RomRaider

Hey.. So as the title suggests.. Im learning... I think im learning lots but, but all ive learnt so far is there's lots more to learn before im ready to start... Make sense?

About my car. ADM 2001 WRX GG (Wagon) Manual. ECU ID:1B54500405 Internal ID A4SE700I Memory model 68HC16Y5
As far as i can tell it is Stock Rom.

When i bought the car its history was.. Just been rebuilt after a "larger turbo from ebay" had let go..
Only done 1000k run in..Then sat for 7 years. i got it cheap car had been running really well.

Upon getting it home i discovered Turbo XS system installed it had the works.. Map change button, Launch, no lift changing.. I got accsess to it twice.. before it just died looking through menus... So it came out and never got to try it.
During removal discovery of spliced wires every where, Apex Turbo Timer (yeh the pen version), Manual Boost T (cheap Nasty One).... So after a few days i got it all out removed splices into wires car runs maybe better (might be in my head) but definitely no worse..
Ok time to install my Zeitronix Wideband.. Off with the down pipe.. oh look its been cut and de-catted and re welded..
New down and up pipes are here waiting on gaskets.

So all this time ive been reading and reading, sneak out at night to log and all is good.. (have to sneak out as car is unregistered...

Then the other night after going out and "practice logging for MAF scaling" this is what my learning view suddenly looked like.. First is from a couple of days before second is after cruising for half hour... a couple of WOT and more cruising..




Below in the zip are the full length logs from that night.. Ive noticed when completely of throttle AFR spike are fully lean!
Have i got a stuck valve? or maybe two? Does off throttle normally result in huge lean readings?
I wouldnt have thought so..
Would appreciate some guidance, to further my learning be it go drive and log this.. Which im expecting..
If you look and you see the obvious issue please explain how you go about finding that.. What to look for in the logs etc etc.

There was no obvious DET nor Mis fires.. It did throw the old Cam Sensor MIL on the 2nd or third WOT in the smaller 2nd log file of the night. But im positive that its the old Alternator causing it as when ive logged Volts before its in the high 14v region..

By posting this adventure from a novice and putting myself out for all to laugh at or get a laugh from.
I hope that it will encourage others to learn EFI tunning as well.
I have a great Mechanical understanding of why and how engines run.. I can pull one apart and put it back together and understand why and what order with what clearences.. etc etc..
The software im learning.
And so can you!
My goals.
1) Tune the car to have more power and economy then stock and understand why. As well be reliable for a period..
2) Then Tune it to around or over 300whp...

Looks like i forgot to mention another "mod" that previous owner had done, and would appear to be potentially causing my issue..
Im pretty certain.. im leaning towards the knock is entirely off throttle when afr spikes..

So the previous owner has removed the plub-back from the BOV.. So it vents to atmosphere..
MAF+BOV= pain in the arse.. so i was just reading..

So ill get out tonight and log the following
AFR#1 Correction and AFR
Engine Load (Calculated)
Engine Speed
Ignition Total Timing
Knock Sum
Fine Learning Knock Correction
Feedback Knock Correction
Ignition Advance Multiplier
Boost
Mass Airflow
Final Fueling Base
Throttle Opening Angle
Wideband O2

Sound like the right things?

No Knock.. Car ran really well.
Still logging more then i need to in an attempt to learn what normal behavior looks like on the logs.
Have found another issue the coolant system isn't going where its meant to go.
The upper Tank over flow is plumbed straight into the overflow tank and the radiator over flow point has been capped.Easy fix with a brass 5/16 T also decided to drop the coolant as its bright yellow/green and not of the normal Subaru shade of Blue or Green..

Whilst doing that confirmed oil leak on Cylinder 2 Head gasket. also might be one from the middle front.. need to have a look.,

Heat shield only half installed on the headers and cylinder 2 and 4 have exhaust leak at the headers.. Thankfullly i have all exhaust gaskets on order anyway.

Hi-lo,
well it looks as if your on the right track reading is your friend , there are many here who can help but help yourself first by reading the getting started section & associated post's I am by no mean's a expert I can hold my own with help at best

Good luck with your adventure just have reasonable expectations & you will be happy with your knowledge gained

J

hey j thanks for posting.. Ive continued logging but have decided to return the car back to stock config (or as close to)before i flash my first write to it.
In the end it will have new exhaust from the Up pipe back. With all new gaskets nuts and bolts..
PCV system back to how it's meant and including BOV recirculating..
But i just can bring myself to keep the 2 port boost setup... so i got the 3 port pierburg..
And to save the hassels of the intake tube i many just upgrade that.. but ill wait untill ive got my fuels done that way if i have to rescale
MAF ill be able to see first hand the change in car and data.

