Topic: thedude’s 2013 WRX

[thedude]

This is a thing?

Definitely a thing, especially in Kelowna. Because it's not the poor City planning and terrible road/traffic-light design that snarls traffic on "Harvey Avenue" aka Highway-uckfaying-97 (that by the way goes through the heart of the City??). It's the sea of red plates that don't know how to maintain speed around corners and drive erratically on straight stretches and are infiltrating our housing market and driving costs up and overfilling our lake with fancy boats and making our local wineries too busy. Duh. So yeah, "red rage" in Kelowna is 110% a thing.

[thedude]

Wow, it's been almost another year since I've posted anything here - I'll make this quick.

Was experiencing some weird idle issues so I started with replacing the throttle body to intercooler hose and discovered this...




...which makes sense and was the Dealership's solution to fixing the "whooshing" noise I was getting while under boost. Their notes even said, tightened the hose clamp in this area...yeah, tightened alright.

Replaced with Mishimoto:


Meanwhile my girlfriend replaced my fog light overlays.

Before:


After:


And I replaced the headlight marker bulbs with switchback LED's along with the Diode Dynamics SmartTap CF18 flasher module - my god what a PITA that thing is to find and remove. Sorry for the dirty headlight pics.

Before:


After:


I finally succumbed to BC Law after my girlfriends dad made me a stainless steel bracket for the (*sigh*) front license plate so I didn't require to drill into either the new plate or the bumper.


I also bought and installed Noico 80 mil throughout the trunk and rear seats and rear doors. Still planning to do the front doors. One package weighed about the same as my spare tire which I no longer have in the trunk.









Also the rear bench seat clips are a PITA if you don't know what you are looking for, but once you figure it out its actually very simple. There are two sides of the black clip that you grab and pull towards the front of the car.



Also, condo life...ugh. And then it started pouring rain...





Back to it the next day when the sun came out.





I was somehow able to coax my girlfriend into helping which was a huge help and quite unexpected tbh.







Broke a few of these suckers along the way. Thankfully, Diamondedge suggested pick-n-pull which was a brilliant idea (cred should also go to Canuckrz, so thx) problem solved:



Finally got the airbag recall complete. A day before I was booked in I finally got the letter in the mail.

Got an oil change recently as I was about to leave on a road trip and picked this up at the same time to see if it makes any difference - not sure if it does or if it's just a placebo effect.



And finally, I got a V3 Accessport from somebody in Edmonton that a friend picked up and mailed to me. I have been monitoring values very closely for "peace of mind" which has resulted in increased anxiety due to my hypersensitivity of owning an EJ255 after the first one blew up.

This will lead to the next part of my thread.

[thedude]

After getting the Accessport, I decided to start by running the "stock" Cobb Subaru tune which I noticed was giving me some pretty interesting () values:

Boost: 18.11 psi
Fine Knock Learn: -1.40
Feedback Knock: -11.00
DAM: 1.00

I ran this for roughly two weeks and a couple tanks of gas before switching to the Cobb OTS ACN91 which I have been monitoring very closely for the better part of four months. I immediately noticed that with the ACN91 tune I was achieving the following:

Peak Boost: 14.55psi
Fine Knock Learn: -1.40
Feedback Knock: -2.80 which is generally when my AC unit is running
DAM: has always stayed at 1.00

As mentioned above, I recently made a trip (~6 hour drive each way) a couple days after having my oil changed with Molygen 5w40 and using Shell 91 with a half can of Boostane for each way of the trip. On the way there I noticed a few times when I received some Feedback and FKL which both never went over -1.40. After filling up in Nelson on my way back (Shell 91 + half can of boostane) I noticed that I would get -1.40 FKL every time I surpassed 4,000rpm no matter what gear I was in. It will hang and not correct to 0.00 until the rev's drop back below 4,000 and once it even peaked at -2.80 FKL. Since being back in town I have noticed this is still happening.

Like I said, being sensitive to this I do tend to overreact and I don't need somebody to tell me I need a pro-tune, I have plans for one this winter. I do enjoy the Accessport for the ability to monitor engine health while obviously taking some values with a grain of salt.

I am simply looking for some advice on how to properly log data that I can post on here or review with somebody who is more educated on this topic than I am. Or should I simply calm down and wait until I see how it reacts to a new tank of gas?

[milkpumba]

I'm not as versed on the non-DIT DAM/Knock strategies but it should be fairly similar I would think to the newer DIT engines.

The -11 feedback knock that you experienced with the stock Cobb tune was most likely ghost knock. It could have just been a rock that hit the underside of your car and triggered the knock sensor.

Fine knock learn is learned corrections currently being applied by the ECU.. So you experiencing the -1.40 FKL at 4,000 RPM and up means at some point while you were driving it detected a minor knock event there and the ECU is doing it's job correcting it.

I used to always stare at my Accessport and be paranoid every time I saw any knock. It took the fun away from driving the car tbh. Since then, I've learned that the most important thing is the DAM. You want your DAM to always be at 1.00. Anything lower than a 1.00 means that there was a major knock event that happened and the car has pulled ignition timing. In my opinion, as long as you are not getting these values (Feedback knock and Fine knock learn) at WOT scenarios and you're hitting peak boost, I'd say you're golden.

