The SLODRIVE '92 SS Build (Now with Dyno Sheet!)

mlitz123 · Post by **mlitz123** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 5:37 pm

i want to know how the drive went....

dont leave us in such hanging.

mlitz123 · Post by **mlitz123** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 5:41 pm

wow, im tired... i should read my posts before i actully post them.

SLODRIVE · Post by **SLODRIVE** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 5:50 pm

Interesting about the Evo harness being the same, I had no idea. I ordered the Legacy EJ20G harness, part number ASW200, apparently they're always in stock.

I don't mind crimp connectors on certain places around the car, but I ALWAYS solder ECM connections in the name of reliability and low resistance. The trick I found is to use high quality solder and just enough heat that the solder doesn't wick up into the wires and make them stiff. I've just seen way too many problems associated with crimp connectors used for this kind of thing.

mlitz123 wrote: i want to know how the drive went.... dont leave us in such hanging.

However you're hanging is strictly your choice!

As soon as I get a chance (I'm playing with the kids today) I'll plug it in and report back.

asc_up · Post by **asc_up** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 6:25 pm

PhyrraM wrote:It's also the EVO 7 harness adapter if those are easier to find.

For really?

Post by **Legacy777** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 6:37 pm

That's definitely a nice find on the ECU patch harness.

GodSquadMandrake · Post by **GodSquadMandrake** » Wed Jun 03, 2009 7:42 pm

Thanks. I'm gonna pick one of those up and save an EJ22T harness from the knife.

SLODRIVE · Post by **SLODRIVE** » Fri Jun 12, 2009 3:37 am

Okay, okay...I finally got done with a bunch of "other" projects (including fixing up the latest wagon here) and found time to plug the F/IC in. I did the setup steps as per the generic instructions, turned the key (prayed a little first), and.....

And.....

WHOOHOO! The damn thing actually works!

The TPS and RPM signals appear to be right on, so that means that the rest of the install should be a success. It has its own MAP sensor as well, so I have pressure readings already. I'm wiring up the injectors, MAF, MAP, etc. tonight...more to come!

dropdfocus · Post by **dropdfocus** » Fri Jun 12, 2009 4:15 am

F'n sweet!!!!!!!! That HAS to be a heavy load off your mind now!

SLODRIVE · Post by **SLODRIVE** » Fri Jun 12, 2009 5:35 am

dropdfocus wrote:F'n sweet!!!!!!!! That HAS to be a heavy load off your mind now!

Yeah, for sure. I posted the last pic a few minutes after I took it, and I now have the rest of the ECM patch harness wired up. Injectors, MAF, and MAP, along with the crank/cam sensors, TPS, and power wires from earlier. I'll be ready to plug in and start tuning whenever I get time, which should be this weekend. At this point, I don't even want to imagine wiring this mess up under the dash without the ECU patch harness. I'm definitely spoiled for life now, LOL!

Some highlights of the F/IC I've seen so far:

-Relatively cheap, usually about $350 (unless you have an Ebay coupon, then it's a lot less )
-Tunes in real-time and auto-saves everything, so you don't have to remember to save any changes (Can be a mixed bag if you're not paying attention!)
-VERY friendly computer interface, easy to configure & read the maps and gauges.
-Clearly marked wiring harness.
-Calibrations can be made/saved either in real time connected to the F/IC, or on your laptop when not connected and flashed into the piggyback. You can also connect to it and change/load calibrations even if it's not wired into the car, for what that's worth.
-It can actually make its own fuel and ignition maps after entering some variables (inj. size, max RPM, max boost). Not good for a car that's already factory turboed, but great for a turbo swap.
-Has an "automatic" RPM and TPS calibrating feature that's so easy it's just silly.

So far, the only minus I have run across is that you can't advance timing, just retard it. I doubt that'll be too big of a deal for me, since the EJ20H has higher compression than an EJ22T, thus the factory ECM may be giving me more timing than I need anyway. There may well be more negatives that I haven't found yet...I'll be sure to share those as I go. As far as I know, I may well be the first guy to ever use one of these on an OBD1 Legacy, so I'll try to put up as much info as I can for whoever else may want to go this route.

Stay tuned!

asc_up · Post by **asc_up** » Fri Jun 12, 2009 6:25 am

Oooo! I'm definitely going to start watching this. I'm interested in how it all works out for you.

GodSquadMandrake · Post by **GodSquadMandrake** » Fri Jun 12, 2009 8:31 am

That's cool that it has a built in MAP sensor and all that for just $350. EMU is over $500 and you have to buy the MAP sensor after the fact. Yeah this is getting really interesting I can't wait to see where you go with the F/IC!

dropdfocus · Post by **dropdfocus** » Fri Jun 12, 2009 12:40 pm

That is so the hotness right there!!! Well worth the $159 spent for sure.

brand · Post by **brand** » Fri Jun 12, 2009 4:00 pm

Very cool, thanks for sharing your experience

SLODRIVE · Post by **SLODRIVE** » Sun Jun 14, 2009 1:00 am

Update...The F/IC WORKS. The car responds immediately to any changes in the maps. The datalogger isn't the best, but at least it has one. We mostly drove around to try some settings so far, took a bit of timing out of the bottom end, and set up a "fuel cut defender" to limit the voltage the ECM sees from the factory MAP sensor. All I have to hook up is the wideband to the F/IC, and I'm 'a crankin' up the boost some more.

dropdfocus · Post by **dropdfocus** » Sun Jun 14, 2009 2:35 am

Once you get it pretty well nailed down, are you going to ship it off for a dyno tune?

