San Diego builds, One the easy way, one the hard way

[matteo92065]

Drove up the 101 from San Diego to Oceanside.

This picture is for you wleehendrick,
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It was a perfect day,

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I like this picture, it shows the usually invisible flat black XXR wheels,
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Testing out new rear calipers. I went from WRX two pot, to Willwood 120-9750 (1.58sqin) calipers with matching rotors, then to 120-9749 (2.46sqin) calipers. They seem much more balanced now. I'm a little perplexed on how the stock EBD system is working on my car. Will the rear brakes ever lock up with EBD/ABS system functioning? Will I feel it like I can when the ABS activates?
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I'm taking the car apart as soon as the weather turns cold. On the to-do list:
Wire up ABS defeat switch
Install Racelogic Traction Control
Realign Door Hinges
Fix body gaps
Install Trunk
tune engine (learn how to do this first, all COBB stuff)
fix front tire rub on full bump
cut out rear upper engine cover vents
Wrap rear humps with carbon vinyl
Finish installing carpet kit
Install accusump, and oil temperature/pressure senders
Install higher spring rate rear springs
Make bimini/targa top before next summer
Finish building Hot Rod STI motor.

[flynntuna]

Looking good!
Even though your in Ramona, it's not going to get that cold during the day. :rolleyes:

[Hindsight]

Looks great. Those are some big rear brakes.

[matteo92065]

Looking good!
Even though your in Ramona, it's not going to get that cold during the day. :rolleyes:

Hey! We get down to freezing a couple mornings a year, and El Nino is suppose to hit this year. And THANKS!


Looks great. Those are some big rear brakes. Thanks for noticing. ;)
Yes, many would say that they are completely unnecessary. But I love the look, weight, and the stopping characteristics (pedal feel, modulation, & balance) have been getting better.

[longislandwrx]

Car looks great, I like your fire extinguisher tucked under the console.

I like you approach at upping the rear caliper surface area rather than dialing down the fronts... do you still have your valve on the front?

I will look and see if wildwood has a higher surface area caliper for the .81 rotor.

You could add a sternum strap to that harness for your son, it will help prevent the belts from moving.

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[tmoretta]

What spring rate do you suppose best for rear?

[matteo92065]

Car looks great, I like your fire extinguisher tucked under the console.

I like you approach at upping the rear caliper surface area rather than dialing down the fronts... do you still have your valve on the front?

I will look and see if wildwood has a higher surface area caliper for the .81 rotor.

You could add a sternum strap to that harness for your son, it will help prevent the belts from moving.

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Thanks!
I still have two valves on the front brakes, and they are still about 80% choked. The areas that I'm listing are the piston areas. The Wilwood Dynapro caliper comes in three different piston areas, 1.58, 2.46, and 4.80sqin. My front Brembos are ~4.51sqin. Do I try the 4.80 calipers?

Thanks, I'll look into the sternum straps, it makes sense. He loves the challenge of getting buckled up now.


What spring rate do you suppose best for rear? My stock rear FFR springs are almost at maximum preload. Others on this forum have been installing everything from 450 to 550. I'm going to go with some where in that range. Since I don't have a rear wing, I'm leaning towards the 450 spring rate.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

[QUOTE=matteo92065;213466] Thanks!
I still have two valves on the front brakes, and they are still about 80% choked. The areas that I'm listing are the piston areas. The Wilwood Dynapro caliper comes in three different piston areas, 1.58, 2.46, and 4.80sqin. My front Brembos are ~4.51sqin. Do I try the 4.80 calipers?

[QUOTE]

Matt,
I'm running cast iron stock front calipers (4.460sqin) on all 4 wheels with no prop valve.
I am almost balanced. My rears lock up just before my fronts. I'm going to add a Prop valve to the rears this winter.
Bob

[matteo92065]

I'm running cast iron stock front calipers (4.460sqin) on all 4 wheels with no prop valve.
I am almost balanced. My rears lock up just before my fronts. I'm going to add a Prop valve to the rears this winter.
Bob

I've been closely watching your build (http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?12534-MRG-MotorSports-818S-Build), very nice.
It looks like the front and rear systems should be very close to each other. LOL, I'm taking the long, slow, expensive way to get to your point.

