06 WRX VF39 upgrade ISSUES!

So last weekend I put the VF39 + STi TMIC in my car with Ped's help. We made sure all hoses and bolts were on good. Reflashed the ECU using my AP2 and Cobb's OTS VF39 93oct 1.01 map. I took the car out for a spin with Mike (LiquidForce) and we find the car doesn't pull as hard as an STi or stage2 WRX. Boost is stuck at 13.2 at 5500RPM on 3rd. To me, the engine response feels very slow and the turbo doesn't feel like it's kicking in at all till perhaps 4000RPM.

Since then, I've had Ped ride in the car and StevenK (kingWRX) and they all said the same. I followed the guide by Cobb to the T, drilled out the restrictor pill with a #57 drill bit and I have compared the size of that whole to a new sti restrictor pill i bought from SOG. The sizes match up perfectly but even the new STi pill had the same issue.

I've posted this issue on Cobb's forum but it's not too busy and people aren't really answering. I have done some searches on Cobb's forum to see if anyone ran into this issue but most point towards the pill or some other boost controlling device.

I want to resolve this matter before I go in for a pro-tune, which most likely will happen on 16th. If anyone has any ideas to test out, please post here and I'll try them out.

Thanks, Russell

 

The new pill that you bought has a 1.0 on the sticker?

What is the peak boost?

The taper at 5500 I'm not worried about.

Is the pill between the compressor discharge and the T? Or between the T and the actuator?

It should be between the compressor discharge and the T.

To check if it's a mechanical problem with the turbo, you can pull the line off the actuator and *CAREFULLY* see if it makes over 15 psi (the line off the actuator is "Infini-Boost" mode, it will spike as fast and high as the turbo physically can. be *CAREFUL*)

SS

 

I really hate to see you having these issues but this is an upgrade I've thought a lot about so I'll definitely be watching.

I would've thought Cobb would have this figured out digitally so it probably is mechanical? Just have to see I guess...

 

I'll check the plastic pouch the pill was in, I think I have it, at least I have the receipt.
peak boost the OTS is supposed to reach is 15 and it's supposed to be a lot earlier in RPM. I'm not feeling anything till 4,000 and Cobb states it's supposed to be near the 3000-4000 range.
The pill is in the same place where the old one was. Looking at it from the front, it's between the T and the right end, donno what that is called.

I'm a little afraid to test the turbo like you say, sounds like if I don't know how far to push it, I might push it too hard and damage it. I have a 2nd car at the moment so if all else fails, I can take the turbo off and bring it some place to have it checked.

 

Man... I'd just leave it to a pro. But I've said my .02

Good luck.

 

if afraid of the mega boost then
to test
put a simple flow control valve (MBC some people call it) instead of the pill and see if it goes up
or
leave the pill in and put the extra pill (or MBC) on the line to the WG actuator

if the above gets you more boost then
change the branch of the T to the WGactuator and the straight leg to the BC
and / or drill out the Union or change to larger ID union

thats providing your BC is functioning ok

 

^^^

That's frikin crazy man. I thought this would be one of the most straight forward swaps out there. I mean my TD04 can boost to 18 (sometimes) so what the hey is going on here?

 

I'd just skip all the BS and get your pro-tune... OTS maps can be funky anyway. I say just get SS to correct all your issues before anything goes wrong trying to test it out yourself. Not to mention you can enjoy all the pro-tune goodness!!!

 

Well yea, I plan on doing that, but if it turns out to be a faulty turbo or some other retarded reason, then the whole pro-tune session would be a waste of time and money.

 

Scott, yes the plastic pouch has ORF-1.0 on it.

 

I just read the beginning of this, but maybe you can find some useful info on here...

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1253880

 

Thanks for the heads-up John, I'll try couple of the things on there and see if it helps.

 

No problem, I know how frustrating it can be. Hope you get things worked out.

 

If you want to swing by my side of town I can help you get it sorted out.


I am sure its something simple. I really doubt its the turbo.

 

I agree.

 

Thanks Mike, PM me your number and I'll give you a ring tomorrow or Thursday and see if either day is good for you. I just went out and got some gas and also reflashed the ECU to stock, then back to VF39 93oct. The same result.

However, first time I flashed it to VF39 map, my clutch felt weird and was disengaging at a different time and was throwing me off. After this reflash, this problem is gone. Don't know what or how the AP2 affects the clutch. Also, does anyone know what the heck the MAF sensor on the AP2 Live Data shows? That thing was all high in numbers, like 10-30s. I'm installing the openECU cable right now on my old laptop and will use it to log and see what happens. Probably won't log tonight though.

 

Well Mike and I finally found the problem. It was not in the hose, or the pill, but it was the wastegate that was open because the control arm had become disconnected. And it's not visible unless you take the heatshield off. So once that was figured out, easy fix was to put it in, and put a C clip under it. Well that was the hard part, the C clip took 3 hrs to put in. Well now I'm seeing the performance I was hoping and AP2 is showing 17 boost.

So that was the problem and I hope this sheds some light to anyone having similar issues.

 

damn..way to troubleshoot...atleast it was an easy problem to fix!

 

It sucks when getting a c-clip on takes me longer than it did to reassemble a 2.5 rs shortblock I had laying around .