CovertRussian's 05 LGT Build Thread

[covertrussian]

Thanks, it was a lot easier then I thought it would be. Glad I got the HVAC module only without the rest, saved me over $100 easily.

 

I'm going to try to find a used i88 adapter, little worried that the pins that I added will eventually work their way out (since Nissan pins were way different).

[boostedgrocerygetter]

Now you just need to paint it

[covertrussian]

Good Samaritan Max Capacity pointed me towards another flaw in the stock Legacy Tune. 05-06 Legacy's add 2* to Cylinders 2 and 4 which starts being a real big issue once you start increasing the power. Subaru saw this as an issue and zeroed out the tables stock on 07+ Legacy's.

 

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/ECU/Timing/Timing%20Compensation/TimingComp-Stock.png~original

 

As you can see stock tune adds 2.11* starting at 3600rpm.

 

Fix is simple, just zero it all out!

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/ECU/Timing/Timing%20Compensation/TimingComp-Zeroed.png~original

 

 

I wanted to do test and see if any power was lost due to less timing. I did two side by side runs on the same stretch of road. To avoid inconsistencies with self learning I set IAM to 1.0 as the default and did the run right after flashing the tune.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t188/covertrussian/Cars/05%20LGT/ECU/Timing/Timing%20Compensation/TimingComp-StockvsZero.jpg~original

 

As always take these tests with a grain of salt, I was surprised that I didn't loose any power, even more surprised it gained anything.

Edited October 31, 2016 by covertrussian

[Max Capacity]

Thanks for posting that. I hadn't seen it in plan English before. I'm not good with all that number stuff.

[covertrussian]

Decided to peel the plastidip off and leave just the wings black. Plastidip is just too dark for my liking, plus I did like the gunmetal undertones in the stock grill. Ultimately I want no chrome, just body colored paint.

 

Before:

http://images.rvsmods.com/var/albums/Cars/LGT/Exterior/Grill/Plastidip/CIMG9988.JPG?m=1388640873

 

Now:

http://images.rvsmods.com/var/albums/Cars/LGT/Exterior/Grill/Plastidip/CIMG9991.jpg?m=1400247925

http://images.rvsmods.com/var/albums/Cars/LGT/Exterior/Grill/Plastidip/CIMG9992.jpg?m=1400247925

[Max Capacity]

Yea, that's cool...

 

Hey does that plastidip stuff work over old paint ?

 

I need to paint the wire mesh in my grill on my wagon. It gets chipped by all the stones. Can I just spray it with plastidip without having to remove the old paint ?

 

Ho, how does the plastidip hold up the stone chips ?

[covertrussian]

Just make sure it's not loose and it will stick to anything. It's just spray on rubber, thus it's flexible. Which means it's less prone to chips . You may need to touch it up every now and then but nothing major. Though I personally haven't had plastidip long term.

 

You can get a rattle cat at lowes or homedepot for $7ish.

[Max Capacity]

Thanks,

 

My wagon is at the body shop now getting some surface rust fixed. It will also have this new spray on stone chip preventer put on the leading edge of the roof. He showed me some they had sprayed on the rear fenders on a Trike. The stuff is pretty flexible.

 

 

They will also be replacing the wire harness for the rear hatch. Not sure you know the horror stories about that.

[covertrussian]

Gotcha, might as well rhino line it!

 

Haven't heard about the hatch deal, only wagon I will own is the Forester .

[covertrussian]

Ran over a deer today at 70mph, was not pretty. Luckily I didn't wreck/or hit it head on, but the car does have some damage. It's too dirty/stinky (even after a wash) to really tell the damage but looks like a new skidplate is in order and downpipe/exhaust (got a big leak). Worried oilpan might have been damaged, will see if there is oil on the ground tomorrow.

 

On another note, have been playing around more with AVCS, now getting 28+ mpg with AC consistently on the highway if the weather is right. It looks like MPG tends drop to 26mpg if temperature drops below 80*F (tonight at 70*F ambient Intake temps were at 75*F).

Edited May 29, 2014 by covertrussian

[Max Capacity]

Sorry to hear about the impact.

 

Good to hear your getting great mpg.

[covertrussian]

Washed it more out today, looks like the diaper needs replacing and downpipe is leaking from somewhere. The dear caused the stock DP heatshields to wrap around the pipe, so it's hard to see where it's from. I already have a new downpipe (got it last week), but wanted to see how much more MPG I can get out of the car stockish.

 

Currently I'm running 20* AVCS from 2500rpm, going from 15* to 20* didn't really improve the gas mileage, but it made the car torque off boost! I think this will help auto guys the most with off boost response.

