2005 LGT rebuild with 450 hp target

[VAdanno]

The Christmas guests have returned home, and I had time to work in the garage today. I finished installation of the VDO oil temperature gauge, using a M18x1.5 temp sensor VDO originally sold for aircooled VW's. Works great for Subaru flat fours, and no adapter required to screw in the back of the oil galley. The front oil galley has an AEM pressure sensor, so we get more detail with operating conditions for the motor. The oil temp gauge was mounted in a cubby pod mount, with the second gauge slot modified with a 17mm ball mount for permanent mounting a Cobb Accessport.

 

An AEM 30-4110 wideband O2 sensor, gauge, and controller was also installed. I mounted the gauge in front of the fuse box, behind the access plate. The 0-5V output signal is being sent to the Accessport, so I don't need to see the gauge. I used the pink/blue wire from the engine harness formerly used by the OEM rear O2 sensor to send the signal to the ECM. Mike McGinnis will set up the Accessport to display oil pressure and AFR from the two new sensors.

 

I need to pay Mike for the dyno tune. As soon as he sends me a Paypal request, I will pay that and get an intial etune from him. We will tweak this before putting the car on the dyno, so we have a good baseline to work with. More to come!

[Max Capacity]

Nice progress.

[VAdanno]

OK...it took a little longer than expected to get the car on the Dynojet. I finally got it on there, and Mike McGinnis ran it through its paces. There was a bunch of e-tuning first, and we did five dyno runs. Peak torque was 369 ft lbs, and peak horsepower was 348whp. Final tuning for safety and smoothness netted 360 ft lbs and 335 whp. If you assume 20% driveline loss, that's about 420 bhp. 25% loss would be 447 bhp. It's likely between the two, so call it 430 horsepower at the flywheel. That is right on target. My original 5 speed trans should hold up to that power level, along with the rest of the driveline. I've never launched the car, and don't intend to start doing that now! Now it's time to bolt on the summer tires and enjoy the car on the Texas Hill Country roads.

[Max Capacity]

Nice, should be fun to drive. Be careful you'll find the closing speed, (in traffic) is quicker then you thought.

[squirrel_jester]

Glad I found this thread. I didn't realize Cobb HQ leased out the dyno over the weekends. I'll start talking with Mike for the future on my WRX. Thanks.

[boxkita]

So? How's it drive? :-)

[VAdanno]

So? How's it drive? :-)

 

I've only gotten on it once, and it puts the power down real nice when accelerating from a secondary road onto a main road. My C7 needed traction control to keep the rear tires hooked up, and the LGT just goes! Revs to 7K, which helps in the lower gears.

 

We just hosted the MotoGP this weekend at COTA, so I should have some time to take the car for another drive this week. I worked COMM and blue flags in the esses. I need to zing the Subie motor a few times to get that "I need a motorcycle" voice out of my head!

[VAdanno]

Glad I found this thread. I didn't realize Cobb HQ leased out the dyno over the weekends. I'll start talking with Mike for the future on my WRX. Thanks.

 

Mike and I must have passed 100 emails back and forth. He does tuning nights and weekends. I wished I had talked to him before I started buying parts. It would have saved me some time and $$ backtracking. I ended up selling the 16g and moving to an 18g, and I probably would have bought a Process West intercooler on his recommendation. I tried to shoehorn a TiAL BOV under the hood, but it wouldn't fit on my Grimmspeed TMIC. The TurboSmart Kompact BOV started leaking at 18.5 psi above 4500 rpms, so we dialed it back to keep the power deliver smooth.

 

He gave me a real safe tune (read that as relatively low boost and rich mixtures under boost), and I expect this motor to last a long time. I had a funny stumble/flutter around 2500 rpm with light throttle acceleration on my break in tune. We are guessing some strange resonance due to the head porting. We tweaked the intake cam timing during the road tuning, but that caused a big dip in the curve once it got on the dyno. I need to drive it some more, but the finished tune is very smooth.

[squirrel_jester]

Sounds like he's a good tuner considering his recommendations on your car. I'm getting road/e-tuning currently. Do you know his experience with E85?

 

I missed MotoGP this weekend.

 

Instead, went to rally cross in a '97 Impreza wagon. So much fun. It was over at Brianne Corn's track.

 

My buddies and I usually check out the private events at COTA on the weekends. It's a great track.

 

Have fun with your car. Hopefully you can get it on the track sometime soon.

[VAdanno]

Rainy day Covid-19 update. Car is a blast to drive, and puts a huge grin on my face every time I go to pass a car on a back road. Summer tires on 17x8" rims grip great most of the year; OEM wheels with UHPAS tires can break free in 1st gear at torque peak (4750 rpm's) if it's colder than 60 degrees. That's a bit of a surprise, because the car hits the rev limiter when that happens. Mike said he can tune a lower boost limit for first gear. I'm just not going WOT until second gear. I had to replace the throttle body (bad electrical signal), and fixed a loose vacuum hose at the same time. Tune allows 22 psi, and was driving in a misty rain out near Blanco Texas this week. Perfect engine conditions, and it felt as strong as my C7 Corvette. It puts the power down better, as well. That is one reason the Vette is gone...depreciation on car is another reason!

[Max Capacity]

Glad to hear its running well.

 

Have you zip tied all the vacuum hoses ?

 

[VAdanno]

Yes, and that's the very hose that came off and cut boost to the 15 psi latent value when there's no boost signal. You could have saved me some time posting that picture in anticipation of my search for the leak!

[Max Capacity]

Yes, and that's the very hose that came off and cut boost to the 15 psi latent value when there's no boost signal. You could have saved me some time posting that picture in anticipation of my search for the leak!

 

Yeah, its amazing the knowledge us old guy's have...most of the lessons I've learned have been, "learned the hard way".

 

Except for the one lesson, these cars like to be driven for longer distances. They don't do well when driven for a short distance and shut off.

 

My wagon, almost 290,000 miles has its original, electronic's and sensors, less O2's.

[VAdanno]

I was explaining that very thing to my neighbor, as I pushed the LGT into the garage Sunday after using the open space to dry out a tent from a backyard campout. I push it in and out, unless I am going to drive it for a half hour or more. Usually more, since I have about a 15 minute warmup drive before I get to the more interesting roads in the Texas Hill Country. Just FYI, I see 200 degrees oil temp and 180 water on a typical drive (now that I have a full set of sensors). I can raise the temps by raising the speed, but short passing events do not seem to have much effect. I love the tattletale on the Accessport, so I can see my peak levels at a glance. I keep water temp, boost, oil pressure, air/fuel ratio, and two "variables" on the display. Right now it's speed and rpms, but sometimes I'm looking to see if the engine is pulling timing, or what's going on with the cam advance. Enjoy your LGT. Cheap gas and free time to enjoy a drive on empty roads. That's the silver lining in all of this nonsense.