Continuing from the other day’s blog, you can see we’re obviously a day behind. But, let’s continue without delay!
The UTEC quickly became the go-to form of engine management between 2003 and 2004, but soon Cobb released their own AccessPort to compete with the UTEC. The AccessPort was a reflashing device instead of a piggyback ECU, which offered several advantages. Being a reflashing device, nothing needed to be installed between the stock ECU and the car (like how piggybacks are installed), and since it reflashed the stock ECU, it was similar to the ECUtek in terms of tuning resolution. Since this reflashing was done through the car’s OBD-II port under the steering wheel, the AccessPort could also be used to log and/or display types of data, such as RPM, throttle position, and more. The AccessPort also included pre-made basemaps for specific engine mods, which made it just as easy, if not easier to use, than the UTEC for those who are not interested in doing their own tuning. Cobb eventually released their own AccessTuner to allow users to do their own tuning, but it was a separate option and not included as part of the standard AccessPort package. For those who didn’t care to tune their own car, Cobb gave their dealers with AWD dynos the option to do “Protunes,” which allowed for professional tuning via the AccessPort at a shop. These Protunes could also be saved and distributed, so many Protuners released their own maps to match specific modifications as well. Despite some initial hiccups to get all of the basemaps working properly and safely for all vehicles, the AccessPort went on to become a huge success for Cobb Tuning, and it eventually overthrew the UTEC for the king of the hill in affordable engine management.
However, the basemaps that both TurboXS and Cobb supplied did have their disadvantages. In order to maintain safety, these maps were tuned for the lowest common denominator and were specific per octane level as well, to ensure that customers would not blow up their motors. While they still improved performance over being untuned and they kept the motor healthy, there was still always going to be room for improvement with a custom tune for each specific car. This still remains true today, although the margin for improvement has been able to shrink with some new engine management options available. The other problem (although not a problem for most people) is that you typically have to follow a specific mod path for the basemaps, and if you stray away from that, you have to get a custom tune for your car no matter what. While for big horsepower applications a custom map is a given, simply changing your intake away from the stock airbox is enough to warrant a custom tune, except for intakes specifically developed by TurboXS and Cobb Tuning respectively. As mentioned in the previous blog, the stock airbox is rather efficient so this may not be a big deal, but not being able to change the intake without a custom tune does put limits on your freedom of modification. Striving for more freedom of modification, other companies sought out to create another option for those people who wanted to not only wanted more freedom than he UTEC and AccessPort offered, but also get away from the limits of the stock ECU itself.
Enter the Element Tuning Hydra EMS. In 2005, Element Tuning entered the fray with their version of the Hydra EMS. The Hydra is a standalone ECU that completely replaces the stock unit. While standalone ECUs of the past required the user to tune every aspect of the car’s behavior from simply idling all the way up to wide-open throttle, Element Tuning took this difficult and time-consuming process out of the equation by taking care of all this programming already, as well as shipping the Hydra with basemaps specific to each car’s modifications, much like the UTEC and AccessPort. Moreover, Element also had maps available for a wide variety of different sized turbos, water/alcohol injection, and different sized intercoolers and intakes. The Hydra also had equal or better tuning resolution than the stock ECU, thus a basemap from a Hydra would typically be more accurate than that of a UTEC or AccessPort. This lowered the amount of custom tuning that would need to be done, but of course a custom tune per vehicle would also bring out the full potential of the car’s setup, which of course was easily possible with the provided software. On top of all this, the Hydra was also very adaptable to different environmental conditions, so the problem of having a map tuned for sea level and then needing a completely different map for mountain passes was effectively eliminated. Our own World One STI back in 2004 actually had a prototype Hydra EMS that helped it finish 2nd in its class and 6th place overall at the very first Primedia Time Attack. However, as good as this system is for tuning and adaptability, it also had its disadvantages, especially for daily drivers. The main issue is that because it’s a replacement to the stock ECU, it does not support OBD-II, and thus it will not pass emissions in just about every state in the country. The other issue, although it may be a very minor issue to some, is that you also lose your cruise control, however this is problem is apparently being fixed for the 08-09 STI. AEM soon followed up with their own plug-n-play Hydra EMS, but not until just in the past year, so support and available tuners aren’t quite as available at this time currently.
Since the release of the Hydra, both TurboXS and Cobb Tuning have updated their UTECs and AccessPorts respectively to add more features, but yet another option was introduced in 2006 that has since thrown the engine management market on its head. A group of computer-minded enthusiasts put their minds together and were able to connect to the stock ECU and then go on to start programming it. It took awhile to get things reliable and easier to use, but as it stands today, this Open Source style of tuning using the OpenECU software has become an easy entry point for customers to start tuning their own vehicles, especially since the software itself is free to download. The only purchase necessary is the Tactrix cable, that allows you to connect your laptop to your car’s OBD-II port (much like how the AccessPort connects). While OpenECU is always in a state of development, many tuners have embraced the software and use it as their primary form of tuning, allowing them to tune to the same levels as that of the AccessPort and ECUtek. Of course, the drawback is that you have to rely on user support rather than having any guarantees or formal support from a company, so in many cases, you’re on your own.
Overall, Subaru owners should be thankful that they have so many choices available to them. This isn’t the case with other makes such as Mitsubishi and Nissan. No matter what form of engine management you choose, it’s always important to understand that how well your car performs is going to depend on how the car is tuned, whether that’s strictly from a basemap or from a custom tune. If you go with a custom tune, be sure the you go to a reputable tuner that has experience tuning the type of setup that you have. After all, just because someone can tune a 300 whp car doesn’t mean that they won’t have any problems tuning a 600 whp car. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us or post a comment here. For our next part in this series, we’ll be talking about intercoolers, both top mount and front mount, and how they can affect your car’s behavior.
The 1000cc injectors were maxed out, so hopefully with some larger injectors and full Q16 we’ll be able to break the 700 whp mark. Car was tuned with an Element Tuning Hydra by Phil from Element Tuning. I’ll let Phil contribute with his thoughts.
