ESL

Is that you Phil?

scoobie-shieldy

yup its me andy:P

speedy steve

Hi guys ( & girls if theres any present ) just thought I'd give a wee ( scots for small/short ! ) update on my experience with the ESL daughterboard.

1st off Andy, excellent guy to deal with, definately knows what he's talking about & very helpfull, can't fault the service at all, rapid responces to E-mails & the fastest postage I have ever experienced from southern England to Aberdeen ( ESL must have a special deal with the postal service !! )

The actual install, which I did myself is not difficult at all, I'm definately a complete amature solderer & have big chunky labourers hands which are useless for delicate work ( much better with a sledge hammer ! ) despite this I was able to follow the provided instructions with no problems, I did however have to borrow a maginifying glass & a pointed nib soldering iron to do the job accurately enough, it took me around 1.5hrs start to finish ( including ecu extraction & reinstall to car ) & I was taking my time to make sure I didnt mess it up. I would say to any DIY types out there don't be scared of the self install its a piece of cake.

I've only done around 80miles since install & the following are my 1st impressions :-

Most prominent & immediately noticable thing is the engines running far smother at all rev ranges including tickover & a few of the odd harmonic tye vibrations ( engine/exhaust related )I used to have are gone !

Boost is definately working better than it was, both progresively at low revs & riseing smothly till around .95bar dropping to maintainable ,9bar ( going pretty quick by then though ! ) definately a significant improvement, will update yah all as I put more miles on it, needless to say I'm very happy with the improvements.

In summary, Andy a great guy selling a quality product, if you want to improve the performance of your pre96 scooby making it faster, smoother & possibly more efficient on the gas ( cant confirm this though )then what are you waiting for ???

In truth, its possible to get a similar boost increase with a basic dawse type device or similar ( which I've used on many cars in the past ) for somewhere around the same or less money but will it improve performance across rev range (no) & is it safe ( sometimes but not always ! ) driving with this ESL chip fills me with confidence instead of a dawse type device which leaves me worrying whether the engine/turbo's about to go "pop" .

the FREE !! mapping software buy the way is pretty interesting ( if your into that kinda thing which if your reading this you may be ) but In my opinion its probably not a good idea to start messing about with your own cars map unless you either know what your doing or get lots of advise !!

best regards & thanks again to Andy at ESL & all who got involved in the GB.

Speedy Steve

ESL

Hi Phil, mighty impressive car you have there, wants for nothing, one of the easier jobs I've had! Looking forward to seeing it on tv, can you let me know when if you find out?

Glad your install went smoothly Steve, just in case people are wondering why its boosting to 0.95 bar, its because its a td04 auto, and its a struggle to get much more out of them. The td05 equipped cars will make 1.1bar. As he says, the freely available mapping software is good for those who want an insight into the mapping process.

On a safety note, be careful when using a Japanese map and a manual boost controller. The boost cut limits are reasonably low, but the ignition maps carry alot of advance, and some engines will det at higher boost levels which could lead to failure. Use of a knocklink or detalarm is strongly advised in conjunction with an mbc as is the best available fuel and some OB.

Best Regards

Andy
ESL

stew911

i've just purchased one of these of ebay, arrived this morning and was wandering what bonus's/cpmplications had with it?

orbix

I had mine installed yesterday, at the same time decatting my exhaust.
So far I have noticed among other things she is running a whole lot better, she use to be a little rough when cold.
She pulls a lot harder in fact i'm now thinking "how hard would she pull if i had a td05" but i'll wait a few more months yet.
Oh one more thing on the end of my decat exhuast I have a 6x4 oval pipe if anyone else is considering this type of backbox and owns a wagon you may need to keep a pair of ear protectors in the car. This will be changed when i upgrade to a td05 if nor sooner.
Oh lastly many thanks to Speedy Steve for orangising this GB.

stew911

may i ask where you got it fitted? cambridge is a bit too far for us to get to, and there is nowhere near us in bromsgrove that does it!

ESL

Is it a Magnex 6x4 Orbix? Mine is fairly silent but I have got the resonated centre pipe.

When you get the TD05 its only £50 for a remap, I'll send you some more chips to plug into the board with the correct boost control. It will pull a fair bit harder.

I posted on another thread Stew, but I can do an exchange ECU service if the car cant be off the road for a couple of days, mail me if required.

stew911

thanks andy will contact you at a later date concerning this!

ESL

No probs stew lets get that board in the car and running.

orbix

Yes it's a Magnex 6x4 and I also have a resonated centre. Between 2000-3000 revs it's louder than the stereo. I'm thinking of recording the sound inside the cabin and posting to see if it's normal.
I admit everything about the stereo system needs upgrading.
I got a mate at work that chips xbox's to do it for me, stew.

ESL

Is it vibrating like the baffles are loose?

orbix

No I don't think so. Nothing sounds loose.
I had a local garage that knows about impreza's put my exhaust on. I hope that if anything was wrong they would have mentioned it

orbix

Andy do you also have chips for the IHI VF range of turbos in case I get one of these?

ESL

I don't at the moment. It can be done quite easily but would involve you bringing the car to me. I think a td05-16g would be a better bet though IMHO. (Cheap, tough, good for more boost than is probably wise :-)

stew911

just to let you know andy i've found somewhere that, hopefully, will be fitting the chip monday for us!

ESL

Good man. Make sure they have the relevant experience and dont forget to cut the J1 link as per instructions.

Andy
ESL

stew911

will keep you updated andy just in case things go **** up and i need to contact you!

stew911

see you next tuesday andy.

MMT WRX

ESL

stew911

many thanks to andy for an excellent fitting service, top bloke and thanks for making us all feel very welcome. car is running sweet and yes we are noticing the difference already.

Gttboy

Hi
been looking at getting one of these chips,i have a Z4 ecu with a Mines 300+ re-mapped main chip in it,would it be good to use this ecu to chip or i also have a U8 i could use,which one will give me the most power,or will it make no difference.Also running a TD05 & full de-cat(h&s bellmouth d/p)
Cheers
Steve

P.S. do i get my chip for £175 or did i miss the boat??

ESL

No problem Stew, thanks for driving all the way over and being a pleasure to deal with.

Steve: It wont make much difference unless the Z4 is blessed with a socket in which case the installation will be easier than the U8. I'm afraid the GB is long gone, sorry (no harm in asking though )