Scotte

Had a tune done on my BP5 turbo legacy last week at Torque Performance. I got in on the recent special they had which was really good value. Really happy with the results, more power, much smoother power. Power and torque is available earlier and it just feels like the car is much more in sync than it was previously. Would highly recommend a tune to anyone with a turbo car, especially if you have done modifications. Torque performance did a good job, they found a issue with the car while they were tuning it. Since having the downpipe fitted at Subtech i noticed when coasting downhill the rpm fluctuated between 1000-1500, kinda bouncing up and down. When i first noticed it i took it back to Subtech and Gareth came with me for a drive and i showed him the problem. He didn't look under the bonnet and was adamant that it was nothing they had done. I decided to live with it as it was pretty minor. The technicians at Torque could tell it was getting bad readings on the dyno and fixed the problem. Turns out two hoses had been left unconnected to the intercooler. The intercooler is removed when fitting the Subtech downpipe. Hence Subtech had not re-fitted the intercooler properly. Even after i took it back to them and showed them the problem they weren't interested in looking at it. So i am actually pretty disappointed in Subtech and their service. There are other things that disappointed me as well: 1. They sell a downpipe that does increase power, but they don't tell you it will make your car sound like s***. In my opinion it should come with a resonator or cat converter fitted to it. 2. They tell you don't need a tune with that downpipe, but if you want the best result you really do need a tune after. 3. They claim to do Tuning, although they road tune from an tuner overseas. Gareth told me "All a tune does it trick the computer to pump more fuel in" I'm sure most tuners would disagree with that completely and that a proper Dyno tune is far more involved than that and superior to a road tune. 4. When talking about the exhaust Gareth was adamant that the resonator in the rear of the legacy exhaust is a cat converter. I know for a fact its a straight through resonator and the two cats in the system are in the factory downpipe. In future if i was looking for performance upgrades to my Subaru i would much prefer to use Torque Performance than Subtech who seem to try to get extra power without considering the overall driving experience.

Webup can u give us some info about how ur tune went with infamous? How much was it, easy to reflash the ecu yourself? Many versions to get it right?

Hey Heylin, Paulngui who are you going to get to tune your cars? Who's on your shortlist?

snwmbl, were waiting for your review? How was the tuned legacy over easter?

How did you decide on Torque over NZPT and the others you were looking at? What do they charge? Is your auto or manual?

Call Henry 021 255 4651 he can do them for $25 a piece.

Great! Can't wait to hear the results!

Hi all, would like to hear feedback from people who have had tunes done on their BP5 and BL5 Legacy's. Would like to know: Who you used? How much it cost? What was the process? What was the result? How have the cars characteristics changed? Were you happy? More fuel of less fuel? Any other interesting info? Thanks.

Yep, OEM ones are NGK too, but 10 year old technology. They still sell em cause they making a killing on them, everyone just installs the OEM part from the manual. IX MAX ones are better.

Just had my sparks replaced today. Got NGK Iridium IX MAX from a contact i know for $25 each (LFR6AIX-P), the OEM ones were quoted at $45 from Supercheap (ILFR6B). The IX MAX plug is superior to the OEM plug and i can actually notice a difference, bit more power and smoother throughout the rev range. The OEM plugs had done 110K so was time for change and was money well spent! Anyone on here had a ECU tune / reflash on a BP5 / BL5? Would love to hear about it, results, fuel economy and whether its worth the investment?

2004 BP5 Legacy GT Re: sound, that's why i put a high flow cat in mine, sounds nice now. No way I could go back to the restricted power of a stock downpipe now.

That a strange result. I have way more down low torque and more power through out the rev range. Increase in power was instantly noticeable. Talk to Subtech about it if you are concerned but you shouldn't have less power. Just doesn't make sense.

Mine is auto too. I noticed a lot more down low torque with the new downpipe. NZ Performance Tuning have a Legacy GT in for Downpipe and Tune at the moment. You could ask them about it the combination, what sort of downpipe it is. http://www.facebook.com/nzperformancetuning

Seems some cars are worse than others. I noticed it on mine, but i was looking for it quite hard. Are you Manual or Auto transmission?

Yeah i don't think Subtech do a Dyno Tune, road tune only. Defo want the Dyno tune if you go that way in the end. Don't think you need a tune straight away, so if you want to keep the cost down do the downpipe and then save for a tune later. Be aware driving catless makes your car a whole lot smellier too. Some people here probably think im a greenie, but i hated the smell when pulling into my garage, sitting at the lights idling with the windows down or someone getting stuff out the car while idling, was pretty smelly to me. Is much better with a cat in the system. I've got a kid to drive round too so don't want to fill his lungs with poisons etc. As to whether you should just leave as is, sleep on it. Let it brew in the mind. Do some more research and make a decision later. But you will always be wondering "can this car go better?"

