Flinkly's OBXT

[Flinkly]

FINALLY finished my install of the AVO rear sway bar.

 

Since I've been waiting for over a month, I had time to paint the bar black so it would look a little less ricey.

 

Got the AVO bar with bushings months ago, but AVO shipped the wrong bushings (23mm instead of 21mm) and only got a "we'll see if we have any..." email response to my 6 or 7 attempts at getting the right parts. Finally gave up on their lack of customer service and ordered Whiteline bushings. They are very nice. Ordered a month after they switched to black.

[Flinkly]

Grimmspeed Lightweight Crankshaft Pulley

 

Just installed my Grimmspeed Lightweight Crank Pulley (last night):

• Won't have to worry about catastrophic pulley failure
  
• Engine runs smoother and rev's more freely
  
• and also now know how to replace and tighten my accessory belts
  

I'll admit I'm hoping for a little better economy and power, but it's good enough that it's smoother and I won't have to worry about the pulley self destructing.

 

Was a super fast and easy to remove the old and put in the new. Let me re-iterate, super fast and easy. I've had my pulley for a little and was waiting for a 2 hour block of time to install, but I did it in maybe 20 minutes with no experience with the accessory belts. I do drive on salt-free roads, so your mileage may vary (due to rusted bolts).

 

I followed this install thread:

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=224447&referrerid=48988

 

 

 

 

a few notes:

• 10mm socket for the belt cover (STI style, otherwise plastic popits)
  
• 12mm socket for the pulley locks and tighteners (thank you Subaru for same sockets)
  
• 22mm socket (I didn't need a deep socket) for the pulley bolt
  
• I undid both pulleys by 30 bolt rotations, so I knew how many to tighten it to. 30 was just enough (I went up by 5's)
  
• And don't use a screwdriver to pry the OEM pulley off. just wiggle it. wouldn't want to damage the timing cover (which is what you'd be prying against)
  

Referenced this thread for specifics on belt removal (a tightening guide):

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=204014&referrerid=48988

[Rhitter]

I did the same installation this weekend. Super easy and makes driving in traffic easier. Reving a little more freely helps so much. I am still on a DMFW though...I imagine being on a single mass (but not lightweight flywheel) would make it even easier.

[Flinkly]

I'm almost certain the MY08 OBXT came with a SMFW from factory. Or did you install a DMFW during a clutch changeout?

 

Wish I had a thread to reference, but my easiest check was a PM between me and Underdog Motorsports about new clutch/FW pricing and him confirming that MY08 OBXT's came with a SMFW from factory.

 

I think I need a new one if only for the small squeal I get whenever I have my clutch in. I really want to stay with a stock clutch though, mine already feels great to me and changing clutches seems to be such a grab bag of good and bad experiences, not to mention shorter longevity. I'll always be a DD.

 

ALSO, I am sanding and priming my BBS wheels, and can't wait to get them finished. Still haven't gone Stage 3 either...

[Rhitter]

I'm almost certain the MY08 OBXT came with a SMFW from factory. Or did you install a DMFW during a clutch changeout?

 

Wish I had a thread to reference, but my easiest check was a PM between me and Underdog Motorsports about new clutch/FW pricing and him confirming that MY08 OBXT's came with a SMFW from factory.

 

I think I need a new one if only for the small squeal I get whenever I have my clutch in. I really want to stay with a stock clutch though, mine already feels great to me and changing clutches seems to be such a grab bag of good and bad experiences, not to mention shorter longevity. I'll always be a DD.

 

ALSO, I am sanding and priming my BBS wheels, and can't wait to get them finished. Still haven't gone Stage 3 either...

 

I had the clutch replaced under my 100k CPO warranty (I had to pay for parts, warranty covered labor - I should see if I can find the receipt). I guess I don't know what I had. Just assumed it was a DMFW. I know the Legacy's moved to SMFW, but I guess I really don't know what's in my car, beyond dealer installed OE.

 

I was having a bunch of squeal recently, lubed everything I coould that was recommended for "clutch squeal." Seemed to have worked.

 

I am looking forward to seeing your BBS wheels and hearing your impressions of Stage 3. Although, you might just decide to go twinscroll before you install your new turbo

[Flinkly]

...tell me about it.

 

Looking to get a cheap JDM DP which would make it soo much cheaper/easier to switch over from day 1.

 

The two things keeping me from stage 3 tuning is banjo filter replacement and engine health check (compression). Neither of which are hard or expensive. Otherwise I'd just install the turbo and GS EBCS and start working with Cryo or someone to go stage 3.

[Rhitter]

...tell me about it.

 

Looking to get a cheap JDM DP which would make it soo much cheaper/easier to switch over from day 1.

