Stage 2 Ecutek dyno tune

2005 LGT non-ltd MT, 45K miles

Dyno Dynamics Dyno

Boulder, CO

5500 ft. elevation

94 degrees

91 octane

Ecutek dyno tune (today)

SPT intake/heatshield

Titek UP

Perrin DP (catted)

SPT CBE

18" 5Zigen Heidfeld Mesh wheels

Tein springs

StopTech Big Brake Kit

The results? Ouch. Granted it is a nice safe conservative Ecutek tune but I expected more.

I expected 225-235 HP and 245-255 TQ based on my mods versus others with similar Stage 2 mods on the forum and elsewhere posted on the internet with this particular dyno.

My baseline run (prior to Ecutek protune but with mods) was 191awhp/210tq and stock ECU map. After the tune it reached 210awhp/226tq. It feels better after the tune although I couldn't get out of traffic much. The tuner told me there can be a decent amount of variation even on the same engine based on temperature, etc. So I have mixed feelings. The car feels great and has more punch but knowing the numbers makes me feel like I am missing something (for stage 2 w/ intake and CBE).

Thoughts?

http://www.beeez.com/hostedpics/dyno.jpg

I'm looking at the delta percent beteween stock and stage 2. I'm not looking at absolute values.

Not impressive.

how much boost is this tune at?

kinda low for any dyno for stage2.

I am double checking the boost with the tuner. It does feel good, but maybe a real-world run is what I need. Perhaps I could go with another stage 2 in the area and do a side-by-side 50-80 pull in 3rd gear on the highway (NOT a "race").

Then, if we run even I can stop being concerned about these dyno numbers. Any volunteers? PM me.

One other piece of info... the previous owner had a Cobb AP and somehow a 2006 rom/map was placed on the ECU. We overnighted the ECU to Cobb to straighten that out, then the Subaru dealer reprogrammed it and updated it on Saturday. The tuner commented that the ECU didn't seem stock prior to tuning... it should have been though.

One other piece of info... the previous owner had a Cobb AP and somehow a 2006 rom/map was placed on the ECU. We overnighted the ECU to Cobb to straighten that out, then the Subaru dealer reprogrammed it and updated it on Saturday. The tuner commented that the ECU didn't seem stock prior to tuning... it should have been though.

That would pretty much explain it. The stock dyno chart does look very high for 5500 feet.

BTW, when looking at boost, make sure you look at pressure ratio and not just relative boost. I know everyone here is focused on MRP but you really need to look at pressure ratio when you are not at sea level.

That would pretty much explain it. The stock dyno chart does look very high for 5500 feet.

Not quite remeber he states the baseline was done with the additional mods.

05 LGT Legend quick run.pdf

That's not a good log but what you have shown is bad.

Log total timing and not base timing.

And datalog in 3rd gear from 2000 rpm to redline.

Are you sure you have the right map loaded?

Include injector duty cycle in your parameters. It gives some indication of your fueling. Logging the AFR from the stock sensor is useless here. Also, log EGT. This also will be telling.

You'll love the Tactrix cable, small and USB.

OP won't get that kind of power becuase atmospheric pressure is only 12 psi.

However, the datalog shows some bad things.

edit: i'm replying to post #15

Here is a better log... 3rd gear run 2500rpm to redline. 88 degrees, 5300 ft, going up a mild hill.

NOW... after a month working on this, what do you guys see? THANKS, BTW!

05 LGT Stg 2 3rd gear run.pdf

That's much better.

It looks like a normal stage 2 datalog done at high altitude. Your peak compression ratio is 2.19 and your redline compression ratio is about 1.87. This is fairly typical.

Timing is smooth and fairly normal. The dip in total timing at 3500 rpm is not knock. That's the timing compensation IAT B (that's what merchgod calls it) turning off. It's a pain to tune with that compensation turning on and off at 3500 rpm. If you get a good tune at sea level, it can turn off at 3000 rpm.

