Big ups for Vrg3 (long)
Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2004 4:22 am
Hey ya'll,
I've been having crazy problems with the car lately and I just wanted to publicly thank vikash for owning the knowledge that he does.
I thought it would be very communal of us to share a cool assed Q and A that he and I had.
You're an uber help.
QuickDrive wrote:
I hope you don't mind me asking you,
I don't mind at all. Could I ask you to do one of two things, though? Either post the questions in a thread and direct me to it, or email me your questions instead of PMing them. The only reason I ask is that my PM box is always almost full . Also, if you post them in a thread you can get help from other people as well.
Quote:
but you seem to know more about this car than subaru themselves.
I have no doubt I know more about certain parts of it than anyone at Subaru of America .
Quote:
I have yet to bring it to get it looked at though...
Bring it to whom? The dealer?
Quote:
Coolant temp I'm not sure how hot coolant gets normally... after idling for around 3 minutes I checked a 185F temp.. (shrugs)
Seems about right if the engine isn't under any load and the cooling system's working right...
Quote:
I did notice my Ignition timing at idle was a 20 degree btdc and during driving it peeked at around 39.. ( drove on a long straight empty road near here)
That sounds right for idle and cruise conditions, as far as I can tell. I'm not an expert though.
Quote:
I also noticed that no matter how hard I pushed, the car would not boost past 5.2 PSI via your monitor (or my gauges)
That's the ECU doing its "I'm not gonna drive the boost control solenoid" thing, so you get wastegate-controlled boost. We discussed it in a thread once, but didn't come to any hard conclusions. Some people think it does that when it detects excessive knock. Maybe it always does that when the knock sensor CEL is on... If I remember, I'll try disconnecting my knock sensor and seeing if the ECU limits boost to the wastegate level.
Quote:
The CEL is still on, and I'm reading up now what else I could look at aside from an entirely new sensor.
Oh, you're still using the sensor that got splashed with hot coolant? I'm afraid that sensor just might not be usable anymore...
AutoWebAccessories.com could probably get the part for $35 US... They don't ship to Canada though. If you like, you could order one but have it shipped to me and then I can ship it to you for an additional $4 or so, since that's what the US Postal Service's Global Priority Mail flat-rate small envelope costs. That'd probably end up taking like 2 weeks though.
Quote:
I'm still quite worried about the heat that's been coming off the turbo after a drive, there is no more smoke, but the heat is insane.
call me a moron or what have you but I'm uncertain as to how hot those puppies get...
I'm glad to hear the smoke's gone. It was probably just stuff that got on the turbo slowly burning off.
Turbos get very hot. Insanely hot. Really really ridiculously hot. On most turbocharged cars, you can go for a spirited drive on a moonless night, pull over, pop the hood, and see the turbo glowing red.
On my car, I can see it glowing red through the chimney.
If you're really worried about the temperatures, install an EGT probe and gauge. It's a good investment for any modified forced-induction car anyway. You can get a Westach gauge and probe from Aircraft Spruce for around $35 US each, which is pretty cheap. Then you can know whether your exhaust gas temperatures are too high or not.
But turbos do get very very hot, and hotter when they boost higher.
-Vikash
I've been having crazy problems with the car lately and I just wanted to publicly thank vikash for owning the knowledge that he does.
I thought it would be very communal of us to share a cool assed Q and A that he and I had.
You're an uber help.
QuickDrive wrote:
I hope you don't mind me asking you,
I don't mind at all. Could I ask you to do one of two things, though? Either post the questions in a thread and direct me to it, or email me your questions instead of PMing them. The only reason I ask is that my PM box is always almost full . Also, if you post them in a thread you can get help from other people as well.
Quote:
but you seem to know more about this car than subaru themselves.
I have no doubt I know more about certain parts of it than anyone at Subaru of America .
Quote:
I have yet to bring it to get it looked at though...
Bring it to whom? The dealer?
Quote:
Coolant temp I'm not sure how hot coolant gets normally... after idling for around 3 minutes I checked a 185F temp.. (shrugs)
Seems about right if the engine isn't under any load and the cooling system's working right...
Quote:
I did notice my Ignition timing at idle was a 20 degree btdc and during driving it peeked at around 39.. ( drove on a long straight empty road near here)
That sounds right for idle and cruise conditions, as far as I can tell. I'm not an expert though.
Quote:
I also noticed that no matter how hard I pushed, the car would not boost past 5.2 PSI via your monitor (or my gauges)
That's the ECU doing its "I'm not gonna drive the boost control solenoid" thing, so you get wastegate-controlled boost. We discussed it in a thread once, but didn't come to any hard conclusions. Some people think it does that when it detects excessive knock. Maybe it always does that when the knock sensor CEL is on... If I remember, I'll try disconnecting my knock sensor and seeing if the ECU limits boost to the wastegate level.
Quote:
The CEL is still on, and I'm reading up now what else I could look at aside from an entirely new sensor.
Oh, you're still using the sensor that got splashed with hot coolant? I'm afraid that sensor just might not be usable anymore...
AutoWebAccessories.com could probably get the part for $35 US... They don't ship to Canada though. If you like, you could order one but have it shipped to me and then I can ship it to you for an additional $4 or so, since that's what the US Postal Service's Global Priority Mail flat-rate small envelope costs. That'd probably end up taking like 2 weeks though.
Quote:
I'm still quite worried about the heat that's been coming off the turbo after a drive, there is no more smoke, but the heat is insane.
call me a moron or what have you but I'm uncertain as to how hot those puppies get...
I'm glad to hear the smoke's gone. It was probably just stuff that got on the turbo slowly burning off.
Turbos get very hot. Insanely hot. Really really ridiculously hot. On most turbocharged cars, you can go for a spirited drive on a moonless night, pull over, pop the hood, and see the turbo glowing red.
On my car, I can see it glowing red through the chimney.
If you're really worried about the temperatures, install an EGT probe and gauge. It's a good investment for any modified forced-induction car anyway. You can get a Westach gauge and probe from Aircraft Spruce for around $35 US each, which is pretty cheap. Then you can know whether your exhaust gas temperatures are too high or not.
But turbos do get very very hot, and hotter when they boost higher.
-Vikash
