[pigeon853]

Hey guys, a little background here. I have an 05 WRX EJ205 and I'm currently running the Cobb stage2 91 octane tune. Using 93 octane fuel for extra safety. I'm hitting around 16Psi in 4th gear, which is what it should be. I have a wideband and boost gauge and this isn't my first turbo car ?

At the risk of sounding like a noob, can I increase the boost? Maybe by turning the wastegate arm? Will the 91 tune with 93 fuel give me extra head room for a few more Psi?

If not, how can I make more power on the stock turbo, without getting a protune or upgrading to a bigger turbo?

Much thanks in advance

 

[pigeon853]

Anyone?

 

[XJman]

You can’t just dial up more boost at your leisure.

 

[zax]

More boost doesn't equal more power.

Don't be foolish.

 

[pigeon853]

I'm sure someone has turned the wastegate a turn or two and made 18Psi on the Cobb stage2 tune.

Using the 91 tune instead of the 93 tune just takes away some timing, so it's safer?

Would turning up the boost be safer/make more power than just running the 93 tune?

 

[XJman]

I'm sure someone has turned the wastegate a turn or two and made 18Psi on the Cobb stage2 tune.

Using the 91 tune instead of the 93 tune just takes away some timing, so it's safer?

Would turning up the boost be safer/make more power than just running the 93 tune?

Lots of people have blown their engine too.

Again. You can’t just turn up the boost at your leisure unless you are looking to blow the car up. The tune is specifically designed around a particular amount of air flow through the engine. If you just dial it up your ecu will start acting as if it is always over the boost targets because it is. You’ll be down on power and you risk damage.

No it’s not safer nor likely to make any power difference.

 

[MainFrame]

I'm sure someone has turned the wastegate a turn or two and made 18Psi on the Cobb stage2 tune.

Using the 91 tune instead of the 93 tune just takes away some timing, so it's safer?

Would turning up the boost be safer/make more power than just running the 93 tune?

What you're talking about will be a one way ticket to Knock City. Plus, like XJ said, it would most likely throw the car into limp mode, dial back the timing a bunch, and restrict boost to spring pressure (around 7psi).

The OTS maps weren't designed with power in mind.. they're designed to make the car "safe" to drive with the specific mods outlined in the map notes (and nothing else). If you want power, Protune is where it's at, 100%. And not an e-tune.. get the car on a dyno with a reputable Subaru tuner and they will extract a lot more power without compromising the safety of the engine.

 

[pigeon853]

Thanks for the input. What gear should I be seeing my target boost? I know sometimes wastegates need to be adjusted as they don't all hit the same boost from the Factory?

Is a protune worth doing, or should I wait. Eventually I want to do a VF39, STI TMIC, and STI pinks.

 

[MainFrame]

Thanks for the input. What gear should I be seeing my target boost? I know sometimes wastegates need to be adjusted as they don't all hit the same boost from the Factory?

Is a protune worth doing, or should I wait. Eventually I want to do a VF39, STI TMIC, and STI pinks.

4th gear.. the wastegate needing to be adjusted is a rare occurrence. If you're underboosting by more than 1psi, have tried the HWG map, and exhausted all other troubleshooting possibilities, then you might try adjusting the wastegate. According to your first post you're having no trouble hitting peak boost, so I wouldn't mess with it.


A Protune is definitely worth it, but I would prefer to do everything all at once rather than pay for two tunes. Of course you should consider the age of the car when thinking about modifying it for more power. You didn't mention how many miles the engine has on it, but being that the car is 12 years old I wouldn't try pushing it too hard.. that is, unless you're planning on blowing the engine up so you can replace it with a new one.

 

[pigeon853]

Previous owner blew the old engine, I bought it and threw a 60k EJ20 in it.

 

[MainFrame]

Previous owner blew the old engine, I bought it and threw a 60k EJ20 in it.

ej20 what? I'm inclined to say my point stands since the ej205 hasn't been sold in the US since 2005.

 

[pigeon853]

It's a non AVCS EJ20 from a JDM 02 WRX. I used the block and heads, but swapped the intake manifold and all accessories from the OEM 2005 engine. I guess it's an EJ205?

 

[MainFrame]

I guess it's an EJ205?

Yep. Personally, I would go easy on it, but it should be able to handle the vf39 (I would go with a newer turbo though) setup you mentioned.. at least for a little while.

 

[zangetsu88inc]

hey looking to find a way to ask, I have a moderate amount of modification experience and don't want to pay extra for someone to do some dumb dumb mods to my car, I can do them myself, I want to know if it is safe for my car to drive to a tuner afterwards,

 

[zangetsu88inc]

I'm talking like basic mods, intake, exhaust, alternator, plugs, wires, all the easy stuff, replacing the crappy hoses that break like plastic, I'm the kind of guy that will do anything with the exception of replacing pistons or lifters or springs, that kind of stuff. I don't want to pay someone else $100s or more to do something I can accomplish on my landlord's car lift and pay him $40 for a day for his garage.

