Need a little help

I have ordered a couple new parts for my '15 STI, one of them being a Perrin CAI, just need a little help finding a place to get it tuned after i install. I live in Stockton, CA. Any help would be great, thanks ahead of time!

Is the intake the only thing you are installing engine wise? Not sure about tuners in your area but we offer e-tunes and, for just a cold air intake, it doesn't make sense for you to spend $500 on a pro-tune unless you go stage 2 IMO.

I completely agree with Holy.
Fuel pump upgrade at the same time would be a good move.

don't waste your money on a tune just for intake. better wait and do a few things that you want. you won't see many gains out of a intake (at least older rubies) but the pro tune is where its at. i would at least go stage 2 to justify the 500$ your going to spend on a tune.

Thanks for the info [MENTION=9]HolyCrapItsFast[/MENTION] [MENTION=662]Batmobile_Engage[/MENTION] and [MENTION=4212]ej25subie05[/MENTION] !! The first round of parts im installing are the Perrin CAI and LW pulley, then soon after I will be installing the Perrin AOS, inlet tube, upgrade the fuel pump (not sure on brand yet) as well as looking into upgrading injectors, intercooler, cat back to start with. Do you guys have any other suggestion? This is my first subie build and turbo car so I still have a lot more to learn so any help I can get I will def take.

[MENTION=9]HolyCrapItsFast[/MENTION] could you inform me more on the e-tune?

im not him, but i know a thing or two about e-tunes. its when you data log your car (on my legacy you would hit the defrost button) do a pull to redline, hit the button again to stop the log and thats your data log. The tuner tells you what parameters he wants logged and you choose them before the pull. After you finish the log you email the tuner your data log, he looks at it makes adjustments that he thinks are necessary and emails you back a revised version. you flash the new map on and do it all over. its honestly a pain in the butt but i did it before and car ran pretty good (07 legacy gt spec B).

so pretty much your driving the car and data logging, emailing the datalogs to the tuner and wait for a new map. i think e-tuning can be pretty good as long as the tuner is good and you know what you want the car to feel like. one e-tuner that i really liked when i talked to him was Ron @http://www.phatbottituning.com or his partner known as STI-mikey. but i only talked to Ron. have a few friends who have tuned with him and love it.

He requires you to have access tuner and a access port. don't do Romraider, once you try access tuner after romraider you'll never go back.

if some of this stuff doesn't imply for your 15 sti, my apologies they are so new i havnt gotten a chance to learn much about them yet.

on Rons website go to etuning, and he tells you a little about what it is and what he wants logged. I'm not saying you need Ron to tune your car. he didn't tune mine but was going to until i decided i wanted to do it with a friend to learn all i could and am happy i went that route.

there are many many tuners out there, but most of them i won't allow to touch my cars unless i have hard core evidence they know what they are doing. but in all seriousness if i were you, a pro tune would be the best. you wouldn't have to be speeding around on public roads, it'll be a one day thing (should be lol) and you'll love it. But pro tuners tune to there driving style thats another disadvantage...

subierider15 said:

Thanks for the info @HolyCrapItsFast @Batmobile_Engage and @ej25subie05 !! The first round of parts im installing are the Perrin CAI and LW pulley, then soon after I will be installing the Perrin AOS, inlet tube, upgrade the fuel pump (not sure on brand yet) as well as looking into upgrading injectors, intercooler, cat back to start with. Do you guys have any other suggestion? This is my first subie build and turbo car so I still have a lot more to learn so any help I can get I will def take.

Click to expand...

I strongly suggest you maintain the car up to Stage 2 level first which is nothing more than a down pipe and exhaust and a stage 2 tune. The fuel pumps are more better (bad English i know) than previous years so replace that only if you need to. See how you like the feel of it at stage 2 because I believe you will be happy for a while.

To successfully determine and suggest the RIGHT parts to get, you need to understand what your driving and power goals are. If the car is going to be driven on the street then there is really not to much you want to change other than suspension parts and a Stage 2 setup, but some people make the mistake and play the numbers game. All they want is that Dyno number and their drivability goes out the window. Unless you are WOT, your car is useless on the street where it counts. Unless you are building a track car that is going to see the rack more than the street, then large turbos and rotated assemblies and 1000cc injectors and front mount intercoolers, etc are the way to go. If the car is largely driven on the street then stage 2 is your sweet spot.

Also seek the advice of a tuner before you buy parts. The parts, by them selves, can be a huge detriment to power and performance if they are not properly matched with other parts. Another thing to consider is fuel. E85 is a game changer and, if it is in your area, you should take advantage of it. For E85 though, it would require new injectors and a fuel pump.

subierider15 said:

@HolyCrapItsFast could you inform me more on the e-tune?

Click to expand...

Our E-Tuning service is vastly different than any other e-tuning service and, dare I say, on par with any pro tune. I prefer street tuning for drivability over a dyno because you both target and achieve real world loads. The dyno, IMO is good only for WOT tuning and initial closed loop calibration. The fine stuff needs to be done on the street. We use VirtualDyno to gauge the progress of WOT runs and make our adjustment accordingly. I also use other tools that I developed to precisely interpolate the log data into a final map based on fuel trim errors. I have other similar tools for creating VE table for Speed Density. Our service is free to Sponsor and Premium members.

