I'm trying to decide whether I should remap my 2005 Impreza WRX or not. I've only done a few light mods, just to help it breathe more easily, but would like more torque when I step on the loud pedal. I've spoken to a few remappers and they all seem convinced that 265bhp is achievable with close to 300ft/lb torque but I'm concerned about the lifespan of the engine which is immaculate at the moment. I've just had it serviced and the specialists said it's the most mechanically sound Impreza of that year he's seen and that I've been lucky getting hold of it. Do I or don't I? Sentinel.
Depends how long you plan on keeping it. If you think you will still be driving it in 10 years then no, don't. Very basic opinion
Well that was my thinking. Obviously, I'd like the extra horses and torques, but don't want to risk pre-det/pinking/knocking etc and lean out the engine. How safe is remapping anyway?
The car would not allow itself to detonate (pink) I wouldn't have thought. Any issues would make it go into a sort of safe mode (limp mode). I would have thought the WRX engine can handle it. In the the older series, the steel crank imports were stronger motors, not sure about one your age. Have you asked on the Sclooby forums ? Slightly off topic, but it might motivate you to want to remap...I just picked up a 123D. Standard it is pretty quick, but after remap it is loads more fun. It is supposed to have 260 bhp, about 57 over standard. For the power gained, the map was cheap. I have a Corolla T-Sport and to increase power on that cost £££££. Remap is very good VFM.
Depends on who you get to do it, and whose opinion you're listening to. Remappers say that when it comes to power, OEMs are strangled by EU regulations, fear of damaging mileage, fear of upsetting other balances in the engine (see Honda's complete lack of modification to 8th Gen. Civic Type-R's engine), fear of their customers' ineptitude (see TVR's refusal to sell the Speed 12), their own ineptitude (see any VHPD Lotus), gentlemens' agreements (see low factory output of Nissan Skylines) and even their own marketing strategies (see Porsche's emasculation of the Cayman to avoid undercutting the 911). Remappers say all of these reasons don't need to apply to you, and if you don't mind increasing your fuel consumption a bit you've not much to fear. Other, more cautious people point out that the engine was designed to work within certain parameters and fiddling with the mapping without strengthening the rest of the engine is a recipe for certain disaster. The truth is somewhere in between. Some engines are factory demapped - my MINI Cooper's engine is identical to the lower-powered One's except for the mapping - and I daresay Subaru may have fiddled with yours to fit it into the spectrum of Imprezas. Personally, I wouldn't get a remap without additional fortification, or at least an absolutely bullet-proof multi-year warranty. With so many pukka Scoob tuners in the UK I'd be tempted to save up the cash and have it done properly, with strengthened internals and an individualised remap, rather than a one-size-fits-none warranty-voider. If it's done properly, yes. If it's not, it's going to be even more expensive than doing it properly in the first place.
Well that goes without saying I guess. I had a diesel 4wd mapped by some idiots who turned it into a smoke generator. Check for a remapper with a good rep. The UK Spec FN2 Type R was quoted at 1bhp more than the UK, EP3 by Honda. It actually had a similar K20 engine, but put out about 8-10bhp more. So everyone on the Honda forums I go on, reckon.
Totally agree with all of the above. I've been in contact with Andy Forrest the last few days, who is pretty infamous within the Impreza remapping community and I've not heard of nor read one bad report about his work. He's £200 more than the 'local' guy, but there's obviously a reason for that.
The only thing I'd suggest is a live map rather than some random guy rocking up with a laptop and downloading a map of the net. By having the vehicle live mapped on a rolling road your far more likely to get what you want out the vehicle and has a personalised feel, you can see direct results of the map compared to just running it on the road. Although you pay more for the privilege, obviously.
whatever you do dont take it to scoobyworld, total cowboys! Completely ****ed my mates 55 plate wrx. Mapping is one of those things that is totally dependant on who does it, Jollygreenmonster is supposed to be good, but ive met the guy and he does come across as a complete cock.
Going to 265bhp is not a large jump. It would be just fine as long as it done right. Just make sure you put the right fuel in.
A very good mapper should always dyno/road an engine before/during/after a remap unless it's absolutely factory fresh. The benefits of dyno and road mapping are something best left to more knowledgeable folks really, but if someone has a good rep then it's there for a reason. If someone has a good rep within the community of mapping the car you have then I wouldn't hesitate to use them. There's only 2 or 3 people in the country I'd let near my car if I needed it mapping, especially if I put bodies/boost on it.
By remapping I assume you mean tuning or re mapping your fuel tables. You mentioned addressing aspiration, so you should look at exhaust, then the stability of your long block. Building a rock solid bottom end will serve you well if you want an aggressive tune. Also, make sure you aren't getting a street tune. Not worth it, IMO. A dyno tune allows you to have fixed variables and will let you hit every cell in your fuel table, where street tuning will only get you the cells you can hit in a legal environment. If you push past that, you'll hit an AFR that could grenade your engine. Spend the dosh and get a proper tune after you build an engine to handle it.
