Flinkly's OBXT

[Flinkly]

well, figured i'd do a tiny update.

 

my battery finally gave me too much grief, so I got a new duralast gold. the old was also "leaking" and corroding my connectors (again). I think it might have been my alternator diode mod, so I removed it. it should have been only upping my voltage by .5 volts, but I think that might've been boiling my battery fluid, causing the constant leak and probably the early demise of my 3 year old 6 year life battery.

 

also purchased a DW65c pump, new oem fuel filter housing, and the DW pump wiring kit. installed the pump and new housing this weekend and my 1.5k-2k stumble hasn't disappeared, but it def. doesn't stumble like it used to. the whole power band is smoother, and the DW65c is nearly silent, compared to the whine of the walbro. i'd never recommend the walbro, at least now that the DW65c exists.

 

I'd also recommend replacing the oem fuel filter at least every 100k. the fuel that came out of my original filters input side was black. also, there was quite the coarse material in the fuel cup ("rinsed" it all out), and am glad that the DW65c also comes with a new coarse filter sock.

 

Oh, and I purchased a STI regulator to ultimately fix my fueling stumble (I hope), but am waiting on a new machined part to replace my current regulator. the 07+ have the regulator built into the manifold fueling hardlines, so you've got to make an adapter piece.

 

i'll upload a picture of what I designed and am having made in a sec...

[Flinkly]

oh, and she just turned 100k, 300 miles ago.

 

Timing belt change to come within the next year...

[Theledge]

Hey Flinky! Nice thread. I am definitely interested in gaining MPG, but a little HP too.

 

How has your experience been with Tractrix? Do you have base maps that you build off of?

 

Thanks!

[Flinkly]

The Tactrix 2.0 has never let me down. I've had issues connecting a few times, but they have been caused by bad USB cables or hubs.

 

getting a new downpipe and going stage 2 would net some added HP, and driving habits are the best for MPG. skimming along at 25/26 MPG right now, due to lower than 60 daytime temps still.

 

I wish I could tune my cruise AVCS tables, but I changed my fueling and am still fighting some fuel oddities (been saying that for years... ). As Covertrussian is finding, there's some MPG left on the table from Subaru there.

 

I'd suggest reading through his thread and checking out the Romraider forums. Can find over there a base stage 2 tune, by mickeyd2000 or dschultz I believe.

 

I will give a word of "warning"; ECU programming (and your car) are a very complicated system of mechanical, electrical and software components. there is a reason why tuners get paid $150-$300 for tuning services. but little changes like fine tuning the AVCS tables vs. timing should be pretty "easy" stuff. Then again, i'm a mechanical engineer, and complicated systems and DOE's are second nature to me, and even I get frustrated by my car and tuning.

 

maybe invest in a tactrix, a basic stage 2 tune from one of our e-tuning vendors, and then start reading Romraider and playing with the knobs for improved economy.

 

 

Also, as far as MPG, make sure you're car is well maintained. the best ways to improve from there are driving habits, maybe ECU tuning (timing, AVCS, tip-in), and maybe lighter parts (maybe GS crank pulley, lighter forged wheels, and LRR tires?).

[Theledge]

Good stuff! Thanks, Ill start my homework!

[Flinkly]

lol, not that I think you don't understand, but I just want to make the statement:

 

change as little as possible about your car.

 

 

aka, once you get new injectors, etc, your entire system is monumentally different and requires quite a bit of tuning (or supporting modifications and parts = money & time).

 

for you specifically, i'd ONLY get an aftermarket DP, and then get tuned. from there, and after your research, you can play with your tune and make little adjustments to fine tune for MPG.

[Robe30]

You sir have some cool stuff going on.

[Flinkly]

You sir have some cool stuff going on.

 

you can too!

 

Discojon offers 3d printed parts for "us", I assume at reasonable rates (I do my own).

 

and of course mods are all relatively easy.

 

and ask away for questions or assists. sky's the limit with getting what you want in and from your car!

[rebourne]

26mpg! Wow! What's your average speed on that mpg? And do you ever use the turbo long enough to impact that mpg?

 

I'm breaking in a new motor, almost totally staying out of boost, completely stock atm. I'm on the Cobb stock tune, just so I can use the ap3 as a boost gauge. In my LA mixed driving, I'm getting 17.7 right now. To be fair I am varying the rpms, like 65 in fourth, then 70 in 5th, when cruising. And my 12 mile commute on the notorious 405 brings me to a halt several times. My G37 got 19, it's city milage, on the same commute. So 26 just seems impossible for me.