I do NOT want to do any replumbing of brake lines, or change front brakes.
I'm afraid of the tip over point. That is, if I get to a point that the rears lock up first, and the valves are completely open, then I would have to take a step back somewhere.

[longislandwrx]

The areas that I'm listing are the piston areas. The Wilwood Dynapro caliper comes in three different piston areas, 1.58, 2.46, and 4.80sqin.

I got that. The rear kit I am using uses a .81" rotor and a lug mounted 120-9706 caliper with 1.58" piston area. I don't know if a larger ones is available in that config.


what kit did you start with?


edit found them:
120-9706 1.58"
120-9703 3.0"
120-9693 4.8"

[bbjones121]

any new updates? i love following your build.

[matteo92065]

Updates...?
I've had the car apart for the last 3 weeks.
I'm 95% done on the dashboard. All switches in and wired, Racelogic controller is built into the console, All the sheet metal is either wrapped in carbon fiber vinyl or anodized black.
I have the ABS on a defeat switch, the fans on switches so I can turn them on when I want, and the ECU can turn them on still. Switches for interior lighting. USB ports, phone holder, COBB mount.

I put in some more support on my front splitter because of that one thread that said they could break at high speeds.

My rear calipers are just kissing the rotor. The Wilwood rear brake kit is a bit clunky. There is a caliper and an adapter that you bolt to your stock backing plate after you modify it. The kit comes with two sets of shims that are used to center the caliper in-and-out and up-and-down. The brake pad covers the disk completely, so you must get the caliper JUST right in order for it not to rub and still have the pad have as much contact as possible. All of the holes are a little sloppy, and not much room between rotor and caliper..

The headlights still suck. Next time I have my fenders off, I will probably install Spyder projector headlights.

I ordered a 1 1/4" hitch receiver tube that I'll be installing (maybe). I've gotten back into mountain biking and the car would look so good with a bike rack. That will also double as my rear tow point. I'm also installing a front tow point. I want to be able to pull it onto a trailer if I have problems (broken axles/transmission type stuff).

Slowly working on body alignments and gaps. I really don't want to paint it. Oh, body... I made some hood pins and plates that I'm really happy with now. The pins are hollow stainless steel with internal threads (think really light), and the plates are fancy machined aluminum then black anodized. I hated the thin chrome pieces that came with the kit.
I'm also in middle of installing fender turn signals from a 3 series BMW, and rear red led side lights from an F-350 DRW. There are currently no rear side red lights or reflectors, and from a (street) safety point of view, they are needed.

I need to get pictures...
Maybe this weekend.

From this week:
http://i963.photobucket.com/albums/ae117/matteo92065/IMG_0882_zpso1de0dgn.jpg (http://s963.photobucket.com/user/matteo92065/media/IMG_0882_zpso1de0dgn.jpg.html)

[bbjones121]

Thanks for the update. Which wire did you use on the abs to kill it? I completely agree about safety, I wanted to add some side lights also. Can't wait to see your lights turn out.

[wleehendrick]

Drove up the 101 from San Diego to Oceanside.

This picture is for you wleehendrick,
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Damn... You're second 818 to cruise through Encinitas (Erik's EVWest electric was the first)! I live here and mine's still in the garage. :(

Whenever anybody asks how my build is going, I just tell them "If you want to finish a car project, don't buy a house!" Oh well, we're almost done with renovations and my time/energy will be back in the garage soon.

[matteo92065]

Thanks for the update. Which wire did you use on the abs to kill it? I completely agree about safety, I wanted to add some side lights also. Can't wait to see your lights turn out.

I interrupted the LR #18 wire on B301. See FSM Page WI-87, ABS-01.

[matteo92065]

I was changing my rear springs out this weekend and I got distracted by the rear inner fender clearance.