Trouble is, many of the 'reputable' tuners are a bunch of cowboys. As you mention throttle bodies I presume you have some sort of Renault or Citroen/Peugeot, as they usually respond to that kind of tuning well. There was a firm called LAD (there may still be) who got into some strife for promising gains on the Saxo VTR and VTS that were not showing on the dyno. Some people were suggesting they were doing a decoke and gasket job and calling it a head mod job. In later years, a firm in this country called 'Fensport' are supposedly the people to talk to when tuning Toyotas. As it happens, despite building a Corolla that does over 200mph, they don't actually know what the **** they are talking about and have received misinformation off them several times. It is a Minefield. Edit: Example http://www.saxperience.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28703&page=2 LAD were supposedly THE people to go to for tuning PSA motors. But now I can't even find their website or any info if they are still going.
You've let the engine breathe easier which is great, but without adding more fuel, you've leaned out the engine a bit, which means engine life is reduced slightly, particularly your pistons and rings, due to the increased temperatures! If you add more fuel by remapping, you are returning the air:fuel ratio back to an optimum range, which lowers combustion temperatures... the danger with remapping is with the ignition timing... if this is pushed too far it can lead to detonation/pinging. This Andy Forrest guy sounds good, and I assume he tunes on a dyno. I'd take it to him and listen to him like he was Mike Hunt, he knows what is going on.
Highly Unlikely. The ECU would adjust. If you start doing major mods like boost upgrades you would need a modified ECU program AND the possibility of different injectors and maybe even more mods. What is more likely to wear bores and rings is overfuelling, as unburnt fuel can contaminate the bores and wash oil off them, most common on Ford Cosworth engines.
If you do remap, and there's no reason why you shouldn't unless you constantly drive on the limit, make sue it's reversible and make sure you declare it to your insurer.
Yes about the boost upgrades, and yes about excess fuel/overly rich tuning, but the ECU can't deviate too far from it's map. Run just a little lean for a few years, and you're asking for a hole in a piston or two, and possibly damaged rings... and all this can happen faster in a turbo charged engine Now yeah, if his breathing mods are light, then maybe the ecu can adequately compensate... maybe not quite? We don't know, but my point stands, which is that a remap for a good air:fuel ratio, with safe ignition timing, will be healthier for the engine than leaving things as is. Unless the standard map is very lean however, there wouldn't be much power to be made from a remap btw In any car, the most important part by far, which decides how long everything lasts, and how well everything performs, is the nut which holds the steering wheel. Yes about insurance, but if he drives the car hard, there's more reason to re-map!!! (assuming the re-map is done well of course)
This is a common misconception. Most modern ECUs have a flash count. If the count doesn't add up to the service records of the dealer, the insurance knows it was a custom flash and will say they aren't going to cover it. The flash count isn't available to the tuner and can't be changed. That's one of the reasons having a dealer install a new ECU is a big deal, because they have to make the records match. TBH, if you decide to tune your car, you are taking a risk. If you can't afford to either build the engine right or replace it, don't mod it or tweak it. Expecting the insurance to cover it when you know the damage is directly attributable to your tweaking the engine is tantamount to fraud. You have to pay to play. EDIT: Unless you meant being up front with your insurer and telling them you have modded the car and have a custom ECU flash. If so, then I heartily agree, but doubt they will insure the car at the current rates. The reason, it seems, that they are quoting you 265hp is that the 2005 UK spec WRX was available from the dealer with a Prodrive package that had those very same performance numbers. But mind you, they are a factory supported racing team, not some local tuner. And there was a lot more involved then just an ECU remap.
Running a 106 Rallye, correct. By respectable tuners I mean people with a proven, well-documented record of decent work. Not just their own claims, but proven experience from their customers, ideally both race and fast road work too.
I totally agree with you on that Krikkit, I had my old Clio S (DCI engine) mapped by a well known and reputable tuning company who did a "live remap" as they're known, and it performed incredibly right up until the moment it got wrapped around a tree. () There's a motorsport performance centre locally that claim to be able to do the same thing but I have heard more than one bad report about them so I took it further afield and had it done by a company who had previously live mapped a rally car for a friend after an engine change and switch from carbs to injectors. I got an additional 30 bhp on the high range and increased fuel economy with normal driving, and this was achieved with what they called a simple remap and also an after market induction system. I want to have it done to the new car as well (same engine) but it was quite expensive last time, both for the actual remap and including the increase in insurance - which I have to admit I only declared because I was afraid of getting a black mark or losing money if anything did happen and I had to make a claim. And in the end I did crash, did have to make a claim and so was glad that I declared it in the first place.
