get him going- and we can hope for the best..."

I did Ferkin notice- and I'm still noticing how much better this one is!

I guess I should be grateful rather than a conspiracy theorist!

The wags has since had a couple of custom sport muffs installed with quasi STI quad tip looks, which have consequently caused the car to boost spike and hit the fuel defender.

That same day I installed a boost guage hidden in the cubby and saw that it was spiking all the way up to 18psi on initial boost up when cold, and 17 when hot! This has not lead to a cut out, so what did it hit the morning the defender did intervene?????
It sits between 13- 15 psi most of the time and a few of the tuners have said that the spike is the result of a reduction in back pressure. Isn't it interesting that most tuners state that the exhaust isn't the restictive element, but yet I now have proof that it can allow boost spikes in an otherwise standard car. I understand that it hasn't changed the constant boost, but still....


Anyways that brings forward the ecu tune, and the study of this is sending me batty. Every tune house has a diferent story, and most consider the other methods they don't do to be dodgy. But I think that the end result will be a ezyflash from Chip torque after a resonatorectomy CAI home jobby.

Thanks for tuning in- hope it helps you guys in a similar situation...

Ferk that was a typing mission...

[Spec B Wgn]

That sounds a bit dodgey doesnt it ?

I have a funny feeling your cars illness will return..

for your sakes im hoping it wont ..

[BlackGT]

Thanks for the update 05gtwagonman but I have to admit your post didn't make sense to me as it's is all over the place. Must be the lack of sleep with two young kids that I can't comprehend but can you please summarise what the problem exactly is related to as per the topic of this thread? Was it new ECU or was it simply the ECU tune? Did anything like 02 sensor and AFM have anything to do with it?

Thanks

[05gtwagonman]

Dude, if you are talking about my two young'uns and a lack of sleep, then you got it in one. If it's you, then sorry to hear, but join the club.

Look, to be honest, I can't really tell you for sure how all of this worked...
The ecu fried on an upload, and the replacement in my opinion was never right, so the answer has to be a hardware problem with the ECU.

As far as programing, I'll know more when chiptorque do their thing early next month. But the replacement seems to have been the fix for the worst problems.

There is one thing to know though- the whole way I have been told by Subaru that there is always an inherant lumpiness to the way the turbo Subaru boosts. The problem I have always had is that it wasn't noticable in my 94 wrx a few years back. It is not noticable in the 05 WRX my brother recently bought, and it is not noticable in the 01 foz I just bought my wife. But no matter what they do to my car, if the ecu reset is recent and the advance multiplier is low it is smooth. As soon as it goes hard Like I know it can, it's lumpy. Chiptorque???? OBEE ferkin One you are my only hope...

To answer the question, The car goes better than it ever has, but I still think there are inherant problems. And since Subaru say they are normal things, then I think they could have done a better job.

That said, I look every month or two at what choices I have in the car market that give me high performace, safety, handling, style and a wagon. And short of an Audi- $$$$$- there is still nothing better. So I deal with...


...Usually by smoking a family car off the lights or up a merge lane... better yet if it has sporting pretentions...

[05gtwagonman]

Black gt- the problem still relates to the surging, particularly when cold (look at the begining of the thread) and the lumpiness though boost when hot...

[Spec B Wgn]

i wonder if it could be the 02 sensor ?????

[05gtwagonman]

HAHAHAHAHAHHA......

I know, we still haven't replaced that.... Subaru swear black and blue that it would throw either en error code or weird data. They say it's doing neither...
It is such a small hesitation now that I can't be fugged taking it in again...
We'll see how it goes after the dyno tune and the ezy flash at chiptorque...

[Spec B Wgn]

at least you have a sense of humour....

by the way im another new dad suffereing from lack of sleep..

[05gtwagonman]

Everyone says at this point congrats...

And certainly the advent of another family member is always the moment to rejoice, particularly at the discovery of ten and ten, and no obvious problems. So assuming this is your case...
Those of us in the fray usually say more like well done, the easy bit is over... Keep up the good work, and surround yourself with those who love you, care and can bloody well help with things!!!!!
And well done to your missus! Isn't the miricle of birth traumatic!
We have two now, that'll do eh...
Love your wagon. It fits lots, goes nice, looks great, makes you feel better about life when you get a moment (rare) to use it with gusto, and rejoice in it's ability to put young kids to sleep when they are in it...
Congrats...

[BlackGT]

Thanks for the reply. Firstly I was talking about my 2 kids and my lack of sleep but commiserations..I mean congratulations to you also.

I will most likely be taking my car soon to Spiro at Granville to look at the car. The question for me is whether MRT has locked the ECU and won't provide other authorised ECUTek dealers access to the ECU. If this is the case then I would have to pay $$$ for a total new tune...maybe that's what I have to do anyway.

We should start another thread about "Parents with Liberty's"