Has everyone/anyone cycled the rear suspension with all of the sheet metal installed?
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I did this weekend. It hit badly. I assumed Factory Five would have designed this to fit at full bump, so I never checked, I just installed per the manual. There is no way to get the provided metal into the fender, at full bump, without major cutting. The main fender sheet metal is about 10" wide. It needed to be cut to ~8.375" at the top of the arc, and a 1" notch for the cross brace. By the time you cut down the sheet metal and tuck it up to the height it needs to be, it will be about 2" higher than was designed. The lower mounts needed to be extended after cutting them off.
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After modifications and 3 more hours of work, the rear tires no longer touch anything at full droop and compression. As a side benefit of all the work, the inner fenders can now be removed and installed in seconds with one tool. It makes access to working on stuff so much better.
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[Canadian818]

What springs are you running out back? IMO if your going that high your in need of stiffer springs.

[matteo92065]

I just installed 450 springs. The stock ones needed the collars almost all the way up to get to ride height. On big bumps the car would make an awful noise. The tires were hitting the sheet metal. I think a car should be able to use all of its travel. It's raining now, so I can't drive it. Boo

[07FIREBLADE]

450 in the front or back? I feel you about the travel I'm gonna get new springs soon or get the r shock upgrade and get new springs.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

I just installed 450 springs. The stock ones needed the collars almost all the way up to get to ride height. On big bumps the car would make an awful noise. The tires were hitting the sheet metal. I think a car should be able to use all of its travel. It's raining now, so I can't drive it. Boo

Matteo,
Thanks for the heads up on rubbing fender wells. I about to install them.
To avoid rubbing with my 255s, I'm running 5" RH with no one in the car. It drops down to 4.5" when the 2 of us are in the car.

To put my shock in the middle of it's travel I extended the top rod end 1". This has the additional effect of lowering my bump stop 1".

I'm running 600 in the back. This is working good for autocross. On the street this is pretty jarring with potholes. I intend to drop down to 450-500. I think you mad a good choice.
Thanks again,
Bob

[Bob_n_Cincy]

I just installed 450 springs. The stock ones needed the collars almost all the way up to get to ride height. On big bumps the car would make an awful noise. The tires were hitting the sheet metal. I think a car should be able to use all of its travel. It's raining now, so I can't drive it. Boo

Matteo,
Thanks for the heads up on rubbing fender wells. I about to install them.
To avoid rubbing with my 255s, I'm running 5" RH with no one in the car. I drop down to 4.5" when the 2 of us are in the car.

To put my shock in the middle of it's travel I extended the top rod end 1".

I'm running 600 in the back. This is working good for autocross. On the street this is pretty jarring with potholes. I intend to drop down to 450-500.
Thanks again,
Bob

[matteo92065]

Matteo,
Thanks for the heads up on rubbing fender wells. I about to install them.
To avoid rubbing with my 255s, I'm running 5" RH with no one in the car. It drops down to 4.5" when the 2 of us are in the car.

To put my shock in the middle of it's travel I extended the top rod end 1". This has the additional effect of lowering my bump stop 1".

I'm running 600 in the back. This is working good for autocross. On the street this is pretty jarring with potholes. I intend to drop down to 450-500. I think you mad a good choice.
Thanks again,
Bob

Thats funny! I didn't have to make the choice. I was following what you and others (I forget some of the names) are finding out and experimenting with. I just thought they were a little soft. And I always thought it was odd how the FFR manual says to put the lighter springs in the rear. But it is because of your comments I selected 450. Thanks!

[matteo92065]

The new springs and raised inner fenders were just the ticket to a quieter and more enjoyable drive. I can hit regular sized road imperfections and dips without cringing. The car feels only a little tighter/stiffer.
Followed a Cobra type car on the way to work. Is he on this forum?
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[Tamra]

How wide are your XXR's in the back? That looks tight. No rub on the fender itself though?

[flynntuna]

I didn't realize your license plate wa recessed from the rear view photos. That mesh insert is genius.

[matteo92065]

How wide are your XXR's in the back? That looks tight. No rub on the fender itself though?
The rear tires are: 235 40 R18. No rubbing with the bump-stop rubber compressed by quite a bit. I want to go a little wider next time, but as you can see, it's really tight up there. When I took that picture of the tire inside the wheel-well, I was surprised to see how well the tire was centered between the frame and fiberglass. The good thing, is that the frame and fiberglass both aggressively taper out as the tire goes down. If and when I go to 255 tires, I'll probably have to extend my bump-stops by ~.75".