 

The two things keeping me from stage 3 tuning is banjo filter replacement and engine health check (compression). Neither of which are hard or expensive. Otherwise I'd just install the turbo and GS EBCS and start working with Cryo or someone to go stage 3.

 

As far as I can tell removing the banjo bolt is hard on our 08s. Have to remove the turbo inlet which looks to be a PITA.

 

I still need to do that, however, I just did the DP installation at 115k miles and my Turbo seems to be in good shape.

[Flinkly]

just to put it to paper, what I REALLY want is to jam a 2.0 DIT Turbo engine mated to a 6MT into my OBXT (or a 2015 OB, not too picky there).

 

But don't we all want that?

[Rhitter]

just to put it to paper, what I REALLY want is to jam a 2.0 DIT Turbo engine mated to a 6MT into my OBXT (or a 2015 OB, not too picky there).

 

But don't we all want that?

 

As far as I can tell that haven't solved the carbon build up in the DIT engine yet. Although nothing is confirmed one way or the other.

 

I guess in the scheme of things, it's probably not that big of a deal, but still. It seems like an issue that should be resolved by the manufacturer.

 

If we are dreaming, I would like a H6 turbo mated to a 6mt

[Rhitter]

Figured out why I thought it was a DMFW. I had called a shop in the area and they said all Outbacks had a DMFW. So, I just assumed it was DM.

 

Pulled the receipt: part number 12342AA090 which seems to be the SMFW.

 

Good to know. The did over charge me by about a $100 though...

[Flinkly]

Fuel Injector Tuning

 

So I've been tuning my DW850 injectors for a little over a year (off and on) and am starting to really get them fine tuned in recent weeks.

 

So I started with OEM latency values, which people on the webs say is best with DW topfeed injectors since they are just modified stock injectors. I also started with the stated value for a scalar (850), and tried to use the romraider injector tuning tool/tab.

 

I found the romraider tool adequate for getting within the ballpark of latency and scalar, but random "errors" in data was skewing things too much to get any closer (among other things).

 

from there I've been tuning "freehand" by logging MAF voltage, learned and instant corrections, and rpm. with this I can remove all the non-steady state and check what my idle and cruise average percentage is (for specifics to this, check out bad noodles tuning guide, page 25-ish). Idle is used to tune scalar (if total correction is "-" then increase scalar, if "+" then lower scalar). Cruise (and idle) is used to tune latency. if latency is perfect, your cruise and idle total%correction will be the same value. if it's not, read this EVOx forum post:

 

http://www.evoxforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=290356&postcount=1

 

A few NOTES:

 

- If your data is erratic, and more erratic as your MAF voltage increases, you've got an intake leak. I had one at the TMIC for the longest time. my problem is I was too focused on tuning my injectors that I couldn't see I had a problem/leak.

 

- If you're like me, you've got inherent fueling harmonic problems that'll swing your %totalcorrection. to make this visible, chart rpm vs. %correction and if you're in the right ballpark with your latency/scalar values, your harmonics should be obvious. they'll be there till you physically fix it, so just tune "around them" (your "cruise" rpm shouldn't be in/at a harmonic). See this thread and one of my posts for a graph:

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=232816&referrerid=48988

 

- I also was too rigid in my tuning and was adjusting all my latency values up and down by the same amount for each tune revision. when you get close to the right values, you will also want to change the "slope" of your latency values to get it "more perfect". I did this somewhat by accident, and caused a major improvement. so get close with global latency changes, then start adjusting the slope of your latency "line". my battery voltage is on average 14.5, so I kept the 14 volt value the same, and adjusted the values to the right and left in opposite directions. Lesson: be flexible and think about what you're doing and the system itself. don't get stuck in a guess-n-check loop that can never get you to the best result.

 

- oh, also, in the fueling target tables, the AFR is set to 14.4 for idle, and was making it a little harder to tune, so if it helps, just set it to 14.7 like all the other cells and you can change it back when done.

[Flinkly]

one more thing to add for injector tuning:

 

- Once you get in the ballpark of scalar and latency, you can remove the learned fueling correction ability so you can log one less parameter and get more data and less time between each data point. to do this, you just change the allowed min and max learned correction to be zero for min and max.

[Flinkly]

Data Logging Interior Additions

 

so I have a small netbook (hopefully a nice tablet soon) that I use to log and tune my car. I started with my Tactrix plugged in at my feet, and a usb cord looping over the steering column, over to the laptop in the passenger seat. this lack of graceful routing, as well as the pain of plugging and unplugging the green test connector in the passenger footwell for each ROM flash, drove me to fix the problem.

