[NOT WRX]

the running rich condition of the 2001's?
I've read several discussions over on i club, but not anything that really works.
So, I've come to the conclusion that without resorting to an expensive stand alone, it is something I will have to live with.
Unless...
I take a trip to Canada and have my stock computer re flashed with a more aggresive timing and fuel curve by Japanese Automotive.
But the question then becomes: Is it worth it?
The trip itself is no big deal to me. About 7 hours away. Paying for a hotel room, I can do that.
The price isn't really that bad, about the same as a pro ecm.
I guess I'm looking for people to talk me either into or out of this.
I feel confident of the guys ability to tune (he does a lot of pro rally cars), so I'm not worried about it blowing up. As I add mods, I can return and have the car tuned again for free (I think once for free), which is really nice, other than the trip.
My warranty is almost up, at least the bumper to bumper is.
I guess I need someone to kick me one direction or another.
So how about it? Am I an idiot for entertaining the notion? Or, should I get my ass in gear and get it done?

Help me make up my mind!

Thanks
Todd

 

[COwannago]

Hey, if the re-flashing works, I say do it.

Nick C.

 

[Section 8]

Hey Ding-Dong! :checkit:

This is how I see the problem.

If you get the ECU reflashed, you start to limit yourself. Now, you have longer range plans, that would dictate a standalone/paralell managment, unless Yoshi gets into more radical tuning with the more experianced Impreza. Also, you are burning your bridges so to speak, with the ability to go back to stock. You reflashed your ECU, so that tune is gone (unless you do it again). You can pick up a stock ECU for pretty cheap however, 100-150 dollers. So it is a small bridge.

On the other hand, you get a dyno tuned car by someone who is very good, and works with Subarus quite a bit. Now, we all know we don't get to say that alot! :curse: For a price, that is like you said, not that uncomparable to a proecm, that doesn't come with a dyno tune (I don't know much about it, I thought it is like the Torque Chip, plug and play sort of thing that tricks the unmodified ECU).

If you save your "extra" tune (if you get an extra one) you can have your ECU returned to stock if you desire that. So one less potential problem. THe cost is basically the time on the dyno. If you bought bleeding ear managment, you would pay that ammount if you wanted to get a dyno tune anyway.

I don't think you can go wrong. Especially if you have an extra ECU lying around if something starts acting up.

Not only that, little buddy, it is legal for STS! :biggest: It is a computer modifying part that fits into the stock ECU case.

Thats my 5.5 cents,

The One and Only

 

[JoeT]

If you come to Canada to Visit Yoshio, he will tune your ECU using his Dynapac Dynos.

The ECU on the GC8 Series is much easier to tune. All the tuning is done from the OBDII port and can be re-flashed as often as you like without any detriment. In other words, as your mods grow, your tuning can be re-done to grow as well.

But, like Section 8 says, you should get it done on the dyno if you want peak performance. If you don't mide a "Ranged" performance, yes, you can just send in your ECU.

BTW: Tuners from all over USA have been sending Yoshio their Honda and Toyota ECU's with spec parameters for over 5 years. Contrary to popular belief, this is a long established practice. It's only new to the Subaru's. Yosho gets most of the base maps directly from STI in Japan and Tectom supplies the programming equipment. Unfortunately the equipment is not available to the public, but he will gladly sell the Tectom Re-programming equipment to an established tuner (He's a Tectom Distributor).

 

[NOT WRX]

Joe-
That's who I'm talking about. When is he going to start doing us 2.5 guys?

 

[JoeT]

I spoke to Yoshio yesterday about when he will start. He indicated that Tectom of Japan was making final adjustments to the programming module.

It should be in his shop by the end of next week or the week after. I figure (guessing) that he'll be ready to do the 2.5 RS's within 2 weeks.

The 2.5RS's are programmed through the OBDII port or a port adapter if you send in the ECU.

Hope this helps.

 

[puckaveli]

Just an FYI a fellow RS owner had cams installed by Yosh and 90 miles later on his way back to Ohio the car is still sitting at a dealership in Buffalo. Yosh offered him 20% discount on labor for compensation for blowing his motor.

 

[JoeT]

FYI that motor belongs to Wistful and the cause of the failure was the disintegration of 1 of 2 idler pulleys. Ask him for the full details.

Did he also tell you that Yoshio was willing to do the entire thing for free and have it towed back to Toronto if it was deemed that the install cause the failure. Did Wistful also tell you that Yoshio closed his shop for a day as he went for a drive to see the car where it was sitting? Did Wistful also tell you that the reason it's still there is because he is away in California?

How many people would offer that kind of service?

For those of you that have replaced cams, you know that the idler pulleys aren'e even touched, except for the cam tensioner which is hydraulically controlled and does not need to be set.

Even the place where the car is at will attest to the failure of the idler pulley. This should be a Subaru Warranty item, and the dealership where he kept it denied warranty due to the mods on his Impreza. A similar occurence happened with a Cobb Cam install, locally and our sponsor dealer warrantied the timing belt idler pulley's with no questions asked.

The beef should be with Subaru for a failure to supply warranty to a defective Idler pulley, not to Yoshio.

It was nice of Yoshio to offer 20% discount to repair the damage. He could have walked away like some fly by nights.

Hope this helps clarify some things. Please get all the details straight next time, cause partial truths don't tell the entire story.

Enjoy

 

[puckaveli]

I was going to be a dick and slander Yoshi but I sent you a pm instead as to be mature. Point is Don had to spend $1200 on a plane ticket to CA because he couldn't drive his car. I had to miss a day of work to drive him to Buffalo. His car was running fine before the install, then 90 miles from Toronto fatal failure under the timing belt cover. The damage was so bad there was no evidence to say whether it was part failure or installer error. SOA reg rep said if he didn't have an intake and exhaust he would have been able to hear the failure and pull over sooner. So Don takes it in the ass from Subaru. Then Yoshi drove from Toronto, which was credible on his part, and tells Don there's no proof the failure was my fault; my friend will charge you $500 to tow it back to Toronto and I will you give you 20% off labor only to do an engine swap. So Don takes it in the ass from Yoshi. I will let people render their own opinions on who should take care of the mess, Subaru or Yoshi. The last person it should be is Don.