Downpipe. Think the factory up-pipe is catless anyway.

Would be a big job trying to cut the cats out of the stock downpipe i reckon, unless your mechanically minded i wouldn't attempt to take off the downpipe myself. Its really a complicated downpipe and you'd be lucky to get some other part welded in there. By the way there are actually two cats in the factory downpipe. Stock pipe can be seen here: http://www.scoobytuner.com/tuning/?tSfID1=9&tuningID=93 Most of the restriction comes from the tiny entrance to the stock pipe, you can see from that pic how small the entrance of the stock pipe is. The subtech pipe has a second hole (and pipe) to allow the waste gates gases to flow freely, allowing the car to come on boost quicker. It all depends how much power you want. Tune = more power Tune + downpipe = even more power. I'm happy with my downpipe setup now (and sound) and will get a tune in the near future. I was a bit disappointed that subtech weren't more upfront about how s*** the sound from the downpipe is. A good video here about downpipes:

Be aware that a catless downpipe will make you're car loud and raspy. http://www.clubsub.org.nz/forum/index.php/topic,27668.0.html

Like i said earlier, no noticeable drop in power, power actually feels smoother and because its not a shit sound any more you can use more of it.

Interesting article about cat vs. catless exhaust http://www.importtuner.com/features/0610impp_catalytic_converter_removal/viewall.html

MercuryFree, i understand where you're coming from. You're right a lot of greenhouse gas emissions in NZ are from Agriculture. But, my car is my daily drive, ill probably do 20,000kms in it this year. Half of it commuting into Auckland city in rush hour traffic on the motorway. I notice most of you guys commenting on emissions are from Wellington. If you did the drive i do along the southern motorway in Auckland every morning you might understand more of what im talking about. Its literally filled with cars and trucks and pumping out smoke and fumes. If you drive with your vents open you will be feeling sick by the time you get to work. I find it amusing that NZ promotes itself as so clean and green when compared to overseas our car fleet is terrible. Just saying I'd rather not be contributing to the problem. For me i am just happy with the result i've achieved and like i said its a win/win, less noise and less pollution.

The Hi-flow cat was $400 installed including GST. Dave sourced the Cat from Autobend.

Could try to do a video at some point. If i do i will let you know. If you're in Auckland you're welcome to come and listen in person.

Downlow on the Downpipe. Yesterday Dave from A1 Exhaust in Glenfield (09 441 4635) put a high-flow cat converter into the end of the Subtech downpipe. The result is fantastic. The car is a lot quieter. It is louder than stock, but actually sounds really nice, much nicer than the stock sewing machine sound. The engine sounds deeper and there is a smooth whoosh when you put the power on. It just sounds fast, not loud. It also feels a bit smoother to drive. Nicer. Its a win/win situation, I was noticing running a cat-less exhaust would be a bit smelly when you pulled into the garage. Un-catted exhaust smells terrible. No wonder - its full on lots of toxic gasses! Now the exhaust hardly smells, the cat converts most of it to CO2. I reckon driving without cat converter is a bit of an up-your's to this planet we live on and considering how good some of the hi-flow ones are there no excuse to do it. If you're want to gut your car of cats think about it and realise exactly what you're doing - aggressively polluting the air quality, which if you live in Auckland is definitely an issue! There are so many car's belching out shit in this city, its disgusting! Dave did an excellent job. He used an Autobend Oval hi-flow cat and put it at the end of the downpipe before the flex-joint. Hence the second half is the exhaust is still factory. If ever necessary, for whatever reason the old downpipe can be refitted at any stage to return the to factory spec. The cat actually sits in the exact position of the second cat on the factory pipe. Just after the second O2 sensor. The O2 sensor has gone back into the exact factory position as well. I actually believe this is how the product should have been sold in the first place, or at least have a price option for it. It would make it more expensive, but i think some people would be willing to pay for it, just for the way better sound alone. The overall result of this downpipe now is awesome, heaps of extra power with a nicer sound. The car is so much more driveable, especially when you are just cruising, it has so much more down low torque. If you've got one or thinking of getting one i would recommend the retro-fitted hi-flow cat.

Drove out to Beachlands on Friday night and back on saturday morning. On the open road the extra power is massive, such a good drive with the new downpipe. The car is running perfectly and im seems to working fine on the factory tune. Will see about a ecu tune next year maybe. Am going to wait and see what the rest of the Subtech exhasut sounds like before doing any other mods there.