Krang

iTrader: (14)

You do have the grey or while clips in the front?

Krang

iTrader: (14)

Also, I have a working set of coils if u want to test

Labmonkey

iTrader: (6)

Yup, white plugs at the front. That would be awesome, I'd hate to spend another $3-400 on coils to find out that it wasn't needed.

corytomo

iTrader: (3)

boost/vac leak?
if it was running fine before something was installed, i'd take it off and put the old stuff on then trouble shoot the new parts.

shaggadelic

iTrader: (26)

imma go out on a lim here and tell you first thing first is to change your damn plug.... this is what you should be running. NGK iridum LFR7AIX

The E3 plugs are more of a gimmick if anything for gas savings and better for the environment.

its a cheap replacement and you can rule that out first instead of having to spend a few hundred dollars on something that might not be the problem.... look over the small things first also do assume is something big. most times it can be something you forgot to re ground or plug back in. take baby steps and in detail to see what could be wrong and if your gonna start replacing stuff start with the cheaper stuff that could cause it to do that like spark plugs

Labmonkey

iTrader: (6)

I already changed back to new factory plugs. The only reason I went with the E3's is because that was all that was available in a heat range colder at the parts store. I also contacted the tuner to make sure they would be okay. Thanks though.

juniorsti

iTrader: (19)

LFR7AIX is for 2.5L one step colder. Reach on sti plugs are longer than the 2.0L plugs, big no no.... 19mm vs 26.5mm or something like that

assuming you have the stock 2.0L and your car info is complete/ accurate "04' wrb WRX sedan" (most people will brag/ state STI), these are the compatible part numbers for spark plugs.


NGK/Copper/BKR6ES/WRX/stock
NGK/Copper/BKR7ES/WRX/one step colder
NGK/Copper/BKR6E/WRX/stock
NGK/Copper/BKR7E/WRX/one step colder
NGK/Platinum/BKR6EGP/WRX/stock
NGK/Platinum/BKR7EGP/WRX/one step colder
NGK/Platinum/PFR6G/WRX/stock <----OEM plug
NGK/Platinum/PFR7G/WRX/one step colder
NGK/Iridium/BKR6EIX/WRX/stock
NGK/Iridium/BKR7EIX/WRX/one step colder
Denso/Iridium/IK20/WRX/stock
Denso/Iridium/IK22/WRX/one step colder
Champion/Copper/RC10YC4/WRX/stock
Champion/Copper/RC9YC4/WRX/one step colder
Autolite/Copper/3923/WRX/stock
Autolite/Copper/3922/WRX/one step colder
Autolite/Platinum/AP3923/WRX/stock
Autolite/Platinum/AP3922/WRX/one step colder
Autolite/Platinum/APP3923/WRX/stock
Autolite/Platinum/APP3922/WRX/one step colder


Diagnosis of mis-fires can be a royal pain in the ***, so you need to provide more details of when this mis-fire is occuring other than "car has been running bad"

-During idle?
-At all times?
-only under boost? or load range?
-certain rpm range?
-driving conditions? ie. going uphill will be more load on the engine

During your diagnosis, what is your method of detecting post turbo intake leaks? i find that pressurizing the intake system with an air source listening/ looking for leaks with soapy water to be most effective. during this test, monitor pressure with a boost gauge. your el cheapo, checker auto, ebay, 20$, mechanical boost gauge would work great as a temporary engine bay gauge hook up.

Have you upgraded your fuel pump to support those large injectors? im not sure how well your fuel system works with 750s with the stock pump, this may be something worth researching.


good suggestions have already been said, but in addition to that i would try/ check the following and compare to a log or information your tuner has given you. I would not be suprised if PDX has only suggested "checking injectors/ coil packs", typical lazy response for someone with alot of experience. I will however be suprised if they are keeping up with email communications to non prefered customers like myself ANYways...........

