I have an MY00 with Ninja back box and de-cat centre and HKS induction kit. Should I have a Knocklink fitted or any other precautions or is there any need?

It's always a good idea but with the same mods (different backbox) i got no activity at all on the knocklink (although it's good piece of mind).

HKS filters though have been known to run lean when fitted to a few JDM cars, plus are well known for breaking maf sensors. So how about an AFR gauge or lambda link to make sure all is well.

FYI Autometer do a really cool AFR gauge, shame i got a lambda link first.

Thanks RB5 245,
So to be sure with the current mods and potential de cat downpipe alse I should get the following,
1 Knocklink
2 If I go for the 3 Pod dislpay put in the following guages,
AFR guage, Boost guage and oil pressure guage.

Would you agree with the above or do differently?
Also what about one of them sec's monitors, do they do all of the above also or would the individual guages be better.
Thanks...

I've no experence with secs so i wouldn't know, however with individual gauges there always in the corner of your eye, so if something goes wrong you spot it straight away. Personally i'd have boost, and AFR on the a-pillar so you'll always see them. If you're keeping standard boost though i don't suppose there's any real need for that.

I don't know if it's just me, but i'm pretty paranoid about AFR and try to keep that in sight, because of my HKS filter mainly and i've already had one MAF let go.

I looked up Autometer's site and seen the guage you are on about. Its very tidy looking and would do the job fine. I was a bit worried about going with the Hks induction also. Was it a result of this that your first one went and I take it you only installed the AFR guage after the first one went.

btt

It might look cool, but IMO that gauge is nowhere near as useful as the Dawes "Subaru" one.

If nobody knows exactly what lambda values it uses to show "lean" or "rich", it's next to useless as a diagnostic aid, and can only really show whether the ECU is running closed or open loop.

The Dawes is more useful because the lambda voltage necessary to light each LED is published, and because these illumination points are sensibly chosen.

Thanks GM,
So going back to my first reply to RB5 detailing what I should get, how would you rearrange what I suggested to put into my Impreza as total feedback in the event of any possible engine trouble from the current mods or potential mods.
Thanks.

Maybe it's not perfect, but you can see straight away if the light's are red and you're on full throttle, it's bad ;)

74f, I have no doubt it was the HKS filter that caused my maf to go, yes it was before i got these things, luckily it overfuelled (not normal for it to do this, usually lean then bang :( ). Since then i've had no problems, thats a good few thousand miles now.

I think it had too much oil on it new, once that was off it was ok.

As for your question, oil pressure is nice, but i doubt it's mandatory, i think a boost gauge is nicer coz it goes up and down a lot :D plus gives you a bit of a heads up to what your turbo's doing.


If you want an indution kit how about K&N, they seem to be quite highly rated, or if you don't mind not getting a good indution noise, how about an aftermarket panel filter, they seem to be the safest option.

[Edited by RB5_245 - 11/20/2003 1:51:43 PM]

I'm in a similar position mate. I've got a de-cat zorst and am considering a K&N kit but I want monitoring equipment first so I can see what differences the mods make.

If I'm not too late I'll get a knocklink off the group buy but if I am I'll prolly get one anyway. Next up is the boost gauge in A pillar and then I'll lose the cubby hole thing (although I find it useful for wallet and specs) and have a centre pod with Oil Press, Oil Temp and AFR. All these will be autometer ultralites cos I don't think the extra 300+ for defi's is worth it IMHO. For that money I can get STI mudflaps and a 2nd hand STI 6 spoiler.

And thats me finished till I can afford more serious stuff like a RB Turbo and a posh ECU etc...

...But you can't, that's the point. Without knowing what the trigger values are, it could be displaying yellow or green (or whatever colours it displays) and in fact the car could still be running lean. Without knowing the calibration value on these gauges, they have no context.

AFR is pretty muched a fixed value for best power. Given that i'm willing to trust a company like link to have a reasonable idea of whats to lean.

This is not to be used for mapping or problem solving, but it is cerainly good enough to see, say ohh i'm running lean, then back off.

Plus from driving the car everyday you get used to the normal reading at different times, so any large variation, at whatever scale it is calibrated for should be enough to set off the alarm bells and possibly save the engine.

You can get the Autometer values, ive seen them posted on here. Its then a case of relating these to the actual lamba values, so you know where lean / rich actually is. I had one and found it useful.

MB