View Full Version : My experience with BrenTuning (long read)
I began my modifications with my 2009 legacy gt the same place most people do; an accessport. Started off with a Rallitek stage 1 off the shelf map, and began to lust after a turbo back and the allure of stage 2. A downpipe later, I wasn't pleased with the OTS cobb stage 2. I got some over boost codes, and the car just didn't run smooth at all. The power came on at ~3500 rpms like a switch, it would hesitate, and didn't seem consistent. I figured the obvious next step was a pro-tune, which I got from an authorized cobb pro-tuner. At this point I'll mention that I usually run 93 octane, but for the tune I ran 91 octane and requested a conservative (smooth) tune. It's a stage 2 legacy, fun, but not a race car.
Well, the pro-tune was worse than the OTS map, it felt fine for a few days, then started to be inconsistent. About this point in time I learned about how one ought to do logs from time to time to see what sort of state your engine is in. I was surprised to see I had quite a bit of knock. I emailed the tuner who pulled some timing. We went back and forth like this for a while, me taking logs, him pulling timing, until I had so little timing that I was under OTS power levels and still knocking. The tuner basically told me to stop worrying about it. I had one run where my DAM hit .1. Once more, I showed the log to the pro-tuner and was told it was a nuisance, there was no way the car could knock with that little timing.
Since I appeared to be the only one in the universe with this unique problem, and the car seemed to be mechanically sound, I decided to start asking around. Some of the guys from New England Subarus recommended Brentuning. In particular, Eric (shtbxr22) took some time to help me out and quietly said if you want a smooth, conservative tune that won't blow up your engine, go talk to Bren.
I offered to pay Bren to view my old cobb pro-tuned logs to help me diagnose the problem. He told me to send him the logs, no charge. Being the professional that he is, he wouldn't say anything bad about the previous tuner, just what he believed the problem to be. I decided to give Bren a go with a road tune based on his straight forward answer, professionalism, and of course the recommendations from others.
I'm an engineer who is just beginning to learn about modification on cars, so I will admit that I'm something of a pain in the ass. I have excellent technical ability, but not much knowledge about this stuff (yet), so I have a lot of questions. Bren answered them all. Not only that, but if he didn't know the answer, he would tell me as such, which to me is infinitely better than the normal: make up something that sounds good.
Bren (and Eric, who happened to be there working on Bren's very nice BMW) did a quick check over on the car (including a boost leak check), and we were off. He told me what he was doing every step of the way, what he was checking, how the car was responding. After all my issues with knock, I was actually pretty anxious! He got the tune pretty good, then pulled over and asked me about my goals before he continued. How long was I going to keep the car, what did I want to do with it, how much power would I like to end up with after subsequent modifications, what my driving style was, and the list goes on. Bren then continued refining the tune, taking the time he needed. He mentioned some people want him to hurry, they want a quick tune only, and that's not how he does his work.
Bren takes pride in his work, working tables over and over, smoothing them out, interpolating, making minor changes here and there, constantly refining. It's in the details and it shows. I went to Bren hoping for my car to stop knocking, and at that point I honestly couldn't care less what power output it had, because with the knock I was seeing at WOT every time... I knew it was a matter of time before I was at zero wheel horsepower on the side of the road.
Bren explained to me the difference between a dangerous tune and a safe tune is often only 10 whp or so, that there was no reason why you couldn't have it all if the tune was good. He made good on that statement, I ended up with 278 whp and 321 wtq, which was ~53 whp (and a PILE of torque) over the cobb OTS stage 2 and most importantly, no knocking. Zero. None.
I got tuned by Bren on Sept 26th and held off on posting this until I could get some good info (see learning view below, this is about 1500 or so miles after the tune). I love the car. It feels like a different car. I actually have throttle response that I can modulate, the car has so much more torque down low that it's ridiculous, it's smooth and has been since the tune, and it just plain drives better. WOT is so much faster than before that it's laughable to compare, but as I alluded to above, it's the daily driving that really made the big difference. The car is easier to drive. Bren does magic with AVCS and if you get tuned by him you'll see what I mean. There is no aspect of the engine performance and feel that has not been improved.
Much respect to Bren. Highly recommended.
Subyspeed
10-11-2010, 10:12 AM
Bren FTW!
Berge56
10-11-2010, 11:41 AM
great post! Nice job Bren!
squeethebee
10-11-2010, 12:24 PM
Great to hear!!
ed
98Wagoon
10-11-2010, 02:12 PM
congrats man!
Thanks guys. Bren did an awesome job and the best service I can give him is to accurately tell others my experience. FWIW I flogged the bejeezus out of my car on the way home and took another learning view screen shot. It was the same. :) I love it.
