Best engine management on a budget? (was: Need some advice please!)
 

hey guys, i just purchased a 05 wrx (had 4 rsx's in the past)... its used and has a hks hipermax cbe on it. untill winter i plan on keeping the mod costs to a minimum, so i really need some advice.

planned mod list for now:
hks hipermax cbe
short ram intake
catless up/down pipes

anyways, your replies are much appreciated

Forget the short ram intake. Don't even think about a BOV. These are mods that make little or no power. Going catless is great for power but do you reside in a CA county that has bi-annual smog inspections? Something to consider when catless...

Cobb AccessPORT is currently the best method of engine management, IMO. It controls fuel, ignition advance, and boost in conjunction with the factory ECU. EcuTek reflash does the same but does not have the capability to store additional maps for cruise economy, race gas, high altitude, etc. like the AccessPORT.

MBC (manual boost controller) is great for modest boost gain and you can really feel the boost and torque increase much lower than factory settings but the main problem is an mbc does [i]not[/i] provide any way to increase fueling or alter ignition advance. This means that it's possible to set the mbc for a bit too much boost increase and risk running lean and the subsequent engine damage that may result. Fuel enrichment is important for maximum power [i]and[/i] as additional safeguard against detonation by running richer during high-boost/high load than is necessary for maximum power to utilize the cooling effect of a rich air/fuel ratio. Can't accomplish this with an mbc.

i say you get a reflashed custom tune

yes its more but i believe you get what you pay for

wingless wonder ill meet you in back and we can throw down

i do agree though
MBC = youll eventually run into major problems


"going fast costs money, you are going to pay now or pay later"- sigma pi

double post

[QUOTE=sigma pi]i say you get a reflashed custom tune

yes its more but i believe you get what you pay for

wingless wonder ill meet you in back and we can throw down

i do agree though
MBC = youll eventually run into major problems


"going fast costs money, you are going to pay now or pay later"- sigma pi[/QUOTE]
although i agree with you, money is pretty much a big issue right now(i got married 1 month ago)...so even though you get what you pay for, id like to cruise around for the next 5-6 months on a budget of only 1k total for parts. and i definitely want at least a bit more power than just tbe...

[QUOTE=Wingless Wonder]Forget the short ram intake. Don't even think about a BOV. These are mods that make little or no power. Going catless is great for power but do you reside in a CA county that has bi-annual smog inspections? Something to consider when catless...

Cobb AccessPORT is currently the best method of engine management, IMO. It controls fuel, ignition advance, and boost in conjunction with the factory ECU. EcuTek reflash does the same but does not have the capability to store additional maps for cruise economy, race gas, high altitude, etc. like the AccessPORT.

MBC (manual boost controller) is great for modest boost gain and you can really feel the boost and torque increase much lower than factory settings but the main problem is an mbc does [i]not[/i] provide any way to increase fueling or alter ignition advance. This means that it's possible to set the mbc for a bit too much boost increase and risk running lean and the subsequent engine damage that may result. Fuel enrichment is important for maximum power [i]and[/i] as additional safeguard against detonation by running richer during high-boost/high load than is necessary for maximum power to utilize the cooling effect of a rich air/fuel ratio. Can't accomplish this with an mbc.

[size=1][color=skyblue]0==[color=blue]WW[/color]==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush[/color][/size][/QUOTE]
thank you very much for good advice man.
heres a question: approximately what kind of horsepower numbers should i be expecting with a:
drop in filter
catless up/dp
hks cbe
cobb ap
I know its stupid to estimate numbers since all cars behave differently, but i just want the ballpark figure...

i was also wondering what modifications would yield maxium power gains with a budget of $1k...keep in mind that the car already has cbe...
also, with the accessport is it possible to turn up the boost or design some kind of your own map or is it limited to whatever cobb makes?

tune with Enginuity & ECUFlash, it'll cost you ~$90 for the Tactrix cable & less than $100 for a custom map. By far the most cost-effective form of EM available....

[url]www.enginuity.org[/url]
[url]www.openecu.org[/url]
[url]www.tactrix.com[/url]

hmmm....

pm ichibono he can help ya out

[QUOTE=testes1010]
[url]www.enginuity.org[/url]
[url]www.openecu.org[/url]
[url]www.tactrix.com[/url][/QUOTE]
wow. those are really good sites.
[QUOTE=VladiWrX]with the accessport is it possible to turn up the boost [/QUOTE]
i believe the AP base maps have a set boost level. if you were to get a Pro-tune, itd be different. besides, you dont want to turn up the boost too much on a base map.
[QUOTE=VladiWrX]approximately what kind of horsepower numbers should i be expecting [/QUOTE]
i think thats a stage 2, so apx. 220awhp? maybe more on a good tune and 93 octane.

thats what i figured. thanx for your input........ i actually talked to a local fellow thats selling his cobb ap so i might pick one up this saturday.... till the end of june the above listed mods are all i will have, but then my buddy is installing a gt35r onto his 05 sti and selling me his vf39, sti top mount, and injector for a killer price. i guess ill need a protune then huh?

[QUOTE=testes1010]

[url]www.enginuity.org[/url]
[url]www.openecu.org[/url]
[url]www.tactrix.com[/url][/QUOTE]
WOW!!! these sites are awesome.....

Enginuity & ECUFlash are amazing I am "stage 2 XML " it's amazing. data logging is great too.