RomRaider

So, my open port cable came in yesterday get everything ready to flash pull out good old lappy, wont turn on...WTF...try everything, still not working, so I do the next best thing that I can do...move the good old desktop to the garage pull off my base map, then save it 4 different places just in case then flash a stg1 map from osecuroms.org. Run around abit, lovin it. My question now is, I have partially gutted my dp, I have a cat-free up and mid, would it be bad to flash to stg2? Or should i just wait until next weekend when my qtp comes in and just do everything then? Any help would be great!

What revision do you have?

What exactly is a partially gutted downpipe? Do you mean that you gutted the downpipe (2nd cat), but not the midpipe cat (3rd)? Or you took it off the car and only got part of the cat out and put it back on?

As to the revision...dont really know what you mean.

As to the partial gutted cat. pulled the dp off and got most of the cat out, could not get all of it with the tools I had . The 3rd cat is gone as is the uppipe cat. I have a qtp dp coming but after feeling how smooth stg1 is I can hardly wait to see stg 2 especially with the cutout open

There are different ECU images, even in the same year/same model, in which Subaru makes updates. The revision number is listed on the ROM. Open your stock ROM in RomRaider and go to the top and click on View and properties. Look at the "ECU Revision" line. You'll see 8-digit revision code.

I would wait on the downpipe before flashing stage 2.

My base ecu image is A4TF300F. My biggest question is, can I flash a A4tf800F image to my ecu and have it run well, or do I need to continue to use the 300F?

Flashing different years can sometimes cause problems. For example, they added an additional sensor on the 03 wrxs, so if you flash an 03 WRX rom to an 02 WRX, you will end up with a CEL because the ECU can't find the sensor data that it expects. Not sure about the 04-05s - I had thought the 05s have the immobilizer stuff and the 04s didn't.

Your best bet would be to take the values from the A4TF800F stg 1 map and copy them over to the A4TF520F revision, which is the latest for the 04s. If you need help doing this, let me know.

Bill is correct, for an 04 ECU use the 520F file. It's actually more updated than the 800F.

Thanks for the help. For the last 2 years I had been looking for something like this for my car. I like to be intune with what all is going on mechanically/electronically and this is an incredible tool. I apploud all of the hard work that you all have done with this. I will transfer the values over and work from there. I am still awaiting the qtec to come in. There is another question that I have. I replaced my uppipe with a catless one, since then I have had a loud scretching noise. The noise only happens when above ~70% throttle in all of the gears. Thought that it could be one of the gaskets. Replaced both of those today and still have the noise. Also, when you are talking about the immobilizer, what exactly would that pertain to? And once again thank you for all of your hardwork!!

That definitely sounds like an uppipe leak. I would go with the OEM gaskets. If you did, then you need to make sure you try to get the right torque by using a torque wrench where you can. Don't overtighten as the rating is about 26 ft-lbs IIRC. I used the Vishnu bolt tightening sequence when I did my uppipe a year ago and have had no problems. Do a search on Nasioc for vishnu uppipe instructions.

I don't know all the details about the immobilizer, but from what I understand is that it is a separate module that looks for a signal from your uniquely chipped key and if it doesn't match, the car doesn't start. That code is stored on your ECU in the form your VIN number. So, if you reflash a car with someone else's ROM, you car probably won't start. I know that only 05s+ might have this feature. I'm sure the STi did, but not sure about the wrx.

It's only in the RAM and its embedded. If you swap the whole ECU then you've got probs but just flashing the ROM is not a problem.

Embedded meaning that it can't be erased by a reset?

Correct, I've loaded numerous different ROM's and reset the ECU plenty and my RAM still has the VIN locked in it. It most likely gets placed in there from the TPU bootloader.