STE.W.

Hi, I have the following mods to my94 Legacy T.
Full de-cat S/Sport system inc d-pipe, Dawes holding 14psi, Bailey vta, ITG panel filter.
I have just fitted an A/F meter from Jamie and have an Autometer boost gauge which undereads by 1psi.

Question 1: In 4th and 5th I have got the Dawes holding 14 - 14.5psi any more and I'm into "the fuel cut zone" - I don't like it their- its scary! The A/F meter is showing "blue" which is running rich. I can't get it to run any leaner because of the fuel cut. Should I leave it alone and be happy or should I up the fuel cut in some way?

Question 2: To reach the batery terminal with the earth wire from the A/F meter, I extended the wire with a heavier cable than the original. Will this cause any problems with inacurate readings, ie the blue light for rich fueling is showing @ wot in all gears? (All connections were soldered.)

Question 3: The car has 98 thou on the clock and the history is a bit vague to say the least! Would you say I've reached the limits of what I should do or can I go a bit further with PSI? I can't spend much more money - er in doors is keeping a close watch on me dosh.

Final Question! I have started to get noisy tappets when cold but are now starting to get noisy through out the journey. I have used Wynns Oil Flush in the hope that this may clean out the lifters etc. It might have made the smallest of differences but the miracle did'nt happen. Any other ways to solve this without spending bib wads of wonga?

It's starting to sound too much like a diesel for my liking!! Apparantly Subaru changed from H.L.A's to solids on the Impreza because of problems like this - just my look!

Sorry it's a bit long winded. If you can answer any of the above with out torturing a newbie for asking such dumbassed questions, that would be great.

Thanx in advance.

STE.W.

STE.W.

b.t.t.t.

Turbo_Steve

Your thicker wire should cause no problems. Only a thinner wire could potentially cause problems.

Scooby's run rich. Period. Especially the older ones.
If you want a more effecient burn, you are going to have to change the fuel map. Best people to ask about that would be John Banks (fuel map tweaker extrordinaire) OR hassle David_Wallis / Pavlo about their ScoobyECU project. Which is probably your best bet.

I dunno about the oil: sorry.
I spoke to my local dealer about tuning my car (the mechanics are very friendly) and he said "Nah, these *******s go on for ages if you keep an eye on them".

Read into that what you will, but my experience of Japanese engines is that they will take an inordinate amount of punishment.

Katana has an import(i think) 94WRX which has an almost identical engine block to the legacy, and he is running 'silly boost' without any reliability problems.

The weakest part of the legacy's (and scoobies in general) seems to be the gearbox. Which is scary cos they are expensive when they go.


I would suggest you have a chat to scoobysport or MRT or power engineering or someone, as these companies will give you good (but different) advice: something to think about.

Steve


[Edited by Turbo_Steve - 10/21/2002 4:17:10 PM]

ustolemyname??stevieturbo

iTrader: (1)

Try a different oil, it may quiete the lifters. Mobil 1 motorsport 15/50, or Motul 300V 15/50. I dont like flushing agents., They can dislodge dirt deposits, and then get them stuck somewhere even worse.
It may not however, but it is worth a try.
Impreza can use either solid, or hydraulic, depending on model year, but the heads on an impreza are completely different in valvetrain design, and are much much better than legacys.
As for boost, others here have tried more than 15psi, and removed the fuel cut to alow this. Without taking other precautions, I wouldnt try too much further as you do risk engine damage, which can prove costly. As for the milage....nothing to worry about, they do last very well. Its usually the driver and the mods that cause wrecked engines, especially when they get greedy and try to run too much boost


[Edited by ustolemyname??stevieturbo - 10/21/2002 5:05:03 PM]

STE.W.

Thanks for your replies lads.

Anyone else out there gonna chip in?

As much help as possible please.

I'm off home in 15 mins so I'll look forward to reading the input tomorra.

CHEERS.

STE.W.

stockcar

we stock a range of suitable oils, etc. and we're just up the road from you nr ch-le-st. give me a mail / ring 0191-4103770 for more specific advice
alyn - as performance

flat4

mine's fairly similar spec to yours and it's just about run-in at 148,000 gearbox went as mentioned above but apart from that it runs fine, and i've never had noisey tappets <touches wood>

oh, and fuel cut is fun trying to get around, isn't it ustolemyna....., might try the ECU method next


kev

wrxlegacy

Hi
Also running a legacy turbo had covered 160'000 miles also had noisey tappets stripped the heads once cleaned & replaced the tappets but only lasted a few months. The problem is the actual oil gallery's that block up. Two options either change the heads for about £300 a pair or do what i did & fitted a wrx engine currently running at 250bhp just with a front de-cat pipe. Runs fine on standard ecu.

john banks

Don't try and lean it out by just increasing the boost until the injectors/fuel pump can't cope. It is unpredictable and unsafe. Stick to less than 85% injector duty cycle. Suggest a Knocklink to check for det.