-Engine compression/ Leakdown test (especially since you have apparently been driving this way since OCT with an OTS/ Base Map. Check cyl roughness in logger, constant misfire rising with rpm suggests possible mechanical damage ranging from loss of compression from bad rings, blown ringlands, burnt valves, etc) we can only hope this is not the case, but check this first before you spend money swaping/ buying anymore parts.

-check injectors with multimeter (seeing what you have previously tried, this is probably not your issue, but i think the spec was around 10-20 ohms, see if there are any values that oddly differ compared to other injectors, you may also compare this to logger data from cyl roughness if theres a problematic injector that coincides with a cyl experiencing roughness/miss)

-coil packs/ ignition, already mentioned.....(swap em around, you may also compare this to logger data from cyl roughness if theres a problematic coilpack that coincides with a cyl experiencing roughness/miss)

-Pre Turbo Exhaust leaks (your perrin up-pipe suggests that your exhaust manifold may have previously been removed, pre-turbo exhaust leaks may cause erratic rich conditions, check with logger to see if you have wierd rich conditions under load)

-post turbo intake leaks/boost leaks (again, erratic rich conditions, check with logger)

-pre turbo, pre maf intake leaks (lean conditions due to un-metered air by the maf entering the engine with not enough fuel to compensate, check with logger for lean conditions)

-front 02 sensor (find someone who is willing to swap sensors with you for diagnostic purposes or use a logger and compare values with a wide band sensor)

-check Injector duty cyle (im not a tuner nor do i completely understand the theories of how subie ecu react to the data its provided, but i assume if you have high IDC for such large injectors you may have a fuel supply issue, which comes back to the question if your fuel pump was upgraded)

-are you hitting target boost? (if you have a hard time building boost, i would check turbo or boost controller issues. correct me if im wrong, but you should have no issues hitting a decent amount of boost with a turbo that size by 3k)


Im no expert and the suggestions have come from personal painfull experiences, i just hope to add more to your building blocks towards reaching the conlcusion of your diagnosis. they are also in no specific order to check, but i would alleviate the possibilty of mechanical damage early with the compression/ leak down.. good luck!

juniorsti

iTrader: (19)

Do'h, didn't notice you had walbro listed

4080wrx

iTrader: (38)

if you can get a smoker (don't know the official name), cap the intake, and pump the smoke into the brake booster vacuum line. then get one of them CSI lights they use to look for *** stains on the sheets. that thing is kick *** when looking for leaks in all the tight places.

maybe someone can help me with official names?

Labmonkey

iTrader: (6)

I appreciate all the suggestions. Yes the car is only a wrx/2.0. The plugs are the factory NGK/Platinum/PFR6G/WRX/stock. At idle to 3000 rpm it runs great3-4000 it starts to get into boost peaking at about 12 psi for just a second. 4500 rpm it begins to misfire badly, so far all of the cylinders have mis-fired. The boost drops back to 7-9 psi never hitting target boost. I won't let it rev past 5000 rpm. At first I thought it was a boost control problem. I moved from the factory controller to a hallman pro mbc, now I have a turbo smart e-boost. Same results with all. As for load and driving conditions, this happens every time I drive it. I do drive it but mainly just on base. The longest drives are to see Patrick at Fed-ex. So I hope it isn't any of the other internal engine problems. I will do a leak down on the cylinders and try to pressurize the intake system this weekend. Yeah I'm not really happy with the response I got considering I spent $425 on a tune. $125 of it was dyno time. So I spent $300 for 3 runs and 20 minutes of the tuners time to hear "somethings wrong, check your plugs and injectors." Are you kidding me? He did say he'd try to work something out on my next tune though. We'll see.

shaggadelic

iTrader: (26)

haha i didnt read the info just looked at his pic and seen a sti wing

i would run bkr7e if its a wrx....

just from what you said could you have your boost controller hooked up wrong? 12psi sounds about like it is only waste gate psi..... which i know wont solve your limp mode but just saying it should still read higher then that...

