AP vs dyno tune

I have finally after over three years of owning my legacy I will be replacing the catted up pipe, removing the banjo filters and checking the turbo for shaft play.

 

I have 140K and it still runs very well. Meticulous with oil changes every 3k to 5k.

 

I was in school and now that i am out with a good job I can afford to get some things done. Also found a turbo familiar subaru mechanic right down the road in the middle of Maine.

 

So my question is this, do I purchase an AP for cheap or spend extra and go to Brenn tuning. I have plans for a down pipe but not until the end of the summer.

 

Main focus is reliability, if the turbo has shaft play, no tune and start planning out the replacement plan.

They're not mutually exclusive.

 

The AP comes with the OTS (Off-The-Shelf) tunes, which are a blanket tune that's safe for all combinations of stage 1 or 2 parts. The OTS tunes can be flashed from the device to the ECU with little to no hassle; a dyno tune can be done with open-source tuning, or can also utilize the AP and your tuner uses Cobb's software, such as AccessTunerPro. It'll be a tune customized to your car and combination of parts, plus a variety of other factors. A dyno tune is nearly always superior to Cobb's OTS tunes, though, that depends on who your tuner is and how much they know about what they're doing.

 

After three years and still running the catted UP, I'd count yourself lucky it hasn't blown the turbo already. I would brace yourself for a turbo rebuild and start planning for it, either way, especially if you haven't replaced that turbo yourself during your ownership tenure. At 140k,you're asking for trouble if you put it back and attempt to tune with it after installing stage 2 parts.

 

Send a PM to JmP6889928 for prices and lead-time on a rebuild of your choice.

Purchase an AP and then email Bren for an etune. Thats what I did, and have been running strong for almost 30k miles. I paid $150 for the etune, but bought a brand new AP3 because its much nicer then the version 2 in my opinion. Do it right the first time and dont cheap out ifyyou plan on owning the car for awhile. You will be happy you did in the future. If you can afford a dyno tune from bren, I would wait until you are at least stage 2 if not further. Best of luck and congrats on the new career!

Step 1: buy AP and flash stage 1

 

Step 2: buy downpipe and flash stage 2

 

Step 3: slippery slope into the world of modification and engine management

Thanks for the words guys.

 

I will be buying the AP and proceeding from there accordingly with the up pipe and stage 1.

 

Now my bigger question is, do I go through with having my turbo checked for shaft play? Probably an hour or so of cheapish labor.

Sounds like pulling my downpipe may not be worth it if turbo failure is imminent and I'll need to replace it eventually. I assume I'll need new gaskets for both ends of the down pipe and maybe some replacement bolts depending on how things look under there.

 

I've got about a 2500$ budget to replace the turbo and necessary additions. I do not want to replace the engine, so avoiding catastrophic turbo failure is important.

 

That being said a turbo replacement wouldn't be able to happen until early March, I want to have this car for a long time and I will do whatever is necessary to keep it running well. If Engine failure does occur, I will most likely get a DD and postpone the rebuild until summer 2016

$2500 for a turbo swap is more than enough. When I swapped to a BNR 16G, my total came to right around $1600 for turbo, oil lines, GS UP, gaskets, new heat shield, Tactrix cable, etune, and any other miscellaneous items I ended up needing (zip ties, hose clamps, etc). I did all the labor myself though.

 

If you had the car for three years already, you will be doing yourself a favor by pulling the banjo filters and inspecting the turbo for shaft play - even if you have no plans to tune it right away. In the event you do have some shaft play in the turbo, you can save your engine by catching it early. That's what happened with mine. Post-purchase inspection found the compressor wheel just barely starting to graze the housing. Replaced it the next weekend before it took the engine out with it.

 

Then it was down the slippery slope of modifications, which gets $$$$$.

Thanks for the price comparison ras. I will not be able to do the work myself as time, garage, and tools are not readily available. But my mechanic is stones throw from where I work in he has had some experience throwing turbos in so I know it won't be too much on the labor side.

 

Looks like I'll be getting a BNR16g, fresh oil lines, gaskets, and an etune on top of the ap and up pipe i already have. Need for a new heat shield?

 

I'm convinced that once I drop in a turbo everything else will start to go but it sounds like a lot of people make the step last for a long time before going further.

Thanks for the price comparison ras. I will not be able to do the work myself as time, garage, and tools are not readily available. But my mechanic is stones throw from where I work in he has had some experience throwing turbos in so I know it won't be too much on the labor side.

 

Looks like I'll be getting a BNR16g, fresh oil lines, gaskets, and an etune on top of the ap and up pipe i already have. Need for a new heat shield?

 

I'm convinced that once I drop in a turbo everything else will start to go but it sounds like a lot of people make the step last for a long time before going further.

 

Before you pull the trigger on that 16G, send a PM to JmP6889928, he's our up-n-coming turbo rebuilder here, who builds some pretty awesome stuff. BNR makes a good product, for sure, but, John's stuff is better.

 

I'm running his custom VF40 which has an 11-blade billet wheel, an inconel shaft, and upgraded journal bearings so it doesn't grenade again later. As you should know, BNR requires that you also purchase an aftermarket oil feed line (~$250) in order for any warranty to be honored. Add it up and that $775 turbo becomes over $1000 by the time you're done, and that's a significant portion of your budget right there -- Wouldn't you rather use that money toward gaskets, or even to replace your OCVs?

 

I'll send you a PM with more information -

I agree with MrTris. If JmP6889928's rebuild options were available when I was in the market for a new turbo I would have definitely given them a look. With that being said, the BNR unit I got from Bryan is very high quality and I expect it to last. If the engine dies I may decide to get something more, but I'm more than happy for now.

 

The heat shield was by no means necessary. Larger turbos require some trimming to make the stock one fit, but I bought the GS unit for pretty much the looks of a shiny new heat shield.

Before you pull the trigger on that 16G, send a PM to JmP6889928, he's our up-n-coming turbo rebuilder here, who builds some pretty awesome stuff. BNR makes a good product, for sure, but, John's stuff is better.

 

I'm running his custom VF40 which has an 11-blade billet wheel, an inconel shaft, and upgraded journal bearings so it doesn't grenade again later. As you should know, BNR requires that you also purchase an aftermarket oil feed line (~$250) in order for any warranty to be honored. Add it up and that $775 turbo becomes over $1000 by the time you're done, and that's a significant portion of your budget right there -- Wouldn't you rather use that money toward gaskets, or even to replace your OCVs?

 

I'll send you a PM with more information -

 

How many miles have you logged on that rebuilt turbo so far?

Almost 5k!

 

Went Stage2 about 2k miles ago. Drove out of the shop that afternoon and immediately hit the freeway. The first onramp scared me.

Almost 5k!

 

Went Stage2 about 2k miles ago. Drove out of the shop that afternoon and immediately hit the freeway. The first onramp scared me.

 

Do you have a dyno graph? Curious what the curves look like.

Do you have a dyno graph? Curious what the curves look like.

 

Yeah, me, too!

 

No dynographs. . Yet.

Yeah, me, too!

 

No dynographs. . Yet.

Can you pm me about those rebuilt turbos too? I had no idea that it was an option.

http://tinypic.com/r/5yyluu/8