Let’s say I got my car my car tuned in the cold weather. Would I need to get retuned when it gets warmer out or could I keep the same map. How would the difference in air temperature effect the fueling? Given the fact that I drive a fragile turbo Subaru and a change in the a/f ratio could easily spell disater, I would like to take as many precautions as I can.
chuck, i had my STi tuned in 10* weather in january. as long as your tuner doesnt tune on the ragged edge you should be ok with a single map for year round driving. a comprehensive, conservative tune will get you by because of the adaptive learning feature in the subaru ecu’s… also assuming you are using the stock boost control system… solenoid or something or the sort… a manual or electronic boost controller can throw a monkey wrench into things as they may require adjustment… scratch that… will DEFINITELY require adjustment with temperature change.
there are SEVERAL people around here who are very proficient with ecutune/enginuity/ecuflash/etc… and a tactrix cable that can provide adjustments as needed. if you happen to purchase the parts i would be glad to assist you as well. free of charge.
EDIT:!!! the thing that affects subaru ecu tunes the most is elevation change… it can and will affect the afr by up to 1 full point just driving from albany to lake placid. barometric pressure and altitude adjustment is a bitch.
assuming the tune isnt hyper aggressive and its on the stock BCS or someone who knows to prevent an overboost condition by regulating the manual or electronic boost controller. the base map in the tune shouldnt need to be changed. the realtime maps are what you need to make sure the tuner is careful with.
Thanks for the info man. I’m still collecting parts and preparing the car but I think it’ll be ready in like 2 months. I’m still trying to figure out if I want to ditch the factory ebcs for a Hallman. Nothing that big, but it will definitely be fun and an easy mid to low 12 second car. :ninja
the basemap on ANY tune should NOT need to be changed for seasonal driving. the subaru ecus run realtime advance timing multiplier maps… they have a,b,c,d options… if the tuner takes his time with the realtime maps and is careful, then no tuning adjustments should need to be made. the car will automatically default to the proper realtime map for barometric pressure changes and what the MAF/ IAT is seeing. unless of course the boost control system is bypassed by a MBC/EBC. in which case, its at the owners discretion to set it properly… the ecu has a overboost protection in it but thats sort of an “oops i fucked up i need to fix this” feature and by that time the damage may already be done.
for example… my car was tuned INSIDE at moon performance… inside the shop was about 65-70*… the car was tuned to ~22psi… with a 24psi overboost protection.
i left the shop and the boost controller had not been adjusted for outside temps. the first time i laid into it leaving lake placid i pegged the boost guage at 30 psi before the overboost protection kicked in threw on the check engine light and limited boost to >14psi for the rest of the ride home.
i had to clear the code and adjust the MBC by trial and error to see where i was on the boost but after that original “oopsie” i didnt have another issue.
boxersix already rebuilt it and gave it a good bill of health… run it at 18psi on the stock block… with proper supporting mods and ull be over 300whp on 93 octane… with a safer power curve than the peaky output a vf-39/43 would produce.