So I understand this may deviate from the usual geekdom found here but we’re car nerds too and well this applies. I drive a 2004 Subaru WRX. It comes with a turbo’ed 4 cylinder boxer engine with 227 HP and 217 TQ at the crank. So I purchased a Cobb Accessport for my 2 liter engine. http://cobbtuning.com/products/?id=3264 This is an ECU map loader and reprogrammer. On a stock WRX it promises 30HP and 43TQ on a 2004 WRX. This is a huge difference and while you get more power most people have reported smoother acceleration and actual better gas mileage under normal use. The device isn’t cheap at $695 but the build quality and service that comes along with it are excellent.
Using the Accessport is unbelievably simple. There are two green plugs under the driver’s side dash that you need to connect to enable “Test Mode”, then using the supplied jumper connect one more plug. The accessport plugs into the OBDII port on the car and then fires up. The accessport automatically backs up your current ECU configuration and then allows flashing of a new map. It comes preloaded with a few maps and then there are many more on Cobb’s site that are available, and can be loaded via USB.
The list of features for this device is crazy, not only can it load maps and flash the ECU, it has maps for high gas mileage, valet mode (i.e. no power) , theft mode (where the car won’t start) , Performance calculations for 0-60 and ¼ mile times, live data including --- boost, RPM, Coolant Temp, Intake Air Temp, MAF sensor, Ignition Timing, MPH, and many more I’m probably forgetting. Another great feature is the ability to view and clear CEL codes for the car. This saves a trip to the dealership/AutoZone and also is indispensable when modding a car, just to see if you screwed up.
I flashed the Stage 1 map for 93 octane and the entire process took under 10 minutes. Immediately when I started it up it idled really rough so I let it run for 15 minutes or so and it seemed to even out. There was a definite performance difference and I could tell this was well worth the money. After a few days of driving it continued to improve and the car runs better, shifts cleaner under heavy acceleration, and accelerates faster. I’ll check back in after a week or so because it is supposed to continue to improve and relearn the fuel curves as I drive.
Pics-
Accessport
Accessport In box
Accessport In box 2
Accessport - Wiring This picture shows the underside of the drivers side dash. The bright green connector you see on the right is the connector that needs to be plugged in to enter "Test Mode" and the black connector you see right next to it is the one that needs to be jumped in order to flash the ECU.
Accessport - OBDII This is the Cobb connector plugged into the OBDII port, you can see the mini-usb plug on the bottom for connecting to the unit.
Accessport - Flashing This shows the Accessport all plugged in to the OBDII port using the connector in the last pic. You can see the change map screen to choose what gets flashed to the unit.
Accessport - Live Data Here you can see the live data view. Leaving the Accessport plugged in while driving allows you to monitor a wide variety of stats through the ECU. Here you can se the Air/Fuel ratio as I'm sitting idling.
