andyleonard55

Ive ben reading back over some old threads and one in particular caught my attention. It said roughly that subarus were good cars up until they made the hatch,having owned my hatch for a couple of years and recently started to add some mods should I keep it or move it on before I spend too much money.Is there something I should need to know Ive loved owning it and don't want to replace it but what is it I should be looking for.

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

The 2.5 engines from 55 reg onwards have issues with ringland failure on piston rings. There are lots of opinions as to why they fail but the common theme seems to be down to the original Subaru ECU map. The one size fits all cars ECU factory map don't do them any good. My 56 reg 2.5 has been perfect, but that may be because I have had it re-mapped.

Make sure the boost does not exceed 1.35 bar on the standard 2.5 engines. This is known to be the limit. Some people successfully run more, some run far less with failures.

In a nutshell, don't worry. Still great cars. Look at getting it mapped, you wont regret it. 350bhp & 400lb torque makes for a great road car!

andyleonard55

thanks for the reply just bought a Jetex cat back with quad tails was wondering should I send it back.Im told that after fitting a new exhaust I should get it remapped anyway.
My first Scooby ,just worried about some of the comments I read.

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

No no, keep the exhaust and get a k&n panel filter. Get the car mapped and you'll love it. It will completely transform the car.

Have a search on here about mapping. There are some great tallented guys mapping cars now, and it's not too expensive.

You know you want to!!!! And to be honest, I'd always recommend getting a Subaru mapped to get rid of the standard Subaru ECU map.

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

Also, you MUST get the car mapped if you fit the exhaust and filter. Don't if poss drive it on boost too much without getting it mapped if you fit the bits first. The ECU will correct fuelling to some extent, but may overboost or do damage. Always advised to get map done after fitting tuning bits.

Dan W

Andy, I really wouldnt worry about the car mate.
If the engine lets go there's not much you can do. But don't worry about it in the meantime. Just enjoy the car.

I think its fair to say that all of us Impreza owners have worried to the point of paranoia over possible failures of engines, gearboxes etc. But worrying will take the fun out of the ownership experience.

Worry about it IF it lets go but not before.

I have an 07 plate Hawkeye STI that was remapped by Andy Forrest when the previous owner had the car. Its now running at 380BHP and it is a phenomenall car.

My avatar pic on the left is of my old Blob STI which I drove off a bridge. May it Rest in Peace.

Seriously though just enjoy.

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

Completely agree!

Mod, map, forget & enjoy! Great cars once modified!

2.5 has sooooo much torque!

Dan W

Agree, the torque is beautiful.

andyleonard55

Thanks guys for the replies,You,re right Theres not a lot I can do to prevent it and again your right all I have been doing is driving it slowly just in case.Ive put Kand N typhoon induction system on the car and am waiting for the Jetex cat back to arrive so I guess that's the time for the remap,I love the car but when you read some of the threads you get to thinking what the hell have I bought,again guys thanks for the replies.

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

My JDM STi 2.5 Foggy was 330/330 and had face shifting torque!

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

Just a little word of caution, the standard ECU will fuel correct the engine to a certain amount to compensate for slight changes. When I put an uprated panel filter on my WRX engine when it was standard, looking at the map we saw the engine was pulling the max amount of fuel adjustment to compensate.

The K&N Typhoon system you have is a great induction kit, probably one of the best so it will be drawing a load more air than standard. There is a chance that your engine will not be able to fuel correct enough and it will be running lean. This in turn can lead to detonation and possible poiston damage if not careful.

If it were me, i'd put the standard filter setup back on until you have the exhaust, get it all fitted, drive it mostly off boost and have it mapped.

Will be loads safer.

But.... otherwise, just drive it, hammer it and enjoy it! I have 334/381 on my 2.5 and its an amazing road car!

Good luck.

