i just gotta get this off my chest...sorry for the rant.


just over a month ago i was STOKED i had just put my VF22 on and was going for my first dyno tune. as part of my install process i dumped into the UTEC stg 4 parameters and MAP. the only changes i made was to scale the injectors from the STI injectors to 750 for my modded stockers. the car ran like crap and wouldn't pull at all, infact it would cut out before i hit any real boost. But no worries i am going for a PROTUNE they will fix it just limp it there.

i took the car to a shop in VA. when i got there the guys noticed a tap coming from the motor. I had heard it on and off for a few mos. my thoughts was an exhaust leak. I was wrong. to make a long story short they found a loose spark plug. THIS WAS MY FAULT! i guess i missed putting the ratchet on it.

they put the car on the dyno and after several pulls called me into the dyno room. they ask why my fuel map was looking so very weird. I replied i dunno, and told them again what i had done (stg 4 map+parameters+injecto scaling). the tuner said "Humm OK this map is gonna look weird". i had # as low as -5 in my map!?!? they are the pros who am i to question???

after a few more pulls they unstrap the car and are done. The max HP was only 220ishHP@14PSI. i ask why the low #'s. they said that they were worried about bore-wash from the loose plug. (I dont know if it would do that or not, it would take a PILE of fuel IMHO) in conversation they said that i in no way should be running higher (than 14PSI) boost with the OEM TMIC and to get my goal of 300WHP i should consider getting a FMIC and AEM standalone. the tuner said that they hit a 'brick wall' with tring to get more than 275WHP outta other UTECs.

ANYHOW, their suggestion was for me to drive it for a few hundred miles to clean out the carbon and make sure that there wasn't any problems from the plug being loose and come back for a follow up tune. I didn't agree but i was OK with it and paid them and went on my way (150miles each way).

Afew days later, i started to tune on my own. at the time i didn't have a WBO2 and i just added a few degrees of timing and ramped up the boost a bit.

Here is where it gets interisting.

i talked (through a mutual friend) to the tuner he AGAIN strongly urged me to turn back to his MAP and drive the car for awhile, i did. about 2 wks ago i started the car (cold morning) and started out of my drive. as i did the car started KNOCKing BADDDD. i shut it down. after reading and looking i found the problem....IT was tuned with the temp correct to come on @ 16degrees and add 100%more fuel(i know that is an invalid # but that is waht was there,i have a screen shot if you want). which meant that during tuning the correct was ON and during my cold morning it was OFF thus running VERY lean.

I called the tuner to find out what was up....all he would offer is "it was like that when you drove it here"
i said "shouldn't you have checked that bc of the weird fueling #'s?"
He said "no we don't use temp correct so i didn't look at it"
i ask for a refund on the tune and got laughed off the stage. the tune was worthless and all he could offer me was bring it in and we will tune to where it was before for free but you will have to pay (per hour)for anything beyond 220WHP. Which i am NOT going to do because they didn't do a 'good' job the first time i sure as hell ain't gonna give them a second chance to mess up my car and take my money.

i am not tring to bash anyone i am just telling the facts about what i have gone through.
i have got a TUNA now and i am working on tuning the car myself.

Please give me feedback on this situation or PM me if you would like to know the name of the shop. i can tell you this much its in northern VA

That sucks, 220 on a VF22... My ass. I think that TXS is in that part of the country, you should give them a call. Don't wanna be in my situation.

Nick

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Well i did a compression test on the car and everything was OK. my classes are over which means i have all kinds of time. in the extra time i have been reading EVERYTHING about tuning i can get my hands on. my tech knowledge is good i just didn't know anything about tuning before i started. there are MANY good reads, some of the stuff i have been reading was actually for piston-aircraft tuning. but tuning is tuning, the general idea is the same. everything i want to know about the UTEC tuning interface can be found in the manual. the car has come leaps and bounds since i started about a week aago.

and who did you take the car to in VA? Just out of curiousity.

Sounds like you're having fun with the suby. At least you're making some marginal progress. I swear I'm regressing as far as my car goes.

dont blow it up
ok?


good luck

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“A turbo: exhaust gasses go into the turbocharger and spin it, witchcraft happens and you go faster.”
-Jeremy Clarkson

Good words of wisdom mike.

i'll try not to.
i am still running rich (9.8ish AFR @ redline) and there is more room for timing to be added. since i don't know exactly what i am doing i am tuning in VERY small steps. but i tuned for about 2hrs on sunday and during the whole process i didn't get a single knock. the car overall feels faster AND smoother. i had huge amounts of 'buck' on the old tune
oh the shop. it was AR Fabrication in Winchester, VA. i am done being nice about it. they were nice to talk to but they didn't seem to think a WRX W/a UTEC (or the owner) was worth their time. I think that if i were running their set up (AEM standalone) they would have been much more helpful.

Just another case where if you want something done....DO IT YOURSELF!

It's good that you're getting to learn everything though. Then you wont have to rely on places like that to do the work for you.

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“A turbo: exhaust gasses go into the turbocharger and spin it, witchcraft happens and you go faster.”
-Jeremy Clarkson

Did they ever return your second round of phone calls? I knew they were avoiding you and was just curious.

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"A prayer for those wild at heart, stuck in a cage"

I agree!!

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"A prayer for those wild at heart, stuck in a cage"

My buddy Sean is really good with the UTEC. If you want me to talk with him to talk with you I can hook up up with his number.

Nick

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