808subaru

iTrader: (16)

you.... shoulda......bought.....a.......squirrel.........

Island Style

iTrader: (66)

Christian, I understand your frustration and the feeling that you just spent hard earned money on what appears to be nothing...I've been there and done that, but I considered my situation as my fault as my vehicle was not prepared for the tune because of what I didn't do...double and triple check my vehicle...

Tunes are not places to diagnose problems with a vehicle nor is it the tuners responsibility to diagnose the problems exhibited by the vehicle during the tune. The vehicles condition and it's state of preparedness is solely the responsibility of the vehicles owner.

Jarrad tried to do what he could in the time given (dyno time ticking...)...according to Reyn, your car was on the dyno for 45minutes. What diagnosis he did, he did as a favor. He attempted to do what he could to help you.

Publicly criticizing someone who attempted to help you while working under stress in a loud, hot, smelly environment...doing what they did not have to do, is just wrong. If you want, give him a call...as long as you are civil with him, he will be more than happy to talk to you.

We will try and bring him back in the fall...He will remember your situation and attempt to assist you when that time comes. In the meantime, he can still work with a safe map for you via an Accessport with your mods...

I feel Jarrad goes out of his way to help us here in Hawaii, more so than anywhere else...

pm me if you have any questions and we will try to work it out.

I wouldn't worry to much about getting re-tuned...I'm sure it won't be free (He has to pay for his plane/lodging/food etc) but it will be less that what you paid...

juniorsti

iTrader: (19)

Sounds like your engine is okay, but make sure you still collect the compression numbers... possible pre turbo exhaust leak, bad turbo, boost controller, or boost leak. As a last measure to test boost controller issues, completely unhook hoses from the wastegate actuator and try to boost. watch your boost gauge carefully as you can obviously blow your engine by overboosting... It will be a quick test. if you are absolutly sure you have no leaks and the boost contoller test failed, i would look into putting your stock turbo back on and see how you build boost from there

As far as the PDX thing, my opinions are my opinions. Everyone posts theirs, so can I. PDX has many happy customers, but he expects them to do their part and come in with a healthy vehicle, unfortunately, there is no way this is always possible... if you are modyfing your car, you will run into issues.

If this is the contract terms of PDX, you best find another tuner. If it is in fact his terms, this should be formally and clearly disclosed to every paying customer. This was not done for me during my tune sessions. Even though my problem directly dealt with the tune itself, i should have been notified of all terms. Sometimes its a tune, and sometimes it takes an attempt of a tune to find that it is or isnt the issue. This is what a regular, 'bolt on" kind of home mechanic will do to find if it is or isnt a tune issue. There will be no need to pay a tuner to if this was something everyone was capable of doing.

My experience with pdx was horrible due to lack of support... I have always given Jarrad the benefit of the doubt. He may have been busy, he may have family matters, blah blah blah.... I had issues with my tune where my car constantly knocked. I could barely get a response to any emails. I have sent in numerous logs only to hear "every thing looks fine" when i DID get a response. Before you know it, I wasnt getting any responses at all.


If you are going to offer a service, expect the consequences and additional expenses to do it right. Quality over quantitiy. There is no way I will feel sorry, its his business. Its way of making money. This easily encourages deceit when needed because it affects how much food you are able to put on the dinner table. It has been, and always will be my assumption that Jarad tunes as many cars possible over the weekend and not be able to support the work load that follows which is supporting what he sells. Why??! Because the excuse was always something about being busy. This is not an attack. Take this statement with a grain of salt as it is soley based on my personal experience with the company and its just my opinion. In the end, I paid for two tunes that constantly pulled timing and knocked. I got a dom tune, turned out to be one of the best tune my car had. Got a tune from a home tuner, came out to be the next best tune the car had....

Labmonkey

iTrader: (6)

Just so I'm clear, I'm not bashing PDX but frustrated with how everything worked out. Guess I shoulda bought a squirrel?