[rebourne]

Oh, and you are running stock FSB and AVO rear, right? How's that working out for you? I ask, because I was already planning on getting one of the adjustable rears first and seeing how I like it before I got a front. From my Honda days, bigger front bars hurt front traction, and bigger rear bars make the car more fun, so I was going to see if I could dial in just a rear bar and be happy.

[Flinkly]

For the MPG, I usually drive pretty normal, as if I had no turbo, but I do race onto the freeway sometimes in the morning or in the evening, if I'm "in the mood" (excited about a project at work - going, or a crappy day at work - coming home). I also use it to pass, and to teach people a lesson from time to time when they try to pass me on an onramp. hate those people.

 

I could be doing better too, but still have some things to buy and tuning to do. My tune is still a little out of whack as far as fueling, timing and AVCS. all I expect to both improve MPG and the drivability of the car.

 

As for mods, about to get new tires on my freshly painted BBS wheels, which the DWS06's have lower rolling resistance and the BBS+tires are around 32 pounds lighter total then my current setup. I expect faster acceleration and higher MPG.

 

I also have an EL Header on it's way as well, but i'll still need to source an uppipe to go with it (or a new turbine housing) before I can use it. I expect a much happier engine, improved performance, and better MPG with this one as well.

 

 

For the sway bar, I'm not too big into making suspension mods for "tracking". I did that in my last car (modded focus 2.3L hatchback) and it was a bear to take fishing and camping. full poly and lowered on SVT suspension. had very limited clearance and could feel EVERY bump and rock and dip when driving dirt roads.

 

The outback is my fun DD, but its still the family camper and roadtrip vehicle of choice, so I won't be installing a lot (if any) poly in the suspension. I have invested in GroupN transmission bits ("harder" rubber), and will probably get motor mounts as well. I mostly got the rear sway for heavy load stability (either in the hatch or a trailer). It did also take some of the "land yacht" feeling away too. So overall, couldn't really tell you how it does cornering and such, or at least not yet. my current Dunlops are pretty terrible at keeping traction, something I hope my new DWS06's do significantly better.

 

 

I also have a TON of updating to do here. should also start documenting my tuning as well.

[Rhitter]

I had a bigger rear bar only on for a year or 2. It made a huge and noticeable difference.

 

I am not sure the front bar did anything except take money out of my wallet. At least not with my tires. It does make everything feel tighter and more connected, but I am pretty sure it also hurt front traction. If I had meatier and stickier tires, I think I would be able to feel it perform better. But with worn DWS, it's meh.

[Flinkly]

I will say, if i had to do it again, i'd get a cusco or jdm rear, not the AVO. had terrible customer experience dealing with them direct, and fitment is sub-par.

 

Sent from my XT1028

[Flinkly]

Fuel Injector Tuning - Low Pulse Widths

 

OH MY G*D! Low pulse width tuning is my savior.

 

So, I've had a marginally rough idle (negative correction) and while driving, I've got a pretty steady +2 correction (save 2 harmonic bumps I hope to fix this week, but see following posts).

 

I've tried to tune injector scalar and latency to fix the rough idle, and then fine tune to get it all to fall into line, but changes in scalar to improve overall correction create worse idle.

 

I'm not sure why I never put two and two together before, or really paid attention to my correction vs. IPW graphs, but I've got a low pulse width problem i'm fighting with the wrong tools! I should have known from the start too, because DW lists my DW850's as being good to a minimum IPW of 1.1ms. I idle at .8-.9 IPW. DUH! (lightbulb slowly flickers on..)

 

Another thing I've been fighting is what I believed to be Tip-in. Now I believe at least some of my "tip-in" problem is that my IPW's drop below 1.1ms when I lift off the gas, causing fueling to go out of whack and a little stumbling.

 

For now, I've created a half-*ss'd correction table by taking some normal driving and cutting out everything above 1.1ms IPW. I also cleaned out a little of the transient by removing datapoints that were under major change for IPW, RPM, Correction, etc. From there, I binned the data between .5 and 1.1ms, created an average for each bin, and then created an excel graph of those datapoints and added some polynomial trendlines.

 

A third order fit best, so I used that and re-created the % compensation for each IPW bin. This is where it got tricky. The main low IPW table is IPW vs. Compensation. the compensation only allows multiples of ~.78%, so my bins and compensations didn't line up well.

