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Grimlin's '09 SpecB


grimlin

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Thought I could start a thread to track the progress of my legacy since many of you have asked me about it from time to time. (and I'll admit, I don't mind talking about my baby. :lol:)

In August of 2008, I purchased my '09 Legacy SpecB from Wally at Gillman Subaru SW in Houston

 

Current Set-Up:

-STOCK TURBO

-Stock Modified Injectors (modified by awdtuning to flow 900cc (I'll double check that number to make sure))

-TGV Deletes (PNP by awdtuning)

-38mm Grimmspeed External Wastegate w/ Tial wastegate

-Perrin Top Mount, Perrin EL Headers, Perrin Pulley

-Invidia Downpipe, Magnaflow Exhaust

-Gimmspeed BCS

-ACT HDSS Clutch w/ 06 STi Lightweight Flywheel

-Tuned on E-85 by awdtuning 300whp and 320tq and 30mpg

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My original set-up only had the

-Perrin Top Mount

-Perrin downpipe (that never fit right because it was made for a LGT)

-GS 38mm EWG

-Lightweight Pulley

-Tuned on 93oct by awdtuning

 

This set up was very reliable and put down 248whp and 288tq and 24mpg

Keith put a very very conservative tune on here since it was my first time driving a 6-speed and I was still getting to know my car.

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When Keith first asked me to convert my Legacy to E-85 I was very, very hesitate. I was nervous about the lack of E-85 stations. (I AM that person that runs my V8 Durango on empty for a few days before I stop to get gas :lol:). Keith went on and on about how it would make more power on E-85 and how it would be better for my engine, but all I could think about was the lack of stations. BUT then I saw how many people were wanting E-85 tunes. And then I saw the need for more research.. and not from a tuning point of view, but from a real person's point of view. I saw the need to experience the daily life of an E-85 tune so I would be able to educate people on exactly what they were getting into. So I agreed...

And thus my quest begain... :lol:

(Disclaimer: I did things to my car that I would NOT advise anyone to do. My car is and will always be used as a test car for new products, new tuning ideas and different experiments. Sometimes we push the envelope and it pushes back. So Please Please speak to your tuner or mechanic before you do ANYTHING)

 

The first test that we did on the car was to see if it could handle the E-85 tune without changing anything about the current set-up. This meant, not modifying my injectors, not upgrading my fuel pump as recommended, etc. We simply drained ALL the 93 oct, and started tuning. The results were interesting.The car ran just fine, but I didn't really see that much of a difference, expect for the slipping clutch. Keith played around with different tuning options for a while and I was pretty happy with the end result.

We ran that set-up for about 6 weeks.

 

E-85 Tune on stock un-modified injectors 298whp, 300tq and 17 mpg

 

.

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So when we first tuned on the E-85 the first thing we noticed was the clutch slipping. At the time my car was about 6-7 months old and only had 10,000 miles on it. So the next thing we did was upgrade to an ACT HDSS clutch and the lightweight flywheel. Instantly I noticed a difference. (I would strongly recommend to anyone thinking about doing an E-85 tune to go a head and put in a new clutch to save yourself time and money in the long run)

Right around the same time we added the

-Perrin EL Headers

-Modified the stock injectors

-TGV Deletes

 

Keith was able to add a ton of more timing to the map and the car was like a completely new animal. And I couldn't have been happier. Keith was also able to tune my SI Drive, which is one of my favorite things about the tune. My final numbers were 315whp, 340tq and 30 mpg.

 

MPG

Yes I was actually getting 30mpg on my Legacy for quiet some time. At one time, before we upgraded the clutch, I was actually getting 34 mpg because I was being easy on my car and I was detuned. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure why I got such amazing gas millage, but I assume it was the TGV deletes that Keith did because it happened right after that.

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1) Where do you fill up?

I currently live in Little Elm so I have to drive all the way to Plano for E-85. The station is approx. 15 miles from my house. Go to http://www.e85refueling.com/ for more locations. (btw, I carry a print out of All the e-85 stations across the entire state in my glove box at all times because you never know)

 

2) What kind of MPG did you get?

