what company's out there offer "chips" "ecu" "software" etc. for sti's.. and what does it initially do to the car as far as performance goes and upgrades. can someone please clarify what the purpose of upgrading a "chip" would do to your car. And write a list of company's you guys highly reccomend to have your car "chipped" thanks a lot guys!!

 

i suggest you do some reading on the various aspects of performance tuning. you've covered a lot of topics in your questions. if you want to "learn and understand", you should search for the FAQ threads and read.

you can also show up at the local meet and ask WRX/STi owners there. i'm sure many will be happy to answer your questions. another place to learn at is the local tuning shops. for example, MPJ (just as an example) had their "showcase" today....that's a great event to introduce yourself at and ask away!

goodluck.

 

I understand you being a newbie but... all your questions have been covered, talked about, discussed, argued about, asked, mentioned, etc. You just gotta have patience and if you do really want to learn, the best thing to do is read up. So use the Search feature, read and in a matter of time, you'll catch on!

As a starter for your reading up on... an engine management is the term you're looking for and would want to use. I recommend Cobb AccessPORT.

Good luck!

HAhahaa Doughboy... you beat me into saying it.

 

MPJ? where's that located? I live in Southern California to be specific Rancho Palos Verdes next to Torrance, Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Pedro

 

moved to more appropriate forum

 

by the by, Unabomber's Manifesto (http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=533787)
(look under engine management, like the man said)
is the place I began to LEARN about our cars.

Don't be weirded by his name, it means NOTHING. He has done a ton of research on most things Subaru, plus he's a nice guy (by email, anyway)

Costs nothing to join www.nasioc.com (North American Subaru Impreza Owner's Club), some may not like how they do things over there, but Unabomber's righteous; he even admits when he's blank on a subject.

Point is, you don't wanna blow up yer ride cuz ya don't know something

good reading

 

Much of this has already been covered in previous threads, but the popular engine management add-on is currently the Cobb Tuning AccessPORT for the WRX and STi (you didn't fill out the 'Car' field in your member Profile). This user-installed device can store multiple maps for different grades of gasoline or engine modifications that can be quickly and easily switched from within the car. Installation is simple and maps are downloadable online.

EcuTek is another popular option for the WRX/STi. No capability yet to store multiple maps. Requires reflash of factory ECU by authorized EcuTek dealer or tuning facility. Reflashing is done through factory diagnostic port by authorized EcuTek dealer and does not require removal of the ECU unless exchanging unit by mail.

TurboXS' UTEC is another option if you want to dabble in tuning your own car (at your own risk, of course). They have applications for both the WRX and STi. Hmm, they've misspelled the word 'engine' on that page.

There are additional standalone engine management systems for the WRX and STi but they are generally used for race applications. The systems mentioned earlier will work on OBD-II-equipped cars and generally provide great performance gains over an untuned combination if professional tuning is done, either custom tuning or downloaded maps.

Can you please fill out the 'Location' field in your member Profile? Just a general location like 'SoCal' is usually good enough but you can be as specific as you like.

--
0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush

 

from what i have read and been told i would sugguest the turbo xs u-tech or the element tuning hydra standalone, i have the hydra system and it is being installed saturday and if you are curious message me and ill tell you how it turns out