 

The first issue is that I have two separate USB items to log (Tactrix and both PLX guages), and I wanted one cord/port. for this I stuck a USB hub behind my cubby. this was still a pain though cause hubs either have a wired USB A male end, or require a USB A male to USB mini/micro male. so I did what any respectable modder would do, I modded/rewired the USB hub to have a wired USB A female. Now the plan was nearing completion.

 

Now i'd never had a proper AUX port plate in my center console, so that immediately stuck out as the place I should put everything. so I designed a 3d printed plate to house the AUX port, a 4 circuit molex connector (for "connecting" the green test connector easier), and a housing for the newly created USB A female end to the USB hub.

 

I'm still waiting for the plate to be printed (see the CAD below), but pictured below is the rewired Monoprice hub. I liked it cause it had thru holes for simpler soldering, and I don't need USB 3.0 or anything fancy.

 

The 4 wire/circuit molex connector will mate with a small "key" of the mating molex connector, where i'll just connect the 4 wires into pairs, just like mating the green test connector.

 

obviously the AUX in connector is the stock Subaru one that interfaces with my radio.

 

So overall parts list:

 

- unobtainable 3d printed plate

- male & female micro-fit 3.0 molex connectors: 43640-0400 + 43645-0400

- USB A female ended USB cable (I got shielded)

- USB A male to USB A male (not too common, but only ~$3 at monoprice)

- some wire, solder, heatshrink, blood/sweat/tears, etc.

[Turkeylord]

That panel is awesome. Did you consider mounting the male USB so a more readily available USB extension could be used from the dash to PC? Or maybe just one of these to use a ubiquitous USB A to B cable?

 

My test connectors only have one wire each, do yours have 2? A switch in the panel would be killer. Definitely better than my current solution:

 

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r16/turkeylord/2005%20Legacy%20GT/TestMode2.jpg

 

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r16/turkeylord/2005%20Legacy%20GT/TestMode3.jpg

[Flinkly]

I went thru a few iterations of USB plugs, sizes, sexes. a female B would have made it cake to find a usb cord for PC to panel, but the B plug is just too big to be able to fit the AUX port and a little molex key into the same spot. I even got 2 versions of panel mount USB plugs, but they're just too big, and either required splicing a cable onto the backside, or just had a female B (and I wanted to minimize connections and was worried about things under panels coming undone). I could've mounted a male end too, but I was really after a recessed/flat panel when populated, and a male would need to be "jutting out" due to no "rules" on what a female end cable needs to look like. the flipside is that unless someone orders (and actually recieves) the same cable I ordered, the 3d printed panel won't fit. i'd be willing to redesign it based on measurements though.

 

And the sacrificial USB A female cable, and the USB A male to USB A male are readily available, just not common to find sitting around the house or office. both could be had for under $10 on monoprice, and I think the hub was only $12. I actually started with a d-link 4-port hub, but the usb out was surface mount, and my solder skills weren't capable (it's dead now...).

 

And yeah, for whatever reason I have 2 wires to connect in my green housing, so I had a forum member make me one with the appropriate housings, and a few feet of 22 ga wire (since I couldn't really get one from another car, since I seem to be unique with 2 wires...).

 

As you probably guessed, the molex housing in the panel will have the 4 wires that need to be connected in pairs, and the "molex key" will just be two loops of wire to make those connections. so i'll just insert the key, flash, and then take the key back out and leave in the center console for next time. Thought a lot about a switch, but all I found were too big and would obviously sit proud of the panel (and could get accidentally switched!).

 

so to go over the way the parts mount:

 

- the AUX PCB is slid into tracks, and the tracks have "Ends", so when you get it to where it needs to be, it's locked in place. hopefully all AUX ECB's are the same shape and size.

 

- the molex housing is panel mount and just snaps in. I didn't leave access to undo the snap though, so make sure you get the terminals in there first!

 

- the female usb plug inserts in from the back of the panel, and kinda rotates into place. once there, you can either tape it in, or i'll be using a little heatshrink tubing to keep it in it's pocket.

 

there is one thing I didn't do with this panel, and that's to add a way to lock it in place in the center console. I thought about a snap feature, but couldn't figure out a simple way to "unlock" it, so i'll just use some clear caulk to lock it in place and we'll see how it goes. I can always make another revision later...

 

in good news, the shop seems to not be using the 3d printer right now, so my panel will be done by EOD today!

 

 

Continued Parts list (with Links):

 

Monoprice

- USB A Male to A Male http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=103&cp_id=10303&cs_id=1030303&p_id=5443&seq=1&format=2

- USB hub http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=103&cp_id=10307&cs_id=1030702&p_id=6631&seq=1&format=2

 

Digikey

- USB A Female http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/AK669%2F2-18-BLACK/AE10611-ND/2391690

[Flinkly]

^--- I think I need more pictures, less words...