DHGurs
10-11-2010, 09:04 PM
Congrats! Makes you love the car again eh?
Antihero
10-12-2010, 06:56 PM
Awesome story, good to see everything work out!
ps. all engineers are a pain in the ass, especially for us mechanics, but without engineers, we wouldn't have jobs ;)
any pics of said car? 08-09 legacies are scheeeeeexxy!
etaks99rs
10-13-2010, 08:29 PM
So SICK! Bren is the man!
hiprsha666
10-13-2010, 09:31 PM
Bren has been recommended to me also and this testimony helps with the decision. Thanks for the write up.
Bren did a really good job and it is night and day compared to my last "pro-tune", which was dangerous (not to mention stressing me out every time I took a WOT log). Too many tuners ought not be tuning, and not enough reviews based on both power numbers AND logs are out there. Glad I could be of help. Good luck to you.
bmx045
10-14-2010, 11:25 AM
Oddly enough I had a similar issue, even as N/A, the car was knocking on/off sometimes even on 93 oct. I took it to bren and he worked the kinks out, improving the throttle response and power band greatly. He's very picky about his work, he'll go to great lengths to make sure the tune is perfect- and nothing less. Great guy, plan to go back when needed.
Yep, I don't want a quick tuner. I want one who is picky, takes "too long", and is looking for perfect. :)
shtbxr22
10-17-2010, 04:44 PM
Oh yeah! couldn't agree more. :D
Update:
As you all know, ME/NH winter gas is lousy and I saw I was pulling a touch of timing at peak torque when looking at learning view. Not a lot, 2 degrees, but I'm particular enough that I didn't like it. I decided to get a re-tune. It was a good opportunity to upgrade a few things taking steps towards my ultimate daily driver goal. I picked up a walbro 255, KSTech intake, and a grimmspeed BCS. The intake doesn't seem to be necessary on these cars until over 300WHP, but I wanted the room for the FMIC that will (eventually) come. I asked Bren and he said a Grimmspeed BCS was a good idea, so I picked one of those up too.
Eric (shtbxr22) and I installed the items (I say that generously; Eric installed them, I handed tools, held lights, and looked pretty). As always, Eric did a great job, very clean and things look good. I stayed out of boost and drove down to see Bren.
Bren was in the middle of moving into his new office, things looked good and were taking shape rapidly. He greeted me with a smile, asked a few clarifying questions and off we went.
I didn't expect to gain any power from this tune, in fact I figured I'd lose some; simply put, the winter gas isn't a great power maker and there are no two ways about it. I reiterated to Bren that I didn't care about power, I cared about not knocking and making the car run safe and strong. We all want more power, and as all of you will see from my next round of mods, I do too, but a blown engine doesn't interest me at all.
First Bren mapped out the intake changes. He showed me a scatter plot of how it looked prior to the changes and how it looked after. The factory airbox with its resonators does a real good job of keeping things quiet and flat. Tossing on an intake was very obviously something that needs a tune, you could see the resonance of the intake and the effect on MAF readings thus air/fuel. Cool stuff, so much for the "just an intake, no big deal" theory (at least on my car!). The KSTech intake is well made, it looks good, flows well, and helps clean up the engine bay. Recommended.
Next Bren started playing around with the Grimmspeed. It's a very nice piece of equipment. He was able to dial the boost in exactly how he wanted it, wherever he wanted it. My VF46 is strong, it wants to make boost very early. Bren dialed it back a little on the bottom end to suit my goals of reliability and longevity.
We did several 3rd gear pulls, and got the car to where it was not pulling any timing no matter how many back to back pulls we did, heat soaking the intercooler and all. As expected, I did lose a little with the switch to winter gas; Bren said he basically pulled 1 degree of timing across the board, and richened it up a little. I ended up with 283whp and 305wtq, so I gained ~8hp and lost ~15wtq. I can feel the slight loss of torque around 3-3.5k, but I can also feel the increase up top; the car pulls toward redline much easier than before. I have to admit that I love the sound of the intake too, haha.
As normal for me, I waited a while before updating this, taking several learning view shots. There is nothing to see; no pulled timing, a/f trims are all spot on, it's a very happy and healthy tune.
Bren offered to send me a summer version of the new tune, but I declined, telling him I'll have a FMIC, and possibly turbo/injectors by then, so a re-tune will be necessary.
Everyone judges a tune by hp/tq, and I understand why, but it's the driveability of the tune that makes the biggest difference on a daily driver. Bren did some pretty cool things to improve on his already great throttle response, but check this out; my SI drive is basically a boost control, and per my request, it's now even more awesome:
I Mode: 6psi. About 170 whp. I got 28.5 mpg driving back from MA with this. That's good for me!
S Mode: 16 psi. Conservative and fun. Good power!