93forestpearl · Post by **93forestpearl** » Sun Jun 14, 2009 6:16 am

The only thing you really can't tune on the road optimally is the timing. In this case, it is a matter of pulling timing only.

Glad to see it working out as well as you expected. Go to a dyno day when you get her all dialed in.

GodSquadMandrake · Post by **GodSquadMandrake** » Sun Jun 14, 2009 7:27 am

Nice! You should throw up some of your data logs so we can see what kind of timing, injector duty cycle, and how long it takes your turbo to spool.

91legacyawdturbo · Post by **91legacyawdturbo** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 7:03 am

+1 really need some em for my leg I dont have 3g's for an altronic unit.

SLODRIVE · Post by **SLODRIVE** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 6:23 am

GodSquadMandrake wrote:Nice! You should throw up some of your data logs so we can see what kind of timing, injector duty cycle, and how long it takes your turbo to spool.

I now have some F/IC logs after some more driving and tuning...but to be honest, I have no clue how to post them here.

I can say, however, that so far I'm really happy with what this piggyback does and it works as advertised.

As of today, I've had this EJ20H safely up to 13+ lbs. of boost and 6500 RPMs, and it feels solid and smooth. Right now I have the A/F a little rich at the top end (10.8-11.3:1), but the injectors are maxing in the mid-high 70% duty range, so there's still a little more room to go there before the STi yellows are needed. The Hitachi MAF hasn't maxed out yet (probably thanks to being at 5000ft. altitude), but it's close...I've seen around 4.8 volts so far. There'll be a JECS MAF under the hood in the near future, I guess.

Here's the best place I found to mount the F/IC. It barely tucks in behind the lower dash panel...I even had to trim the lower steering column cover a bit to make sure it didn't hit it if the wheel's tilted down all the way. You can't see from the pic, but it's secured to the panel with rivets and double-sided tape. The white USB cable runs behind the dash over to the passenger side footwell for now, but I have a flush-mount cable I'm going to put somewhere out of the way.

I also dug up a plug for the wideband O2 input, 12v switchable output, and a wire that can either turn on the internal data logger or switch between 2 calibrations. For now, I just have the wideband wire hooked up; I've been logging through the laptop and I haven't thought up a good use for the 12v output yet.

On another front: I just couldn't stand to look at the blue paint "highlights" on the body any longer, as in the car was literally too ugly to drive. So, I picked up $20 worth of Rustoleum and masking tape to temporarily "fix" it until it's ready for an actual paint job. The car still looks like total ass, but not nearly as bad

, and to be honest it's come a long ways since it first got here.

Before (pics recycled from page 1 of this thread):

And now (Yes, I had to paint over the door trim, I'll get new ones):

Coming soon: more boost. Whee!

P.S. I plan on going to the dyno after I'm happy with the tune, just to see what the final HP/TQ numbers turn out to be. I'll be sure to post up a dyno sheet whenever that happens...

Post by **Legacy777** » Wed Jun 24, 2009 1:07 am

4.8 volts is more or less pretty darn close to maxing out. A lot depends on the reference voltage too. Once your injectors go static, then you know your MAF is maxed. You will probably get a little bit more, and they'll go from 75% IDC to 100%.

Email me the logs and I'll host them for you.

SLODRIVE · Post by **SLODRIVE** » Wed Jun 24, 2009 1:41 am

Legacy777 wrote:4.8 volts is more or less pretty darn close to maxing out. A lot depends on the reference voltage too. Once your injectors go static, then you know your MAF is maxed. You will probably get a little bit more, and they'll go from 75% IDC to 100%.

Email me the logs and I'll host them for you.

Thanks Josh, good to know. The injectors haven't gone static open at any point yet, but there's not going to be any additional boost until I swap MAFs and re-tune.

I'll also get a few logs together this week and send 'em to you (with gratitude!)

93forestpearl · Post by **93forestpearl** » Wed Jun 24, 2009 2:51 am

Post them up and I'll take a look at them too. If you can figure out the code function that helps.

91legacyawdturbo · Post by **91legacyawdturbo** » Wed Jun 24, 2009 4:01 am

Car looks alot better with the paint.

GodSquadMandrake · Post by **GodSquadMandrake** » Wed Jun 24, 2009 8:50 am

Yeah it looks way better. Glad to hear the F/IC is going well.

asc_up · Post by **asc_up** » Wed Jun 24, 2009 6:17 pm

You could always paint the door trim black. That way it gets rid of the chrome strip at the same time and still looks bad ass

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The SLODRIVE '92 SS Build (Now with Dyno Sheet!)