With our service you absolutely require a wide band AFR gauge be installed and able to log in either RomRaider or AccessTuner Race. Also make no mistake... I require you to go WOT on a number of occasions and to do that on a public street is both dangerous and illegal. I always suggest you rent time at a local track and I will make myself available during that time. Otherwise it is at your own risk.

I tried to make the process as painless and easy as possible for both myself and the end user. We have a database that you log into. This database contains all the vehicle information and all of the tuning data as well as the dialog between you and me. It will notify you when a response has been posted. (See attachments)



The actual process can be quite a long endeavor depending on the condition of the car and how fast we respond to each other. Very often the process turns into a diagnostic session more than tuning because 80% of the cars I have tuned have had problems. But the process was able to weed out these problems and the end results speak for themselves.

All in all you will gain a more intimate knowledge of your car and be bale to spot pending doom before it happens. you will have a better understanding of the tuning process and how things work together. It is as much a learning experience as it is a service.

if you are interested in this service please read and understand the following thread and PM me.
http://igotasti.com/vBforum/showthread.php/3830-E-Tuning-Service-for-Paying-Members

i take my post back, i had no idea y'all offer this service on this forum... thats legit.

Based on the shit that is out there on the interwebs, it is not easy to recommend an e-tune to anyone. I don't believe anyone should be charging for e-tunes because most of them are just taking your money and you are doing most of the work and taking all the risk. There are still a few great e-tuners out there but you have to weed through a light year high pile of shit to find them.

[MENTION=9]HolyCrapItsFast[/MENTION] [MENTION=4212]ej25subie05[/MENTION] thanks for the info!! My plan for the car is for it to be a fast but reliable street car so i will look into the stage2 setup and tune! Holy i will have the perrin CAI and LW pulley tomorrow and i am interested in the e-tune so i'll order a wide band AFR and get with you this weekend or early next week. So keep the info and suggestions coming cause im trying to shorten my learning curve! Thanks again

[MENTION=4304]subierider15[/MENTION] you'll also get a free hoodie, lanyard, and sticker with membership.

subierider15 said:

@HolyCrapItsFast @ej25subie05 thanks for the info!! My plan for the car is for it to be a fast but reliable street car so i will look into the stage2 setup and tune! Holy i will have the perrin CAI and LW pulley tomorrow and i am interested in the e-tune so i'll order a wide band AFR and get with you this weekend or early next week. So keep the info and suggestions coming cause im trying to shorten my learning curve! Thanks again

Click to expand...

Before we tune just try the CIA first. A simple log should tell us if you do need a tune right away or whether it can wait till you have the Stage 2 setup. Perrin claims that there is no tune required with their intakes but it wouldn't hurt to check. By all means go ahead and get the wide band AFR. I recommend AEM since it is probably the cheapest and easiest to use and just as accurate as the most expensive unit. Your local exhaust shop should be able to install the O2 Bung in your down pipe, which is another reason I suggest waiting for the Stage 2 setup.

You can probably use this time to decide what your tuning solution is going to be whether it is Open Source or AccessPort. Open source is going to be your cheapest solution at $170 for a Tactrix OpenPort 2. The AccessPort is going to set you back $600 but is a bit easier to work with and has allot of other features. Either one is fine for tuning purposes and I have no preference. Either way you will need to become familiar with the software and we can use this time (and this thread) to bring you up to speed.

[MENTION=9]HolyCrapItsFast[/MENTION] sounds great thanks a lot for the help!

I know you're talking about power mods, but dont neglect the suspension!

Holy does a great job with e-tunes. Just be aware that you'll need a wideband (useful to have anyways) and a laptop for logging. You'll also need a good stretch of road where you can redline in 4th gear, which isnt exactly slow!

[MENTION=652]Grinder34[/MENTION] Thanks for the info. I have looked a little into suspension. i am wanting a fast but reliable street car so what would be some of your recommendation as far a suspension to point me in the right direction?

Depends TOTALLY on budget and willingness to accept some harshness in the ride.

First thing would definitely be swaybars and endlinks. Some people say you need swaybar mounts, but I dont have those and it seems to be fine.

Springs, including lowering.

Fixed perch struts, or coilovers, depending on budget and desires. Coilovers open a huge can of worms about how "nice" and adjustable you want them to be.

Bushings. There are about a MILLION of them on the car, and some are more important than others.

"subframe lock bolts" go by many names. "botox bolts" is one example. I dont have them on my car yet, but I hear they make quite a difference.

Camber bolts or camber plates.

Basically there are a million things you can do, including things i didnt even bother listing.



Another area that helps with both handling and acceleration is weight savings. Theres lots of weight to be saved on these cars if you know where to look.

i love my KW coil overs. but i hear a lot of good things about fortune auto coil overs(even first hand experience from a friends car). they ride great too and are a third of what mine cost.

but sway bars, end links and engine, trans, pitch stop, and rear differential bushings are something that will help you put more power to the ground quicker and better than stock.

[MENTION=652]Grinder34[/MENTION] [MENTION=4212]ej25subie05[/MENTION] thanks for all the info, I really appreciate it