Well, FINALLY i've pulled the finger out, forked out some $$$ and had the old girl tuned... 

And I can say, my god..... what a difference :eek:
Al's prophetic words to me a while back, when discussing turbo choices, and modding wastegates and other such stuff..... "Subaru engines need boost to work"
Well, what a difference 4 pounds and a good tune can make !!!!!

For those who don't know, or don't remember......  see this thread here for the long-winded rundown on the story ....
or for those who don't care.....don't read.......

Since the second re-build by BMI (thanx Dave & the boys), and running it in for close to the last year (ie:  haven't had the time, money, effort, or motivation to organise shid until now), it was time to finally get it sorted.

So, after a service & good check-over at AM Auto on Monday (thanx guys) it was back down to Matt Spry @ PITS down the gold coast.  (Can FULLY recommend Matt for any tuning requirements - he knows his stuff, is helpful, explains things when you ask, and even when you dont... but he's not the cheapest.  My choice.... your choice to make him your choice )

Long story short - tune went well.  I asked for a good safe tune - it's not a drag car, or dyno queen show pony, so I wasn't chasing any particular numbers, however I must admit, I was a little disappointed with the resulting power figures once it was all done.

I can't remember exactly what Matt told me about the AFR's - I think he said he tuned them quite safely for the street, at about 10.6 - 10.7... however I could have those numbers wrong!  It mite have been 11.6-11.7.  Whatever it was, he doesn't use the Dyno Dynamics AFR function for some reason (that part is broken, or reads inaccurately, or something), but he uses a different computer to monitor those, so couldn't get a printout.... but they are quite safe.

No hint of pinging during the tune.  It's still running the stock boost controller (run via the PFC), which has wastegate pressure about 12psi, and the max it can handle is 16psi.... at something like 90% duty cycle I think he said.  I believe 16psi is a good figure for a VF35.  Some ppl have run them to about 18 or so, but that's pretty much at the limit of it's abilities, so i'm happy with 16 for everyday use on my daily driver.
As the boost graphs indicate, the turbo reaches full boost by about 3300, and holds it constant all the way to redline (set at 7300)
The only reason the red graph (16psi) tapers off, is the above-mentioned boost controller.

Power also reaches max around 6000 and stays fairly flat, tapering off after about 7000, but I believed the STi cams made their power up to about 8000 or slightly higher.  But I'm not worried...... I hardly ever go over 6500 anyway (boring old me )

Well, we went for a test drive after tuning, and f**k me, it felt quick.... but it always does when you're in the passenger seat !!!

And then the intercooler pipe popped off :eek:  Quick tighten-up of the clamp and all was good.

Well, drove around the coast for a while, with a mile-wide smile and the trip back home along the motorways was a breeze.  Before the tune, it only ran wastegate pressure, so max was about 12psi, and that was reasonably quick, but the power delivery just seemed to die off higher up the revs.... but I figure that was a case of incorrect tuning for STi cams, as opposed to the boost pressure.  If I was cruising at 80 in 5th, and planted my foot, there would be about 5-8 seconds wait as the boost gradually crept up to 12psi, a gentle surge of power and eventually foot-off the gas.

Now..... do the same thing... wait about 2 seconds, boost rapidly reaching 16 and it's shove you back in the seat..... and foot-off @ 120 in no time!!!  VERY nice improvement!
You can imagine what the acceleration is like, in lower gears

It's interesting to note, that the old Rex engine, with TD04, pulled a best figure of 157kw..... so I assumed a bigger turbo, and brand-new, better engine/cams combination, should have produced closer to 180 or higher..... so to say I'm a bit disappointed with this figure is obvious..... BUT.... the on-road performance and driveability is MUCH improved over what i've gotten used to over the last 8 months or so, so i'm stoked

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Time to upgrade my sig now, I guess