tiny Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 I am a just a dad trying to give his son a nice car to drive and now I have a boat anchor. I bought my son a 2006 LGT with the turbo out of it. I contacted a great guy -Brian at BNR Supercars and he hooked me up with a 16g Evo turbo. Its just one size bigger than stock and all a 16 year old needs. I added a non cat uppipe and downpipe and my son bought a new exhaust system with his money. We put it all together and drove it with the stock tune just enough to feel that all is OK with the car. I contacted a guy that the turbo shop told me to have tune the car. I bought a tactrix 2.0 just like he ask me to. Hook it all up and he logged into my laptop from his home. I watched him download the stock tune and an hour later he called me back. He started to download the new tune and got it 52% done and it locked up. We checked everything- all the connections. He even tried to redo it a few times and it wouldn't take. The car had one code HC logged on the dash and I know the car has something drawing juice when the key is off. I have taken it to a dealer and I know the head mechanic. I thought he could reflash it with a stock tune but they cant. He is going to try to check it out but without the stock tune and it not running he doesn't seem to hopeful. I am praying that some of you guys may have an idea. The car is new to us and I don't know much about the cars history other than it was running . It ran well enough that Im scared to give it to a 16 year old but its what I have done. Any Help or ideas would be great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrymesGT Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 you probably have to un-marry the tactrix from your ecu first before you can reflash it at the dealer. I dont know much about tactrix but thats how the cobb accessport works that i use im pretty sure. If i were you i would probably just return the tactric and buy a cobb instead because you can run one of their "off the shelf" stage 2 maps which are freely available and then you can run that map for a while (but be careful of overboosting due to your catless DP) untill you decide to get a protune somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiny Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 The guy at the Subaru dealer claims that the ECU is now burned up . I think that he is just an asshole. I sent Tactrix an email and they were great. They offered to tune the ECM out of the car if I send it to them. How often are you guys seeing ECU burned up from being tuned? The Subaru guy swore that was what was wrong the second he found out it had been messed with. If every day guys are doing this stuff at home without problems, I bet he is full of BS. 800 for a new one from Subaru but 50 off ebay. It just seems like everyone is playing games now days. Does it ever end Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McDowell Performance Tunin Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Tactrix cables to not marry to your ECU, like Cobb's Accessport. A tuner can lock the map, so it can't be tampered with, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to reflash over the stock tune. If it was married to an AP, you wouldn't be able to start the flashing process. You would immediately get an error message, in ECUFlash. Do a test flash and see what it says. Make sure the tune is for the right year/transmission, for your LGT. You can PM me if you'd like. Logan www.facebook.com/mcdowelltuning [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Click Here for Stage1, Stage2 and Stage3 Tuning and eTuning Info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTris Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 You're putting alot of work into too much of a car for a 16-year-old. You're getting all the signs from the universe that usually indicate it's time to look into something less complex and less fast for a first-time driver. But hey, don't listen to me, I'm just a guy on the internet. And if you think $800 for a new ECU is bad, just wait until it costs you 10x that for a new shortblock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasejase Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Agreed. I see too many hood scoops on the news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwo715 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 What the guy should've done when uploading was back up the stock tune first and flash the ECU in test mode, that way if the tune failed (as it did) you'd know and it wouldn't upload the Tom file. Unfortunately, it's real easy to burn out an ECU, it's just computer with a ton of circuits and flash memory. Check out the rom raiders forum to see if one of the mods can assist in getting the stock 06 GT tune back on their or give any advice about what next. