My New V-Tune

[adhar]

Hi guys,

I thought i'd let you know about a tune I had done at STi today.

The car is a MY05 2.0 GT Auto. Car is completely standard, no mods.

It was quite a good improvement with around 22-32 kw atw improvement through most of the rev range (2500 - 6000 rpm!)

Torque improved a fair bit too in the early to mid rev range.

As you can see in the dynograph the maximum power was not improved that much (around 8 kw) but seriously how long can you keep the revs over 6500 rpm anyway!!

Vinny said that this car as standard had a strange spike at the end of the power curve which is around 10 kw more than a GT normally has, this is why the maximum only went up by 8kw.

Dyno before and After:


Car was running on BP fuel which Vinny said to not use in Winter as BP now has a winter mix of fuel which isn't very good. Anyone heard that before? He said it will get better results on different fuel such as Shell.

Anyway, i thought you guys might find this interesting.

He fixed my rough, lumpy idle too which was driving me mad! It now idles smoothly and seems to be about 500 revs higher while sitting in drive at the lights.

Cheers,

Andrew

[Sentinel]

Hey Andrew - nice gain of 25Kw! Yes, interesting spike at the end! Never heard of the "winter mix" for BP either. Did he recommend a fuel to use?

As for your idle, I know that Ford reduced the idle speed of the Falcon to improve the fuel economy, albeit by marginal amounts! But, given that your tune has probably tweaked the AFR's anyway, I doubt you'll notice it.

BTW - did you get the charts for AFR and boost?

How does it feel with the ol 'bum-ometer'? Does she feel much different.

Cheers

[Q]

Nice gains, car would be much nicer to drive with that torque increase.

How much did Vin charge??

[adhar]

It is very lively to drive now, it seems like lag is not an issue at all, and when you accelerate it doesn't want to stop! I did a U-turn in first gear, planted it and the tail stepped right out like it would in the wet, but this was in the dry!

Fuel... he didn't say which, but most would use Shell, and i've heard Vortex is good stuff these days too. It used to be crap, but alot of high horsepower v8 owners nowadays swear by Vortex.

I didn't get AFR charts, but boost remains at 14.5 psi, it just comes on earlier due to manifold pressure retuning.

Price? I won't say my price as I got a quite a discount as my old man knows Vin, but the normal price for turbo liberty's is $880, but if you say you're a wrx club member it's $770. $150 of it is just to unlock the stock. ECU.

[04GTLIB]

Great results adhar, you must be stoked.

Not trying to hijack your thread adhar, but I will find out if there's any truth to the BP winter mix rumor.

Cheers.

[coyote]

$150 of it is just to unlock the stock. ECU.

In my best redhead voice, "Please Explain".

[adhar]

$150 of it is just to unlock the stock. ECU.

In my best redhead voice, "Please Explain".

Subaru obviously don't like Joe Blogs playing around with their electronics so they lock the ECU so you can't change anything without either loading on your own software or changing the whole unit such as a re-flash or piggy back system.

Subaru Japan have granted Sti Docklands the ability to purchase like a 'license' per car so they have free reign on all tuning parameters. It isn't something that STi are allowed to advertise to the general public, but it is on offer to any of their customers who aren't entirely satisfied with the standard tune.

Once it's unlocked, you don't have to buy it again.
(this is how it was explained to me anyway!) lol

[CheesyMong]

$150 of it is just to unlock the stock. ECU.

In my best redhead voice, "Please Explain".

Subaru obviously don't like Joe Blogs playing around with their electronics so they lock the ECU so you can't change anything without either loading on your own software or changing the whole unit such as a re-flash or piggy back system.

Subaru Japan have granted Sti Docklands the ability to purchase like a 'license' per car so they have free reign on all tuning parameters. It isn't something that STi are allowed to advertise to the general public, but it is on offer to any of their customers who aren't entirely satisfied with the standard tune.

Once it's unlocked, you don't have to buy it again.
(this is how it was explained to me anyway!) lol

I call Shinnanigans...anyone else want to bite with this comment lol...

[coyote]

I call Shinnanigans...anyone else want to bite with this comment lol...

It basically gels with how the ecu works.

Does sound unusual, but is plausible.

[Spec B Wgn]

same as ecutek... they lock the ECU so other tuners cant download the current settings and use them on another car.

its basically about protecting their R&D..

not good though should you change tuners...

[GTSPECB STI]

LOL the ecu can be "unlocked" without Subaru's help.

www.openecu.org is a good place to start if your interested. Stealerships and their secrets really aren't that secret these days. If you are going to get a good flash tune then you really need a good tuner though.

The fact that Vin and Docklands STI even offer this makes me LOL. Shouldn't Subaru deliver cars tuned properly from the start as opposed to charging you extra for a secret tune.

[drndrn]

Just a thought with what was said above..

Subaru should have delivered all cars with the proper tune instead of charging more for it after the car is delivered. The thing is I think the factory tune is what you might call "safe" which has undergone a lot of R&D to suit the general publics driving style with things like throttle response and power delivery tuned to be more linear or smooth and less aggressive compared to what they could get out of the V-tune.

All of the above may be rubbish, but thats my input..

[GTSPECB STI]

I think the subaru factory tune with its inherent stutter issues which are well documented by owners world wide is not what I would call a safe tune. Rather detuned and extremely rich if the truth be known.

[tangcla]

Once it's unlocked, you don't have to buy it again.
(this is how it was explained to me anyway!) lol

I call bollocks. I've had my car tuned from scratch by another tuner other than Vin, whom I trust with my car. Prior to this I already downloaded the ROM from the ECU and uploaded it as well. You just need a Tactrix/OpenPort cable and some software (RomRaider, EcuFlash, EcuExplorer) and you can do it yourself if you know what you're doing

[Boxer]

I think the subaru factory tune with its inherent stutter issues which are well documented by owners world wide is not what I would call a safe tune. Rather detuned and extremely rich if the truth be known.

And to pass emmissions in the critical 2-3000rpm zones