I've thought of the same thing, but the TCU and ECU don't communicate with eachother properly so I've heard. Mitsu has put us in a really ****ty situation here. Kinda makes me wish I saved my pennies for a 5speed GSR. I love my SST to death, but it seems like its a tad bi-polar. It works great when it wants to. Can't figure this out for the life of me.

 

True, they probably won't communicate properly...so why not swap the ecu with a GSR also and have it tuned down. Or just build up to GSR specs and swap? It is actually something that I have thought about in the past because I do miss driving a real manual. I love my SST also but man, what I wouldn't give for a 5 speed again lol.

 

http://www.jackstransmissions.com/pa...blems-upgrades

This was mentioned in a separate threat, but still worth a read

 

Ok guys, I've fingered out how to fix this problem. What you do is this: get in the car, drive to the nearest Subaru dealer, and trade it in for a WRX. That's what I'm going to do before it gets any worse.

 

Bump.

This is what my spark plugs looked like after I took them out.. FYI THESE PLUGS ARE ILKR7E6 instead of the recommended ILKR8E6 according to the manual. Is this a big deal?





I reset the ECU and drove the car around for a while and it is handling RPMs much better in high range. All of the other symptoms are still there.

Anyone have any more advice for me?

 

This could be related to engine knock at high load at around 1800ish rpm. Both the evo's and ralliart's 4b11t have a notorious knocking problem between 1600-2000rpm at high load. Unfortunately, the car's automatic will cruise at this rpm in 6th gear allowing knock to occur. I recommend you shift it manually so that you never cruise at a constant speed at less than 2000rpm. Also, filling up with some ultra 94 oct gas here in canada (if you are not already) wouldn't hurt.

 

I wasn't aware of this. It happens in any gear when my RPMs are too low to accelerate smoothly enough. Makes sense..

I reset my ECU again today after replacing my spark plugs and now the car has NO PROBLEM rev matching. I can't believe the difference between the old plugs and the new ones..

 

Actual "knock" at 60-80 load / 1500-2000rpm isn't something you can hear. It's only something you see if you are logging data.

If you DO hear combustion issues, it'll be at high load... and you'll hear it pinging. Sort of like the sound of tiny stones being kicked up under the car onto the chassis metal. I hope none of you guys ever hear that sound, lol.


A knocky, knocking sound like something is, er, knocking... is totally different. It could be anything. Some SSTs can vibrate at low rpms in tall gears - that can sound like it's shaking, or like something is loose. It can make other stuff in the cabin or engine bay vibrate in sympathy too.

If an SST is partial to this vibration, it's easy to reproduce. Just warm the car up, put it in NORMAL/AUTO (oh noes) and accelerate with very light throttle. At the exact point the trans upshifts into 4th, 5th then 6th, it can do a "thrumming" thing.

We made this vibration better or worse with ECU-side SST table tuning, so I reckon it's likely got something to do with the clutches clamping down a bit harder than they ideally should at that rpm and load. My wild guess. If it's this noise, it's probably nothing to worry about.

Rich

PS. I do second the motion of not driving in NORMAL/AUTO, though. MANUAL mode lets you use sensible revs in appropriate gears, unlike the idiotic factory shift points programmed for arthritic grannies... or whatever.

 

Unbeknownst to me, the engine I have in my 09 RA is not the stock engine. The dealership sold me this car used with a transferrable warranty, yet will not do any warranty work because there is no maintenance records. Now I find out that the engine in my car isnt even my engine? What can I do about this? There's a Japan Auto Parts sticker on the top of the engine and a red, sprayed on, stock number... I'm about to go there and raise hell.

 

Being Australian and all, I hate to encourage this... but...

Lawyer.

Rich

 

I contacted OMVIC today and filed a complaint. OMVIC told me today that all ontario registered dealers must disclose an engine swap/rebuild, which they did not, so my contract is void. I'm going there to return the car as soon as I can find another one to replace it. Scarborough is importing older Evo's from the states so I may jump on an evo VIII MR instead of my extremely heavy 09 ralliart.

I've read that I have a right to return it within 90 days, which sadly has gone over, but these guys continued to tell me there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. Guess I'm getting a lawyer.

 

Good luck man!

Rich

 

Now the argument is whether the engine is original. The Japan Auto Parts sticker on my valve cover would be the obvious clue..

Is it possible to locate the 4b11 vin plate without taking the engine out? I've seen the service manual, its located near the flywheel. A dealer is giving me the run around and now ignoring phone calls. They told me over the phone they didn't take the engine out but OMVIC confirms with them that the VINs are matching. I've ripped out my intake and looked around, its impossible to find without a pinhole snake-like camera.