Making exhaust plans for Spring

So I'm spending the winter gathering and researching and planning to do my own up, down, catback, and intercooler upgrades in the Spring. I plan to try to do everything in one shot in my driveway over how many ever days it takes to get it done.

 

Intercooler is Process West. The up is as yet undetermined, though if I could find a used sti up in good condition, I'd probably jump on that. Down will be Cobb catted connecting to Borla cat-back.

 

What else should I put on my list to take care of in that effort? Certainly banjo bolt filter and plan to do an e-tune. Any fluids at that time? Certainly new gaskets. OEM are good enough? At least for the up anyway? Turbo to down and down to cat-back are not stock sizes (or are they?), so I'll need something different for that. What sort of gotchas should I look out for or are there any tips that someone can provide? Should I probably do an oil change a few days before I do this?

I liked my double thick Grimmspeed gaskets and would recommend them. Other then gaskets it's a realitively simple job to get done in a day.

 

I don't know how you plan to do the up install but if you plan to pull the exhaust manifold down, be prepared to break a few bolts removing the heat shields. Some misc bolts, a dremel and some cut off wheels should be all you really need. It's a realitively simple job.

 

If your car is due for some fluid change it wouldn't be a bad idea, but it's not neccesary.

What are my options on pulling the up? I'm doing this in my driveway and I don't have an engine hoist.

 

Also, am I correct that there is an EGT sensor in the stock up. I will need to do EGT delete via either tune or resistor correct?

You can either drop the whole exhaust manifold which will give you the space to get the up out. Or you can undo the engine mounts and raise the motor and try and squeeze it out that way..

 

There are quite a few DIY write ups on here. Yes you will need to add a resisitor or flash the ECU with a 'tune' in order to keep the CEL from coming on.

Someone help me understand EGT delete a little bit. Seems like if we're deleting the sensor, then the ECU doesn't need it that badly. Is EGT just more of a safety data point (not too hot) than an actual live tuning measurement? Also, I've read that I can relocate EGT to the exhaust manifold if I really want to. Not planning to do that at this time, but if I did do that, would the tune need to account for a temperature difference based on the location of the sensor (I assume things are hotter the closer you get to the engine)?

 

Also, speaking of sensors and gauges. I've got a wideband O2 sensor that I believe the Cobb dp already has a bung in it for. Seems like I've read that a wideband is a pretty necessary component of properly tuning, but I'm not quite sure I understand the paradigm. The instructions I have with my wideband seem to imply that the sensor only feeds data to the fuel air gauge that it came with, but there doesn't seem to be anything about connecting it to the ECU. Can somebody help a newb understand how things are supposed to look. Seems like if the wideband sensor isn't hooked up to the ECU, then the ECU can't use that O2 data in real time. Is this true regardless? Can the ECU even handle a non-stock wideband O2 signal? Can the software handle it? Can the tune account for that? Or have I just misunderstood and the wideband can really only show me real-time data in the car and there isn't any real way to correlate gauge measurements to ECU data points in real time (in say a WOT 3rd gear pull).

You live in a great area with some great Tuners locally. I use http://www.tuningalliance.com Mike has taken good care of me and my wagon.

 

He uses the dyno at ESP in Sterling MA. They have a wide band for the dyno.

 

You seem to have the correct thought process about what your plans are.

 

I'm good with my hands but know enough to leave the tuning to the experts. Mike, can walk you through what you need and then meet you at the dyno for the proper tune.

 

I would also suggest you clean your MAF and IAT sensors, my wagon also has new O2 sensors. $80.00 each from Car Quest Auto Parts.

 

I'm amazed at how well the wagon starts and runs.

What sort of gotchas should I look out for or are there any tips that someone can provide?

 

make sure to spray the shit out of the turbo to dp bolts and nuts, one of mine stripped right out when i did the DP (the first time...)