If it was me, I would tune it more aggressively below 3800 rpm. You can get a lot better spool than that. Peak boost won't change. You can tune it so that peak boost comes on earlier.

mickeyd2005 - Man... thanks for the quick comments. I *will* learn all this stuff but for only having the car 6 weeks I think I am on my way. Anyhow, you didn't really point out anything wrong, other than it could use better tuning under 3800. I already spoke to my tuner (prior to logging I had told him it didn't feel that quick) and he welcomed me to bring it by to check it out sometime, so it sounds like he'd be willing to tweak it. I was hoping you'd see something really suboptimal or problematic in the log that I could focus my attention on.

Are there any HP or TQ calculations that can be done from this log or are such calculations kinda voodoo/meaningless?

My damn laptop batteries aren't helping. I rarely have that laptop off it's dock and was surprised that the batteries (two of 'em) only keep the thing powered for 8-10 minutes... so I quickly take off from my house to the nearest highway-like road and hit it hard before those batteries die... and that road is a decent rolling slope so my runs right now are either up it or down it.... I've only got a half mile to work with too. I ordered new laptop batteries so I can actually get the damn thing off it's dock for more than 8 minutes.

You can calculate acceleration using the datalog but it would only be applicable to your car due to things like:

1. altitude = less air resistance (engine boost reduction already taken into account)

2. slope of road

3. weight of car

4. tires

5. everything else under the sun

So, what I do is datalog on the same road and compare changes.

If you can do a datalog in 3rd gear on a flat road from 2000 rpm to 6000 rpm, I would be happy to calculate some acceleration values for you.

Everyone's philosophy on tuning is different. Your tune looks safe and reasonable for your altitude.

My damn laptop batteries aren't helping. I rarely have that laptop off it's dock and was surprised that the batteries (two of 'em) only keep the thing powered for 8-10 minutes... so I quickly take off from my house to the nearest highway-like road and hit it hard before those batteries die... and that road is a decent rolling slope so my runs right now are either up it or down it.... I've only got a half mile to work with too. I ordered new laptop batteries so I can actually get the damn thing off it's dock for more than 8 minutes.

Although my laptop's battery operation is reasonable, my ride to my favorite logging site and back takes over half an hour. Add in the fact I often stop to tune and tweak my maps during and I can be out on a log and tune project for two or three hours. To make this possible I have a little laptop power inverter I use all the time. Not only does it power the laptop indefinitely it also keeps it fully operational. I don't know about yours but mine works at one level powered and another on batteries. I prefer ALL my laptop's ability all the time.

There hasn't been much said about this but since you are logging I will. I hope you secure your laptop during these times on the road and don't just have it sitting on the seat. I asked a buddy about it and he doesn't secure his. That is all well and good until the time you need to brake hard. Then the laptop will go flying and you will possibly damage it or find yourself grabbing for it. Neither is good.

I bought a cheap cargo strapping set from AutoZone. I needed one to secure my meth tank in the trunk. The other I have fed through the slot between my folding seatback and the seat and secured behind it that I loop around the lower half of the laptop and secure. It won't go anywhere. I used to use my seatbelt, which works ok, but I didn't like the belt obscuring my access to the keyboard. The strap allows 100% access and holds the laptop perfectly. A suggestion.

So I'll ask my tuner for a little more aggressive tune under 3,800rpm. How can you tell that my tune isn't more aggressive in that rpm range and what parameters would he be tweaking?

Are there any other values that would be useful to log? How about values I need not bother to log?

There hasn't been much said about this but since you are logging I will. I hope you secure your laptop during these times on the road and don't just have it sitting on the seat. I asked a buddy about it and he doesn't secure his. That is all well and good until the time you need to brake hard. Then the laptop will go flying and you will possibly damage it or find yourself grabbing for it. Neither is good.

Good idea... I hadn't thought of securing it. I'll do that once I get those new batteries.

It's a guess. You'll need to post a log from 2000 rpm to at least 4000 rpm for me to be sure.

I use a much more aggressive WGDC table when pressure ratio < 2.0 and rpm < 4000 rpm. However, you have to be careful where the WGDC is set to taper down. If you don't set it up properly, it will overboost in 4th and 5th gear. You can't effectively do this with an OTS tune because of variations between cars (such as spring load, etc...) but if the tuner is customizing your tune, he can certainly look through your logs and adjust the tables to maximize spool up.