I didn't realize your license plate was recessed from the rear view photos. That mesh insert is genius.
Thanks!. The licence plate frame is supposed to be an additional vent too. The entire thing is using the same ffr mesh, and the license plate is .375" off of the mesh, so air can go around it.

[Tamra]

I meant how wide are your wheels - not the tires. 18x?

[matteo92065]

oh, oops,
Rears are XXR 530 18x8.75 ET33 (I have 20mm spacer)
Fronts are XXR 530 17x8.25 ET35

The rear tires look a little narrow for the rims.

[Lumpyguy]

do you think the ET20 rims would be better? 18x 8.75 ET20? then you would only need a smaller 5mm spacer

[matteo92065]

do you think the ET20 rims would be better? 18x 8.75 ET20? then you would only need a smaller 5mm spacer

Yea, I could have gone that route. Its working out this way too.

[matteo92065]

The dashboard is done! I really like it now. It holds my phone, Accessport, has USB, etc. For the gap between the sheet metal and the plastic dashboard, I designed, then 3-D printed, a piece that has the 818 logo and backlit with red leds. Now I can see all my switches and plugs at night. The sides are wrapped with carbon fiber vinyl, and the front is anodized black. It was one of those projects that went on for months.

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[Hindsight]

Slick! Looks like you got the Race Logic traction control all hooked up. How is it working for you? I'm just about done with my wiring harness.... the only factory wires left to add are the four pink injector wires and I saved those for last since they splice into the RLTC system. That digital adjuster looks really nice.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

great job on the dash console Matteo.
I can se you put a lot of time into it.
Bob

[matteo92065]

Thanks! No unfortunately the race logic is no working yet. The system is not seeing one of the abs sensors. I've done all the simple checks; sensors are working fine. It almost seems like the bad sensor is moving around the car!? I've build an old lap top to run the race logic software under Windows XP. I will hook that up as soon as I get a gender bender. Long story.... The db9 cable ends at the most inconvenient place possible on the 818. So I ordered a DB9 extension cable but got the wrong genders. Argggg! I want to look into all modes of failure before I make the call for help over the pond.

I really need the traction control working; the temp is dropping and the colder air, tires, whatever, is causing more power in the mornings. It will now spin the tires in third gear as the turbo kicks in.

[bbjones121]

Thanks! No unfortunately the race logic is no working yet. The system is not seeing one of the abs sensors. I've done all the simple checks; sensors are working fine. It almost seems like the bad sensor is moving around the car!? I've build an old lap top to run the race logic software under Windows XP. I will hook that up as soon as I get a gender bender. Long story.... The db9 cable ends at the most inconvenient place possible on the 818. So I ordered a DB9 extension cable but got the wrong genders. Argggg! I want to look into all modes of failure before I make the call for help over the pond.

I really need the traction control working; the temp is dropping and the colder air, tires, whatever, is causing more power in the mornings. It will now spin the tires in third gear as the turbo kicks in.

Did you run shielded cable for your abs?

[Frank818]

Wow!! That's a really nice fighter jet!!

[matteo92065]

Wow!! That's a really nice fighter jet!!

I know... Right! Thanks. ;)

[matteo92065]

Did you run shielded cable for your abs?

Yes I'm using the shielded cable from race logic taping into the Subaru twisted pair wires. Abs works fine. Sensors seem to be working. I have 3/4 reading correctly to the race logic display. Just don't know what's wrong?

[svanlare]

That is a very serious looking dash! very nice job on putting it all together.

[AZPete]

Wow on the dash!Nice work.

[Hindsight]

While hooking mine up, I noticed what appeared to be an inconsistency in ABS signal wire color. From the research I did, the signal wire is always the white wire, but that's the white wire on the SENSOR side of the plug. On the ABS side of the plug, the wire colors were not always the same or even consistent (side to side, front to back) on mine. For example, one side of my car uses green and blue twisted pairs, and the other side used black and white. On the side that uses black and white wires, the signal wire color went from white to black as it passed through the ABS sensor connector in the front, and stayed white to white in the rear. Since I haven't turned mine on yet, I can't say that this is right but I'm pretty sure it is. You might check that out on yours.

