N/A ROMs

N/A ROMs

Postby special j » Mon Apr 12, 2010 7:22 am

I've recently gotten into my ECU, and I've found that, while there is no shortage of WRX/STI resources, there isn't much for us N/A drivers. I'm starting this thread with the intention of helping anybody who gets into this after me, so that hopefully they can catch up to my experience/progress with ECU tuning faster than it took me to get here (not that I've gotten very far yet).

The first few days of my ECU modifications have taught me quite a bit, but not very much progress has been made as far as my car is concerned. This isn't at all a bad thing: just as a car's performance is most effectively enhanced by the improvement of the driver's skill, any ECU modification scheme will benefit more from well-informed programming.

I also would like for this thread to become a sort of repository for N/A ECU ROM downloads. When I started programming, I searched the web for any ROMs I could find for my car. The only ones I could find were the SoA updates on Scoobypedia.co.uk http://www.scoobypedia.co.uk/index.php/Knowledge/ECUVersionCompatibilityList. Don't get me wrong, that's a very handy resource. But it would've been nice to find a few ROMs that had been modded by end users, to compare them to my stock image, and get an idea about how other people's processes work.

To get the ball rolling, here are my first few modifications. My car is a 2006 Outback Sport. It's a 2.5 with a 5-speed manual gearbox. A list of mods (everything else is stock):

1. STI header-back: I used the 2.5 inch midpipe and axle-back, lengthened to fit the wagon. I welded a straight pipe through the resonator in the midpipe. The '06 header (EL) is 2.5, with a 2.25 stepdown at the midpipe; I got rid of that. A local muffler shop is fabbing a copy of the stock midpipe out of stainless, to get rid of my amateur welds.

2. Williaty's hybrid intake. Williaty, a user on Nasioc, has a fascinating in-depth writeup of intake modifications for N/A cars. His methods are scientific, his results well-documented and reproducable. His efforts, especially when you take into account his willingness to give away the hard-earned fruits to any and all takers, are astounding. He's a true gift to our community.

3. Wheels. Doesn't have a heck of a lot to do with the tune, but anyone who downloads a ROM I post will need a little context on the environment in which they were written. My car has had the stock 16" wheels replaced with 15" steelies (low-buck uglies). The tires are 215/75 BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/As. They're 11.3% larger OD than stock. My car's obviously a little sluggish off the line due to that. It also has '04 Forester springs, for a bit of lift. That doesn't affect the tune, however. If you're curious about the setup, check out http://www.dirtyimpreza.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1101. You should see her go in the snow.

4. Fluids. I've used Mobil-1 in the crankcase since new. The transmission has gotten Uncle Scotty's cocktail since the first change at 500 miles. http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=920674 The rear diff gets Mobil-1 gear oil. I forget the weight, it's whatever the manual recommends.

5. Throttle body coolant bypass. I've installed a bypass tube with a couple T's and a valve. I make the coolant bypass the throttle body when it's warm, but can switch it back with a quick twist of the handle. Permanent bypass would be fine if I lived in a warmer climate, but Cleveland sometimes gets pretty cold.

6. External. All tunes written for/tested at around 600-650 feet above sea level. We're lucky around here (Cleveland, OH) to have Sunoco 94 octane available all over the place. Everything else (road condition, traffic, etc) sucks. I'm in one of seven Ohio counties (out of 88 total) subject to bi-annual emission testing.

So that's the environment my tunes are/will be written for. I'd like to encourage other N/A guys to post the same, along with whatever ROMs they've modified for their cars. The N/A tuning community is thus far pretty scattered. Everyone can benefit from having this info centralized: newbies can get examples to learn from, advanced tuners can easily find drivers willing to test ROMs in different conditions, etc.

One more thing: There are tons of people in our community who will, as soon as they see an N/A-specific post, immediately insert their recommendation to not waste time with the mods, and simply do a turbo-motor swap. This isn't the place for that. We're not talking about if it should be done, why, how, or any of that. I don't even intend for this to be specifically power-minded; there will hopefully be additions with fuel economy, longevity, bug fixes, et cetera in mind. This is simply to serve as a repository for code, and a means of distributing information.

Also: Don't post ROMs you didn't write yourself, or that you don't have explicit permission from the author to share. Don't post anything that hasn't been tested extensively. Do post theory, technique, and methodology that others can read and learn from. If posting a ROM, document the hell out of it. There's no such thing as too much information. Any helpful links, must-read books or articles, or direct experience writeups are more than welcome.

The ROMs:
Factory base.hex is the stock ROM pulled from the ECU the first time I connected to it.
First street.hex is the first steetable modification, with rear o2 sensor codes disabled, and the readiness switch on.
Williaty map.hex is with modified requested torque-target throttle plate modifications, per the following thread http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1537010. Again, mad props to Williaty. That thread is a must-read for '06+ N/A drivers.
Attachments
williaty map.hex
O2 disable, readiness, and Williaty's torque/throttle maps.
(1 MiB) Downloaded 689 times
first street.hex
O2 codes disabled.
(1 MiB) Downloaded 692 times
factory base.hex
Factory.
(1 MiB) Downloaded 1010 times
User avatar
special j
 
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2010 5:22 am

Re: N/A ROMs

Postby special j » Sat May 08, 2010 2:03 pm

Hoo boy! First real map, and its a doozy. This one has the Williaty requested torque edit, a CL/OL delay removal, and MAD RICH fuel maps outside normal cruising duty. I've added a hybrid intake and the grounding mod, still have the STI catback, giant tires, etc. This one really makes on-ramps a lot more fun. As with anything of this nature, use at your own risk, no lifeguard on duty, et cetera.
Attachments
No CL-OL Williaty RICH.hex
Rear O2 code delete, readiness applied, requested torque maps, CL/OL delay delete, starts getting rich over 3200 RPMs and.6 g/rev.
(1 MiB) Downloaded 694 times
User avatar
special j
 
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2010 5:22 am


Return to Subaru (all models)

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 13 guests