[BarManBean]

Washed it more out today, looks like the diaper needs replacing and downpipe is leaking from somewhere. The dear caused the stock DP heatshields to wrap around the pipe, so it's hard to see where it's from. I already have a new downpipe (got it last week), but wanted to see how much more MPG I can get out of the car stockish.

 

Currently I'm running 20* AVCS from 2500rpm, going from 15* to 20* didn't really improve the gas mileage, but it made the car torque off boost! I think this will help auto guys the most with off boost response.

 

 

1. Install new downpipe
   
2. Sell old downpipe to me
   
3. Profit.
   

[covertrussian]

Man straight to the point, not even missing the obligatory step "3. ..... " before the profit step.

 

Once I get the guts more washed off I'll see what's broken, then either weld it up or just scrap it (or sell it to you).

[MrTris]

I got $40 for my stock DP and UP at a scrapyard here in town. Apparently they're worth money! Take 'em off and use the cash to score your next tank of gas with your new parts!

 

Seriously sorry to hear about the deer, though.

[BarManBean]

I got $40 for my stock DP and UP at a scrapyard here in town. Apparently they're worth money! Take 'em off and use the cash to score your next tank of gas with your new parts!

 

Seriously sorry to hear about the deer, though.

 

$40 is a pretty terrible price to get paid for a stock downpipe, just FYI. But that's kind of off topic here, sorry to derail a bit here, Covert!

Edited May 29, 2014 by BarManBean

[MrTris]

$40 is a pretty terrible price to get paid for a stock downpipe, just FYI. But that's kind of off topic here, sorry to derail a bit here, Covert!

 

I know, it's a far cry from the $100ish you said I could fetch for 'em. Oh well, it helped my cause and that's all that matters now -

[covertrussian]

No worries guys, I tend to go off topic a lot also.

 

Been washing the car daily, trying to get it all out, once it's washed enough I will get under there and see what the damage is, I do seem to be consuming more oil then usual though. I gotta remove the diaper and look for oil leaks.

 

Also probably will end up making a skid plate (will try at first, if it fails will buy one). I kind of want a hybrid metal/plastic one that maintains stock light coverage.

[RallyMachine]

I noticed that you're into tuning for mpg's... Have you ever tried messing with the CL load compensation table? You can find the load and rpm that you cruise at most often and set the additive in those cells to negative so the car will actually run slightly leaner and theoretically save gas. The previous owner of my car had it tuned this way and I have run 15.5 AFRs on the highway with no noticeable issues... Might be a tad risky with all of the avcs advance you are running but if you can monitor your egts it might be worth a shot... Just food for thought!

[covertrussian]

Thanks for the tip, I haven't gotten that far into messing the the tune yet. I used to think that leaner would yield better fuel economy, but in my experience with other cars it didn't help at because more throttle would be needed.

 

I did notice that with winter months (and winter blends of fuel) my MPG dropped on my FXT and LGT by 2-3mpg city. I don't think it's richness, because the stock o2 sensor starts getting the AFR's into 14's range withing couple minutes of startup.

[RallyMachine]

Yeah it's probably a combination of the denser air and the additives they put in winter blend gas... I think they put addition ethanol in winter blend which would definitely cause it.

[covertrussian]

Agreed, I'm going to look into my 80*F theory more too (that below 80*F intake air temps I get worse mpg), play around with making the airbox be a warm air intake and see if that helps or makes it worse. Just gotta get my car fixed up (need new skid plate and gotta fix the downpipe leak), then I can go back to testing.

 

I wish I could get actual numbers from my gas station on ethanol quantities. I try to use the same exact pump to lower the variations, about the best I can do to keep it consistent haha.

[RallyMachine]

Haha yeah I'm pretty particular about my gas stations too. I think they make simple test kits who his basically just a test tube that has a fill line and % graduations. You fill it up and let it sit and the ethanol will seperate from the gasoline so you can determine percentages. I know this works for e85, but I would assume it would work for normal gas too.

[covertrussian]

Not a bad idea, I'll try to get a tester and next time I fill my lawn mower up I'll test it.

[Turkeylord]

I use one of these to check my E85 - note that it's not graduated down to the E10~E15 range though.

http://www.quickfueltechnology.com/specialty-parts/echecker---e85-fuel-test-tube.html

 

 

If you wanna get real sciency, here's a set of instructions for using a graduated cylinder:

http://iqlearningsystems.com/ethanol/downloads/E85test.pdf