[matteo92065]

While hooking mine up, I noticed what appeared to be an inconsistency in ABS signal wire color. From the research I did, the signal wire is always the white wire, but that's the white wire on the SENSOR side of the plug. On the ABS side of the plug, the wire colors were not always the same or even consistent (side to side, front to back) on mine. For example, one side of my car uses green and blue twisted pairs, and the other side used black and white. On the side that uses black and white wires, the signal wire color went from white to black as it passed through the ABS sensor connector in the front, and stayed white to white in the rear. Since I haven't turned mine on yet, I can't say that this is right but I'm pretty sure it is. You might check that out on yours.

That is a quick and easy test that I did not think of, Thanks! I'll try it this week.

[Hindsight]

Let me know if it works. You can see the wire color on the ABS side of the sensor just on the other side of the plug before it goes into the wire loom. It really made me scratch my head when I saw it.

[matteo92065]

I did this on Sunday morning: http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?19358-San-Diego-Cars-and-Coffee

It was nice meeting a couple of car fellas.

On the way back I took a quick and dirty video of the dual temp intercooler gauge. Green needle is post IC, Red is pre IC. Engine was fully warm, pull was from 0 to ~80mph, up hill.


https://youtu.be/DkB9QnhzHTE

[bbjones121]

The dashboard is done! I really like it now. It holds my phone, Accessport, has USB, etc. For the gap between the sheet metal and the plastic dashboard, I designed, then 3-D printed, a piece that has the 818 logo and backlit with red leds. Now I can see all my switches and plugs at night. The sides are wrapped with carbon fiber vinyl, and the front is anodized black. It was one of those projects that went on for months.

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Looks great!

[Mechie3]

Nice video. The green needle hardly moved.

[matteo92065]

And now it rained on my car! I always check the weather before I drive the 818 into work, and it was not going to rain!
The cover worked great. Car was dry inside.

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[bbjones121]

And now it rained on my car! I always check the weather before I drive the 818 into work, and it was not going to rain!
The cover worked great. Car was dry inside.

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I need one. Where did you get it?

[Frank818]

Then if it wasn't supposed to rain, how come you put the rain coat on it anyway? :)

[Ray]

Then if it wasn't supposed to rain, how come you put the rain coat on it anyway? :)

See all those trees?

Packed full of crows off and on during the day.

Ray

[matteo92065]

See all those trees?

Packed full of crows off and on during the day.

Ray

LOL,
It's not a rain coat, it's strictly to protect the interior from the sun, falling stuff and help keep people honest. But it did keep the car dry.

I'll get the name and link of cover tomorrow

[STiPWRD]

I'll get the name and link of cover tomorrow
One of these perhaps?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001S2XOB6/

[matteo92065]

One of these perhaps?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001S2XOB6/

Yes, that is it. thanks.
I tried ordering from Amazon and they were out of stock. I ordered direct, and actually got a call back asking "Its going on what?". I explained a little about the 818.

It could fit a little better on the 818, but I'm very impressed after yesterdays wind and rain. It stayed on and kept everything dry.

[bbjones121]

It isn't the one for the mr2?

[matteo92065]

It isn't the one for the mr2?

I'm pretty sure I got size "C14" to fit Porsche Boxster as seen here, http://www.capoptop.com/size.htm

[matteo92065]

The Hard way car is getting a body now.

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[Tamra]

Whoa! Neat!

[Hindsight]

Wow! Are you rolling all that on an English wheel?

[Mechie3]

Finally I see pics of what you told me about almost a year ago! Are those BRZ headlights?

That looks sweet!

[matteo92065]

Yes, English wheel and lots of other sheet-metal tools.
The entire body will be hand formed aluminum.
Yes, BRZ headlights.

I don't have a thing to do with the body. I'll be watching it just like all of you. :)

[Kurk818]

Do you have a rendering of the final goal? Id love to see the what you had in mind for the rear end.

[Mechie3]

Note to self: If you ever move to SD try and get a job working for Victor.

[bbjones121]

I want to see inside of hard way. I liked what you were doing with it.