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiny Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 Cut the old guy some slack! My son is a great kid. Good grades, plays football, on the leadership program at school ect. and he know that Dad will woop his ass if he even slips up a little. All high school races will be ran with me as the driver ! Now thanks for all the help Mcdowell Tuning I may have to call for some help and thanks for chiming in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-BGTLimited Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Tactrix had a diagram up on their site on how to build a bench flashing unit that would restore a bricked ecu... Remember if you have to replace it with a used ecu you'll have to get the keys reprogrammed and also the vin will be miss matched and may cause problems when going for emissions if they do a check... Ask me how I know And just to clarify the ecu isn't burned up. Basically what happened is you tried to reprogram it with a new OS and that glitched halfway through rendering the ecu unbootable so now it can't start up and get back into the mode to be programmed. The only way to program it now is directly upload the data to the chip which is a service Tactrix used to offer but as I noted they did change to just having the schematic posted on their site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cryo Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 My guess is the ecu bricked during the writing process which means your cheapest option is to remove the ecu from the vehicle and send it to Tactrix to "unbrick and reset" (sounds like this is not an option anymore) They will flash the stock map back on and then you will be back to square one. I have not had this happen in a couple years so I'm not sure what they are charging these days. If the flash locked up during the write, then you cycled the ignition without completing a flash its almost guaranteed to be bricked. The ER HC on the dash,the fact you cannot communicate with the ecu at all now and the car will not run all point to that scenario. Dave EDIT : BGT was typing the same thing as I was right above me Good to see you B-BGT! [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] Providing unmatched customer service and a Premium level of Dyno/E-tuning to the Community cryotuneperformance@yahoo.com facebook.com/cryotuneperformance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhitter Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 @OP - These cars require a lot of maintenance. Recently, and I have kept up on all the recommended services at the recommended times, my engine broke. It's at least $6k to get a shop to fix it. Are you prepared to help your son out with those costs? That basically means I am with Tris - less complex, less fast. My OBXT build Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTris Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 @OP - These cars require a lot of maintenance. Recently, and I have kept up on all the recommended services at the recommended times, my engine broke. It's at least $6k to get a shop to fix it. Are you prepared to help your son out with those costs? That basically means I am with Tris - less complex, less fast. But you're forgetting-- his boy isn't like the other sixteen year olds-- he plays football, gets good grades, and remains celibate. Surely, he'll exercise self-control every time he gets behind the wheel, and, what with his loads of driving experience, he's perfectly capable of handling a car with more power than most other cars on the road! Forget the rebuild cost --that's if OP is lucky and it breaks before he wrecks it. Here's to hoping OP has an amazing insurance policy, lest he prefers to add Bankrupt to his Responsible Father of 2015 award. OP, you're an idiot. .. if you don't keep the car for yourself. Buy the kid a proper bucket for his first car. That way, when he gets something nice, he'll appreciate it more. What's a step up from the LGT? A 3 or a C -series? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wsmith30132 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Cobb will also unbrick ECU's and flash the stock map back on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-BGTLimited Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Man you guys are rough... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tiny Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 Ye, thanks to all of you guys that are trying to be helpful and you are. To the rest of you wise guys, I am kicking myself for buying this car and I know its to much car for him. We as parents have stayed directly evolved with all four of our boys. My wife and I come from broken homes and dead beat parents. I am worried he will get carried away with it but he also knows that if he even sneezes his father will go nuts and he will walk to school. It has takes effort to raise kids and to know life is no longer about you. They have set back and watched their father work himself into the ground until my body actually broke and has left me all busted up. I call myself "tiny" not because I am a little guy or a fat slob. With all that I have been threw me boys watch me limp off to the gym every morning. Even though I am the biggest guy there I am forced to lift the lightest weights but I work the hardest out of all of them. I would like to believe that with all the pain that I live with my boys are learning from it. Back to the real point at hand, Tactrix didn't hesitate to offer to help me fix the ECM. I would am very thankful to them for that. I don't know squat about this stuff but I would say that they are a stand up group off guys. Thanks again to you guys that are trying to be helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-BGTLimited Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Here is the info I was referring to... http://www.tactrix.