My new 2010 Subaru WRX

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up here at ECS, they break in and tune the car on the dyno. None of that silly grace period. but on the other hand - their subaru tuner is in house.

based on him running a basemap, and the driving instructions they gave him, I'm going to guess they didn't do a dyno break-in.
 
had they a tuner in-house, im sure it would be tuned on the spot. but they dont so im kind of at their will. banging on a car with less than ideal AFR/timing will be much more detrimental than just waiting it out and taking it easy. the motor is not going to blow up from NOT beating on it LOL.

they do all of their motors this way. and its not 3k, its 1500. they told me to use a specific break-in oil. AND they have tailored this routine with MANY cars with good results. they also use proprietary engine bearing clearances (which they showed me, and i agreed to not disclose numbers, but ill say they are tighter than what you normally see) that have worked well for their motors, and gets factored into their recommendations. they know what they are doing. they do this with all of their motors (unless you happen to get lucky and get everything scheduled/installed around the once a month tuning session.

plus "drive it like i normally do" is daily driving. lol. not really much more load than im doing now. the only thing that really needs to break in is the piston rings, and engine breaking provides a lot of vacuum to assist with that. tighter clearances limit blowby, full recirculating catchcan system limits oil consumption as well.

im not worried. plus they warranty this stuff for 12k/1yr...
 
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Like I said. There's a reason they're not known nation-wide.

I'll bet their "tuner" is an "independent contractor" thus absolving them of all liability should something go wrong with the tune.

I've never been to the shop, but I know their reputation in the speed-shop industry around here. I'm glad they refuse to work on non-subrau models, it makes it easier for me to buy a used car and know for sure that they haven't touched it.
 
the only thing that really needs to break in is the piston rings, and engine breaking provides a lot of vacuum to assist with that. tighter clearances limit blowby, full recirculating catchcan system limits oil consumption as well.

Quoted to make sure it stays... And so I can find it in a year when you limp the car back to IAG with blow-by problems.
 
I've had success breaking in engine builds both ways- and Ian's absolutely right- I wouldn't push it without a good tune. Just think of it this way- the break-in cycle is just extended when you don't push the engine hard up front. You just leave the 'beat the hell out of it' part for later, and grind in those parts of the engine at that load at a later date. Not too much of a big deal. ;)
 
Like I said. There's a reason they're not known nation-wide.

I'll bet their "tuner" is an "independent contractor" thus absolving them of all liability should something go wrong with the tune.

I've never been to the shop, but I know their reputation in the speed-shop industry around here. I'm glad they refuse to work on non-subrau models, it makes it easier for me to buy a used car and know for sure that they haven't touched it.

you obviously dont know much about IAG, or are too much of an AndrewTech fanboi to give them a second look. dont get me wrong, ive heard excellent things about AndrewTech and they are the BEST subaru tranny shop in existence, without a doubt. Ive also had limited dealings with Agile, but they are also fairly well known and well praised. I go to IAG because I've built up a rapport with the shop and they know my car.

IAG IS known nationwide, are you kidding me? they have probably the best reputation for service and quality in the Subaru world. People send their cars from all over the world to have IAG work on them (like the 700whp STi that was shipped to them from Brazil...)

Their tuner is Jorge ("george" not "horhey") Carrillo, who they fly in from CA every month. He is also known as a big name in Subaru tuning.

IAG Performance AccessPORT Pro Tuning Services,

Why don't you google for bad reviews of IAG... Lol. A few quick searches and I couldn't find any.
 
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Some better shots of the engine bay. Things sure are crammed in there. Added a shot of how close the Crawford AOS is to the Spearco TMIC lol.

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I've had success breaking in engine builds both ways- and Ian's absolutely right- I wouldn't push it without a good tune. Just think of it this way- the break-in cycle is just extended when you don't push the engine hard up front. You just leave the 'beat the hell out of it' part for later, and grind in those parts of the engine at that load at a later date. Not too much of a big deal. ;)
Sound advice to take it easy until it's tuned - won't make a phukin' bit of difference. :)
 
They have a tuning session next weekend. That I'm trying to get in on.

Only problem is that I'm doing the Run For Your Lives zombie race that day (that I signed up for 6 months ago) and it's 2 hrs away from the shop. If I can get in on a session later in the day I might be able to swing it. The other problem is that they may not have a spot for me.

I'll hear back Monday
 
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I'd trust Andrewtech with my car just as much as I'd trust IAG with my car.

Hell, Andrewtech doesn't even have a dyno or tuner, they sub it out to TurboXS.
 
They have a tuning session next weekend. That I'm trying to get in on.

Only problem is that I'm doing the Run For Your Lives zombie race that day (that I signed up for 6 months ago) and it's 2 hrs away from the shop. If I can get in on a session later in the day I might be able to swing it. The other problem is that they may not have a spot for me.

I'll hear back Monday

why not just drop the keys and car off the night before? have your cake and eat it too.
 
I have had good luck with hard break-ins on both of my motor builds. Straight onto the dyno doing pulls and getting it tuned for the first build, and about 30 miles of driving on a basemap to go to the dyno the second time. Never had any problems, no oil consumption even with forged pistons.

That being said, it sounds like the shop is pretty good, and they are obviously confident in their method judging by the 1 year warranty. I bet its hard to spend all that money and then drive it like a granny though!
 
It's very hard. And the car wants to boost so easily now lol.

I hit the 4k rev limit the other day just accelerating normally and didn't realize. Scared the shit out of me lol
 
Took the PLX M300 from my old track car and repurposed it for use on the WRX. Need to secure the box but it's pretty nice in that spot.

Wrapped the sensor wiring in gold reflective foil too to hopefully keep temps of the wiring down. Might not be needed but being the sensor will be in the downpipe about 6" from the turbo so it can't hurt.

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Pre-Tune inspection (boost leak test, oil change, they normally check more but they just built the motor so they don't really need to) scheduled tomorrow. Tune session first thing Sunday morning.
 
Pre-tune inspection today. Turbo inlet hose/pipe blew up during the boost leak test. Replaced with a Perrin unit.

Oil changed (@800mi since build).
Detailing the car hopefully Saturday.
Tuning the car on Sunday morning. 8AM
 
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very nice man! break in process is a never ending debate.
In this case i'm with Ian. When I had Blues' engine rebuilt the shop did all the work and let them tune it with a 'contracted' tuner. He's tuned everything from Subie's Evo's, and much more so he's know.

Mine was a little more extreme with a modified 18G, 100mm bore, all emissions delete including Grimmspeed TGV's and fuel upgrades.

my motor was built, had a safe tune on it and literally sat on the dyno for a break in process.
Oil changed and then it was driven for 500-800 miles to make sure all leaks and nothing else happened.
Only after that did they changed oil again and strapped it to the dyno for a final tune to see what it had and get all the HP they could.

You can't just treat a subaru like a Honda. not the same AT all. I'll admit Subaru's are more senstive but when built right, treated with respect and maintained they are beasts.

sadly mine died in an accident so Ian, best of luck with yours!!!!

ohh and 325hp is very conservative ;) ive seen less modified WRX's lay down 320awhp.
 
I let VSR performance build it and tune it. That way I knew if something ever happened they took care of it and couldn't blame anyone else.
 
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