"WOW... I think My COBB ACCESSPORT just blew up my Subaru WRX STI EJ257"

[@alexizmonteiro2063]

You just said Cobb downpipe and there is your problem they don’t have a tune for the downpipe for the va chassis on the Cobb downpipe. Maperformance is I believe one of the only ones to figure it out I blame the owner on this one I had the stage 1 plus tune and it was only for the intake it ran great too.

[@zekromtcg7]

I have multiple concerns with this owner... 1. He has an HKS or knockoff BOV instead of a recirc valve that comes factory. Most enthusiasts know that you should never go with one on an EJ. 2. Whenever modifying your car even with OTS tunes, especially with such an old platform that has many years of people modifying them, you should ALWAYS do your research. That being said we do not know the maintenance history of this engine. Not sure what oil he used, oil filter, and spark plug maintenance. On Ej's throughout the years it's always recommended to use the highest quality of oil of choice, factory oil filter (from stock to built), and replace your plugs every 10-25k miles. Oil changes should also be from 3-5k depending on conditions and driving style. 3. Being that this is in Wisconsin, I'm guessing that it was on a 91-oct tune. Not any issue however, most people don't think about where they fill up and look for the cheapest place. There are only two gas stations that I personally trust and that are easily available for myself (North East) and those are Shell or Sonoco which have a certain level of quality. (You've mentioned this in the video). 4. Judging by the lack of cool upgrades I.E. radiator, and silicon hoses to dissipate heat better, I'm also guessing that the owner did not do the cylinder 4 cooling mod and upgraded radiator that is a must for any EJ making overstock power. I do not know if the owner also did an upgraded oil pan or pickup which is a must for stock STI's. 5. There does not appear to be an AOS or catch can system, or I may not have caught where it's located. IF there isn't one, then not having a place for that blow-by oil to go back into the crankcase will make itself into the cylinder head and if so will make the car lean out with even a pro-tune on it. (I stand corrected the owner did put what appears to be an IAG AOS, keeping this point in here for future owners). With all that being said, this looks like to me the classic EJ Ringland failure or start thereof. Not to be harsh on the owner because it sucks, however, it seems they were some younger person who wanted a fun fast car and went the easy route. They chose to invest in the STI platform seemingly without knowing how many nuances they're to the EJ. Everyone loves to blame the engine or aftermarket manufacturer when things go bad instead of looking at the root causes of the issue. Remember this is an example of not Subaru's fault, not COBB's fault, but the owner's. They took the responsibility of modifying their car knowing what could happen and didn't put the time into caring about it. Maybe if they took the money they spent on Japanese wave emblems and you could say acquired tasted tail lights and put it into the reliability of the car they may not need to spend thousands on the engine repair. Sorry for the rant, I'm an ASE technician as well as an Aircraft technician who has built and been around BMWs and Subis for my whole life. I feel that I should spread the word to anyone wanting to buy an STI or already an owner of an EJ engine owner so this doesn't happen to anyone else.

[@89autoworks]

First off, thank you for watching, and please subscribe. Second off, I build these cars literally 7 days a week, this car has always had the best maintenance schedule, and the owner was certainly not cheap in regards to taking care of his car at all. This has a REAL HKS SSQV, and it is absolutely set up to recirculate, as everyone knows you have to recirculate the by pass valve on any MAF based car, now if this was running speed density, that would be a different story, WITH PROPER TUNING. I can tell you are probably an ASE mechanic, because the knowledge you have sure seems like one sided dealership knowledge. At this horse power level, a radiator is certainly not needed, could a cylinder 4 cooling mod have benefited here, sure, but every one thinks a cylinder 4 cooling mod is some sort of miracle solution for these Subarus, and it’s just not true, if you have proper tuning. The IAG STREET 3 AOS, is the best on the market, and there is absolutely no doubt about that. After reading all of these things you’ve wrote, I do honestly wonder if you even watched the video, there isn’t a single cheap part on this car, maintenance was always kept up on, and this is a typical scenario of an OTS tune not lining up properly with the parts on the car perfectly. And as far as blaming the manufacture, or aftermarket manufacture, no one did that, the parts that are on the car are high end, quality, parts. We knew the tune on the car was not 100% perfect, but we had done logs a year prior when the parts where put on the car, and dam looked perfect, no timing being pulled, and all trims looked great. Personally I think this problem was likely a cause of multiple things, a big one was factory fuel pump, and factory fuel pressure regulator, and factory ring gap. The newer ej257s have some of the tighest ring gap of them all, which in turn helps with no blow by at stock, but kills these cars with performance bolt ons. These cars also are notorious for the oem fuel pump not being able to keep up with higher then stock boost levels. Thanks again for watching!