An HKS AFR could lean it out but is a bit brutal as it does it across the range and you'll lose torque during spool up and also end up running more advance which may be a bad thing if you are pushing the boost up and leaning it out. Doesn't take big changes in all three parameters together to go from good power/torque and no det to det and losing performance.

If you find detonation, then adjust the breathing, fuelling, boost or timing in some way to neutralise it in the worst situation you can provoke it in and then give yourself a bit more for safety.

Turbo_Steve

Thanks John. I knew you'd have a far more technical (and accurate) answer!

Is it me, or does owning a legacy and being called Steve seem to be a pattern.......StevieTurbo? Turbo_Steve? Ste.W?

Gearbox Rebuild = around £500 next month...unless anyone can suggest anything better?

Edited to add.....
BTW...the best mod I have made is sticking some 94WRX wheels on it and WRX Brake Calipers and discs. The better wheels and brakes improve the car so much you won't believe it.

[Edited by Turbo_Steve - 10/21/2002 10:01:33 PM]

ustolemyname??stevieturbo

iTrader: (1)

Legacy turbos have the same brakes as a wrx anyway, so why did you change???? and the rears have vented discs, so are in fact better than any early wrx.
Putting 16" wheels from an impreza does make a massive difference to the handling, and is a very worthwhile mod, as are replacing the front seats with impreza types.
The std 15" tyres are way too wobbly

UkLegacyT

turbo_steve, my name is ian :P

Turbo_Steve

DAMN There goes my Steve Theory. Any chance you could change your name, ian? lol


As for the brakes.. I only changed the fronts...the rears are perfectly adequate as standard.

I found the standard front brakes (single pot calipers) to be rather limp after they heated up. Then the caliper rubbers went while changing the brake pads (I didn't tear them! I didn't! Honest! Just don't tell the missus it was my fault. Please? ) and a friend sourced me these lovely big looking discs and twin pot calipers with SUBARU written on them. They fit much better inside the wheels and suffer from much much less fade. And if I brake hard I get dangerously close to the windscreen
I thought they were off a WRX. They look the same as the ones P20SPD just took off. (See http://www.scoobynet.co.uk/bbs/thread.asp?ThreadID=131601&Page=7)

flat4

that'll be four pots then


kev (not steve)

wrxlegacy

HI Steve
When my tappets got noisy the knock sensor was also picking up the knock & retarding the timing.

cheers
Lee

STE.W.

Morning everyone. Thanks for the info received - so far -keep it coming!

John Banks / everyone
Do you think the mods I have done are safe if I leave them as they are or have I overstepped the mark a bit??
Your information is far too technical for me. My status should read "numptie" not newbie! Please could someone talk to me in lamens terms so the Northern monkey can understand!!

wrxlegacy, do you mean because the knock sensor was picking up the tappet noise it was retarding - I think thats what you mean?

Do you think changing the heads for Impreza ones is the way to go or is there an oil that works in cleaning and quitening the lifters down. I'm pricing up Mobil motorsport 15/50 at the moment.

How much did it cost for the wrx engine swap then?

Turbo-Steve, I thought about the "Ste(ve)(phen)(vie) theory too but didnt dare mention it incase my newbie status would upset the locals! Tryin to make a good impression an all that!!

I too have 16" Impreza 5 spokes fitted but the brakes are nearly new standard Legacy T jobs. The stuff that was on the car when I bought it warped after the first energetic run overt moors! They were very thin you see. (Trying to refrain from slipping back into worky mode and blurting out a few swear words)

Also got a spare set of later 16" six spokes in gold but didnt look good on my silver car. (Estate by the way) Might flogg em or use them when the snow comes.

LASTLY!
Is everyone happy with my A/F meter showing the(blue light) rich running throughout w.o.t runs in all gears? Is this normal and am I worrying unnessarily.

I would rather take a step back in terms of performance mods than someone on here saying " That soft get newbies gonna blow his car to peices because he dosnt have a clue what hes doin!" Somethin like that anyway.

I 'm goin now to do a bit a work before I get sacked.

Once again thanx.

STE.W.

john banks

Keep it below fuel cut then and buy a knocklink.

wrxlegacy

Hi Steve
I tried different oils including mobil motorsport & stp flushing fluid but it just won't work. I changed the engine for about a £1000 this was with new cam belt oil & filter ect. fitted everything myself quite easy over a week end. If you change the heads this will probably cost about £500 after buying the new gasket sets and everything. Depends if you are going to do the work yourself or not?.

Cheers Lee

riaz_b4

STE.W.