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=66:reflashing-subaru-sh705x-ecus-using-the-renesas-boot-mode&catid=42:ecu-repair&Itemid=41 I built this bench and attempted to fix my bricked ecu but in the process I had two or three bad attempts to just get the bench to work because of a bad choke I was using... I think this or something else that happened during the process is what actually killed my factory ecu. I was able to flash it and get it to work in the car and it let me drive for like 10 min and then codes started popping up. I believe I cooked something attempting the recovery over and over again which did result in me having to replace the ECU with a JY one, tow it to Subaru have the keys reprogrammed, and then write a letter to the CT DMV when they grilled me on why my emissions test had a miss matched vin between the ECU tested and the car present. Now the only way for me to have matching vins between the car and the ECU would be to buy a BRANDY new ECU and have Subaru install it and encode/burn it to match. I'm not familiar with that because on my 96 Beretta I can change the vin on the fly in the ECU and make it match the body. BUT seeing how my mismatch and use of JY parts is on file I was told I would not have any issues next testing cycle. In the past Tactrix did repair my Factory ECU once before this happened so hopefully they are able to do the same with yours! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhitter Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Tiny - all we are saying is - these cars are expensive. Be prepared to spend and keep spending as shit breaks. Hopefully your son is handy and can read guides and do a lot of it himself, but every single day we see threads popping of of peoples motors who have been destroyed. It has nothing to do with how good of a father you are or how good your kids are - I had a mustang V6 growing up. I didn't have the v8 because my Dad didn't want me to have extra power (this was back in 2002ish). But I did lower it and put on better wheels and tires. On a pretty regular basis my Dad took me to high performance driving events on tracks so I could drive fast in a safe environment. I was able to spin multiple times without damaging the car or myself. This experience made me a better driver on the roads - and I still made ******* stupid mistakes because I was a 16 year old. 16 year old boys are stupid. I understand what it means to have a father that is there for you. But don't get caught into thinking that it means buying your kids nice things. Providing for them yes, helping them go to college sure? So this doesn't come from a standpoint of you being a good father it comes from this: A piston in my engine broke at 120k miles, Tris's engine broke at 135k (head gaskets). If you can't do the work yourself looking at at least $2k+. Are you prepared to spend thousands more on the car when it breaks? Does it financially make sense - or does it make more sense to get him a more reliable car that requires very little maintenance and focus on saving money for college. I don't know your finances so I can't say - but my experience with these cars is that they break and they aren't cheap when they do. Be prepared to spend to keep it running. I do know of one success story of my friends little brother getting a tuned BMW 335is and he never crashed it. So it is possible. He would race (and lose) motorcycles in the mountains though.... My OBXT build Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-BGTLimited Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 A piston in my engine broke at 120k miles, Tris's engine broke at 60k I think. The cheapest you can fix that is $6k. Are you prepared to spend $6k more on the car when it breaks? Just a FYI... I forged my bottom end and also bought a Clutchmasters clutch that I later returned and I still did not spend 6k to fix my blown motor. It all depends on the amount of damage. 2k in parts, $700 at the machine shop and building a motor that puts down 255/310 at the wheels... Priceless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTris Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 For the record, mine broke at about 135k, but really it was just the HG that went, not the pistons. Motor would technically still run if I wanted it to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gimpydingo Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 You're putting alot of work into too much of a car for a 16-year-old. You're getting all the signs from the universe that usually indicate it's time to look into something less complex and less fast for a first-time driver. But hey, don't listen to me, I'm just a guy on the internet. And if you think $800 for a new ECU is bad, just wait until it costs you 10x that for a new shortblock. OP unfortunately these cars are not just pick up and go and are expensive to maintain as it's been said. You bought your kid a turbo'd car. It's a WRX/STI, in a somewhat sleeper body. So the people on the forums here are going to be straight shooters, some a little straighter than others. As a kid I got too many tickets, between speeding and accidents. Hence why I always had crap cars. I got a POSTAL JEEP as my first car, steering wheel on the opposite side and all. That thing was beat. Wife