[Turkeylord]

Good points, good points. One more thought, some 3.5mm jacks can be used for double pole switching.

 

http://www.radioshack.com/radioshack-1-8-stereo-panel-mount-phone-jack/2740246.html#q=3.5mm%2Bjack&start=12&tab=tab3

 

Pins 2 & 3 and 4 & 5 are open with a plug inserted, and closed without a plug. Might be more compact than a DPST switch or Molex? Some hospital beds use 3.5mm jacks and plugs as a "safety key" where the nurse can yank it to keep the patient from adjusting their bed.

 

Something like this would be nice and low profile

http://img.dxcdn.com/productimages/sku_315648_1.jpg

[Flinkly]

wow, super useful piece of knowledge for all sortsa projects. and I think that would be perfect for the application, would be fine over millions of insertion cycles (whereas the molex is less so).

 

could just build that into a cubby gauge panel or stick it pretty much anywhere.

 

only downside (for the AUX panel route) would be mistaking it for an actual AUX port. I guess the same could be said for having it in the car within view/reach of a passenger. Not to say that any of us have idiot friends/family...

[Turkeylord]

Ha! I guess for normal driving the plug would stay in place keeping the contacts open, so no one could jam anything in there anyway.

 

If you only have one wire to switch, SPST opens up your options to even more compact jacks, you can just use the sleeve of a TRS cable to short the sleeve and adjacent ring in a TRRS jack.

[Flinkly]

ah, i missed the part where they were closed with the plug REMOVED.

 

is a way better idea then, cause the key is always held in the same place, until you remove it for a short time for flashing. lower chance of misplacement vs. my molex key.

 

i need to get some coffee in me though, cause i'm having a hard time "seeing" how it's open with it there, closed with it gone. counter-intuitive to me...

 

Sent from my XT1028

[Turkeylord]

The contacts are physically pushed apart by inserting the plug. The intent is to disconnect the audio signal from a speaker amp when headphones are plugged in.

[Flinkly]

gonna have to order some plugs/keys just to play with...

 

 

As for my current version of AUX plate, it came in, I filed some errant 3d strands off, and have wired up everything but the actual AUX ecb, since that's sitting at home. everything else works like a charm: USB hub/tactrix/PLX are all connected and working thru the female plug, the molex plug switches me into test/flash mode (no more bending over into the passenger footwell, and no more visible green connectors!). also, the AUX panel itself showed up in BLACK! normally parts are amber/beige and require a spray of paint.

 

its already worth a million bucks.

 

pics to come after I've installed the AUX ecb.

[Rhitter]

How's the VF52 treating you?

[Flinkly]

haven't really "used" it yet. either wastegate boost or only up to 12-15 psi. due to stage 3 (+fueling) tuning costs, been doing my own tuning with opensource. still working on fueling. have my injectors within a few percent now, so closed-loop tip-in next.

 

that and fixing parts on the OBXT that break, and "real life"...

 

I do have a great appreciation for good tuners though. The ECU is quite the tangled web of parameters, tables, math, etc. The littlest things have vast effects.

 

An imperfect system makes it worse too. been chasing my tail with fueling due to harmonics in the system. that and a leak that I shoulda seen a mile away...

 

note: I do really want to get it tuned in, or just spend the dough on a professional tune, just so I can share what the sixstarspeed vf52 can do. otherwise i'm mostly content stumbling thru the mess of tuning myself (it does get tedious and frustrating sometimes...).

[Flinkly]

Aux-in panel pictures!

 

my companies FDM machine made a version, and my wife made an SLA version at her work, and the SLA (due to it's more precise creation method) was a lot nicer. I didn't leave any room for error though, like making the spot where the aux in ECB fit was almost perfect, so the FDM model needed "massaging".

 

it also is only held in place due to being a tight fit. I actually seemed to have made it a little too big, which is better than too small, so there was some filing necessary too. I figured if it got loose over time, i'd just use a little caulk to glue it in place, but still allow removal.

 

all the features work great. Aux we just used on a trip to my parents, I've already written a few rom revisions (using the key), and the usb interface allows flashing and datalogging.

 

the "fit" was a little tight though, trying to get it into the AUX panel hole. the "new" usb female end was longer than my original and I had to squeeze the AUX ecb and the usb female end/housing together to jam it thru the hole. again, this wouldn't probably broke an FDM part, but this springy SLA part was fine.

 

so if anyone wants the model, there'll need to be some mods i'll have to do, but nothing hard.