I'm by no means a professional or tuner so take whatever I said with a grain of salt

[greenturbo]

Wow, it's been almost another year since I've posted anything here - I'll make this quick.

so how much quieter was it?

[thedude]

so how much quieter was it?

Definitely noticeable. The doors now open and close with a solid, "thud" which is nice. Even the door handles sound different when you pull on them - there isn't that tinging noise anymore. I also noticed that I can now play music louder without it sounding so hollow  and this is without any changes to the HU settings. The highway drone from the exhaust is much quieter and my girlfriend and I noticed this right away. I'd describe it as much more enjoyable to have a conversation while driving, and a much less constant drone. Don't get me wrong, it's not perfect, and it's nothing like my parents CX9 with soundproof glass and all the additional sound proofing, but it's a noticeable difference that I would definitely recommend to anybody who is looking for a quieter ride regardless of your vehicle make/model. Now with the rear done, I'm very interested/excited to do the front two doors at the very minimum as that's where most road noise I notice now comes from. I'd also consider doing more of the floor, but that's for another time...

[kijho]

Man, I’m glad you got good results from the Noico stuff! Now if I’ll get off my couch and do mine hahaha... maybe this will give me some motivation!! Car is looking real good though!!

I echo what Pumba mentioned about the knock, also. AP can be a blessing but also a massive cause of anxiety and stress!

[thedude]

In my opinion, as long as you are not getting these values (Feedback knock and Fine knock learn) at WOT scenarios and you're hitting peak boost, I'd say you're golden.

I'm by no means a professional or tuner so take whatever I said with a grain of salt

Man, I’m glad you got good results from the Noico stuff! Now if I’ll get off my couch and do mine hahaha... maybe this will give me some motivation!! Car is looking real good though!!

I echo what Pumba mentioned about the knock, also. AP can be a blessing but also a massive cause of anxiety and stress!

Thanks guys, I'll keep an eye on it for now and see what happens after a fresh tank of gas. I am getting these FKL numbers under both WOT as well as just slowly climbing or downshifting, which is why I'd like to log data. I've read recently that a few people provided datalogs that were not ideal or done "properly" which is where I'd like some advice. Can somebody explain to me what rev range, what gear, what parameters to add (if any), etc. etc. so that if this issue persists then I can properly log - it would be appreciated!

And yeah Spenny, get off your rear and get that Noico installed dude! It's definitely worth the effort. The worst part is the interior side of the exterior door panel if that makes sense? Like behind where the speakers sit. I'd recommend gloves for this area so you don't cut the hell out of your hands while trying to roll the stuff down. Also, make sure to clean everything quite thoroughly so the adhesive bonds properly.

[Player One]

Man, I’m glad you got good results from the Noico stuff! Now if I’ll get off my couch and do mine hahaha... maybe this will give me some motivation!! Car is looking real good though!!

If you need to practice on a 2013 WRX, I know a guy...

[diamondedge]

If you need to practice on a 2013 WRX, I know a guy...

And the converse, I know a guy who installed a shifter bushing. Just kidding I said I'd help you and I've dropped that ball.

Good work bro. The attention to detail is worthy of Canuckrz, peep those seams. Also props for the enlisting the the lady to help flatten your mat. Looks so good.

[thedude]

Reserved.

[thedude]

Got new summer wheels mounted (Michelin A/S 3+) and rims powder-coated in a bronze with gold fleck, clear coat over top for a glossy look and then applied 2 coats of CarPro DLux for protection. The iPhone camera was having a heck of a time picking up the actual colour so this was about as close as I could get with minimal editing. Installed on April 12, 2020 @ 134,299km.

[10secdream]

Beautiful. Really liking the new color.

[diamondedge]

I need to see these in person. When this itshay is over. I know the camera doesn't do them justice. GOLD FLECK

lordy

[kijho]

Got new summer wheels mounted (Michelin A/S 3+) and rims powder-coated in a bronze with gold fleck, clear coat over top for a glossy look and then applied 2 coats of CarPro DLux for protection. The iPhone camera was having a heck of a time picking up the actual colour so this was about as close as I could get with minimal editing. Installed on April 12, 2020 @ 134,299km.

I like bronze on the TSW's very much, one of my favorite choices against white. (Hey, my new wheels are bronze too lol) looks great dude, now it's time!!

[RedBimmer93]

Looks very good! Nice choice of tire as well!

[thedude]

Car officially sold on January 4, 2022. Bittersweet, but relieved to move on to something else. Passed it along to somebody who is genuinely excited about it.

Funny story; the buyer tried to negotiate $2,000 off for the typical 2-3" GR/GV front bumper crack. Needless to say, they were unsuccessful in the attempt. Classic.

Fun fact; I had named the car Betty (after Betty White). The car had been listed since roughly March 2021, and the first (and only) person to reach out to me regarding purchasing it was on the same day that the beloved Betty White died. Coincidence? Prophetic? I'm not sure, but it seemed fitting to let her go.

What next? No idea - I haven't thought that far ahead, so for now I'll continue to work from home and wait for vehicle prices to level out knowing that they will inevitably keep rising due to "supply chain issues"...

The final drive to work:


Oh, and I bought a house in November.

[jellynuts]

Late bump.  Congrats on the sale and house purchase.  RIP Betty White.  What a gem she was.

[kijho]

Let's see tha new ride !?