4.44 or crawford ECU with new cams?

[A1337STI]

What route should be cheaper for me?

Currently my Impreza is geared to about 140 , but at the fastest rally I think i was only doing 105, 110

http://store.crawfordperformance.com...categories/249 so $329 for a reflashed ecu (after core ecu charge / rebate) which i could just drop in with my current Cams and get a small boost of 25-30 hp and 15-30 ft/lbs over stock. they say catless and upgraded headers, i need to retain stock headers (though they can be modified, IE wrapped or coated) and i need a cat (but i'm using a hi flow) . intake is free for me... But i think i would need (or want) more aggressive cams to take advantage of that route .. so i think add in $250 for new cams.

could i possible convert to a 4.44 final drive for $600 ?

Final drives are free, and i can use any part subaru put into an awd 93-01 impreza ... i believe the 95 awd impreza had a .825 5th gear. which would help ... but i rarely rarely ever get my car into 5th ... (combined with 4.44s would be more helpful)

I'm seariously leaning towards just a simple reflash. my check engine is always on and that makes it so i don't realize when i get a legitimate engine code . I keep getting knock sensor code (probably a bad sensor, but maybe an issue with my skid plate touching the exhaust) and I've had o2/cat codes a few times when one of the O2 sensors came disconnected.

Just wondering what others would do. I should be facing 2 new Open Lite competitors next season, one of them with a bit more of an "all out" build. think he's using an outback transmission for his gearing, stand alone ecu, and he's trying to install water injection (talk about an arms race) so I want to do something for some increased acceleration....

thoughts? suggestions? ideas?

[sperry]

I'm confused about what you're asking... if you want to know what's cheaper, then add up the cost of the two options and see which one is cheaper (duh). If you're asking what's more valuable, well that's difficult question for anyone but you to answer because none of us have driven the car on stage to know how bad (or good) the current gearing really is compared to the power bump from the ECU/cams.

What's the current final ratio of the car? On my SVX I went from the stock 3.545 to 4.44. It made a big difference in the peppyness of the car... but 3.545 to 4.444 is pretty drastic. If you're currently at 4.11 or 3.90, it may not be as noticeable. Remember, converting your final drive isn't just swapping the rear-end. You'll need to replace the front diff and possibly the center diff as well (there are 1:1 and 1:1.1 center diffs out there). Aren't you running a $1000 quaife in the front? Does that have a cheap way to change the ratio? I can't imagine swapping 2 diffs for under $600... certainly not if you're swapping the entire gearbox as well. I know I spent like $600 at D&D for the 4.444 Outback 4EAT that went into the SVX, and another $200 give or take for the matching 4.444 rear-end. Then I had to pay Cory to install it all.

Also, keep in mind that if you're not getting into 5th gear now, with a higher final drive, you may be. In fact, I would say you should make *sure* to pick a final drive that makes you use 5th. Hell, if the fastest you ever go on stage is 110, then ideally that should also be right around where 5th gear tops out (though realistically you'll want some cushion in case you eventually make more power, not to mention the terrible gas mileage between stages without a long gear for cruising). After all, the whole point of the higher final drive is to make better use out of the ratios in the gearbox, right? Granted, it may be too expensive to have custom ratio front and rear diffs, but if you're really trying to maximize your power usage, that's the way to go.

But really, the bottom line is: if your current ECU is broken, then obviously that needs to be addressed before your final drive ratio. If that means a reflash, you might as well get the cams for the extra power. And if you're planning on that anyway, I'd get the power adders done first, then pick a final drive to match since the ideal gearing for the car now will be different than the ideal gearing if you're making 20% more power or whatever.

[A1337STI]

ya i should be asking which one has more Value. which route would make my car faster from a rolling start. which will improve my 40-80 mph times more?


Currently I'm a 4.11 and i have gotten Deep into 4th at Idaho, NNR, and Prescott (about half the rallies i do) the Stages (through out the year) vary a lot. Mendocino was so tight i never hit 4th gear

I'm using the same Diff ($370 OBX) as when i was 3.90 the ring bolts on/off I am (incorrectly?) assuming a 4.44 ring would bolt right up ...

With what you are saying about the ECU ... I hadn't thought of it as broken. but , i think you are right to think effectively it is. a constant on Check Engine is worthless. when we reset the knock code the car seems to have more power .

Sounds like i should really just do the ECU (with more aggressive cams) and see where I end up gearing wise..

are 01's known to have a knock code issue? I guess my first step is to take off my skid plate clear the code and see if it returns. step2 would be a new knock sensor ...

[A1337STI]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Subaru-SVX-4...#ht_500wt_1251 I'm guessing that won't work inside an RS transmission? hmmf could be a good price if it does...

[sperry]

Originally Posted by A1337STI

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Subaru-SVX-4...#ht_500wt_1251 I'm guessing that won't work inside an RS transmission? hmmf could be a good price if it does...

Are the front diffs in the 4EATs swappable with the front diffs in the 5MTs? Remember, all SVXs were autos...

[sperry]

Originally Posted by A1337STI

ya i should be asking which one has more Value. which route would make my car faster from a rolling start. which will improve my 40-80 mph times more?


Currently I'm a 4.11 and i have gotten Deep into 4th at Idaho, NNR, and Prescott (about half the rallies i do) the Stages (through out the year) vary a lot. Mendocino was so tight i never hit 4th gear

I'm using the same Diff ($370 OBX) as when i was 3.90 the ring bolts on/off I am (incorrectly?) assuming a 4.44 ring would bolt right up ...

With what you are saying about the ECU ... I hadn't thought of it as broken. but , i think you are right to think effectively it is. a constant on Check Engine is worthless. when we reset the knock code the car seems to have more power .

Sounds like i should really just do the ECU (with more aggressive cams) and see where I end up gearing wise..

are 01's known to have a knock code issue? I guess my first step is to take off my skid plate clear the code and see if it returns. step2 would be a new knock sensor ...

First, yes you can swap ring/pinions. The ring is easy, the pinion is a PITA apparently. When I did the SVX, we actually just swapped the LSD carrier from the 3.545 into the 4.444 open diff while changing out the ring gear. That way I didn't have to shim anything or deal with pulling the pinion, and I got to keep my LSD rear-end. If the OBX is just a carrier for the R160 (or is the OBX in the front?) then it should work with other ring/pinion ratios. If you're talking about the front diff, I would expect the pinion to be even more of a PITA than the rear was.

But really, if you're already running a 4.11 final drive, I wouldn't bother with a 4.44. There's hardly a difference. Now if you were talking about going to a high 5.xx ratio, then it might be worth it, but you're not going to find an R160 ring/pinion out of any Subaru diffs. IIRC, the 4.444 is the highest ratio Subaru ever used.

Fix your ECU issues. Probably should fix 'em even before farting around with new cams. Get what you've got running well so when you install new stuff you're not trying to figure out if you have problems if the problem was an existing issue or related to the new bits.

Oh, and if your knock sensor is suspect, just replace it. If the problem doesn't go away, then you've got a spare knock sensor in your toolbox. They're like what, $30? In the long run that's not at all expensive.

[A1337STI]

The OBX is in the front. Torsen Differential (I would highly recommend one for any Non-STI subaru wanting more front axle grip on acceleration / and or better on throttle cornering) I'm using a stock Viscous LSD in a R160.

$53 on rock auto.. that's not too bad. keeps the costs down quite a bit too.