S# Mode: 18 psi. The most Bren could get out of the engine, keeping things very conservative. Super fun.
What more to say? This is what I expect out of Bren, an excellent job, smooth power, awesome throttle response, and willingness to answer more than 100 million questions.
BG @ BrenTuning
12-08-2010, 01:18 PM
Thanks for the review. One thing I noticed is the Maine gas in the winter is extremely poor. This fuel we tuned with reminded me almost exactly like cali 91 (water). Which is something Maine guys should consider when going to get tuned on summer blend (or looking for an aggressive tune).
hiprsha666
12-08-2010, 03:04 PM
Ya, Bren answers all my n00b questions too!
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
shtbxr22
12-08-2010, 03:11 PM
It was all fun installing the goodies. Excited for the next round. :)
WDPballer
12-08-2010, 03:22 PM
All these good reviews for Bren are making me impatient for my protune :lol:, I am really looking forward to seeing the differences (coming from an online 'universal' stage 2 tune) that the protune brings.
I'm loving it. Snow tires are on (which probably means no snow any time soon) and I'm ready to go. Going from OTS to a Brentune is huge, you won't regret it.
BG @ BrenTuning
12-13-2010, 11:55 AM
All these good reviews for Bren are making me impatient for my protune :lol:, I am really looking forward to seeing the differences (coming from an online 'universal' stage 2 tune) that the protune brings.
Why wait? Grab a snickers/protune. :lol:
Loving it. Did quite a few runs, took my brothers out and showed them the difference (last time they rode with me it my lame dangerous "pro-tune" that cost me $500 made less power and pulled timing like it was going out of style). They were impressed, I forgot what a huge difference it was, it's very easy to get used to this smoothness and extra power. Of course, afterwards I look a learning view, and as always, it was 100% perfect, nothing pulled. Beautiful. Nice knowing the car is running healthy, and smooth.
apkarian100
12-22-2010, 09:54 PM
I love the review. Excited for my tune Sunday with Bren. :)Loving it. Did quite a few runs, took my brothers out and showed them the difference (last time they rode with me it my lame dangerous "pro-tune" that cost me $500 made less power and pulled timing like it was going out of style). They were impressed, I forgot what a huge difference it was, it's very easy to get used to this smoothness and extra power. Of course, afterwards I look a learning view, and as always, it was 100% perfect, nothing pulled. Beautiful. Nice knowing the car is running healthy, and smooth.
Did you get your mechanical issues squared away? What did they end up being? You're going to love it!
hiprsha666
12-22-2010, 10:45 PM
I love the review. Excited for my tune Sunday with Bren. :)
You doing street tune or dyno tune?
apkarian100
12-22-2010, 11:15 PM
Street.You doing street tune or dyno tune?
apkarian100
12-22-2010, 11:16 PM
My IACV ended up being REALLY dirty. I cleaned it and it's all happy.Did you get your mechanical issues squared away? What did they end up being? You're going to love it!
bmx045
12-23-2010, 09:54 AM
My IACV ended up being REALLY dirty. I cleaned it and it's all happy.
I'll be there on Sunday with a fellow member and his 09 LGT...see you there
hiprsha666
12-23-2010, 10:00 AM
Street.
Aight, I was gonna say, dress warm. Last time I went down to PSI I was freezing balls even though I thought I dressed warm.
Sent from my vaghammer using Tapatalk
BG @ BrenTuning
01-01-2011, 04:31 PM
We are all numb after 15 minutes on the dyno this time of year :)
scooby823
01-01-2011, 06:03 PM
couple weeks ago i was freeezing up there, but ill be back up there quite soon im about to get an intake and get it back on the dyno to make it perfect then ill be done till i work up the money :)
BG @ BrenTuning
01-01-2011, 06:26 PM
See you soon :)
I8UR911
01-08-2011, 08:55 AM
Finally writing a review for Bren. A big thanks to Bren for tuning the WRX. Went down on a Friday night and spent roughly 2-3 hours tuning. Bren dialed in the car and told me everything that was going on. Had no problems explaining everything and answering any questions regarding future mods. If you need a tune.....YOU NEED BREN!!!
Thanks for the help Bren!!!
If all goes well, FMIC going on Sat 22 and a Bren tune to follow! We'll see what the little vf46 can do...
BG @ BrenTuning
01-17-2011, 10:55 AM
Yes sir, let's see what she likes on this winter fuel. :)
Saturday 1/22 started pretty early in the morning when I sea foamed my car around 6:30 and began the trek to see Eric Bernard and his friend Shaun Flanagan. Not much smoke out of the car with the sea foaming, but enough to make it worth while.
After I met up with Eric and Shaun, they began pulling the car apart and installing the FMIC. