Slack

iTrader: (4)

Well my Stage 1 ran borderline low boost, and when I went to stage 2 it pretty much stayed the same, I tried the HWG and that didn't help. So I decided to go tighten up the wastegate actuator arm, and WOW, hit Cobb's target boost right off the bat, didn't seem to spike and hopefully it will stay running higher boost, I'll update in a few days.

wrx10404

iTrader: (2)

How many turns?

symby

Did you notice a big power increase when finally hitting full boost? I have the stage 1 flashed form accessport and I'm not entirely sure its hitting full boost. Haven't tried the HWG maps yet though. I need a boost guage I guess since its hard to read boost of the accessport and pay attention to the road.

WRX_2NR

From what I read, the AP maps will take a little to learn the higher boost

I know what you mean on reading the boost reading from the AP!

Slack

iTrader: (4)

I did 1.5 turns, I think I'm going to go give it another half turn as it is still a hair under the range Cobb specifies (15.8 +/- .5). Before I was seeing around 13.5 maybe 14 psi, after the adjustment about 15 psi.

Slack

iTrader: (4)

It definitely felt better, dont know if that was in my mind or not though

It's nice to have a passenger to read the AP so that you can keep your eyes on the road.

mexicanpizza

iTrader: (9)

My stage 2 was very sensitive to ambient temps...if I sat in traffic for even 30 seconds the boost would be off until things cooled down again. Keep an eye on it when it gets cooler out or at night.

darryl

I have the Cobb Stge2 and I would like to try this out. It looks as though the heat shield must be removed. Or am I looking at the wrong thing? What tools did you use?
thanks,
Darryl

Slack

iTrader: (4)

Yes, you must remove the heatshield, which can be a pain if you have never had it off or replaced all the screws when you did have it off. I believe the heatshield screws are 10mm. You need to pop off a little clip on top of the wastegate arm thingie and loosen the 10 mm little nut on the wastegate arm thing. Once the nut is loosened, pull up on the arm and it will pop off the little nub that it is on, turn the thing on the end clockwise to tighten. Put the arm back on the nub thing, tighten the nut, put the little c clip back on(PITA) Sorry for such technical language

darryl

thanks for replying with the tech info! LOL! I just want to make sure my wg is not opening too soon because of inadequate preloading. I'm such a poor driver that it having the best turbo response is important for me to launch smoothly at low speeds.

Still, I think I need to tighten up on the wg.
thanks again
Darryl
Update: I turned the wastegate arm adjustment 1 1/2 turns. In concert with two restrictor pills I saw some boost spikes of 17psi, so I took the second pill out. Ineed to do some testing without that pill in order to see if I've got the wastegate arm adjusted too tight, requiring more boost.
brb
Darryl

subie2

Can you post up some pics of that?

darryl

Sorry man. Busted camera, and temporarily short on funds. Maybe this simple explanation will help you to see it. Picture a solid plastic rod that fits the inside diameter of the restrictor-pill hose. Now approximately half-moon about an inch along it's length, just to give you adequate length to work with. Now cut that half-mooned section away, then take it and file a groove along the length of the half-mooned section. I used the edge of a six-inch medium file to make the V notch, the edge creating the V-shape. Cut a piece at about 3/16 inch, insert it in the opposite end of the restrictor hose (the end at the "T".) Go drive. Watch boost gauge and any other one like egt, oil temp. I know a longer peice seems to cause boost spiking on my car. I think any spiking is a sign that the signal is delayed too much: open up the restriction a bit, until things smooth out. That's what I'm looking for smooth power sooner. Maybe one day a header and an up pipe.
What I can tell you is that my goal was to give the car a bit more power sooner. I thought that if the fbc was letting the wg go early, or if the wg is opening prematurely because of needing an adjustment. I haven't adjusted the wg linkage as discussed here. So I tried to find a way to further delay the signal from the turbo to the fbc without using a bleeder (nothing against bleeders). Actually a bleeder seems simpler, but I wanted to try this out. I I'm probably just deluding myself. I'll see what happens after the ecu learns to live with it. It's all butt dyno at this point. But I'm using my lauch results to judge it the response, and watching for boost spikes. Thankfully no spikes above 16 psi.
darryl

darryl

OK,
I got what wanted. I like it a lot! But I can simplify what you would do to perform this mod yourself. Simply buy another restrictor pill and run it butted up against the other pill restrictor. Originally, I had my second restrictor-thing at the opposite end of the stock restrictor pill, in the hose. I can see where this would cause an uneven signal to the fbc. I think that way the signal was delayed, but also varied. This caused uneven acceleratoin and boost Now, by running both pills one behind the other the signal is still delayed, but now it is a consistent signal that reaches the fbc.
The result of this little configuration in my car makes the stage2 reflash (along with Club Spec intake and exhaust, and hoses) throttle response feel much more linear. I mean this thing feels just about right. Acceleration is much more linear than before. Give it partial throttle and you get partial boost. More throttle more boost. Quick throttle. quick boost. Heistation is way down with the car responding to my foot much more quickly than with just one pill. I hope this proves true for anyone else who tries this. The cost of the pill is less than $5.00, I think. I just came back from running this configuration, and I'm saying I found a sweet spot with this simple mod. It's a big grin for me!
good luck,
Darryl

OK here's my update. At first I that shortinging the length of the wastegate actuator arm by 1 1/2 turns was too much for my car with the second restrictor. I was spiking to over 17+psi. I quickly saw that I forgot to reconnect the fbc/abc hose back onto the "T". Reconnecting it, I still had some high spikes, so I took my 2nd restrictor out. Now the car is at 1 1/2 turns tightened on the actuator as the only change. The boost now peaks to about 16 pounds in 3rd gear at full throttle.

Throttle response is very good too, especially noticeable in 1st and 2nd gears. I need to go out and double-check the peak boost in those two gears (they go by quick). There is one slight little thing: insofar as throttle response,I really prefer how the car pulled off the line with the 2nd restrictor in versus just one. Yes, it was prone to boost spiking at full throttle, but at less than that, things felt pretty good.
My learned lesson is thst first you make sure the wastegate is doing it's thing properly. Thanks to this thread, I think I cured an illness vesus treating a symptom. All my other ideas must follow that.
Great thread!