[@KrGsMrNKusinagi0]

I have ran True HKS SQVIV Vented not recirced the OG not the fake cheap ones off ebay etc.. All 3 subarus i have ran them on 0 issues with no tune even.. In fact my afrs improved on my newest subaru im thinking the stock BPV was leaking

[@admireinspire]

Got a tune at 400, another at 600 and tomorrow we are tuning my sti to get about 950hp. Never had a problem with my car. 85,000 miles. Pro tunes are worth every penny.

[@89autoworks]

Couldn’t agree more! You’ll have to get me some info on that build! I’d love to see it!

[@89autoworks]

Thanks for watching, please subscribe!

[@admireinspire]

@@89autoworks forged internals and closed decked block, 1/2 head studs, built heads but they are still stock other than the parts inside, precision 6466, 2600 injectors, ets rotated kit with their header, 2x 485 pumps. Been at the shop for 5 months really excited to not drive a gd camry because I'm losing my mind.

[@89autoworks]

@@admireinspire what is your cam setup if you don’t mind me asking?

[@admireinspire]

@@89autoworks I have the billet s2 cams but I wouldn't recommend. We got to the point of tuning this and found they were eating a bucket and ruined a cam which extended the build. My builder recommended staying stock cams and I thought more was better.

[@kimcheefists]

Here’s a question. How are people getting Etunes on STi’s nowadays after Green Speed? Is there any way of logging AFR’s with a wideband?

[@89autoworks]

There are tons of ways to get etuning done in 2023! Green speed is primarily Cobb related as of now, depending on your year and model, there are several other companies out there that sell tuning software (ECUTEK, HP TUNERS, and even opensource tuning) you can log AFRs with a tactrix cable, and rom raider logger too. Then there’s always the topic of plug and play standalone ecu!

[@kimcheefists]

@@89autoworks Logging AFR’s required tapping a wideband sensor into the secondary o2 sensor connector going to the ECU. With Green Speed, that is no longer possible..

[@89autoworks]

Incorrect, typically anytime I am logging AFR, you would be putting a wideband o2 sensor in the bell mouth of the downpipe, as close to the turbo as possible, with a added in bung. You can still do anything you want with these cars, the EPA will just not make it easy! Thanks for watching, and if you have any questions feel free to shoot me an email, [e-mail]

[@kimcheefists]

@@89autoworks Yes, a wideband sensor would be installed on the downpipe BUT in the past, a 5v output wire from the wideband was able to be tapped into the secondary o2 sensor connector going to the ECU so that tuners would be able to see wideband AFR’s in a datalog. With Green Speed, as far as I’m aware, isn’t possible.

[@89autoworks]

@@kimcheefists so “in the past” people would use that 5v reference you’re referring to, for flex fuel, to run E85/ pump gas on the fly, to clear up what seems like a misunderstanding. The secondary o2 sensor is NOT a wide band o2 sensor, it’s purely a pass or fail style of oxygen sensor, which is why primary o2 sensors are significantly more. When I am doing logs, I use a serial to usb connector connected to a AEM UEGO wideband gauge/ sensor, there is a serial output on the gauge, which then we input into the computer and is entirely separate from the ecu, and is purely used for post turbo Air fuel Ratio, which is the most relevant point of measuring the AFR on any turbo car. Hope this helps clear up some confusion on the topic!

[@zlg5013]

Just had a problem like this on my STI, no modifications 25k miles, the spark plug was stripped from the factory and loss of compression.

[@tear728]

Why would you ever flash the ECU if you weren't going to get a pro tune lol

[@89autoworks]

LOL. Thanks for watching, Please subscribe!

[@lucian7182]

That intake and downpipe together on a ots tune is no bueno. I logged the stock tune and it was horrible, ran Cobb stage 1 for 4 days and was not impressed, changed to stage 1 + ran that for a week and got a protune immediately, I was not a fan of some of the readings I was seeing on Cobb ots. Would they work for smog or a few weeks sure but I would not run them for long. Since then I’ve added some parts and have been pro tuned twice the data numbers are much healthier than stock or Cobb ots. I can’t believe he ran that car for 60k without upgrading the radiator, oil pan, and cylinder 4 cooling mod. Those should be the first mods people do before making power along with aos.

[@89autoworks]

I disagree with the radiator, oil pan, and cylinder 4 is negotiable. The stock radiator and oil pan are just fine, cyl 4 cooling mod is great for a car that hasn’t had Protuning to be able to individually control that cylinder. There’s a million things you could or should do, but the fact of the matter is, his setup should have been fairly safe. the other thing about this is, I believe it’s only been about 15,000 miles of being “modified”. Thanks for watching, please subscribe.

[@zekromtcg7]

@@89autoworks Radiator, oil pan and oil pickup, and cylinder 4 is not negotiable if you have spoken to many pro tuners who work with EJ's. As to that it was only modified for 15k miles that doesn't matter, if the tune and the supporting parts were the root cause it would happen more quickly than a year or so of driving. As for the duty cycles going crazy it maybe the BOV. Great video tho man.

