Trap2Terrorist

iTrader: (3)

Hi all,

I'm about to take my first steps into modification of my bugeye WRX. I was close to ordering PPP a few weeks ago but had second thoughts when it came to justifying the £1600 outlay.

I have been looking around and taking advice from people on this and the S.Wales forums and have been left in a quandry.

Do I buy?

a) PPP, keeping in mind my car is a '51 plate so I don't have a warranty to protect.

b) an ecutek remap by Powerstation in Tewkesbury, including an uprated fuel pump. I'll also get a Prodrive/H&S/Scoobysport backbox fitted.

Both options offer similar power increases but the ecutek option should leave me with a few hundred quid left in my wallet.

Ben WRX Bug-Eye

Got the same car and in the same position.

I'd definately say to go down the EcuTek road. I am sure you will end with more power than if you'd gone with PPP. It should be a lot cheaper and there are far better exhaust systems than whats included in the PPP IMHO.

Only advantage to having PPP I can see is a slightly better resale value as it is an upgrade most buyers will understand. We are only talking about a few hundreds pounds tops though.

I've already got an exhaust with partial decat and an uprated air filter so was wondering how much Powerstation are quoting you for a remap with uprated fuel pump fitted?

Cheers

Trap2Terrorist

iTrader: (3)

They quoted me

- Fuel pump @ £115.00 + VAT and £40.00 + VAT to fit.
- The ECUTEK costs £550.00 + VAT

Powerstation reckon I should get around 260 - 270 bhp with a simple ecutek and pump. I'll then sort a back box from eBay or somewhere and then a decat sometime in the future.

Have you been quoted for an ECUTEK and if so, how much?

Cheers

Trap2Terrorist

iTrader: (3)

p.s. what exhaust have you got?

Robocop

If I wasn't concerned about keeping my warranty on my MY04 STi, I would have gone down a different route than the PPP that I currently have fitted.

Since warranty is not a concern in your case, I'd be looking at Ecutek and some other subtle mods.

eddie c

hi


prev owner had my car tekecu remap. When he put it on a rolling road bhp was at 290 ono car has a few extras like de-cat and a new turbo. I think that i get more power from that than i could from ppp.Plus it runs like a dream and pulls like a train and just keeps on going.

ed

Trap2Terrorist

iTrader: (3)

Hi,

It's beginning to sound like the ecutek is the way to go. I'm looking forward to having the extra horses available, I must admit I was expecting more from a WRX than I got when I bought it. From reading posts on various forums, the bugeye is obviously underpowered compared to most (ALL) other versions.

£550 + VAT seems pretty good, TSL charge £650.

Anyone know what effect it has on fuel consumption?

eddie c

I do not use much more fuel than two of my mates who have standered scoobys.

i still get about 290 to 300 to a tank

ed

Trap2Terrorist

iTrader: (3)

What scooby are you driving, 290bhp sounds nice???

Ben WRX Bug-Eye

Thats not bad the £550.00 + VAT for the remap (some places charge £650.00 + VAT). I heard that it's recommended to get an uprated fuel pump too, but glad it looks like they are happy using the standard regulator. I expect I will be taking mine to them for identical work. They have a good reputation.

I've got an H&S de-cat centre and non-resonating centre section with a Scoobyworld Afterburner Vortex backbox. I also have a green panel filter. That lot cost about £600, added approximately 20bhp and gave it the sort of sound I wanted. I'd recommend you do the exhaust mods before the remap if possible. The map will then be tailored to the exhaust changes, releasing more power.

I am expecting around 270bhp when remapped.

Ben WRX Bug-Eye

Also don't worry too much about exact BHP figures. These vary rolling road to rolling road. It will be significantly faster on the road, delivering the same power as before a full 1,000 rpm lower in the rev range. Gone will be the lack of torque below 3,000 rpm and it won't start losing power over 6,000 rpm like before.

eddie c

first reg in 99. wrx gold alloys, tek remap, new turbo with a data monitor that i can not use. lovely car if i new how to post pics i would.

Trap2Terrorist

iTrader: (3)

I'm possibly looking at getting a Scoobysport backbox but not the full system or decat yet.

I know another forum user from S.Wales who's looking to get an ecutek remap done by Powerstation - we could try a group buy and see if we can get a discount???

Trap2Terrorist

iTrader: (3)

Register with http://photobucket.com/ (free) so you can upload pictures to there, you can then load them onto this site......

Ben WRX Bug-Eye

I don't think they will come down much on the price with just three of us to be honest. I am in no great rush to have it done so can wait a good while also. It's worth investigating to see what they can do and what could be done with more cars. I am sure there would be some interest if it were posted in the Group Buys section.

I am also going to have Eibach's fitted with full geometry at Powerstation at some point in the future. They are one of the few places I'd trust with my car.