 

SO, you've got to take multiples of the .78 as your compensation values, and then solve your 3rd order polynomial equation to find the IPW to match that % compensation. there are many online 3rd order polynomial equation solvers, but they all solve for y=0. to fix this, you need to take your D value from the equation and subtract off the % compensation that you want to solve for (the .78*multiple value). the x=? answer will be your IPW.

 

I've only got a first try at this, but it already idles like butter, and only stumbles a little at tip-in/tip-out, but I think that might be because of my out of whack tip-in values rather than low IPW. I adjusted my idle to be 14.7 as well, will re-log, and redo my low IPW and Scalar as well. fix the 2% correction at non-idle, and make my low IPW even better than it is now.

 

 

 

A few notes:

• you don't need a third order polynomial trendline, but that gave me the best R-squared value, so I used it. (3rd=.97, 2nd=.94)
  
• you want to find an online solver that allows a lot of accuracy in inputs and outputs. the first one I found only allowed me 1 spot past the decimal, when the IPW for the table should have 3 spots after the decimal.
  
• If you idle in your low IPW range, you'll want to change your idle AFR from the non-14.7 to what the rest of your driving AFR is, to make data analysis easier and more consistent. that way you can throw away anything not close to 14.7, instead of having to keep everything from 14-15 like I did the first go round (my ECU is OEM set to idle at ~14.356 AFR).
  
• I can provide ROUGH values for low IPW for top-feed DW-850's, but you or your tuner should fine tune. what works for me could kablooie your engine and I am not saying that what works for me will work for you.
  
• To tune for low IPW, you have to add the tables to your editing software (ECUFlash, Romraider, etc.). I requested my addresses over on the Romraider forum in this thread: http://www.romraider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=8883
  

[rebourne]

I had a bigger rear bar only on for a year or 2. It made a huge and noticeable difference.

 

I am not sure the front bar did anything except take money out of my wallet. At least not with my tires. It does make everything feel tighter and more connected, but I am pretty sure it also hurt front traction. If I had meatier and stickier tires, I think I would be able to feel it perform better. But with worn DWS, it's meh.

 

Dood, that's what my logic would expect and exactly the feedback I was looking for.

 

I remember in my 05 LGT that if I tossed the car into the turn like a wet cat that jumped into bed with you, I'd get the whole car into a four wheel drift, but the inside front would spin on power application. A bigger front bar is only going to make that worse... Needs more front traction (more front sway bar takes traction away) or a front LSD.

[Flinkly]

Christmas in July!

[Flinkly]

FINALLY!

 

Since the baby is about here, I gave up on refinishing my wheels on my own and got the BBS wheels repainted and installed with some DWS06's.

 

Now I just need to wash the car and get some bigger rotors under those wheels, since they're in plain sight with the BBSs (more on this later).

 

 

EDIT: so my first fuel fill-up came since installing these and i'm up a MPG. it's probably just a fluke, but here's hoping it continues!

 

Also, since these are 5mm closer to the suspension than stock OBXT wheels, I'm a little close to rubbing in the back (48mm stock vs. 53mm for STI BBSs). thinking 5mm spacers to gain the distance back, and am looking at the wheel well plastic to see if I can maybe screw or zip-tie it tight against the car, cause it's loose at the closest point and I could gain at least 5mm more space by just doing that.

[Flinkly]

GroupN Transmission and Crossmember bushing install

 

Have had the parts for a few months, and finally just installed them last weekend on the OBXT. I recommend unbolting the front side-to-side brace, at least until the bolts are almost out, just to give a little room between the transmission and the crossmember for removal and re-install.

 

it didn't take too long, maybe an hour, to install the parts since I don't have to jack up the OBXT for working under it. remove the crossmember and transmission bushing, re-install said parts in the same way, and then tighten up the front side-to-side brace to lift it all back into place.

 

I had to unbolt the DP from the transmission bracket for a little more wiggle room, but that was it.

 

 

NOTE:

 

While people tend to say that installing these parts doesn't add any NVH, it does. if you're car is shaky before install, expect more after. and everything gets louder, including engine noises, as it's all transmitted thru the transmission (no pun intended). I really noticed the starter got fairly loud, and I can really hear the engine and tranny at all times now. more noticeable at low speed since road noise is quieter. can still have conversations, but it's there. if you're into performance, you'll most likely like the increase in noise, but if you're after a super quiet, smooth ride, i'd NOT install these.

 

 

 

EDIT:

 

it turns out I crossthreaded the rear tran plate to crossmember bolts thru, so i'm pretty certain the NVH was from not having things completely tightened down and able to wiggle. can't comment on pre/post NVH anymore though, as it's been WAY too long. didn't notice much of a difference after fixing the mishap though.