When I first converted from 93oct to E-85 with the same exact set-up, my mpg went from 22-24mpg to 17mpg. This is the norm. You can expect to burn more fuel, but it's cheaper than traditional gas, so it's all about the same to your wallet. After I modified my stock injectors and did the TGV Deletes, my mpg jumped to an average of 30mpg. From what I understand, this is not the norm, so I would not expect to see the same results.

 

3)Does the fuel vary from station to station?

Yes. What I have found by logging a number of stations across the state of Texas (DFW, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston) is that there are a lot of differences. The state is currently working on passing new laws that will better regulate E-85, but in the mean time they are only required for it to be E-70 or better. But though our research and testing, Kieth has developed tunes that are safe for all E-85 stations.

 

4)Does E-85 cause you to throw codes or cells?

I personally have not had any codes or cells due to the E-85 itself. The only thing I did have was anytime that I got really really really low of fuel (like I should have pulled over 50 miles ago) then it would throw a cell. But it only happened to me twice. And both times as soon as I filled up the cells went away on their own. (Yes, Odd I know..)

 

5) Can I switch back and forth between 93oct and E-85?

I personally would NOT recommend this. Can it be done? sure. But I'm not going to risk my car to try it out. :p

 

Please let me know if you guys have any other questions.

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At first it was just a little bit. Keith noticed it, but I didn't right away. (driving skills are completely different) But it was in 3rd gear and up. Then he finished my tune and it was pretty much all the time in any gear. When we took the clutch out it looked "all glazed over" which means that the material was just fine but the clamping force of the pressure plate was not high enough... Basically, I was putting down too much torque for it to handle.
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That's a great write-up. Simple, but to the point. I am sold on the e85 personally....just need to save the money up for the clutch, injectors, tgv's and tune. Afterwhich, Keith will be tuning me again.

 

One question though...you stated in one of your posts that e85 is safer for the engine...how's that?

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One question though...you stated in one of your posts that e85 is safer for the engine...how's that?

 

Because the octane rating is so high it's much more difficult to make it detonate. You can push it to the far outer limits and it still won't detonate. Very safe.

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That's a great write-up. Simple, but to the point. I am sold on the e85 personally....just need to save the money up for the clutch, injectors, tgv's and tune. Afterwhich, Keith will be tuning me again.

 

One question though...you stated in one of your posts that e85 is safer for the engine...how's that?

 

E-85 is a higher octane than 93 (the average octane rating is somewhere between 105-107 depending on the station). High octane prevents detention. E-85 also helps cool the engine which protect the life of your pistons and whatnot.

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how would E85 + Meth/Alcky work out? :)

 

Was reading about this. In this case you would want to run more water than meth, because meth supposedly has less potential that e85. So you would use the water to cool, everything. Gains would not be as drastic as 93 + meth, but would add yet more safety. At this point who knows where you would put your AFR and timing...

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would add yet more safety. At this point who knows where you would put your AFR and timing...

 

^ this...from what I hear anyway

 

I've been scared away from alky at this point. Too many pumps failing, running out of mixture from laziness etc

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Yeah, you can do that but I'm still afraid of that measure failing. If it's done correctly that shouldn't happen but still concerns me. Plus if I was going to go meth, I would just do water injection. It's better.

 

I'm no master tuna, but the measure would only fail if there was an obvious error in the respected tables, or if the knock sensor did not detect the knock. It is good to be cautious with a $2500 engine, but objectively speaking this approach is safe. If this approach fails, it means you have much bigger issues than meth or no meth.

[CENTER][B][I] Front Limited Slip Racing Differentials for the 5EAT now available for $1895 shipped, please inquire for details! [/I][/B][/CENTER]
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LittleBlueGT has a thread on his tuning lessons in the Tuning Forum. This was one of his tricks. Some tuners set the FLKC to be not enough to get you back to no-meth safe territory. This means if your tuner doesn't think of this, and you run out of meth, small FLKC settings could cause your engine to blow. This has happened many times. Trick is to not press your luck, and make your tune pull that timing far out of danger to non-meth territory. I can see why you would be concerned, some tuners just don't consider that tactic, and a lot of engines have blown because of it. LittleBlueGT has a lot of good tricks just like that. Good head on that guy.
[CENTER][B][I] Front Limited Slip Racing Differentials for the 5EAT now available for $1895 shipped, please inquire for details! [/I][/B][/CENTER]
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