Modifying the exhaust from an expert

[HotLeopardMama]

Originally Posted by qoncept

Basically either you're going to be happy with the power with very minor gains or you need to spend a lot of money either on FI or a build, like any other NA car.

I like the lil bump in power, but especially love its look, sound, and feel.

[mad_sb]

Originally Posted by jpit

For those who have not had a chance to read this, you should take a look. Mike Kojima is one of the top modifiers in the US and he relates some of the problems in installing new exhaust parts on this engine. Seems that the ecu is the root of most of the problems.

http://www.motoiq.com/magazine_artic...strations.aspx

Mr Kojima has a lot to learn about 32 bit subaru ecu's. It's no mystery. It's fuel trims and learned knock correction. Simple as that. If he bothered to buy and Ecutek cable from JV and actually use it to datalog while they were doing all the parts swapping and dynoing, he would have very clearly seen what was going on.

Just sayin, dude ain't all that.

[ML]

Originally Posted by jamesm

i disagree. a tune is good for 10-15whp. this thing needs more than 10-15whp to keep up with minivans, much less be 'fast' by any reasonable standard.

i can never figure out why people throw thousands of dollars at exhausts and tunes and intakes just chasing a few hp from an already fairly well optimized engine. by the time you have full exhaust, a tune, an intake and some pretty wheels you could have gone FI and actually be working with something substantial.

it's baffling to me, but it's not unique to the 86. miata guys will throw thousands into built 2.0 strokers to make less power than the most basic bolt on FM kit. just doesn't make much sense i guess.

but hey, the wheels are pretty

Because I can afford to build my own turbo kit, but its the stuff you need to go with it that is the problem. (brakes, wider tires, injectors, gauges, tuning software, new clutch, etc.)

[suaveflooder]

Originally Posted by Trashed675

Just give it time boys. I remember when the GTR first came out, it was supposed to be "untuneable" and the ecu was supposed to be totally locked down. 3x the horsepower later, i think the tuners have cracked it.

Given the twins have only been available for about a year now, I'm sure things will get better.

Exactly my thoughts. I'm not planning on modding my car too much, but if I do it, will be in a couple years when the tuning is perfected. I have no doubt, it'll get better with time and experience.

[l0aded]

Sad time to live with California gas.. sigh. I'm assuming octane boosters don't really help either.

[wootwoot]

Originally Posted by jamesm

i disagree. a tune is good for 10-15whp. this thing needs more than 10-15whp to keep up with minivans, much less be 'fast' by any reasonable standard.

i can never figure out why people throw thousands of dollars at exhausts and tunes and intakes just chasing a few hp from an already fairly well optimized engine. by the time you have full exhaust, a tune, an intake and some pretty wheels you could have gone FI and actually be working with something substantial.

it's baffling to me, but it's not unique to the 86. miata guys will throw thousands into built 2.0 strokers to make less power than the most basic bolt on FM kit. just doesn't make much sense i guess.

but hey, the wheels are pretty

Reliability. We have no idea how the engine will hold up to boost. I would rather have less power and increased longevity and reliability than more power at the expense of either.

[jamesm]

Originally Posted by wootwoot

Reliability. We have no idea how the engine will hold up to boost. I would rather have less power and increased longevity and reliability than more power at the expense of either.

yeah i see where some can feel that way. to me a blown engine is just an excuse to build a monster. if the car is broken, it's easier to justify fixing it to the wife

[sw20kosh]

Originally Posted by l0aded

Sad time to live with California gas.. sigh. I'm assuming octane boosters don't really help either.

Torco Fuel Accelerator fuel additive works very well. It uses MMT as a detonation suppressant. My tuner said one bottle of Torco in a tank was able to produce the same power as running straight 104 octane gas on his dyno.

[HotLeopardMama]

Originally Posted by wootwoot

Reliability. We have no idea how the engine will hold up to boost. I would rather have less power and increased longevity and reliability than more power at the expense of either.

^^THIS. That's the other reason why I'm okay with just the simple things like intake and exhaust. I'll eventually want a tune, too, but wheels and tires first. I don't know if I'll ever want to do FI, but maybe after a few years and 100,000+ miles proven, that $5000-ish price tag will be worth it.

But, I'll prolly have kids by then and $5k on my car as opposed to something on the kids isn't gonna be the most prudent expenditure.

[Dynotronics1]

Originally Posted by mad_sb

Mr Kojima has a lot to learn about 32 bit subaru ecu's. It's no mystery. It's fuel trims and learned knock correction. Simple as that. If he bothered to buy and Ecutek cable from JV and actually use it to datalog while they were doing all the parts swapping and dynoing, he would have very clearly seen what was going on.

Just sayin, dude ain't all that.

DING DING DING!!! correct answer!

[jpit]

Don't you think John did that when he was there tuning it?

[Dynotronics1]

Originally Posted by jpit

Don't you think John did that when he was there tuning it?

If JV spent several weeks doing the logging and adjustments, then yes. But I did not get that from this story.

[FAER]

I'd like to add that i don't think this car was designed "to be fast" in the street racer sense of the word.... more so "Fast" like the ae86 was...

[Captain Insano]

Originally Posted by sw20kosh

Torco Fuel Accelerator fuel additive works very well. It uses MMT as a detonation suppressant. My tuner said one bottle of Torco in a tank was able to produce the same power as running straight 104 octane gas on his dyno.

Yep definitely it helps. Haven't seen it mentioned on this forum too much yet though. Surprised people without access to e85 aren't using it more.