Andy

andyleonard55

Just got he hatch remapped by a company from Cannock called blackcode,its now running at 350bhp and really feels like it.They took the ecu out attached wires to it,sent the info to their HQ who rewrote the map and sent it back,well impressed and comes with a 12month warranty against mechanical breakdown caused by the remap. All I need now is for the Jetex cat backs to arrive and then happy days

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

Andy, was it live mapped later or just a generic map applied?

andyleonard55

Hi Si no it was live mapped all the maps they use are written specifically for the car,you can request what you want,power or economy or a mix,they also told me that the map written for the car would not be used on another car and would be stored if needed at a later date if for instance the car went for repair to Subaru and they put the map back to normal they would use the stored map and reinstall f.o.c.Ive got the warranty book at home if you,re interested to take a look.

Infected by sti

iTrader: (6)

Did you drive the car whilst it was being mapped? If not then its not live mapped, I know exactly what mapping your on about by there as my friend has the equipment at his garage and without sending out a message of fear if it was me I would not trust it, nobody should remove your ecu when your having a map, they have just roughly calibrated settings to the mods you have applied, the guy that takes the ecu out is known as a "slave" he has no idea what's what with it, the map is then sent away after info has been pulled from it for alterations, so in effect it is a generic map, not exactly but near enough the same, honest opinion would be get it live mapped by somebody off here, chances are you would have paid just as much with one of the OS mappers on here and it would have been done to suit Your car, with real word situations and in real time so the mapper can see what's going on in certain areas of the map, ie fuelling, ar's, timing etc, there is no way the chap that done yours could know all that as it wasn't on the car when it was done if you catch my drift, I'm not saying its the end of the earth by no means and some people may get away with it, but in an honest opinion your asking for trouble with a map like that, as they can't possibly know what's happening with your car at certain load points.

And the warranty is not worth the paper it's written on bud, trust me I know guys that do it, how are you ever going to prove it was the map, that's their get out of jail free card as you yourself will never know as you can't read the info they have entered.

The Stitcher

iTrader: (12)

Live mapping is when a mapper sits next to you and maps car while you drive this in turn makes for a much better driving car , think you need to speak to a real mapper who can explain it all much better please check mapping section on scoobynet and I'm sure you can find all you need to know there but I would be sh@ting my self driving a car with a map that someone has made up for the type of mods I done

The Stitcher

iTrader: (12)

Lots of great mappers on here and very recommended I'm sure loads of people on here can give you info and experience they have had with them

I have used Simon aka jolly green monster lots of times with my old scooby with great results every time and if I get my new age done at some point he would be the one I would use again but that's just me

Cannon Fodder

iTrader: (100)

As others have said they've given you an in effect an off the shelf map that they've either borrowed off someone else's car or they've just tweaked a couple of settings in your original map.

You really need to get it onto a rolling road to check the AFR's and power output etc, Indigo GT can do this locally for you.

I'm not being funny but the £350 you've spent to me is a total waste of your money, you'd have been better off getting an OS map for the same price level or an Ecutek Race ROM map although more costly gives more functions and toys.

Infected by sti

iTrader: (6)

And at circa £350 as Ty has said it's a lot of money, i shìt you not I could have done that same thing for £150 through a friends garage, although I would never recommend it, dervs and straight petrol cars it's not too bad IMHO but wouldn't feel comfortable with it on mine which is why I don't tell people about it, it may seem a good deal to some at that price but not to me, and half the trouble is when people pay this kind of money out they think its done proper, when like I already mentioned its just fiddled with on a computer and uploaded back to the ecu, anytime a ecu has to leave a car it is never live mapped unfortunately

The Stitcher

iTrader: (12)

agree with all above plus it might be expensive to get a car mapped first time around but after that any changes or tweeks to it later dont cost the earth when adding new bits

BrownPantsRacing

iTrader: (6)

Hi Andy,

As others have said unfortunately the map you have will make the car go faster BUT its no safer for the car than the factory map. The only way a bespoke map can be built is if the car is live mapped on the road or rolling road using all the cars sensors and some extra the mapper will attach to measure everything as it runs through the rev range and then tune it all up to work as best as it can.

