Big thanks to Chris and John for sorting the Kent boys RR day at PE on saturday, and big thanks to Chris and Mervyn at PE for looking after us up there. Was worring as it was my first ever RR day, so did not know what to expect.

Now onto the reason for the post.

The blackbeast got 225bhp and 214 ft\lbs torque. Not exactly storming is it? but at least I know what it's actaully putting out.

Spec, engine wise is:

MY94 WRX Wagon
BPM Twindump Downpipe
Apexi N1 center and backbox
HKS green mushroom induction kit
Forge VTA dump valve.

So, the exhaust system means it's cat free.

Now, they chaps did not say there were any problems, so I did not (foolishly!) ask any more questions.

As the only engine mods I've made are the downpipe and the dump valve (rest were on car when I got it) I'm not that unhappy as I've not spent thousands on it. Plus on the road, it's not that slow, it will keep up with other cars, as those on the run down to brighton might agree with.

However a bit more power never hurt (ok, maybe it'll hurt the pocket, but we'll ignore that! ;)). So, what to do? Bearing in mind I know that big BHP is not the true show of power, that is torque, so a nice torque increase accompanied by BHP increase is probably what I'm after

My main thought is an ECU, but what one?
Something like a PE ECU (or is it a ECUTek thing?)
an STi ECU?
Link ECU?
Motec?
Pectel?
GEMS?

Personally, I think a link would be the best option, ECU wise. I'd dearly love a Motec or Pectel, but think they will be overkill for what I want/need, because I'm not trying to break any power records.

What do you lot reckon?

What else, farily cheap could I do for more torque/bhp? Dawes is out of the question I think due to it being an early jap import. Bleed valve? or is that too crude?

Should i take the crude approach and just wind up the boost a bit? if so how?

I'm not looking to spend thousands, ideally 200 - 500 quid, maybe a bit more if a link is involved.

so, opinions please.

[Edited by Markus - 5/6/2002 1:32:09 PM]

[Edited by Markus - 5/7/2002 10:30:52 AM]

Markus, glad you got on ok with your first rr.

I will start by saying that IMHO I think that you should go for an electronic boost controller and a fuel cut defencer.

I spose now I will get showered with all the "you dont wanna do it like that, you wanna do it like this" posts. (?)

Firstly I would get a decent boost gauge and see what the car is producing...then decide what (safely) you can go up to.

Always retain the boost cut on the ecu, I have had so much fluctuation on boost, and it can only be atmospherics as all other things are constant.

When this thread gets going I am sure you will have a better idea of what you want to do.

Seems that you have the breathing mods taken care of already, check your boost and go from there.

Best o' luck, MD.

Markus,

What boost are you currenlty getting ??

If its below 0.8 then you are down on boost as the early cars only boost to that, if soo then start looking for leaks, perhaps a compete set of new hoses, sparco for example, also get out the old brake fluid & clean all the pipes out, then once back up to full power then think about up grades, it could be that small exhause you have being a bit restrictive, you want on like mine ;-)).

Whats you intercooler like ?? If all the fins are flattened that wont help, cocktail stick time get all the fins up nice & straight.

How about lagging the down pipe with some heat wrap stuff, is reported to work but keeping the heat in the pipe gaining a bit more power & also help stop heat soak in to the rest of the engine thru thinks like the induction kit.

replace the ECU from a later STi car, I think you told me STi2 or 3 will fit, that will make a difference, but make sure you ARE sul on the fuel as a minimum.

get the header ported, makes everything flow a bit better


laters

Cheers MD, was seriously worrieed about it going bang on the rollers.

Thought that EBC and FCD would be mentioned. have seen replies from people saying that a link or similar could do this type of thing as well, but I not know nuttin.

Barge,
0.9 bar, so is normal for the car. might give it a clean out though. IC could do with bit of TLC. some of the DP is lagged as well.

cheers for the answers guys.

