RobMinhas

Thought I would update this.. Didn't get a chance to figure this problem out as a BMW 335 blew a stop sign and totalled my car.

I unplugged teh EBCS and got no change in boost level so maybe it is ecu controlled but I don't believe so. Wastegate pressure is 7 lbs for me and the 4 lbs on top of that is what I believe my secondary boosts, I could be incorrect though. I'll try with the valve once I get the chance to grab one, see if that does anything. I will be turfing the factory boost control, i'm just hoping my issue is related to factory boost control rather then the turbo incorrectly boosting and untll I can find a known good Manual boost controller I can't say what it is for sure, I'll be borrowing a friends over the weekend. Boost comes on quick as before, not lazily(as it did with the cracked up pipe), only way it's drivable as it is haha. As for the relocation, I was recommended it buy a bg5 owner and I found it reduced boost creep once done as well.

The wastegate doesn't appear to be stuck open, I've removed the circlet and the valve opens and closes normally as well as teh actuator arm has resistence when moved. I will try to see if the BOVs hold vacuum though.

Yes, new hoses on the vac line, made sure the pill was back in place(made that mistake once haha) Will try plan B hopefully tomorrow, gotta bum an MBC off of a friend. Can you elaborate on what you mean about the hose fitting? [quote name='les666 said: Did you fix the crack in your primary up pipe? I did not, rather replaced the primary up-pipe with another. Sorted out the exhaust's crooked flange as well so it wouldn't happen again.

Hey guys, I have a 99 Rev A BE5. Current mods are hose 10 mod, hose 1 mod, primary DP decat, midpipe cat and res delete, relocated boost control solenoid, full silicone hose replacement(including BBOD) and silicone intercooler/TB couplers. Boost was 12 lbs on the primary and 15 lbs on both. Story starts about a month ago, transmission needed replacing, replaced it with no issue. After a quick up and down the street test, during which the car acted normally(boosted normally as well). Came back to install exhaust properly(just zip tied the flange at the DP to mid pipe). Whomever did the cat and res delete on my midpipe did it so it wasn't quite straight with the DP flange so to line them up I jacked up on the DPs, I believe I jacked it up too much and it caused my primary up-pipe to develop a crack. I started to make about 3 lbs of boost on the primary. While trying to figure out my issue, I drove the car with different boost control(mbc, bypassing ebcs, etc) and it ruined the turbo(excessive shaft play). I then replaced the turbo with a known good unit as well as the up-pipe. Car was back to the 12/15 lbs psi boost pressure again. I then re-installed my strut bar(which was removed during the trans swap) and the relocated EBCS wiring was pinched, causing the car to boost at primary wastegate pressure + secondary which in my situation is 7/11 lbs. I've since cut out the relocating wiring and replaced it with new wire(teh pinched portion was showing damage but no scorch marks) but the problem has persisted. With the green connectors under the dash attached, the EBCS clicks as it should and I've tried replacing the EBCS with a Version 6 STI EBCS with no change. Putting a multi-meter on the EBCS wiring shows that with the key at teh ACC position, 12.5V(or battery voltage) on the positive side and 0.39 volts at the negative side. They appear to have continuity as well with the key removed. I have tried putting my GFB Atomic MBC on the primary turbo and was unable to raise the boost, this may be because the MBC is broken or because I'm not properly boosting on the primary. I appear to have no boost leaks, the car idles like a dream when warm and while cold it will fluctuate a bit, something I expect has to do more with the idle air control valve then a possible boost leak. No other symptoms of a boost leak while driving. I believe that either my ECU is not sending the right signal to the EBCS or the wiring is not allowing for said signal. I'm not sure where in teh wiring to tackle it either, is teh EBCS circuit within the engine harness? CHassis harness? Not super familiar with subaru wiring so I may have my terminology wrong here. Anyone have any ideas? Things to try? I'm at my wits end here and am almost at the point where I'm just going to throw parts at it. TL;DR: Making 7 lbs of boost on the primary, 11 lbs on both turbos when I used to make 12/15. EBCS issue or primary boosting issue. Looking for help.

Do you have more info on your front mount setup Marky? Core size and piping size specifically.

Well I feel dense. Everyone seems to just spout as fact that the decat causes uncontrollable overboosting. Looks like I'll be doign that.

