2.5RS Engine Management / Cams

Well I just got my tax returns and I have a little extra money laying around so I thought maybe its time to finish my car For all you 2.5RSers out there...what are you running for electronics? I have been holding my breath for Cobb to get Accesport together for some time but I think its time to explore other options because I'm beginning to question whether or not it will happen for the RS. Any input would be much appreciated. Also, can anyone lend me a hand or know of a good shop around town to get it tuned at? If I tuned my own car I think it would die

 

I have tBONE stock, pending on blitz id power meter soon, that's all

 

As you probably know, my car has a ProECM.com chip installed that is designed to advance ignition timing for faster acceleration and allows the ECU to learn the best A/F ratio much quicker; not a fuel computer.

Here's a link to a post over at RS25.com that talks about a piggy-back fuel controller that Rallitek will tune for you. Unfortunately, they're at a distant location from here, and this item is not ready-ready for the market (per the attached link). http://www.rs25.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25353&highlight=rallitek

 

You might be able to persuade Todd to do another Haltech installation with the new E6X if you're looking for a fully-programmable unit. Dunno what he's charging these days though. I can offer whatever assistance I can but I'm no expert even though I've got one. I have a pretty good deal of info on the E6K at least.

 

Something that has a sizeable user base. I'm unfamiliar with your mods...what do you have done that engine management can really get the most out of? Can't think of much you would do sticking with an all-motor setup that really requires EM.

 

My RS is a 2001. I have Cobb cai and equal length headers matched with a brullen 2.5" exhaust. N1 light pulleys and Exedy Clutch/Light Flywheel. Would em help me at all with this setup or are there other upgrades I should be looking into that might net better gains for the same money(nothing requiring messing with the engine internals)? I'm actually unfamiliar with the Haltech and Hydra setups. Also where can I buy these units, I have no clue which companies are good to deal with. I've dealt through Cobb, Larry Ganz, and Nino's for everything I couldn't get locally at Metric in St Paul. I've heard about the ProECM from Larry and I hear people talking about UTEC. I was hoping to have something that would be programmable(obviously by someone else..lol) to match what I have on the car and then maybe be able to readjust should I upgrade further. I'm willing to spend a little more money on a better unit if I'm going to get more out of it. Also secondary things I'm looking for would be to have a setup that I could clear the CEL from my headers and possibly raise the rev limit(preferrably adjust a little higher not turn all the way off). But these are secondary, first and foremost I want the best gain. And I'd like to order this thing before the end of the week if possible

 

My suggestion for you is to order in some cams and get them installed. You will gain ~10+ hp on the top end, and then engine managment will better utilize the efficiency of the increased air flow netting you more gains with the cams in comparison to I/H/E/C mods only. It's all up to you on what you want done.

FWIW, when the guys and I did my clutch install, I noticed that my exhaust port walls were black as h3ll from running rich from the factory ECU. I would backfire every now and then. I would benefit from engine management as well.

 

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by 25RSMN

My RS is a 2001. I have Cobb cai and equal length headers matched with a brullen 2.5" exhaust. N1 light pulleys and Exedy Clutch/Light Flywheel. Would em help me at all with this setup or are there other upgrades I should be looking into that might net better gains for the same money(nothing requiring messing with the engine internals)? I'm actually unfamiliar with the Haltech and Hydra setups. Also where can I buy these units, I have no clue which companies are good to deal with. I've dealt through Cobb, Larry Ganz, and Nino's for everything I couldn't get locally at Metric in St Paul. I've heard about the ProECM from Larry and I hear people talking about UTEC. I was hoping to have something that would be programmable(obviously by someone else..lol) to match what I have on the car and then maybe be able to readjust should I upgrade further. I'm willing to spend a little more money on a better unit if I'm going to get more out of it. Also secondary things I'm looking for would be to have a setup that I could clear the CEL from my headers and possibly raise the rev limit(preferrably adjust a little higher not turn all the way off). But these are secondary, first and foremost I want the best gain. And I'd like to order this thing before the end of the week if possible <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

I think you need to start from square one and do way more research. First off, you can't use a UTEC on your car. Unless you drop in an EJ20 and a WRX ECU. Next, I wouldn't go messing with your rev limiter unless you have a seriously upgraded valvetrain that can take it and the ability to move enough air through the engine to make it worthwhile. The price of a standalone or other fancy system is not going to be worth it when you just have headers and exhaust, IMHO...you just don't stand to gain that much. If you had a turbo setup of some sort, then you would definitely NEED engine management, preferably something like the Link Plus.

Waiting for PHATSuby, Russ, or bikerboy to back me up here...

 

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by kickin_81

FWIW, when the guys and I did my clutch install, I noticed that my exhaust port walls were black as h3ll from running rich from the factory ECU. I would backfire every now and then. I would benefit from engine management as well.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Umm, even at an optimal AFR the walls of your exhaust port are gonna be black I'm guessing. Exhaust is not clean.

 

There isn't much of a user base for the Haltech for Imprezas here in the US. I think I know of 3-4 others that are running one on their RS but they're running forced induction as well, and at that point engine management is pretty much required. The interface for my E6K is a little archaic running DOS with 3-colors on a laptop but the mapping is very straightforward, however it is very thorough. The E6X has Windows-based software and so may be a little easier to work with. That one ECU is made to work with a LOT of different cars but since it's made in Australia Subaru has some of its own special settings in there (like for the odd crank trigger for instance). Now that we've got an AWD dyno in town you won't have to road-tune it like I did when you put it in so that's a big advantage. I'm sure anyone smart enough to tune using other engine computers can figure out the Haltech so any shop that can do this can help you out. I'd just recommend Todd for the labor/tuning if you can get him since he's done one already and did a fantastic job of it. The E6K kit cost me $1200 about 3 years ago when it was installed. I'm guessing the E6X is roughly similar in price now.

It does have some neat features built in (at least on the E6K) like ALS, flat-shift switch, staged injectors, A/C idle control, and closed loop control. Options for both a racing car and a daily driver }

 

I spent a couple minutes on the phone with Cobb tuning today. They agree with Zola in that a chip wouldn't do a ton of good(some but not a lot). They also agreed with Fong in that a set of cams might be something better for me to look at. Unfortunately I don't have the money to do the heads/cams/valvetrain kit all at the same time so I will lose the package price but I'm thinking about possibly doing the stage one cams from Cobb instead of the computer. Any opinions on that?

 

Fong, my car also backfires like a mofo. It scares old people and pedestrians sometimes

 

My pops if it match the rev on 3k-35k on the move