So I think my factory ECU has "learned" some bad habbits and my question is, if I disconnect the battery for a period of time, will that reset everything to brand new or erase the flash memory the stock ECU has???

 

Yes, it seems to work that way. Last week, we put an Apexi intake on my friends WRX, and it ran really crappy the first time out. We came back and disconnected the battery, hoping that it was only the ECU not playing nice, and came back 30 mins later. It ran great the next time out.

 

It will set the ecu back to the way it was when the car had 0 miles on it. When you say that it's learning bad habits what exactly are you talking about. The ecu adjusts for a reason so you need to figure out what is causing it to make changes.

A list of mods, mileage etc would be helpful.

 

I'm running an 04 WRX with a Greddy Evo2 Exhause, Perrin light weight crank pulley, AEM short ram, eibach springs, cobb short throw, and yoko avs es 100's (225/50/WR16)

My two main concerns are that the boost isn't pushing high enough, and I know i'm going to either need a boost controller or upgrade the ECU, and the other is i'm not getting the track numbers i'm looking for. The car runs great, but i was concerned it wasn't using the turbo enough with the other parts installed.

Not even sure that makes sense...but I did reset the ECU by disconnecting the battery and didn't see any major improvements...so it's back to adding more mods to get a better # at the track...

Running 14.9 1/4 mile at 93mph...Thought I would be at least in the low 14's by now...And i'm open to any suggestions anyone has about running better or what to do next...

my next upgrade I have on my list is up pipe and down pipe replacement...Helix is the way I was thinking of going...

 

The parts that you've installed aren't really going to net too much of a gain. The CB isn’t going to give you much until you complete the TBE, the intake isn’t needed until you upgrade the turbo, add a FMIC and push over 300 whp. Like you the first thing I did to my WRX was a short ram and a CB which didn't give me much if of an increase at all. After doing some research I decided to remove the intake and go with a Cobb stage 1 reflash which gave me a much more noticeable gain than the intake. Later I finished off the TBE, added an uppipe, flashed stage 2 and that made a big difference.

How much boost are you able to build. If you're not able to hit the target that Subaru sets which is around 13.5psi (depending on altitude, conditions, etc.) then you might want to adjust the WG arm http://www.scoobymods.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3654. This is used to fix WG flutter but I was able to build an extra 1 psi on my stage 2 map (wasn’t hitting target boost until adjustment) but you need to watch for boost spikes. If it spikes just back it off a half turn until the spike goes away.

Running a boost controller with an intake and no engine management isn’t a good idea, it can make you’re car run dangerously lean and could make it go BOOM. You will gain more power and run much more safely with a reflash.


When the WRX came to the states in 02 Automobile magazine tested the car and they were able to run a 14.5 with it so I'm guessing you need to work on you're launch but that’s just a guess. I don't know much about drag racing since I haven't taken my car to the strip but I would think you could get some better answers in the motor sports section here at i-club. I did take my car out with a g-tec and if I remember correctly I did around a 13.8 with my Cobb stage1 map.

That sounds like a good Idea. If possible do it all at once, it will make the install much easier.

If it was my car I would ditch the intake add a TBE, uppipe and a reflash but thats just me.

Joe

 

Joe,

According to my turbo gauge, located conveniently on my sterring wheel thanks to the dealership, is showing nothing over 10psi even at the highest RPMs...What can I do to fix this? Should I lower the waste gate arm? Will that increase the boost? I thought I should be running a higher PSI, but didn't know what to do about it...

HELP A MAN OUT!!??

Thanks

Chris

 

Are you sure you’re reading the gauge correctly? I think it reads bar (not sure) not psi and if that’s the case and the reading is 1.0 rather than 10 you are already on target.

 

I just looked it up and the oe gauge reads in mpa.

.1 mpa=1 bar=14.5 psi

 

OK, so I was reading the gauge wrong and that is a HUGE help!! Thanks Joe

So if i'm running what I thought was .08 almost .09 on the gauge, just shy of .1, that would be around maybe 13psi? right?

 

on a Stock WRX the max boost would be 13.5 PSI, which is a bit short of .1mpa, so i think you're OK. also fyi, you won't reach full boost in 1st gear.

 

.01 mpa = 1.45 psi
.08 mpa = 11.6 psi
.09 mpa = 13 psi.

Like laoba said you’re good since Subaru sets their target at around 13.5 psi but that can vary depending on conditions. Click on this link and you will find all the conversions you will ever need http://www.onlineconversion.com/pressure.htm or you could download a converter here http://www.joshmadison.com/software/convert/ and save it to you're desk top.

BTW, mpa is an acronym for megapascal.

 

Hi everybody.

I am new here, was trying to post or reply for quite a while now. For some reason,
I couldn't. Anyway.

My 03 wasn't going past .8 MPa no matter what. The only way I could go to 1MPa is when I plugged in Perrin MBC.... I notice people saying that it's not a good idea,
but, I just wanted to see what happens. O, and the turbo spools up much faster now.??
Here is what I have so far:

STI intercoller
Perrin Y-pipe and inlet hose
Perrin MBC
Perrin down pipe
Mad Dad 3" mated to STI muffler.

Up untill I installed MBC, all those didn't make big difference, exept sound.
Any Ideas, suggestions?

 

A better upgrade to the MBC would be to upgrade to a Cobb Accessport or something like a Turbo XS UTEC ECU upgrade...

And as for above...on your gauge, i just had that same question....1mp = 14.5PSI, which is higher than what the stock turbo is rated for...you should only be hitting 13 or 13.5 max...otherwise, car could go boom!! So you definitely want to be careful on that

 

Yep, I am thinking of ecuteck. In a mean time my MBC is going back in. I took it out this morning....me no like it. Boost doesn't go past .5MPa and doesn't even starts to arrive before 3000rpm. So now I got performance of a civic with fuel economy of tahoe .
MBC is going back in. Just won't run at as high psi. about 14.5 (1MPa)