Would that work? I'm far from the smarter folks who have owned these cars and it's a consistent and commonly stated fact that it causes over boosting and if a boost controller could stop that I feel someone would have tried it already.

Eh, good enough for me. [quote name='lachlan said: while it is out you have to loose the cat . be extremely stupid not to . . will make car lots better in every way too . my aem is about 8 inch from turbo . not far past the stock location Decatting the primary downpipe leads to boost spiking and overspooling, would rather not do that.

Cat in the primary downpipe, shouldn't really matter before or after the merge as teh exhaust gases meet prior to the turbos. Innovate says 24" behind the turbo but before any cats. Cat will cause lean reading. Unfortunately my cat is maybe 10" from the turbo which puts me in a crappy spot. Either I'm too close to the turbo or after the cat. Any thoughts?

Ah I see, preturbo isn't really a good way to go with a wideband though from my understanding, things like heat and other things causing innacurrate readings. And Ross, I read that link you posted and I'm not sure how much of an issue installing the sensor behind the cat would be as I'm unfamiliar with the terminology and use of 'lambda"(we use completely different terminology here in North America and usually go by a differnent AFR scale[14.7:1 being stoichometric]), think you could give me your opinion on it?

Missed this post, standalone yes. INnovate LC-1. [quote name='boon said: Not entirely true - most widebands these days have a simulated narrowband signal output from the controller. This means you can replace the narrowband as discussed with a wideband, you just have to feed the narrowband pin with the simulated signal. That being said, does a Rev A EJ208 have a narrowband sensor? I've only been able to spot one from the engine bay and its pre turbo so no beuno. Any ideas?

Suppose that makes sense Ross, thanks for coming to the rescue again. I was under the car today seeing if I can have any more luck removing the DP from the bottom and the more I looked I got curious. I know the optimal place for the sensor is 6-12" behind the turbo but would I have any sort of issue with accurate readings if I installed it directly after the primary downpipes cat? It's about 18" back from the turbo but it would save me quite the hassle and would actually make routing the wiring much easier too.

Soo, took the car to the muffler shop to get a bung welded in on the primary turbo downpipe and was told the shop would remove the DP and charge an additional 2-4 hours of labor, so I figured I'd remove it myself. Turns out the nuts are seized and I don't want to remove the turbo, take it to the shop for the bung welding, then bring it back and reinstall it. So if I were to get the bung welded on the secondary downpipe would I get accurate readings with the exhaust valve? I don't think it's always shut but I honestly do not know, figured I would ask.

Awesome Ross, thanks for the info. Just a concrete yes or no seemed damn near impossible to find on UkLegacy or SL-I. Will weldd in a bung today or tomorrow then.

Hey guys, I have a 99 B4 RSK that I want to install an aftermarket wideband sensor in to. From my research it seems that there is a narrowband sensor that I can remove and replace with the wideband, then get a narrowband signal from the wideband to go back to the ECU. However, I can't figure out which sensor this is and how I would go about getting a narrowband signal to the ecu(what wire(s) to splice. I don't mind getting a bung installed 6" from my primary turbo on the downpipe but I'd rather not put unnessecary holes in to a downpipe I will have serious difficulty replacing in Canada. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks for the info, looks like I've got some reading ahead of me. Most appreciated.

I've noticed a minimum of 30kms more on a tank, on a heavy highway drive I noticed a gain of about 75 kms. I do stay in boost quite a bit(****, gas is cheap!). To answer questions 1 and 4 I will start by answering 2, I have a remote starter with a turbo timer feature setup. I drive my car hard, I will admit and I always make sure to let it warm up(sometimes idle to warm up for 5-10 mins in the winter) and I will leave it running for another 2-5 mins depending on the degree of abuse. As for when the turbos spool, with the exception of 1/3 or less throttle I'm pretty much always in boost. The first turbo spools fully by 2500? I've never really checked but it's quick. Max power is up at 5k rpm in my experience.