 

[XJman]

You should start your own thread, but typically no. You should not slap on a bunch of bolt ons and drive anywhere. Typically if you are using a particular shop to tune your vehicle work with them to get your parts and advice. They will often sell you what they are comfortable with, know, and trust. Usually they will then provide you a limp tune to get to the shop for a full dyno tune.

I can't imagine why you would change your alternator, the stock one is more than ample, as are the stock coils, plugs, wires, and hoses. The fa20 in the 2015 and newer respond better to modifications to the intake side. So some typical upgrades include Intake, tgv deletes and egr deletes. The j-pipe or downpipe will also net you a solid amount and round out the basic beginner modifications.

I personally avoid intakes for 2 reasons. Cotton filters are garbage, and I hate the noise. However if you are deciding on going with an intake AEM makes filters called dry flow that will provide better flow than a paper filter and far superior filtering than a cotton filter. If you live somewhere dry and dusty avoid cotton filters completely. You'll never oil them right, and when you do its filtration is still poor at best.

Many companies sell staged packages and provide tunes via the Cobb AP including Cobb themselves. Tunes are not one size fits all and you'll need to buy exactly what the map notes tell you to. If it tells you its for a Cobb intake, it means that specific intake. Not AEM, not Grimmspeed, not Mishi, not ETS.

Also if your car is under warranty I would avoid this all together. Mechanics are not stupid they can tell whats been modified and returned to stock and the scan tool will clue them into the ECU being modified. This will result in you paying for any failure out of your own pocket and that gets super expensive super fast.

 

[MainFrame]

I'm talking like basic mods, intake, exhaust, alternator, plugs, wires, all the easy stuff, replacing the crappy hoses that break like plastic, I'm the kind of guy that will do anything with the exception of replacing pistons or lifters or springs, that kind of stuff. I don't want to pay someone else $100s or more to do something I can accomplish on my landlord's car lift and pay him $40 for a day for his garage.

You can replace the plugs any time, that's just a maintenance item, not a mod (although I wouldn't bother replacing them unless it's time, or you're having a problem with them). I'm not sure what wires you would replace.. being coil on plug, there are no spark plug wires. You can add a grounding kit, and again, no need to tune for that. Same with replacing vacuum hoses.. replacement hoses should function virtually identical to stock. Alternator as well.. that's not going to make a difference in how the car runs.

Intake and exhaust on the other hand would be iffy. You could do those in the parking lot at your tuner's place, or have them send you a limp map.. or you could cut the boost to spring pressure and limp there yourself. Personally, I would ask your tuner what they recommend.

 

[zangetsu88inc]

Thank you for your help! When I spoke of alternators, plugs,wires, injectors and the such I was referring back to when in the early 90's when we didn't have a tuner to go to and had to troubleshoot all of our problems in a friend's garage. I'm new to the subaru scene and am not used to all of the sensors/problems lol!

 

[zangetsu88inc]

I'm a naturally aspirated guy and this is my first turbocharged vehicle and I don't want to break anything, I loved back in the 90's when all I had to deal with in my 93 integra was the ecu that would flash the codes indicating what was wrong without plugging it into anything! lol!

You can replace the plugs any time, that's just a maintenance item, not a mod (although I wouldn't bother replacing them unless it's time, or you're having a problem with them). I'm not sure what wires you would replace.. being coil on plug, there are no spark plug wires. You can add a grounding kit, and again, no need to tune for that. Same with replacing vacuum hoses.. replacement hoses should function virtually identical to stock. Alternator as well.. that's not going to make a difference in how the car runs.

Intake and exhaust on the other hand would be iffy. You could do those in the parking lot at your tuner's place, or have them send you a limp map.. or you could cut the boost to spring pressure and limp there yourself. Personally, I would ask your tuner what they recommend.

Ask my tuner is the problem, lol! I never needed a,"tuner," before but all of the newer vehicles seem like everyone has to go to a,"tuner." lol! Why doesn't anyone do all the work themselves anymore?
I guess I am before the computer craze and my knowledge stops prior to 1995 or so, with ecu's in their infancy.
But I am willing to learn!

 

[zangetsu88inc]

You can replace the plugs any time, that's just a maintenance item, not a mod (although I wouldn't bother replacing them unless it's time, or you're having a problem with them). I'm not sure what wires you would replace.. being coil on plug, there are no spark plug wires. You can add a grounding kit, and again, no need to tune for that. Same with replacing vacuum hoses.. replacement hoses should function virtually identical to stock. Alternator as well.. that's not going to make a difference in how the car runs.

Intake and exhaust on the other hand would be iffy. You could do those in the parking lot at your tuner's place, or have them send you a limp map.. or you could cut the boost to spring pressure and limp there yourself. Personally, I would ask your tuner what they recommend.

Ask my tuner is the problem, lol! I never needed a,"tuner," before but all of the newer vehicles seem like everyone has to go to a,"tuner." lol! Why doesn't anyone do all the work themselves anymore?