How is the progress? I am also learning & make very little changes as I guess just not too confident yet.
I noticed in your learning views you IAM is 14 & then 15 on next view. I have a 32 bit ecu but Im pretty sure 16 bit would want IAM @16. Thus meaning thus ecu is comfy to ADD timing. I've read to fix that before going too far elsewhere. MAF is up there too. I've rescaled my maf & it's decent & I have pulled base timing in 1.x+ load range for 'preventative' knock. Up to -6. In some areas; Tho im currently getting some 'learned'. (Think it was me running 4 gallons of 110 leaded for basically zero reason lol f)

(Added)&yes, it is apparently 'normal' for engines to be lean af on decel I guess. Doesnt make sense to me either. I was searching all that a week or so ago. It's weird because I can go 60 then N & it goes 1lambda. But if i go 60 or down the ski hill off the gas in gear, it's like 18+afr or 2lambda. Idk the deal there tbh. Just keep oil in the sucker I figure lmao. Thought it'd be cool/ideal to hit perfect stoich always but guess not. People even say to go rich for boosting; like .78 lambda.. so i guess not having a perfect combustion is "always" ideal.

So Id recommend getting that IAM to 16(if that is maxed for 16bit ecus-- ought to be) keeping in mind mine wonders a bit after an ECU reset/flash.(an hr or so of good driving- but now ive learned to let the vehicle idle to learn a bit then drive off lol)

That is another thing- we can reset the ecu then view learning view after only idling & get 'recent' data.
Heard a video today (closed loop vs Open Loop cl/ol) tho mention that we really shouldnt rely too much on these corrections from factory tools, (front 02 sensor, fuel trims) as PERHAPS they arent reliable, espec when going 'hard'--- think that is nearly the main reason for 'open loop' but idk. That's where im at rn. He was saying that a person can even 'disable' the fuel trim learning & corrections while scaling MAF & THEN enable the learning trims again as an extra help. That way we arent tuning based off some constant compensation type stuff. (Pretty sure disabling the corrections is to make vehicle drive in open loop more often-- im looking at setting ol/cl transition to 0- yet itll take more tables edited i think)

I simply got a safe retarded base map & going from there. & learning logs like you say. I got knock today after a wot let off. Seems the case usually.
Little mind dump is all- trying to help & it helps me typing & thinking extra- so goodluck & get back to us!

hey 05LGT. Well the tuning has stopped to continue getting the car actually roadworthy..I had been driving at night collecting logs cross checking and the police pulled me up, they were cool about it but after the third time they said they cant keep getting away with pulling me up and not checking details.. SO part of the roadworthy was new front pads.. brakes.. and that has sprilled into complete overhaul rebuild and paint, plus running a business..

The reason you'd disable self learning during certain points of tuning is because youd hate to make changes and then the ecu just overides it and adds back or takes away what you had changed. the reason youll see my IAM is because i was constantly re setting it.. i was trying to see the raw factory tune, as well as see how it did things differently depending on driving and conditions.

Have you got megalog viewer? Another log viewer i like is Live Link Gen-II takes a little work to get right but its pretty damn nice

Are you watching Evens are you?

I think they came up rather well... All new rubber boots for pistons to

So after a year, of owning my 2001 GG Wagon, Its finally legal and Road Worthy. Ready to tune!
Ive learnt alot about how my WRX works Mechanically and electronically.
Ive always understood the fundamentals of mechanics, but actually pulling the front end suspension apart (multiple times now lol) to replace bushings, control arms, ball joints etc etc as well as the rear end has given me even more understanding and passion!
Restoring this WRX back to stock configuration so i can begin tuning has also taught me a lot.
Now i understand why the PCV system is there as well as other systems, i have enjoyed re-installing them, as well as chasing electrical gremlins and finding the big mess of dodgy wiring the previous owner left.. (normally hidden under a roll of red electrical tape) i also understand that i have lots more to understand... You dont know, what you dont know... Untill You Know and then you know there's more to know! (ive added a twist at the end of that saying.. Thanks Andre HP Academy)
So to get to this point i have fixed or replaced.
By pass valve reinstall, PCV system re-install, Front o2 sensor reinstall, removed Factory Up pipe with CAT, removed Exhaust temp sensor for factory CAT up pipe (still need to disable or do resistor to stop engine code), did remove a manual boost T but factory boost solenoid is faulty so reinstalled and turned all the way down so operating on natrual waste gate spring, removed stock down pipe replaced with CAT-less down pipe, all front end bushes replaced with super-pro bushes, front control arms replaced with Aloy STI control arms and double off-set rear lower bushes to add caster, rear end bushes with super pro. Installed Zeitronics Wide Band, Boost Gauge, Vaccum hoses, turbo outlet to Y and intercooler to throttle body silicon, pulled coil overs and rebuilt them (twice lol) 3 attempts at doing wheel alligment (god the first attempt was bad).. and thats all i can remember...

So let the tune begin, firstly i will be confirming that calibration of my MAF is correct and then injectors. I havent pulled injectors yet not even to clean, i am expecting that they will need to be cleaned or replaced but.


Oh i plan to tune the car in stock form, and then dyno.
Then ill add some bolt on's.. Bigger turbo, intake etc etc tune.
Then ill carberry it..
Stay Tuned!! Ill try and update as much as possible, ill share my mistakes no matter how stupid they are, share my leanings so hopefully this can help someone else.

