Forester SG Facelift 2.5 XT - New Intercooler & Terracean?

[Hughieboy]

Morning All,

So the ongoing saga of my very slightly lumpy running 2006 XT continues.....

I have had various issues which I've posted up on here before but I have a slight niggling running issue that I can't seem to get cured. I had it in to the local Subaru specialist last week and put on his dyno. He couldn't find any faults and it is putting out 212bhp on a power test which is down on the advertised 227bhp (?) but he didn't think that was a problem. He also pointed out that most of the fins on my intercooler are damaged and that wouldn't be helping. He said the only other thing I could try was to get it remapped to see if that cured it but that he doesn't have the required software or module or whatever to do my particular model and wasn't planning on getting it. I then contacted a local mapping specialist, they said my model can't be remapped and recommended a Terraclean?

So two things..... I have tried straightening the intercooler fins with tweezers but to be honest, it's pretty shot and the fins are all bent and/or breaking. I think I would be better off replacing it but I'm not in the market for buying a £500 aftermarket one and I'm not sure where to go to get a replacement, either new or good condition used. Is this a worthwhile thing to do?

Secondly, is it correct that this run run of SG XT's are a bit different and can't be remapped? (It's the one with the AI system). And is 212bhp about right as the car's a few years old? Does the Terraclean thing really work?

The issue remains that it just runs a little lumpy and 'chuggy' at times and on two occasions it has 'died' momentarily when giving it a boot full to overtake, albeit it was quite low on fuel both times.

I want to love this car, I've put a lot of time and money into it now and this issue is frustrating. It's not particularly inspiring when the local specialist can't come up with any answers and tells me 'that's how they are sometimes'.

I'd be grateful for a voice of experience please and if it is 'just how they are' I need to know before chucking any more money at it.

Many thanks :-)

[Martin Gillespie]

On 09/07/2017 at 9:49 AM, Hughieboy said:

Morning All,

So the ongoing saga of my very slightly lumpy running 2006 XT continues.....

I have had various issues which I've posted up on here before but I have a slight niggling running issue that I can't seem to get cured. I had it in to the local Subaru specialist last week and put on his dyno. He couldn't find any faults and it is putting out 212bhp on a power test which is down on the advertised 227bhp (?) but he didn't think that was a problem. He also pointed out that most of the fins on my intercooler are damaged and that wouldn't be helping. He said the only other thing I could try was to get it remapped to see if that cured it but that he doesn't have the required software or module or whatever to do my particular model and wasn't planning on getting it. I then contacted a local mapping specialist, they said my model can't be remapped and recommended a Terraclean?

So two things..... I have tried straightening the intercooler fins with tweezers but to be honest, it's pretty shot and the fins are all bent and/or breaking. I think I would be better off replacing it but I'm not in the market for buying a £500 aftermarket one and I'm not sure where to go to get a replacement, either new or good condition used. Is this a worthwhile thing to do?

Secondly, is it correct that this run run of SG XT's are a bit different and can't be remapped? (It's the one with the AI system). And is 212bhp about right as the car's a few years old? Does the Terraclean thing really work?

The issue remains that it just runs a little lumpy and 'chuggy' at times and on two occasions it has 'died' momentarily when giving it a boot full to overtake, albeit it was quite low on fuel both times.

I want to love this car, I've put a lot of time and money into it now and this issue is frustrating. It's not particularly inspiring when the local specialist can't come up with any answers and tells me 'that's how they are sometimes'.

I'd be grateful for a voice of experience please and if it is 'just how they are' I need to know before chucking any more money at it.

Many thanks :-)rTerraclean is highly recommended by Wheeler dealers, I would give it a go and sort the intercooler  asap

[stants]

Just out of interest what fuel do you use in it ?

 

Your man's talking nonsense they can be mapped, you will need to speak to a reputable mapper who know his onions,

Looking 10-15bhp on a 11 year old car isn't that bad, however if you got it mapped you'd see gains of up to 260-270bhp alot more torque and better fuel economy, it comes at a price anywhere between 350-600 depending on what software is used, open source is cheaper but you don't get as much end user support, others like ecutek will charge you for a licence.

 

You'd need to stick in an uprated fuel pump for peace of mind to stop it leaning off under increased boost but that's about it,

Over time it will pay for it's self just depends on how long your planning on having the car.

 

As for the intercooler most of us just bend the fins back, easier if removed from the car to save you breaking your back. You could look at eBay for a used sti intercooler but it may require some additional parts like the chimney from the bonnet scoop.

 

 

 

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

 

[Hughieboy]

Thanks for the info...... I have had a go at bending the fins back but they are pretty mashed tbh..... I might get another secondhand one. Interesting to know about the mapping. It's already got a Walbro pump in it. It's been a bit of a money pit so far, it was obviously used and abused before and I get the pleasure of putting everything right so I need to be a bit careful how much I spend as I'll never see it back. And I have a nasty feeling it might need a clutch soon, it's very stiff. I might try a Terraclean for the sake of £130 or whatever it is, just wondered if anyone had experience....

[Joel P]

Hi Hughieboy,

I know I'm a little late to the party but thought you might be interested in my own experiances in this area.

06 2.5 XT can absolutely be remapped - I've done it on mine, myself with a tactrix cable.

I've also experianced slightly lumpy acceleration as it comes onto boost (2 - 2.5k rpm), but I only noticed it after I did my first remap. What I supect is happening in my case, is that the car is either overboosting or underboosting, and the ecu is over compensating. The amount of compensation applied by the ecu can be modified - it called turbo dynamics, and I have yet to get it quite dialed in.

I have also had my car die when at full boost, overtaking etc. I thought the engine had blown! I don't know if its the same as you experianced, but for me it was a sudden jolt, similar to hitting the rev limiter, except I was only at ~5500rpm. In this case it was again due to over boosting after I'd raised the target psi. The ecu has a maximum boost level, which if I recall is set around 13.5 PSI. When the car senses a pressure greater than this it will cut all fuel to the engine. The solution for me was just to raise this limit a couple of PSI, though on a car that has not been remapped, and has a stock exhaust and intake I would not expect to hit that limit, so it might of been something else.

In regards to BHP, each individual dyno is different and the figures you'll get on one compared to another(even of the same make/model) can be very different - so you might not have lost as much as you think. That said, if it was a Subaru specialist, you would hope he knows what a stock, brand new car shows on his dyno (They might not get many of those though).

In short, a remap may well fix a number of the issues you mentioned... or it might not. But it will make it more fun, just make sure you take it someone who's not going to do something stupid, as it is possible to wreck the engine if they make a big mistake, or don't back off when warning sign start showing.

A stiff clutch isn't necessarily a sign of failure, mine is very stiff and has been scince I bought it 18 months ago. The important thing is that it's not slipping when you haven't got your foot on the pedal, that it engages at a sensible point in the travel of the pedal, and you're able to pull away smoothly.

Don't know if that helped at all, and sorry for waffling, but I hope you get things sorted.

 

Joel

[Hughieboy]

Thanks for the info Joel, sounds exactly like mine!

I decided not to do anything about the clutch, I don't use the car much and apart from being stiff it works fine. Regarding the remap, what you say makes sense from what little I understand. I'm not techy enough to start fiddling around myself and I wonder if the guy I took it to knows enough but not everything, if you know what I mean. I feel I've thrown enough money at it for the time being but will look to possibly getting someone who knows what they are doing to look at remapping it at some point. I agree that it definitely sounds like an ECU issue of some kind. I have a Walbro fuel pump and a part Hayward & Scott exhaust on it so there should be room for a bit of tweaking.