[@89autoworks]

Tell me, how does upgrading the radiator or oil pan help anything in terms of this situation, we never one time ever over ran the factory radiator, so why would that be a concern? And outside of wanting a deep sump pan for extra oil volume, what does the oil pan do? The answer is, nothing. I high recommend checking out some of my other builds, this is not my first rodeo, and I think you need to expand your source of knowledge further with out any disrespect at all. My pro tuner has over 10 years experience tuning Subarus, and we do a lot of them. Thanks again for watching

[@KrGsMrNKusinagi0]

0 Tune here and I ran Upgraded intercooler, HKS SQV VTA, saamco inlet, zero sports hard pipe and cobb intake, HKS no cat downpipe, blitz nur spec exhaust, Cusco catch can, had a catless uppipe as well gt spec, and crosspipe upgrade, upgrade radiator, etc bunch of other mods too much to list etc and a PPG rwd spool... NO TUNE for over 6 years not one issue.. Then again i never raced my car lol.. Also AFRs were perfect.. Only cel I ever got was i had to replace a front 02 once... Had the original clutch still at 115k miles and still felt new.. Never launched the car once in its entire life

[@zlg5013]

damn bro, cant wait until your videos make enough money for you to sponsor the tests.

[@89autoworks]

Sponsor the tests? What do you mean? That’s for the support!

[@zlg5013]

@@89autoworks The views earn enough money to fund you doing the tests for content.

[@tranwrx]

It's the driver, not cobb😂😂

[@89autoworks]

If a tune is proper, the car should be able to handle just about any driver. Just saying.

[@tranwrx]

@@89autoworks pretty sure the owner abused his vehicle..

[@89autoworks]

Honestly, this owner treated his car pretty dang well with meticulous maintenance!

[@johnb382s]

Runs OTS map with mods not made for that calibration, blames accessport OTS maps.. makes sense sounds like a typical clown 🤡 of an owner..

[@K03sport]

how long was the engine cooling by the time you go to cylinders 2 and 4? You said cool engines don't give good readings. The EJ has been around for soo long; how could its issues not be worked out already? I realize these engines are finicky, but dang, the EJ257 has been around long enough that COBB and any other tuning company (worth their rep) should have zero bugs. Sure, you can't plan for every single available part on the market, but most aftermarket parts do the same thing despite the different branding. Why are Subaru's engines extremely sensitive with intakes/tunes/downpipes whereas VW/Audi engines perform without complaint after a tune/flash or the other parts installed/not-installed?

[@89autoworks]

There is a lot of factors that play into the non reliability of the ej257, a lot of these issues have indeed been fixed with the Ej257 type RA. The biggest problem addressed here would be the fact that different parts, flow air differently, so if the accessport OTS tune is designed to work on “X” part, and you run something different Then the part designed for that tune, it can change how fast the air is entering or exiting the engine which in turn entirely changes the way the engine runs, especially at wide open throttle. Then there is also the factor of cylinder 4, and it’s lack of cooling circulation and the extra heat that cylinder regularly sees. Thanks for watching, please subscribe!

[@K03sport]

@@89autoworks... Thx. Well aware of cyl-4. The EJ25 was the primary reason for me choosing a WRX w/the FA20DIT...however, it too is full of its own failings and uniqueness in performance and tuning. What has Porsche done that Subaru has yet to discover?

[@89autoworks]

@@K03sport the simple answer, everything is over-engineered, and is designed with the Motorsport enthusiast in mind, Subarus on the other hand are not designed for that, even with the wrx, and STI model, at the end of the day they are still just a street daily driver car….. where as in Japan there are several different “packages” that have motors that have been over engineered to prevent issues, such as the spec C cars, RA, and RAR cars.

[@josephlam5063]

off the shelf tunes were fine back in the GD days in the 2000's. I swear all these VA people constantly blowing up their shit lmao.

[@kimofromkalihi]

Should’ve run a recirculating BPV instead of a BOV. Can’t ots without speed density and a tune. Owner F’d up.

[@bradgreen987]

You must always get a professional dyno tune on our subies. E tunes are garbage, as my tuner said

[@89autoworks]

Your tuner must not be very seasoned, because if a tuner is “good” and will accept nothing less than perfection, an e tune is just as good. Takes significantly longer, but it’s the same process. Thanks for watching! Please subscribe!

[@bradgreen987]

@@89autoworks you got a bad tuner. Never be cheap

[@89autoworks]

@@bradgreen987 you’re hilarious. I’ve never been cheap on a tune once in my life.

[@lshank6494]

This is absolutley false info. I ran an e-tune on my va wrx for 4+years and 50,000 miles. Simple ETS intake and catback exhaust. Car ran amazing. E-tunes are great if you get the right tuner.

[@89autoworks]

Couldn’t agree more! Thanks for watching!

[@Bang_n_slang]

You forgot “ leave it stock” lol

[@89autoworks]

That’s not reliable as well lol. Thanks for watching! Please subscribe!