[Frank818]

That's an 818? :) A "hard" one I guess. :)

Note to Craig: if you ever move out of IN, you won't be able to register your car before you finish building it and you will have to comply to regulations. lolll

[matteo92065]

Part of building a car is testing it.
I went for a long hard drive yesterday. It was awesome!

https://youtu.be/WHqoVPTuNQ8

[Tamra]

Beautiful drive!

[Canadian818]

Great video

[Hindsight]

Very nice! I miss California for the epic drives (and the weather that enables those drives).

[Aero STI]

Matt, great video. The different views, including the suspension at work, are awesome. Nice job!

[svanlare]

Thanks for the video, very nice. Do you have any more photos of the interior? I'm beginning to think about ideas, and I like the red glow on under the shifter.

[STiPWRD]

I love the video! The exhaust sounds great btw

[Frank818]

Man man man, sceneries everywhere! You and Chad, awesome places. I envy you.

You call that a long drive? 2mins19s? loll Joking. I took a longer look at your inside rear camera to verify the angle and installation I did for my oil cooler, tnx for that!

Besides, your engine sound doesn't sound like the others I've heard. Really smooth yet quiet or so, I love it!

[wleehendrick]

Part of building a car is testing it.
I went for a long hard drive yesterday. It was awesome!

https://youtu.be/WHqoVPTuNQ8

818 on Palomar... nice! I've driven/ridden up/down both grades and the video really does not do the road justice.

For those unfamiliar, this is Palomar Mountain South Grade Road, San Diego's own mini Stelvio Pass:

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=47958&d=1448386547

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[07FIREBLADE]

My 818, isn't up for that drive yet, need to tweak the suspension a bit more. But that road looks like a lot of fun might just have to ride that this weekend instead of GMR

[matteo92065]

Worked on the 818 a little this weekend.
Finally put on the EBC with Cobb stage 2 flash. Wow! What a difference. The weird high rpm off throttle surge is now gone. Turbo kicks in earlier and harder.
I'm ready for autocross now!

Some 818 porn from this weekend. Taken with new toy.

https://youtu.be/BU4vy9z5pPQ

...patiently waiting for new nose to be shipped....

[Hindsight]

Looks fantastic! Love the drone footage.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Great Video

[Mechie3]

I liked when you flew almost into the cabin.

[AZPete]

Oh no. Watching that video has probably cost me the price of a drone.

[Aero STI]

Awesome video. I love high quality aerial video footage.

Be extra careful with your autonomous flight. I had around $1,800 wrapped up in this one. My "neighbor" (half a mile away) found it after 6 weeks outdoors and returned it to me after watching the go pro footage. The only thing that was bad was the battery.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnQ6zgr6BuE

[Scargo]

Back to the car... Can't remember your whole engine setup but a tuner can do far better than the Cobb canned tune. I increased my MPG by four and had more power after a pro got through with it. It was still a semi-conservative track tune (http://www.efilogics.com/dyno/graph.php?gb=0&hp=1&torque=1&boost=1&rpm=1&sl=1&sln=1&sat=0&cb=0&dgr=1&smm=0&sg=1&runid1=1590&rgb1=000000255). It is an EJ257, but I went up 30 WHP and 49 FPT from the baseline Cobb tune and only increased boost by .3.

[matteo92065]

Back to the car... Can't remember your whole engine setup but a tuner can do far better than the Cobb canned tune. I increased my MPG by four and had more power after a pro got through with it. It was still a semi-conservative track tune (http://www.efilogics.com/dyno/graph.php?gb=0&hp=1&torque=1&boost=1&rpm=1&sl=1&sln=1&sat=0&cb=0&dgr=1&smm=0&sg=1&runid1=1590&rgb1=000000255). It is an EJ257, but I went up 30 WHP and 49 FPT from the baseline Cobb tune and only increased boost by .3.

Yeah, I know I need to take it to a dyno/tuner shop. I have asked every (Subi) person, that I run into, where to take my car (local to San Diego). I have not gotten a consistent or positive response to this question. Many people have taken their car all the way to LA (2 hour drive one way). So it becomes a minimum 1 full day off of work, but because of your comment about Cobb tunes, I'm more likely to take a day off. I didn't know how much power is safely & easily available.
That said, I would be very frustrated if I made an appointment at a dyno, took the day off, had them run the car, then tell me I need to replace xxx (say for instance bigger injectors), and come back to do it all again to get an easy/cheap extra 30hp.

