Search the Community

Morning everyone, I've not posted on here for a while, since I had the valve springs changed a few months ago - but I've made some good progress on some of the modifications I wanted to make to the exhaust since then, so I thought I'd type up a quick update and share a few pics!! Just before I sent it to Toyota, I had a Speedfactory UEL (catted) manifold fitted, and while it was incredibly shiny, it wasn't quite as loud as I wanted. It introduced a burble, but quite a muted one - so I wanted to allow the thing to breathe even better and be a little more vocal too. I've wanted to maintain the two cats (seems more 'true to the car'); one of them is in the manifold, and the other in the front pipe and it took a bit of time for me to decide which brand to go for for the latter. In the end I chose a Berk front pipe as it seemed to capable of doing the job, and wasn't quite as expensive as some of the other alternatives. I then specified a Milltek system from there back (chrome tailpipes) and then all of that was sat in the garage for a good couple of months! (Just to summarise: Speedfactory UEL catted manifold, Milltek overpipe, Berk frontpipe, Milltek catback). In the meantime, I was trying to decide whether the extra cost of a remap was worth the expense - after lots of reading on forums and other bits on the net, I decided the best option was to drive the extra distance to Abbey, get them to fit the system; as well as book it in for a remapping session while it was in the workshop. This they did perfectly well - I've no complaints at all - and it was interesting to properly learn about the added functionality of the RaceRom features of the ECUtek setup while I was there... The guys did an amazing job; Mark took me out in the car to demonstrate some of the features - the switchable maps, auto-blip on downshift, launch control and flat foot shifting. Being a fully integrated part of the existing ECU instead of an add-on means that the it fully ties in with the existing interface; using the cruise control stalk to flick between four different maps is AWESOME: MAP 1. Max power | MAP 2. Max power, decreased throttle response (for rubbish weather) | MAP 3. Max power with RaceRom features | MAP 4. Max power with RaceRom features, and pops-and-bangs on lift off I've stuck mostly with map 1; the constant popping and banging of unburnt fuel in the exhaust isn't good for the system long term, and the cat in the Speedfactory manifold isn't covered under warranty - I've done it on occasion though, when the mood takes me... (which is an advantage with ECUtek; and being able to flick through the maps with the engine running - no stopping and starting to reset the system is required.) So, the moment you've all being waiting for... MTECH AUTOMOTIVE (power run; car completely standard - although I think it already had the Cosworth panel filter when I bought it): ABBEY MOTORSPORT (its current setup; a full stainless system and remap): Apologies for the inconsistency between rolling roads - to help me compare the two, I found this quote from the Dyno Dynamics website: "In the UK we usually quote power and torque at the engine flywheel just like all manufacturers - a chassis dyno however measures the torque and power at the wheels, which is always a lower figure as some energy is lost in the driveline. This loss is different for different vehicles. The flywheel power quoted is therefore a calculated value - it is not directly measured. Some dynos will simply estimate this loss based on settings inputted by the operator - our Dyno Dynamics dyno operates in this way. Other dynos perform a ‘coast down’ measurement to try and measure the driveline loss. In theory coast down should provide a more accurate figure for more vehicles, but in reality both methods have their own issues." So, my assumption is that the MTech reading is estimated Flywheel-power (based on the actual power-at-the wheels). The Dynapack reading itself is actually power-at-the-wheels. Adding 10 - 15% on to the latter value for an estimated Flywheel-power (to tie in with the MTech graph) gives something around 200 - 210bhp; a pretty big increase!!!! It's not all about the highest value though; the advantages of a remap is that the entire curve is optimised - and Mark at Abbey did a sound job of reducing that torque dip at around 4200rpm. I'm so pleased with the results - the whole process was slightly more expensive than I would have liked, but knowing what I now know, I don't think I would have done it any other way. The sound the car makes now suits the 86 way more than it ever did; it's not too loud at motorway speeds, but it's got a special note when idling and accelerating aggressively - it's definitely flexing it's flat-four-pack muscles - what a beaut Big shout out and massive thanks to Mark@Abbey M/S for the great work, and getting the most out of the car... Comments are welcome of course; I'm open to suggestions on my interpretation of the dyno readouts - but I hope I haven't droned on too much. Hope you enjoyed the read...!