Cheers

Trap2Terrorist

iTrader: (3)

That's reassuring to hear, I've been worried about entrusting someone with my car and they were recommended to me by someone from this forum.

They seem to get good comments from most people who know them.

chrisp

ecutek from tsl made such a big difference to the car, so much more driveable

BrynO

Had my 01 WRX done this week, with PPP back box and centre cat, did not mention the need to uprate the fuel pump at all, makes 265 BHP & 276 ft/lb torque, very nice!! Check the price with Powerstation, eveyone charges about the same; £550 for the Ecutek (licence) then £100 odd to set it up, hence £650 plus VAT... around £760 all in, money well spent IMO.

GREGGYG

iTrader: (2)

Having an ECU remap on a WRX will certainly require a decat up pipe. The WRX up pipe is very restricted, and actually starts fragmenting with the extra heat created by having a remap! You may also like to consider a sports cat downpipe, then of course add your backbox of your choice. Do these things first then get the remap! Hope this helps a bit.

Trap2Terrorist

iTrader: (3)

Something like the Afterburner Up Pipe? Powerstation didn't mention that I may need to replace that, only the fuel pump........

RRH

Without wishing to contradict you Greg your EGTs won't be discernably different after the remap, and you certainly don't need to do the up-pipe.

High EGT's are typically caused by lean running and are a symptom of increasing boost without sufficient fuelling; if you simply want to turn up the boost with an mbc then it can cause a problem. A properly written fuel map should reduce egt's.

Most people change the up-pipe last- although it is restrictive there are much more restrictive parts that require attention first.

Powerstation are very good but I'm not sure who maps for them. TSL are excellent at it, and are Prosport- Richard Bulmer does there mapping and he's one of the best, as is Bob Rawle. There are, however, some with, shall we say, 'lesser' reputations.

My MY03 did 349/347 after Richard mapped it (with supporting mods) and did about 20k on the same map and never missed a beat.

Ben WRX Bug-Eye

I've never heard that its necessary to decat the up-pipe. The PPP certainly doesn't bother and the power ouput between that and the EcuTek is close enough to be within tolerances. Can someone please confirm this.

Ben WRX Bug-Eye

Cheers RRH.

RRH

Just to add, the same car produced 297/301 a month before on the same rollers after 'another' mapper TEK'd it- exactly the same spec. Felt as flat as a witches t*t even though said mapper had three go's at it.

Trap2Terrorist

iTrader: (3)

Hi RRH,

What are EGT's?

Also, what parts of the exhaust system would you recommend changing in prep for the ecutek?

I'm looking at a number of exhaust backboxes (nothing too large, probably a 3-4" like scoobysport/H&S, etc.), plus the fuel pump that Powerstation recommended. Do I need to change down pipe/centre pipe, etc?

I do have a budget so it's not a case of money-no-object, I'm taking a phased approach over the next 9-12 months (at least that's the plan ).

GREGGYG

iTrader: (2)

I was just quoting what Graham at TSL told me last week when I had a conversation with him re improving torque on my WRX PPP bugeye! These cars are restricted (up pipe and down pipe), and an ECU remap would be far more advantageous after improving the breathing of the engine, i.e, deristricting.
So many ways to extract extra torque/bhp!!

Trap2Terrorist

iTrader: (3)

That's what I'm finding - and more importantly, where to start!!!!

Thanks for the info.

RRH

ppp is a waste of time and money if you want to tune it. Once you have bought the Ecutek licence the map can be tweaked every time you change something.

I would change the backbox first, then either the two centre sections or the downpipe. Bear in mind that your choices will have a major affect on the noise level.

The fuel pump is always a good safety measure, and I would be inclined to fit an SX fuel regulator too- either get them from powerStation or speak to Mark Aigin at Lateral Performance.

EGT is exhaust gas temperature. I was the first one in the UK to use a Dawes device (manual boost controller) on a bugeye way back in 2000 or so. It did produce high EGT as there wasn't enough fuel to support the extra boost. There was a lot of talk at the time about the up-pipe cat disintegrating but I never came across one that failed, although I do agree that it could theoretically happen.

I have always changed the up-pipe for a de-cat, but it is a fair way down the list of mods I'd recommend if you're only tuning mildly. Will pop and bang like a bstard once the cats are removed, but they are bloody noisy!!!

RRH

I agree entirely Greg, and didn't post to p*ss you off mate. The downpipe is the more restrictive Cat, I really would remove all the cats behind the turbo before I messed with the cat in front of it, and its a pig to do as well!

cheers,
simon

Trap2Terrorist

iTrader: (3)

Ok thanks.

Do you know the approximate cost of a fuel regulator?

Would you recommend getting the centre sections/downpipe done before the map, I guess if I have to pay for a remap if I change one of them a few months down the line it'll be more economical to do it now?

Any preference on which section to change first or is there equal benefit for each?

Rich.