Rev D BE5 B4 ECU re-pin for MY02 JDM STi motor

[natho]

Hi all,

Long time reader but this is my first post on these forums. I currently have a Rev D ADM Liberty B4. I'm sick of the TT setup, even with an ecutek2 tune it has issues pinging, and the TT setup annoys me in general. I believe it's a matter of time before I have to deal with a spun big end, and the primary turbo has quite a whine when cold so I'd expect that to go soon too. Overall though I love the car and would like to keep it.

One option to improve things is to replace the whole engine/turbo/ecu with a newer combo, such as the MY02 JDM STi (VF30 or VF34) or the MY03 twin-scroll setups. Obviously the wiring is different with these. I've been told that you can 'add to' the existing wiring (adding wires for AVCS, some shielded for various sensors) and re-use some of the TT wiring for the extra non-shielded parts.

My biggest concern is finding the right diagrams to follow. I do have a bunch of Liberty/Legacy and Impreza manuals which *look* correct, but as I've never seen/tested a JDM loom I can't be sure the manual is correct for the JDM setup.

My question to you all, seeing is that there is so much info on here about TT-T conversions, is has anyone done a re-pin job like this on a Rev D?

Other option is to remove all wiring from the car and send it 3000km to a workshop who will mod it as appropriate for $600AUD. I have complete trust in the guys at AM Auto to do this - but i'm not overly keen on removing my entire wiring loom unless I'm sure I can't handle it!

Thanks.

[ReubenH]

I'd recomend just re-pinning to go with the standard link plugs, and running a G3 or 4 in there.

At the end of the day, you can confirm what is right and wrong with a multimeter.

[kamineko]

are Link products easily available in Australia?

infact arn't there roadworthy cert rules against aftermarket ecus in general? (apart from Australian made Motec eh?)

maybe thats just Queensland

[natho]

i think link products are easily available in australia however most people using aftermarket ECUs tend to go for the autronic or haltec plug-in ECUs.

aftermarket ECUs are illegal unless you have some sort of very expensive emissions test done. here in South Australia there is no roadworthy checks but if you get defected for some reason or another and need a vehicle inspection done, they will know to check the ECU on a modified car.

so I was hoping to stick with a factory ECU - I think with an aftermarket tune (ecutek or openecu) they are better than any aftermarket ECU, especially with their knock control strategys etc.

reubenH you said the 'standard link plugs'. is this the same as a standard WRX?

[mattapo]

 natho said:

.

aftermarket ECUs are illegal unless you have some sort of very expensive emissions test done. here in South Australia there is no roadworthy checks but if you get defected for some reason or another and need a vehicle inspection done, they will know to check the ECU on a modified car.

F that. Move to NZ, lol

[Guest boostcut]

just leave the factory ecu and plugs with a foot of wiring in it and mount a new one in a different place

[wrx_lou]

I doubt they would be smart enough to know you have a Link G4 plugin. They get fitted into the original case. They wouldnt have any way of telling unless they pulled back your carpet, took out the ECU and then removed the circuit board from the case.

Also, I originaly had a Haltech before I got my link put in. The features and usuability are piss poor compared to the link. The link is far more straight forward to set up and actualy cost a heap less because it takes half the time. Although considering the Haltechs are aussie made, you might find no-one over there wants to tune a Link. I found no-one over here wanted to tune my Haltech :

[natho]

What does a link offer over a tuned factory ecu? If I'm going to the effort to re-pin for a factory wrx ecu, I may as well use a factory ecu and save a lot of money! Looks like the link g4 is about 1500-1600aud.

[wrx_lou]

Good point really. I'm sure someone more knowledgeble could fill you in on specifics. I guess if your not wanting to tune too hard out you would be fine with the factory v8 ECU with it being reflashable. The main advantages would be the plug in simplicity and ability to run higher boost with more agressive tuning.

[ReubenH]

good point on the pinning. you are going to have to do it, cause rev D's have unique plugs and pinouts. They do NOT match V7's. They are the same generation as the V7 though.

And what i mean by standard plugs, is simply getting a link that doesn't use subaru factory plugs. It'd be easier than re-pinning for a factory ECU.

BUT, sounds like that will cause legal problems. My advice on that is

[natho]

yep i know the REV D's are unique - that's the point of this topic!

i'd pretty much ruled out the idea of doing this with the B4 engine (i.e. just replacing ECU, turbo & manifolds) however this thread got me thinking again. Al from AM auto said that lack of AVCS and TGVs make it a difficult job to use a stock ECU for.