You live and learn! Takes everyone a while to find these things out when they are new to a scene.

Good luck. Hope your enjoying the car!

andyleonard55

Thanks for all the advice guys Blackcode seemed to be the right choice as the provided the service on my drive so seemed to make sense being self employed,They stated that they've been mapping all round Britain for 10years with lots of testimonials to back them up so it seemed to be right.Ill have to get in touch with Indigo for them to look at it guess I,ve just waste £500.Im waiting for the catbacks to come in the next two weeks so i'll get them fitted at Three Arches and pop it up to Indigo .We all learn from our mistakes so I,m not going to cry over it .Just have to work a little harder

Peter Pan

iTrader: (6)

Hi Andy, I think what you said in your last post would be very wise to pop it up to Indigo after you get the system put on it just to make sure she's all tip top and any adjustments can be made for piece of mind. I presumed that when we were chatting at the last meet that it would have been done with a live map not generic.
Your certainly not short of patience waiting for that system, mind you I've been waiting over a month for my Whiteline rear anti roll bar and drop links to arrive!

andyleonard55

Hi Jay,its seems Ive caused my self a bit of a problem,when I spoke to Blackcode they assured me that all their maps are custom maps and they advertise the fact that they never use generic mapping and their warranty is Industry leading I could have taken the car to them but chose to have it done at home even though I had to pay more for the guy to travel.If you,ve got five google Blackcode remapping and see how convincing itall looks.You can also find them advertise on ebay,item number271292914048 look forward to your thoughts.

The Stitcher

iTrader: (12)

hi mate I think you should have done some research and talked to a few people on here first before just jumping in to it as if I was in your shoes I would be afraid to drive it with that map and just trying to help you get it right

I cant see how it would be running 350 ish either with out it being checked on rr or delta dash etc.. and would advise you to speak to someone who maps cars on here like bob r or simon (jgm) www.jollygreenmonster.co.uk or any others on SN and see what they have to say as they are the experts that know everything you need to know about mapping and have hundreds of happy people and top cars under their belts

Peter Pan

iTrader: (6)

What I've just seen on their website it looks and sounds great from what the guy tells you but it's going to as they're trying to sell a product, the guy on eBay has bought a franchise from them to use their products and he's doing the same.
Don't get me wrong I'm no expert when it comes to knowing about mapping and I dare say that Black Code are fine mapping a standard road car like the BMW shown on their website but if I was you and with the reputation of the ring land failure issues that hatches can suffer along with the mods your doing I would be looking towards some of the mappers praised on here such as Duncan of Race Dynamics, Simon of Jolly Green Monster, Andy Forest and quite a few others too if you search the mapping section you will find them.
Myself when my back account recovers from the smashing its having redoing the kitchen at the mo I'm taking mine to Anthony over at Indigo GT as they're only around 6 miles from where I live and I've heard very good reports about them. I hope this helps Andy.

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

Bob Rawle is down at Three Arches soon. Give Dean a ring for a chat.

Infected by sti

iTrader: (6)

Any idea of the date Ian? That would be ideal for me!

S3LDM

Hi Andy,

As it’s been said don't worry about the 2.5 issues if it was going to go I would have done so by now, and it depends a lot on how you treat your car and how you look after it etc.

If the car is fine get a custom set up firstly to put the base map in on a rolling road and then out on the road for a live map, EcuteK RaceRom is a good potion for you with all the extras like:

• 2 custom maps road and race each set up to your requirements
• Rev matching (Automatic blip of the throttle on change down)
• Flat foot shifting
• Launch control

Indigo GT done my map on my 2007 STI with good results 353bhp with 395lb-ft torque and it does transform the car, mine had a prodrive map from new which was better than the factory map by Subaru although this was another type of generic map.

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

In a week or fortnight. He's doing a few customer cars, best bet is give Pete, Dean or Dan a ring .

He's lining me up to donate to his next year holiday and I don't have the RA yet!