Hello,

After reading a dozen or so posts on the topic from various forums and finding myself completely lost, I have decided to make an account here and ask for help.

I have a 1995 JDM WRX with the EJ20G, and I'm super interested in getting something like the Cobb access port so I can make changes to my car without blowing up my engine between upgrades.

Sadly, however, my little wagon uses a goddamn OBD1 port instead of an OBD2. It also appears that the older ECUs kind of suck, with no real ability to modify/monitor things the way an OBD2 can.

As such, I am looking for an aftermarket or later OEM computer that I can wire in without any unwanted knock.


The goals for this car are to keep it pretty close to stock so I don't bankrupt myself with these horrible Canadian gas prices ($1.45/L for 91 octane at the moment).

This means I want to be able to swap my maps "on the fly" before leaving the garage. In a perfect world, I'm not only able to add a little extra *oomf* to the engine, but also able to *REDUCE* power in the name of fuel economy since this is my daily driver. I am bone stock at the moment, aside from some pretty sweet tommykaira body pieces the car was imported with. The parts I plan on adding are:

• An intake, probably from K&N unless there's something better for cheaper
  
• High flow cats or cat delete, since there is no requirement for them where I live
  
• Heat shielding
  
• Front-mounted intercooler
  
• A downpipe
  

Since products like the Cobb Accessport work on 02+ ECUs, would I be able to swap out for something like a 2.5XT Forester ECU or am I limited to aftermarket options? If I do go aftermarket, what brand will work? I'm fine using a laptop software program if I can just get the damn computer unlocked. From what I've read, these old ECUs are locked up tighter than a nun's thighs and I'm starting to feel like I'm SOL. Something that's easier to install would be nice too, since I'm a lazy *******.


Thanks for the recommendations. Cheers.

 

Swapping to a newer ecu be a nightmare task, look into an ESL board for your stock ecu and you can live tune it on the fly plus have 2 maps saved with easy switching between them.

 

Yeah, the less work I have to do the better. I was thinking about using an AEM EMS-4 if all else fails but I will try your suggestion first. I'm not looking to do anything monstrous, so this should be plenty for me. There appears to be a distributor 2.5 hours away from me so I will give it a try. Thanks!