Well what are the odds?
My trusty old laptop did its final half hour of logging then died RIP 2010 i7 running Windows 7..
So i went and picked up a Asus ROG Strix i9 with a RTX 470.. Hopefully this will last me 14 years to!
Hopefully everything runs on windows 11.
Ill update a mini review on the Windows 11 front after today. Ive got two hours of Highway driving in front of me this morning. Perfect to log for low MAF scale
Happy tuning!

Well i said id share my failures..
Did in total about 5 1/2 hours driving today. Down the highway to see family.
Long times in 4th and 5th gear sitting at speeds 80-120 k/Lh.. off boost under 3,000RPM..
Logger looked like it was logging.. Saying Logging and Connected in all the right spots.
Numbers changing everything looking good..

All i got are 1kb CSV files with the Headings it was meant to log... DAMN IT!!
So its a problem ive had before. Not sure why it does it.
I'll see if deleting the logger profile i made and not displaying live data whilst logging fixes it again.

See attached RR system Log
although it says "Error sending init: Parameter portName must not be null or empty"
It was not saying that down the bottom of Logger. It acted as though it was connected, Tactrix version and Protocols and ECU ID data all listed correctly at the bottom, even queries per second with the changing figure next to it. Up the top But below menu Connected displayed on the far right and when "Start File Log" was clicked Connected changed to "Logging to File"
AFR and other data being logged (Maniflod Abso, STFT/LTFT, RPM etc etc) all changing values as you'd expect..

Yeh i know i should have checked the data upon arrival.. But 4 year old and pregnant wife.. You know how things go.. Plus it logged fine the night before. oh well, its not a real issue.. I get to go driving again...
But if any Devs want more info please ask. Happy to share.

What protocol are people using? My ECU is 16bit ECU ID:1B54500405 Internal ID: A4SE7001 and only seems to want to log using the SSM Protocol VIA K-line connection. Using a Tactrix 2.0. From memory 1 querie per 0.018 or 0.08.. Seem about right?

On a side note. Rom Raider 1.0 with 32bit java ver 8 (build 1.8.0_421-b09) runs fine on Windows 11.
RomRaider looks a bit fuzzy Ive attached a screen shot Rom Raider and EcuFlash Open next to each other.. Once again no issue just sharing to share might be a bug might not be.. Functionality isn't affected.. 3D Displayed maps may actually benefit from being FUZZY hahahahahaha JOKE..
MegaLog Viewer HD, ECU Flash, Tactrix Openport 2.0 Drivers, Scanmatik 2 Pro+aux and ecuEdit all work fine..
Microsoft tries to block ecuEdit install.. But thats happening more and more with software.

yeah any time i get a 1kb file i just stop logging, restart the logger and try it again. if no joy then clear the list of parameters (unselect all) and add them in again. Then make a quick log say 10 seconds sitting at idle and if the file is greater than 1kb i know im good to go.

And finally off and tuning.. I mean logging.. Altough i have a stock intake i thiugyht id double check the MAF scale at the start instead of hitting problems later.. This first part is only about 40mins of driving and all highway.. 108,000 lines 0f date..
The more data i give it the closer it is naturallly.. But mainly reading 4% below current scale.

in the range of +5/-5% i'd be happy enough that the cars in a reasonable state to tune in terms of boost leaks (assuming everything else is working as it should). So get some base settings adjusted - go log a 2nd gear hit as a test and then start dialling in your tables to get it 100% and driving its best.

I was thinking the same...But there is a little catch to.. Its still using a boost T as its only Boost control Stratergy oh and my foot lol...
It is turned down A FAIR BIT

I do have a 3 port to use... and a VF turbo from my 2012 STI
But They might be the wrong place to start..

Nice to see you are making progress, learning & having fun! btw, that meaga log viewer is super nice!, thank you! i've been using the old MAF scaling log viewer some awesome guy made in the past. far as janky logging--- i sprayed my tactrix & OBD with electrical cleaner & also removed the OBD from the plastic panel below steer wheel. so it's more free floating(only sucks on disconnect, need two hands) the cleaner spray made the most difference tho. aslo make sure you can log all the desired paras when adding new ones, my laptop doesnt like many 2bytes or 4s.
Pretty sure in RR MAF scaling tab, they want you to deselect all parameters when using. get the red dots going. they also updated it (prob 10 yrs ago) where you can hit boost & it doesnt record. the dot will remain at last CL spot till back. I have a question though- does a person log their shifts when doing MAF?? Noob I know but serious question. I recall my dats plots looking like a roller coaster/rolling hills & wonder if that is 100% because of the shifting. guess I can't plot where I "cant go".. so likely doesnt matter. ANOTHER question tho, seems as though you are more competent than I, how would one disable the Fuel trim learning for a solid MAF scaling? unplug the front 02? ha
Goodluck, Glad your whip is street legal now

-Mick