Right now I have a 2006 WRX (all stock minus smog stuff) in it. I'm slowly building an '09 STI long block (converted to AVCS from DAVCS), with a Dominator 1.5x turbo and ????. I will for sure get that professionally tuned when and if I finish it. But then I will be very concerned about breaking axles/transmission.

For the immediate future, I am really happy with where it is at. The car felt really fast before, and now it feels even faster, with power that is more controllable.

[STiPWRD]

Conversely, you could tune the car yourself. Just throwing it out there, I know it's not for everyone. There are lots of good resources out there, it just takes research, practice and data logging. For instance, you could data log your injector duty cycle to see if they're close to maxing out - that will tell you if you need bigger injectors. Granted, you will be road tuning so you won't have actual dyno hp numbers but you may be surprised in the improvements to be had in fine tuning your boost and AFR curves, which you can measure without a dyno. Engine tuning seemed daunting to me at first but after a few years of reading and tinkering with the ECU, it seems much less of a challenge.

Also, some car clubs will rent out a dyno for the day. This can be a cheap way to dyno your car ($50) as opposed to having an expert necessarily dyno tune it ($500).

[matteo92065]

Conversely, you could tune the car yourself. Just throwing it out there, I know it's not for everyone. There are lots of good resources out there, it just takes research, practice and data logging. For instance, you could data log your injector duty cycle to see if they're close to maxing out - that will tell you if you need bigger injectors. Granted, you will be road tuning so you won't have actual dyno hp numbers but you may be surprised in the improvements to be had in fine tuning your boost and AFR curves, which you can measure without a dyno. Engine tuning seemed daunting to me at first but after a few years of reading and tinkering with the ECU, it seems much less of a challenge.

Also, some car clubs will rent out a dyno for the day. This can be a cheap way to dyno your car ($50) as opposed to having an expert necessarily dyno tune it ($500).

Thanks for the words of DIY encouragement. I was motivated today, so I emailed a local dyno shop for a quote and asked for recommendations based on my current car. They replied back with its close to ideal right now (leave it), and if I did want to add to it, I should look at their Flex Fuel kit, larger injectors, and corresponding tune". The Flex Fuel kit does look enticing. I will be missing out on E85 most of the time, as its not available near me and my tank is small (~12 gallons). http://www.delicioustuning.com/flexfuelcobb
Pump gas dyno tune runs $775 for 3-4 hours.

I'll look into tuning it myself, if nothing else, just to learn the process, and to be an educated consumer when I do bring it in.

[07FIREBLADE]

I would plan on taking a full day off or dropping the car off so the shop can work on it without being rushed. I'm fortunate enough to live just down the street from Cobb Fountain Valley. They took 1.5 days to get mine completely tuned and worked out. They had a few issues to work through but got it all done and Im very happy with the power levels its producing. To be honest after driving it for awhile I've considered turning the boost down a bit. I wish I got the racelogic traction control while it was still available.

[wleehendrick]

Yeah, I know I need to take it to a dyno/tuner shop. I have asked every (Subi) person, that I run into, where to take my car (local to San Diego). I have not gotten a consistent or positive response to this question. Many people have taken their car all the way to LA (2 hour drive one way). So it becomes a minimum 1 full day off of work, but because of your comment about Cobb tunes, I'm more likely to take a day off. I didn't know how much power is safely & easily available.

I've got pretty much the same set up as you (emissions stripped 2006 WRX with EBC) and plan to run the COBB OTS to start with; I'd be interested in your experience with local tuners. Crawford Performance is Oceanside. I've never been there, but a possibility I was considering when ready as they're close to me and big in the Subie World.