Try the following site, my ex-legacy ran quiter after the treatment.

http://www.dae.co.uk

B4.

ustolemyname??stevieturbo

iTrader: (1)

If you do decide to change the heads for impreza items, then you must change the pistons too, otherwise it will raise the compression. On standard boost it should be fine, but if you are running higher boost, the pistons must match the heads.
It would be easier just to get a complete engine, as the turbo is better as are the heads. It also saves a lot of work stripping and rebuilding, and generally is less hassle in the long term.

Turbo_Steve

Ohhh...they're 4 pots, are they? No wonder they were so much better.

I am assuming I can just Air Filter, Exhaust and Re-Map my car (and either change boost map or stick a dawes in) and I should be looking at 250horses or so at about 15psi? Or is that deeply optimistic?

I am considering an EGT, AFR and Knocklink combo, and then just easing slowly upwards on the boost and fuelling until one of them starts to look uncomfortable. Then back off a bit.

However, rather than go to all that hassle, it would be nice if someone was aware of a tried and tested route of getting nice smooth torquey power. I would very much like to be able to surprise the heck out of my friends Fiat 20v Turbo.

At the moment the car hits the fuel cut periodically anyway (cold cold days in second gear only) so I might as well get tuning.

Advice anyone?

Advice anyone?

UkLegacyT

as stevie has mentioned, you should really be careful with the boost on these engines.
i ran 1.5bar for about 6 months with exhaust and filter, had no probs whatsoever. trouble is, i was using a bleed valve and got greedy, gradually upping the boost to circa 1.8bar, but as the bleed valve is a poor way of controoling boost, i was getting spikes to 2bar
was fine for 2months, then 2 pistons went, one detted the ring lands away completely, and the other cracked.

although i done all the rebuild/mod work myself saving a considerable amount, the parts for these engines are not the cheapest, so be warned...

ian

flat4

i got 260bhp last month running 14.5psi, and that's on a low power rolling road nothing major done to the car either


kev

STE.W.

Morning people.

Thanks yet again.

UKLegacy - what safe guards did you have in place at 1.5bar?!!
Do you think I am safe with my set up or should I really be looking at knock and egt sensors?

If anything dodgy happens to the engine, I will probably follow the example set by wrxlegacy and go for a replacement engine complete.

Will my engine be ok running with diesely sounding tappets or will it knacka it up if I keep it running and put up with the noise for a while?
I don't think my 18 mth old son will want a wrx engine swap off santa if you know what I mean!

Flat 4 if you were getting 260 @14.5 psi what do you think my mods will have given - with the rattly tappets or without. (wrx mentioned knock from the tappets retarding the timing.)

Turbo-Steve I agree. It would be nice for a well proven and safe way of getting the best power from the legacy posted on here so we can all have a go or in my case breath a sigh of relief!

Knowledge is power after all!

STE.W.

UkLegacyT

i think your boost level is fine that you are running now, and 'shouldnt' cause any problems.
as for the tappets, dont think they should cause any problems either, just get on your nerves. i still use the legacy heads, but they are as quiet as impreza ones strangely enough ...they are deffo legacy ones as i had the engine in bits, tappets are old design now

ian

STE.W.

UKLegacyT.

Did you rebuild the Legacy heads or are you lucky and they are simply quiet compared to mine?

If you did rebuild, what parts did you need and what was the approx costs to do this?

Between myself and the bro -in - law we should be able to tackle this job.

Would I be best going to sub technical for the technical layout of the heads to see what is required or can you point me in the wright direction??

I am going to give a 15/50 oil grade a go on the off chance someone up there is looking after me today!

All the best.

STE.W.

David_Wallis

Nearly missed that one... nah I think you might find I took it off.. (think steven removed other side though!)

David

UkLegacyT

ste,
i rebuilt the engine when it knackered. at the same time, i stripped the heads down as i ported them.
the tappets were occasionally noisy when i first got the car, but over a few months and a few oil changes, they were virtually silent.

however, since stripping the heads and draining the tappets, they are completely silent.

i use shell helix 10W 40 oil, a semi-synthetic.

ian

STE.W.

Ian now mate, I have just changed the oil on Saturday to Helix 10w40. I had been using Millers fully synth 10w60 but had this stuff in the garage doin nowt and thought it was worth a go. (Brand new of course.)

If I was to strip the heads off and clean everything out and then re-fit that might just do it?

This could also be an opportunity to get the heads ported and pollished. Me next door neighbour is a self employed racing bike engine builder - Bonus or what!

I'm gonna give an 15/50 oil change a go and see whether it helps or not.

At least the 309gti will get some good second hand oil when I drop the helix out for the 15/50.

Gotta go - boss ont phone.

Ste.

UkLegacyT

it may just do the trick yes, as it is a chance to get rid of any crap that has settled inside the lifters.... obviously cant guarantee it will work, but if you have the time, worth a shot.

re the head mods. although the exhaust ports are restrictive, im not sure you will see any benefits whilst using reasonably low boost, unless you are planning high boost and further future mods etc.

ian