@Rossub I believe you're correct with the limiting factors. I'm talking to to tuner right now. @evowrx The G4 is $1700 plus tuning vs $1050 for the ecutek license and a protune. The G4 will be double the cost at least after tuning which is why I'm leaning over to the EcuTek. What I'm considering right now is a VF34 setup and see where I'll sit with the factory injectors, if I can hit 300whp that's awesome, if not I'll get as close as I can get safely. I don't mind building another motor(similar to what you've done Rossub) since thats something I'm more familiar with. There's a v6 long block sitting in a shop not far from me I've been eyeballing. Will do more research and see what I'll need to do. Fuel pump sounds necessary, injectors probably too. Would prefer to keep a TMIC though but that's not something I"m super attached to. Thanks for the help guys.

I have a 99 B4 RSK in Canada. I'm assuming you're in Canada as well. For parts, the turbo stuff specifically is difficult to acquire. JDM parts importers and ebay can usually solve that issue though, you'll pay a bit extra but it's not impossible. For engine parts, there are so many gc8s and gc8 half cuts over here parts are easy to come by. Body parts are not difficult to find either because be9/bh9 cars are pretty common here. Plus Subarus are like Lego. Just be sure to get USDM parts for a 2000+ because the body style changed in the US two years later. As for fuel... Car runs better at 94(I use Husky exclusively). Have had to run 91 a few times when I'm in a jam and I've noticed what I believe is the knock sensor telling the EBC to cut boost as I would built 15 lbs at around 5k and cut back down to 13 after compared to 15 lbs all of the way through with the 94. Another guy just south of me only runs 91 on his RSK and has had a code for his knock sensor the entire time. He refuses to try 94 and see if it makes a difference but it explains his issue. Theres a small group of us with JDM WRX/STi/GTB/RSK cars up here in Western Canada and the general consensus is 94/93 octane is necessary if you want the full performance of your car. The majority of us have noticed better gas mileage as well. A few guys have made an effort to tune their cars to run better on 91 where 94 is not available. If you're gonna spend $6-9k on a car you can spend another 15 cents a liter on gas. And if you're not ok with that I'd recommend you get a USDM vehicle. It sucks but it's one of the prices we pay for JDM vehicles.

I think that's not what I'm looking for. Checking afr and knock is something I'd check anyway but the ecu can't adjust for the power I want to make up to my standards. I did recently reach out to a tuning shop and convinced them to buy an ECUTEK license so I think I will go down that road and copy your build ffor turbo choice while keeping my goal of 300whp. Anything you would do differently in your build knowing what you know now?

I've got a GFB MBC laying around from an old project that would be great for that. Sorry to keep picking your brain but I've got some more questions about the EMS situation. I'm very new to Subarus so I'm still learning some of the basics. The V5/v6 WRX ecu is set up for the factory turbo, if the boost is increased can the ecu adjust for it? Is there a certain amount it can adjust for? With my power goals, I would need 18lbs or 1.25 bar of boost on a VF34/Vf39 and that is quite a bit of air. I'd like to stay away from piggy backs and standalones(I really like the reliability of a factory ecu) but if I have to I will. I found a local selling a Link G4 plug n play but I don't know if I have a tuner I trust to tune it for me.

Thanks for the response Rosssub, I was under the impression JDM 5/6 WRXs were 9:1, that saves me quite a bit of hassle as I can find one of those easily. Do you know if all version 5/6WRXs are 8.5:1? My backup option was to use an STi engine but it was hard to justify when my motor was healthy, nice to know I can fit a thicker head gasket to lower it, will keep that in mind in the future. Aftermarket boost controlling I was expecting as well, any recommendations on ways to do that? Any other mods you'd recommend doing while I'm converting? VF39 is the turbo I'm going for right now.

Hey everyone, I've got a 99 B4 RSK and I'm wanting to do a single turbo swap using a V6 or V7 STi turbo setup but I'm at a bit of a loss with my engine management setup. My goal is 275-300whp. EcuTek is almost completely out of the question, no local tuning(I'm in western Canada) and I don't care for mailing my ecu everytime I want a different or modified map. From my reading I noticed that for most swaps guys use V5/v6 wrx ecus when doing single turbo conversions, seems like most guys have rev C cars and can use the WRX ecus since they both have 9:1 compression ratios. Unfortunately I have an 8.5:1 so it seems like that's not gonna work for me. Has anyone successfully used a WRX or STi(CR 8:1) ecu on a single turbo conversion? I've looked in to standalones and piggy backs but nothing beats a factory ECU in my opinion. If anyone has any advice or guidance please share, very new to Subarus so all info is appreciated.