Also, has anyone ever used a remote (e-tune) service like this?

http://www.iaperformance.com/product_info.php?products_id=2997

[flynntuna]

There is a shop down the hill from you in Santee that does tune Subies. I don't have any personal knowledge of their work so I'm hesitant to recommend it. There is a family owned shop in Kerney Mesa that I can recommend but I don't know if they do subies. They're mostly Ford guys ( that's what they race) but they tune a lot of aftermarket CPUs megasquirt ect. Worth a call anyway.

http://jbaspeedshop.com/p-30874-custom-dyno-tuning.html

http://cccmotorsports.com/upgrade-services/

[matteo92065]

Aside from tuning the Engine, I've been working on my Gauge Cluster. I started with an Impreza dash that was fairly scratched and the lights behind the LCD displays would not light up. I've gone through the wire harness thinking that I cut a wire that I shouldn't have, but I seem to have power where I should. So I bought a WRX cluster off of ebay, and put it in last weekend. I had that damn dashboard in and out 5 times taking care of a whole bunch of little odds and ends. I really like how everything turned out, especially that big centered tachometer! But.... Now none of my gauges light up!? WTF?
Last night I did a lot of troubleshooting, on my old cluster, and finally came to discover that many of the bulbs themselves were blown out. ARGGG! Dash has to come back out (assuming new dash has bad bulbs).
Maybe I'll take this opportunity to put in LED bulbs, maybe change them to red, that would be cool.

10 minutes later on Google I find this! -> http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1124644
It was exactly what I was looking for. AND look at WHO wrote it, and look at WHEN it was written. Mechie3, in 2006! Thanks Craig

I did not read through all 472 posts (last post being only a month old)

I will probably experiment with my old cluster using LED strip lights.
It never ceases to amaze me how everything on this car ends up taking hours longer than I think it should.

Craig, are you still using your original cluster w/mods?

[David Hodgkins]

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=47560&d=1447348163


This is AMAZING! One of my bucket list items is to learn how to shape metal. I'd like to do an aluminum cobra body some day and maybe even an original design. You are hitting this one out of the ballpark! Do you have a rendering you are working against?

:)

[Scargo]

... Also, has anyone ever used a remote (e-tune) service like this?

http://www.iaperformance.com/product_info.php?products_id=2997
I would not hesitate to use them or another similar Cobb franchised (I'm assuming) service. I don't know how many shops can technically (and legally) do tuning with an Accessport and be able to unlock it. I have had "starter" program files sent to me to load, so I could get to the shop for a dyno-tune without risk of damage to the engine, so there is no reason they can't do it remotely, as stated. There might be some nuances that might be missed if you don't take it somewhere. A good shop, a good tuner and his band of merry men poking their heads under your hood can be worth a lot. Sometimes, you have small vacuum or boost leaks or what you are using or how it's hooked up is not optimal.
That being said, once you've been there, done that at $300-400 a pop you start thinking about managing it yourself with open-source programs. A number of internet "E-tuners" (http://www.5250performance.com/blog/e-tuning-for-increasing-your-cars-performance-potential-tuner-tech) have been around for a while. Perhaps a half-dozen or so scattered about the US. I may have a short list I could share.
Try these links for further education:
http://igotasti.com/vBforum/showthread.php/7211-Cobb-Accessport-%28-%29-VS-Open-Source-Tuning

OPENSOURCE TUNING: Your questions answered here!!! RomRaider + Tactrix (http://www.clubwrx.net/forums/tuning-electronic-engine-management/134322320-opensource-tuning-your-questions-answered-here-romraider-tactrix.html#post2538914)

[matteo92065]

Been logging lots of miles with the 818s.
The Hard-way is is also coming along.
6076660767607686076960770

[turbomacncheese]

I used to do that in my WRX. It was modified enough that things sometimes went wrong. It was hilarious to watch me pull over, hop out, and in 5 minutes be back in the car speeding away.

I was on my way to the junkyard once in my turbo dodge to get a bolt for my steering knuckle. Hit a bump and it came loose, pulling the axle straight out of the trans, wheel flopping forward and away from the car. Cop pulled up behind me as I'm jacking up my car. "Want me to call a tow truck, son?" "No thanks, officer, I got this" lol. Finished the drive and got my part.

[Mechie3]

Is the "hard one" still an 818? ;)

[matteo92065]

Is the "hard one" still an 818? ;)

Good question. Probably not.