tigger73

Well we've changed the title of this thread to no longer be exclusive to 2.5NA so we now expect/encourage other 3.6R owners to get on board!

I didn't want you to feel like you shouldn't post in here RobbieGT - we are all really envious of you with your tuned 3.6

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's probably not a bad idea to get an alignment done every couple of years. Obviously if you have uneven wear on your tires you should do it sooner. Suspension components wear over time and your alignment will shift. Also if you hit a pothole you can cause your alignment to go out.

For a lot of people doing it at the same time as changing tires is probably not a bad thing as it should give you the best life out of the set of tires.

Awesome news Robbie. You get to enjoy your car all over again

I can only imagine how good a tuned 3.6R is to drive. Sounds like the tune fixes up all the things that annoyed you and now lets you just enjoy the car. Be interested to hear how the fuel consumption goes in the longer term too.

And yes manual mode is where it's at!

LegacyGT.com's first 6th Gen Tuned Legacy 3.6r...

Really looking forward to this one.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Agreed. The 255/45 looks nice but it seems like on average 245/45 tires are a decent amount cheaper.

I think the 245/45/18 is a more common size so you'll often find better deals.

Can someone do a walk through on how to get this tune. I'm scared and I have no idea how to go about it.

 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Sounds like you've decided that you need this in your life

Probably need to get one of the guys in the US to do a bit of a write-up in terms of reading/loading the tune. It's pretty straight forward once you have done it a couple of times.

I'm lucky in a way as Matt comes and visits my city every few months so will load any new updates at that time.

Great, thanks for the info! I just took a look at the first page and don't see any data for an 18x8.5 +55 wheel (assuming I have the numbers right for the WRX wheels). Am I reading it correctly?

Have a look at the bottom line of the 18" wheel table has the 18x8.5 +55. Fitment is confirmed OK.

The rim side of the table (first 3 columns) should be read separate to the tire side (last 3 columns) as you can fit any of the 18" tires on any of the 18" rims within reason.

Top line is just the stock size and all the other sizes are options with difference related back to stock size.

So I did a quick search on the app "Let Go" and saw these babies. Bought them today for $350 for the set! Only 7500 miles on them! Thanks for the advice guys! Also, it seems the consensus is to go with 245/45/18 tires on these, right?

Yep them WRX boys don't like to ride on stock rims so there's quite a few around the place with low/zero miles.

And that's a really cheap price you paid for them also if they have no marks. Clearly the guy just wanted some space in his garage.

And yes you want to go with either 245/45/18 or 255/45/18 tires with an 18x8 rim as these keep you closest to the stock diameter for your speedo. Check the first post as there are all the rim/tire sizes posted there.

Flashed my 1st tune today and the difference is unbelievable already and I've only driven about 15 miles!! Very happy with my decision to go forward with this and I'm sure the others who have done the same can attest to this. 7,000 miles and my car has finally woken up!

Nice to see some more people biting the bullet and tuning their cars

Gains are definitely there and "waking it up" is a very good way to describe it.

Looking forward to hearing some more news shortly

I'd have to say that getting a set of (near) new WRX wheels would be way better than any cheap set off Tire rack. Unless you're putting on a quality aftermarket/brand wheel like Rays/Enkei/Work/SSR/etc then I'd be sticking to an OEM (WRX) wheel.

If you're not in a major hurry then keep your eyes out for second hand sets. WRX owners are renowned for changing wheels so you can often pick up a near new set cheap.

Yes my local Subaru parts department are more than happy to sell me parts for my car but will direct you to the local independent specialist for fitment - even though it's a Subaru part going on a Subaru. I understand from a liability point of view the dealer can't be putting the "wrong" part on your car.

There's quite a few workshops that won't install a part unless they are supplying the part also. I get this as the workshop has no control over what the part is or where it has come from and/or even if it's the correct fitment for your vehicle.

Well hello there pretty lady

I sense some tuning goodness coming your way shortly

OK so how many people have fitted up bigger 19-22mm rear sways bars?

And how many have had problems? I'd almost say zero for rear sway bars particularly those that are upgrading to the Forester/STI 19/20mm bars with stock end links.

The issue with the 24mm front bar Dr Photo has installed is that it really wasn't designed to fit the Legacy and is suspected to be slightly different design - hence the clearance issues. Either that or it's been installed upside down or not centered properly side to side.

I respect him for trying something that others haven't done yet. And yes he's going into unchartered territory though everyone else will hopefully benefit from his experience once he gets a set-up that works.

Are you voiding the warranty by modding the front or rear sway bar? My dealer says yes.