Save a headache and get new oem studs/bolts/nuts/lock washers

you could get the up pipe by pulling the turbo out as well. I somehow did it without pulling the manifolds or turbo...dont ask how. While you are in there, grab zip ties and zip tie all your vacuum hoses (the infamous T connecter and the lines coming from the turbo, waste gate etc.) piece of mind since going stage two you will be running more boost. Check all fluids. Check your passenger CV boot as it tends to rip. Are you wrapping your up pipe/dp?

 

The EGT sensor in the up pipe is easy to fix. Search resistor mod and it will fix that CEL. The wideband doesnt connect to the ECU, it connects to a gauge to give you the AFR. Its the most valuable gauge you can have in your car. What Wideband setup did you buy? LC-1? AEM? if its LC-1 I can help you just PM me.

Oh Yea, also put anti-seize compound on all the nut's and bolts when you reassemble everything.

 

 

I used oem nut's on the turbo, but just got some 3/8x1 1/2" bolts and nuts with washers and lock washers for the DP to Mid pipe.

...They have a wide band for the dyno. ... I'm good with my hands but know enough to leave the tuning to the experts. ... I would also suggest you clean your MAF and IAT sensors ...

 

Wideband on the dyno is certainly great for a dyno tune. I'm actually more planning to do a first tune (these exhaust/intercooler changes) as an e-tune. There are a couple reasons I want to do that. I agree that I have no business changing any timing tables or anything of that nature, but I am a software developer and thus have some experience with computers. While I don't know anything about modifications and tuning, I think I know enough to figure out how to use RomRaider, Learning View, and ECUFlash. (I hope to someday learn enough to actually contribute to the software effort. I believe both RomRaider and ECUFlash are written in Java, which is right in my wheelhouse, but again, I don't know squat about tuning yet.) The idea of handling the duties of loading and unloading and at least looking at the ROM and doing a few WOT 3rd gear pulls myself appeals to me. My biggest goal in this whole process is to learn a lot about cars in general and my car in particular and have fun in the process. I agree that a dyno tune is superior and I have my eye on BrenTuning somewhere down the line, but I'm thinking of doing that on a second pass that might someday include, turbo, fuel injectors/pump, etc, etc. The first pass on power upgrades includes the above exhaust/intercooler changes. My power goals on this I believe should be somewhere around 275-300 awhp and I can't imagine that isn't enough for anybody, but if it turns out not to be , well then, we'll just see how hard the mod bug has bit me at that time.

 

As far MAF and IAT, what do you recommend for cleaning (is there a walkthrough?) It would probably be very bad to damage my sensors.

...Are you wrapping your up pipe/dp?

...

The wideband doesnt connect to the ECU, it connects to a gauge to give you the AFR. Its the most valuable gauge you can have in your car. What Wideband setup did you buy? LC-1? AEM? if its LC-1 I can help you just PM me.

 

So, I bought a used Cobb down that I'm pretty sure is coated, but not wrapped. Up pipe is not in house yet, so I'm not 100% sure what I will have. I'm looking for a used sti up in good condition, but ups are pretty cheap anyway, so I may just get something else when the time comes.

 

At any rate, the answer to your question is yes, I plan to wrap/coat both up and down. I haven't really researched coating yet, so I'm not really sure what I need to do for that, but I think it's a good idea to wrap things and get some heat shields and a turbo blanket. Haven't figured out all the details on those things yet, but I'm working on it.

 

Would it be a bad idea to wrap my already coated used downpipe? I usually see people are wrapping and then coating, but I admit I'm still not really clear on the details of wrapping and coating.

 

As far as wideband goes ... I'd have to run out to the garage and see which wideband it is. I've forgotten. It's the one that comes with the Prosport AFR gauge. I'm pretty sure it is not LC-1, but rather just some generic brand sensor. Will look later today if I have a chance.