However i've just compared AFM, crank, cam, idle air, map, tps and knock sensors of the rev D B4 and the ADM bugeye MY01/MY02 WRX. all part numbers are identical.

there might be more that i need to check as it's late and i'm doing this off the top of my head - I probably should compare the wiring diagrams at some stage too - but it looks like if I can figure out how to keep the ECU happy without putting TGV's on the car then this might be possible relatively cheaply!

[ReubenH]

 natho said:

However i've just compared AFM, crank, cam, idle air, map, tps and knock sensors of the rev D B4 and the ADM bugeye MY01/MY02 WRX. all part numbers are identical.

This is entirely unsurprising. As for TGV's, just get a TGV delete done, it's all the rage in the states. They then get the error code for them removed and it's all good.

[Pappu1]

if u use a 00/01 v7 wrx then u wont have the avcs/tgv setup and it will be a much easier job. from memory the jdm wrx auto has neithr the avcs and the tgv setup.

anyway, a while back my old mechanic did a 99B4 with v7 sti setup and was a mission getting the wiring right and in the end he had to get custom loom done.

in retrospect it wud have been easier to use the base lower wrx as a base and then do up the bits u want to upgrade - cost u less in wiring hassles as well as there are less things to go wrong.

u can easily beef up the wrx motor with better pistons and turbo etc and retune the factory ecu to suit as that will have all the same knock controll bits etc

[telemekas]

The JDM motor only has AVCs and no TGVs to worry about.

The engine can be run without connecting up the AVCs they will just default into high lift mode.

If you want to run the AVCs there is a wiring kit available.

Alternatively run the B4 as parallel twin turbo with hybrid TD04s and retune.

[Pappu1]

ok just found out

the nz (possibly au) spec is the one that didnt have the tgv and avcs on the 00 wrx v7

but yea parallel be a good option too.. why not ;D

[natho]

don't want parallel as it'll be much laggier. to be honest i'd be happy with a TD04 or VF35 - something with a mid range punch more than top end.

the ADM bugeye has TGVs but not AVCS. i could use an ECU from one of these, re-pin, and use OpenECU to remove the CELs relating to TGVs. only downside is the local tuner uses ecutek so i'm not sure who i'd get to tune it.

i still think the best option is to get a complete motor/turbo/loom/ecu and swap it all in. will be a bit more costly but also the most straightforward.

[natho]

 telemekas said:

The JDM motor only has AVCs and no TGVs to worry about.

The engine can be run without connecting up the AVCs they will just default into high lift mode.

If you want to run the AVCs there is a wiring kit available.

Alternatively run the B4 as parallel twin turbo with hybrid TD04s and retune.

where is this wiring kit available from?

[telemekas]

http://www.iaperformance.com/product_info.php?products_id=2580

Regarding the parallel turbos good results with TD04-15G/hybrids and not the TD04L-13T-6 as found on the WRX

[GravelBen]

 natho said:

don't want parallel as it'll be much laggier. to be honest i'd be happy with a TD04 or VF35 - something with a mid range punch more than top end.

In theory a good parallel setup with two small turbos will be less laggy than one bigger turbo. More complicated to set up / work on etc though to be fair.

[natho]

i don't think theres any need to 'reinvent the wheel'. there are plenty of good single turbo setups out there and the parts to fit it to my b4 are easily obtainable. it'd be a different story if getting single turbo manifolds/piping was hard. if i'm running a single turbo ECU i may as well ditch the twin setup altogether.

[natho]

has anyone here compared the Rev D wiring the bugeye WRX wiring?

i've just spent a couple of hours going through the workshop manuals and not only does it show the same 5 plugs, but there's only about 20 or so wires to change - a few additions (TGVs), a few deletes (TT stuff), and a few simple pin swaps.

surely it can't be that easy? might have to get hold of a bugeye ECU and confirm. maybe the "MY2003" Liberty manual i'm reading is showing an older revision of the wiring?

[telemekas]

I have compared the pinouts and there is not that many to change.

Comparing the JDM, the USDM and the AUDM. The USDM=AUDM. The JDM seemed even easier apart from having AVCs instead of TGVs it had fewer less to delete.

[natho]

I haven't been able to find the jdm pinouts. Any chance you could send me a copy? Nathojg at gmail dot com.

[Pappu1]

how ifferent are the audm and jdm?

could u mail me the pinout diagrams of jdm and audm v7 sti bro?

wana see how different they are between the models

[email protected]

thanks bro!

[Mr Legacy]

Could someone please email me a copy of the jdm rev d pinouts. [email protected]