Obviously manufacturers warranty does not cover any parts you add/change on your car. Though you'll get warranty on the part that you purchase and if you get it installed by a workshop they should warrant their work if there's any issues related to the installation.

So yes the dealer is correct that the vehicle manufacturer warranty no longer applies to the part that you change. Though if your air conditioner stops working it will still be covered as changing your sway bar doesn't void the warranty on the whole car.

Wish I bought the 245/45 tires instead of 245/40. I can feel the difference in speed going down the hill without hitting the gas.

Yes should have checked the first post - the 245/40 is actually WRX spec as they run a smaller wheel/tyre size.

Correct size for the Legacy is 245/45 and then your speedo will be closer to "standard".

But nice looking set-up none the less

Yes I usually get in touch with him via Facebook also. If anyone is interested I'll pm you his contact details.

I did let him know there were a few other Gen6 owners interested in getting their cars tuned so hopefully if you've sent him PMs he will respond.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

How did you get ahold of Matt? I tried Pming him on here and he didnt reply

 

Pm me the details

 

Thanks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkT1kLA3V_0

He only comes on the forums occasionally.

It can be a little tricky getting hold of him as he is quite busy - probably doing the Polka!

So if I understand this correctly, this is really the only hardware you need to get a tune?

Yes. You'll need a Tactrix cable and a laptop or know someone that has one.

Hmmmm... has anyone on the forum had a 3.6R tuned yet?

I know there are tuned 3.6R's around the place but I don't think there's any on here (yet).

I think there's some decent improvements in the 3.6R in terms of power delivery and throttle response.

All the reporting is super useful, and entertaining besides. If I could think of one thing I'd like to see that's absent, it would be time on some kind of track in addition to your straight runs. No pressure though, you're doing great.

Yes I could do track times, and on a slower speed track with more corners this would show more of the low end torque improvements. Though the problem with track times is that unless you're a very consistent driver there are far more variables than say a dyno run or 0-100 time. Even quarter miles can have an element of reaction time. So in the interests of removing human error and variability I chose the 2 tests I could do in a repeatable way and have some reasonable consistency in the results. At the end of the day I was looking to have some data that I could compare as I went along the path of tuning/upgrades.

Though the main thing for me is how the car feel/drives on the road and this is where it gets subjective. I am actually really happy with how the car is running now. It corners well, pick-up is good particularly in the low end and with the upgraded 3.6R brakes at the front there's a bit more stopping power than the stock brakes that I felt were a little on the weak side.

Of course in a straight line it doesn't have quite as much punch as some other cars, however in all other areas I'm really quite happy. At the end of the day the acid test is - knowing what you know now would you make the same decision again. Right now I'd happily say that if I was in the same situation with the same options then I'd be getting the 2.5i and doing the upgrades to take it to where it is now.

Is there much more planned? Not right now but I never say never...

Though right now I'm just enjoying driving it. We'll have to wait and see what the end of the year has in store - who knows I may find some more bits to install yet

What has been your peak gains over stock so far?

I've posted all my dyno sheets/tuning result at the start of the thread here: http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5319074&postcount=4

I've done it this way so there's a summary that is easier to refer to rather than having to trawl through the whole thread to find the info you're looking for.

Long story short the stock tune had a peak of ~92kW (125hp) if you ignore the blip at 6,200rpm due to gear change.

Compare this to the rev2 tune with ~99kW (135hp) and you can do the maths that you're looking at ~10hp gain in terms of peak numbers.

However the peak numbers/dyno chart only tells half the story. The other part that is important is how the car drives/feels and that is the subjective part.

I've run some GPS timed runs which give a good indication on the improvements - 2 seconds in the 0-100kph (0-60mph) is substantially quicker. I believe a big chunk of the improvement is due to throttle remapping and indirect CVT tune that allows the transmission to transfer more torque through.

You wouldn't get a 2 second drop just from a 10hp increase by itself - hence why I was saying that this is only half the story.

Thanks for sharing all this.

 

any recent dyno numbers? What are your total gains?

I do plan to put my car back on the dyno. I just haven't got around to it yet. Peak power won't have changed but I'm expecting a bit fatter curve at the bottom end.

Area under the curve is what you're after - particularly for a road car where you use a wide rev range.

Once I get the dyno results I'll post them up here as well as in the 2.5 tuning thread: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/6th-gen-tuning-2-5i-248081.html

Don't be put off by all the negative comments along the lines of "should have bought a faster car to start with". There are some decent gains from tuning the 2.5 - a 2 second improvement in 0-100km/hr (~0-60mph) is definitely very noticeable and a huge improvement in terms of drivability and enjoyment compared to the stock showroom car.