Markus, I would think some further investigation is necessary as to why your figures as soooo low, I would expect to see around 250-260 hp from a MW94 WRX with no cats and breathing mods. My car (MY94 WRX) with straight through Scoobysport exhaust (inc. downpipe) and a Blitz induction kit, and then with a PE Phase 1 remap was producing 294 bhp and 282 lb/ft

Stuart,
think you are quite right and I think I'll drop an email to PE and ask them what they think.

have emailed PE to ask what they reckon. they did not pick up any problems, well, ok a bit of knock, but they said that was normal for an import.

Emm, seems a bit low, did think that when I saw the results but didn't want to upset you by saying "is that all" :D

Looking at the figures from the other cars, I reckon mine must be kicking around 265 with 240 torque, although to be honest I've taken off the Dawes this weekend as MD says, the boost is all over the place.
I'm planning on a Tek2 later this year :)

Good luck in your quest for a bit more oomphff :D

John

John,
thanks. Don't worry about saying "is that all" i knew I was going to have lowest power for the day, so was not that unhappy.

will keep everyone informed as to what i find out.

Stuart - Is yours a 4 door WRX? I suspect it is.
Hence you have the bigger turbo (TD05), and why your mods can get it up from 240PS to 290bhp
The 5 door that Markus (and myself) have have the smaller TD04 turbo and 220PS (217bhp) as standard

Would still have expected Markus's mods to add about 20+ bhp, taking it up to about 237+

I have a 5dr 94 (uk) and I have a TD05H on mine were they different on the WRX?

David

Markus, I know what you mean re "go bang on the rollers"...but weve done that before havnt we.

Clean the pipes...yeah ok, but if its making 0.9 then it sounds like its working (?)

Go for the EBC and FCD, £500 ish...up the boost to around 1.1 to 1.2 and go back to PE on the next RR day, that way you can check the fuelling, det etc.

You should also be running at least SUL.

Good luck old chap.

PS. Hello Mega_John, long time...hope all is well on the expected Mini_Stream front, and yes that is a horrid spoiler you have, send it down to me and I will dispose of it for you :)

Cheers all, MD.

I think Markus has a TD05 turbo. I also think that the WRX wagons and WRX 4doors of that year have a different ECU. I stand to be corrected but MY94 WRXs are 240 PS on 100ron, the wagons 220PS?

Markus, you said that you run on Optimax but I bet you ran on lesser spec fuel in the past. Have you done a reset? If you havent then you will find more power that way. Oh and do a proper reset, none of the disconnect the battery stuff:).

Don't discount the Dawes route, as long as you keep your fuel cut its better than a bleed valve.

You said they detected slight knock, it shouldn't knock at all. This suggests its running lean at WOT which is surprising (as Merv would have mentioned it) or the knock sensor isn't retarding ignition enough, is that faulty? Is the engine getting enough fuel? Maybe check fuel filter, pump, injecters etc. Maybe the Lambda sensor is old and reading lean - was the select monitor used on the run? was CO levels checked?

If you are running Optimax and have reset the ECU, the car should run well inbetween the min and max ignition settings for optimum advance. Maybe get some octane booster to make sure. how long had you been running Optimax? A few people have mentioned that it takes a few tankfuls to see the benefit, I'm not sure about that :).

Some food for thought :)

Also, ECU wise if the MY94 and MY95 WRX ECUs are compatable then a 4door MY95 WRX ECU will give you a start point of 260PS on 100ron.

Justin

Thanks for the info chaps.

have done the 'connect the wires' ECU reset, and have been running on optimax for quite some time, at least 4 months (ever since downpipe went on, which was before xmas)

I could be wrong about the knock thing, my brain it no work so well.

the ECU from a foor door sounds cool.

I am getting some OB to try out, so we'll see what difference that makes.

Having a TD04 turbo isn't a big limitation (unless you want huge power!!! ;) )

I've seen a few cars MY97/98/99/00 UK cars with the standard TD04 turbo making 270-280bhp! ;)

.

[Edited by Markus - 5/7/2002 3:17:06 PM]