[Nightmaresmk]

I have a perrin trans, avo cross memeber, Group n engine, and superpro pitch and is no where near the nvh i had in my other cars with upgraded mounts.

[rebourne]

GroupN Transmission and Crossmember bushing install

 

Have had the parts for a few months, and finally just installed them last weekend on the OBXT. I recommend unbolting the front side-to-side brace, at least until the bolts are almost out, just to give a little room between the transmission and the crossmember for removal and re-install.

 

it didn't take too long, maybe an hour, to install the parts since I don't have to jack up the OBXT for working under it. remove the crossmember and transmission bushing, re-install said parts in the same way, and then tighten up the front side-to-side brace to lift it all back into place.

 

I had to unbolt the DP from the transmission bracket for a little more wiggle room, but that was it.

 

 

NOTE:

 

While people tend to say that installing these parts doesn't add any NVH, it does. if you're car is shaky before install, expect more after. and everything gets louder, including engine noises, as it's all transmitted thru the transmission (no pun intended). I really noticed the starter got fairly loud, and I can really hear the engine and tranny at all times now. more noticeable at low speed since road noise is quieter. can still have conversations, but it's there. if you're into performance, you'll most likely like the increase in noise, but if you're after a super quiet, smooth ride, i'd NOT install these.

 

Why did you install groupN tranny and cross member mounts?

[Flinkly]

Why did you install groupN tranny and cross member mounts?

 

heh, didn't even see this post.

 

I installed them (and the front cobb shifter bushings) for a better feel when shifting, and so the car could hold onto the tranny better.

 

it does feel better, and the little increase in NVH lets me be more in-tune with the engine/tranny than before. although now I feel like something's off cause I've got a noise that occurs when coasting in neutral and it changes with vehicle speed. bad CV joint (I hope) or front bearing maybe.

[Rhitter]

Congratulations on the soon to be baby!

 

Completely off topic, but have you figured out what rear facing child seat you are going to get to fit in the Outback?

 

My Fiancee / soon-to-be wife is 5'7" and usually rides in the passenger seat with it as far back as it can go.

 

Looking for options that allow it to still be far back.

[Golf4283]

Congratulations on the soon to be baby!

 

Completely off topic, but have you figured out what rear facing child seat you are going to get to fit in the Outback?

 

My Fiancee / soon-to-be wife is 5'7" and usually rides in the passenger seat with it as far back as it can go.

 

Looking for options that allow it to still be far back.

 

If she rides with the seat all the way back then there's no carseat that will fit. She's going to have to compromise on space. I have two carseats in my '09. One forward and one rear facing.

 

As far as choices go find a carseat that has a short base as far as height go. I have the recaro's since I like their safety the best, but that rear facing recaro is a nightmare to get my daughter into because of the slope of the rear pillar.

 

Like I said look for something that's shorter height-wise.

[Flinkly]

We have a Graco classic connect 30 (it fits our older BOB jogging stroller), and i ended up putting it behind the passenger seat because i'd have to sit too far forward if it was behind me. My wife sits there too, and i'm not sure how she'll like it as she's always putting the seat super far back.

 

You can also use the Graco without a base, and use a seatbelt to hold it down, and so you could cut down on some of the issue, but i'm not sure it'd "solve" it all for your wife. i'm also not as confident in it's holding power in that "mode", but it'd be fine for emergency travel when someone doesn't have a base for some reason.

 

Apparently subaru doesn't recommend using the center cause it's not flat, but you could (the manual of all my family's Subaru's all say the same thing, not recommended). We used the center on my wife's car so that the seats wouldn't be jammed up front so far. She has a hyundai accent.

 

Maybe i'll try the center position and see how the seat fits and if i feel it's safe.

 

Sent from my XT1028

[rebourne]

We fit two rear facing seats in our EVO X, which has less rear leg room using a pair of Combi Coccoro car seats.

 

Check out my old post on EvolutionM:

http://www.evolutionm.net/forums/evo-x-general/644427-2-car-seats-2-strollers-empty-trunk-no-problem.html

 

I had those rear facing in my G37 also with tons of room. Front facing I've even fit them in the back of a 1998 Integra, and I had to move seat up a bit but was able to pilot the car the few miles two and from day care when necessary. We have a set in the Evo and a set in the Outback now (She drops off, I pick up).

 

No base, we just use the "latch" clips and the top tether. I love that tether strap because it locks the seats in really firm and good. That goes for both front and rear facing installs.