and I got out first Subby brand new; an 07 Impreza 2.5i. Not fast, but the ride was stiff and it had AWD, great for mountain driving. I wanted a WRX/STI, but for reasons I needed to pick up an automatic. Found an 07 LGT at a dealer, drove fine, no noises, leaks, etc.... I've had it for about 2 years now. Did I hit up this forum before the purchase? NOPE! Did I research enough and do a compression test? NOPE! Did I get a Tactrix right away to check the engine health? NOPE! Vac leaks and knock...CHECK AND CHECK! Am I mechanic? NOPE! Since I've spent a lot of time on the forums, putting up with some shit for my ignorance (don't mind ol' Tris hahaha), had it tuned, done a lot of maintenance getting my hands dirty (which I have no issue with), and the car is much much better than when I got it. Do I need to put in a lot more work? YES! And since having the car have been delaying the inevitable, leak/comp testing coming soon. I know I may be in for the #ynasb... Not judging you as a parent in any way. Shit, you bought your kid an LGT! At least some points there. Him being a football player, on a team of other testosterone raging teens, you don't think they will want him to "open her up" on the road (and the car too). Peer pressure can go a lot further than even a raging dad. Which I think is what others here are speaking to in their own way. Here is the info I was referring to... http://www.tactrix.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=66:reflashing-subaru-sh705x-ecus-using-the-renesas-boot-mode&catid=42:ecu-repair&Itemid=41 I built this bench and attempted to fix my bricked ecu but in the process I had two or three bad attempts to just get the bench to work because of a bad choke I was using... I think this or something else that happened during the process is what actually killed my factory ecu. Are we hacking Xbox's? This is good in case I ever mess something up. Test flash is your friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B-BGTLimited Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Are we hacking Xbox's? This is good in case I ever mess something up. Test flash is your friend. Test flash is great to test the file itself but it will never prevent against a communication drop between the PC and the Tactrix or the Tactrix and the ECU... That possibility is still there and really what causes many bricks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gimpydingo Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Test flash is great to test the file itself but it will never prevent against a communication drop between the PC and the Tactrix or the Tactrix and the ECU... That possibility is still there and really what causes many bricks. Yeah, of course there are issues that can arise like that. I know either file issue or communication issue can cause a potential brick. At least the test write will check the communication one last time before pulling the actual trigger. Glad there is a last ditch effort in case of bricking. Off topic, I did brick my wife's Nintendo 3DS. Only fix solder some wires to that microscopic board and solder those ends to a SD adapter to get it to boot into the flash mode. Regular cheapo soldering iron, no magnifier, no clamps to hold anything; got it working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyPSF Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Test flash is great to test the file itself but it will never prevent against a communication drop between the PC and the Tactrix or the Tactrix and the ECU... That possibility is still there and really what causes many bricks. If a communication drop occurs during the reflash, you can always restart as long you don't turn the car key 'OFF'. The way the reflash process works is that we send a kernel in to the ECU and that bit of code is what runs and oversees the reflashing process. If the reflash is interrupted, that kernel will wait for new instructions as long as the key is left 'ON'. You only need to correct the issue (plug the USB cable back in, power up the laptop which ran out of battery, etc.) and restart the process. EcuFlash will even pickup where it left off. The important thing is to not turn the car's ignition to 'OFF' as that will power down the area where the kernel is running and you'll be left with a partially reprogrammed ECU. Easy enough to avoid though. -Mike Tactrix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gimpydingo Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 If a communication drop occurs during the reflash, you can always restart as long you don't turn the car key 'OFF'. The way the reflash process works is that we send a kernel in to the ECU and that bit of code is what runs and oversees the reflashing process. If the reflash is interrupted, that kernel will wait for new instructions as long as the key is left 'ON'. You only need to correct the issue (plug the USB cable back in, power up the laptop which ran out of battery, etc.) and restart the process. EcuFlash will even pickup where it left off. The important thing is to not turn the car's ignition to 'OFF' as that will power down the area where the kernel is running and you'll be left with a partially reprogrammed ECU. Easy enough to avoid though. -Mike Tactrix Great info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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