 

Okay, so here's the thing I don't understand about wideband ignoring the ECU:

 

When I run RomRaider and go out and do a WOT pull, I am logging several parameters every second (I don't remember exactly which ones off the top of my head, I've only actually done this once). At each log record, there is a concurrent set of data points including load and rpm and O2, etc, etc that are essentially linked in time. I presume that what my tuner does is look at all those things and then makes adjustments to the timing and fuel injector settings that makes those numbers look better. The problem is that my wideband isn't feeding the ECU, so I can't every see a readout of what the wideband said at a give point in time that corresponds with a given load/rpm/timing/etc. It's not like I"m going to write down numbers from my AFR gauge in the car while I'm doing this. So how does my e-tuner know what these values are? Therefore, how is it useful at all, let alone better than the stock O2 sensors. Is it just supposed to warn me if there's a severe spike or drop in O2 in the exhaust and flip a light on the gauge to warn me? Or am I just trying to confirm during the run that AFR is staying right down the middle? I just don't get how I can correspond these two data sets if the wideband doesn't get handled by the ECU. Somebody correct my misconceptions and tell me where I'm missing the boat please?

Just buy an AFR gauge.

 

Stock 02 sensors are not Wideband 02 sensors, they are narrow band (think thats the right term correct me if i am wrong) I do not know the specific difference between them other than the Wide band monitors a wider range than stock 02 sensors.

 

The point of the AFR is to measure the mixture of fuel and air (obviously hence the name) It is probably the best gauge to have in a car as chances are if something happens to the engine it will affect the AFR reading. Yea you are not going to have a note pad in your car to write all the numbers down when you do logs but there is a proper range your AFR will read when idling, cruising and at WOT.

 

No idea if this helped you at all...hopefully a little.

Wideband will plug into the computer via USB and log afr independently of the ECU logging, as long as your particular sensor is supported by RR.

If you need a hand with the tuning aspect of things (logging and flashing etc) gimmie a shout. Tunningalliance is great, I concur.

 

PB Blast the shit out of every bolt you might even have to look at. Winter is no joke around here as you know, so the corrosion can really suck.

 

The EGT is more of a double check safety thing. Definitely not needed, IMHO. I have extra resistors for the mod, and a 5 gallon drum of Extra S if you want to do tranny fluids. I just need to get a clean suction pump.

 

The MAF is super easy, just get some CRC MAF cleaner from the local Ricezone or Advance Auto and spray away. I made this diagram for some Corolla owners (the Corolla and LGT have VERY similar MAFs) to show how to spray it.

 

http://www.photodump.org/stored20/CorollaMAF.jpg

 

Be sure to spray both the green area and up in the red area. The green is the IAT sensor, I just assumed it was all MAF.

Alrighty then. How's about a little thread necro. Still making the plans, but I've got the koni/epic swap out of the way and will do sways next and then it's on to intercoolah thru cat-back (not turbo).

 

Was looking at kartboys website just now. They list exhaust hangers as Kartboy Exhaust Hanger 12mm Single (BLACK) or Kartboy Exhaust Hanger 12mm EXTRA LONG Single (BLACK). How do I know which one I need? How many do I need? Or am I just wasting my money getting new hangers instead of reusing to oem?

I'd just use OEM hangers if I had to do it again, so much easier to work with

^ All new oem or reused?

I see no problem in re-using them unless their torn. Spray a little WD40 or the like and the slide right on and off.

 

The kartboys I had needed to be beat on with a hammer. Only way I can think of getting them off is cutting them.

Given that I will be doing up, down, catback, intercooler, and IP&T oil lines pretty much all at the same time, am I better off to pull the turbo out as well just to get easier access to stuff? Or is that more trouble than it's worth? Opinions?

Certainly would make getting to the banjo screen a bit easier with it out of the way but it's not neccesary.

I'd say leave it. I noticed when my uppipe was out there was a lot room to get to the banjo from the bottom. And that way you don't need to wrestle the inlet back on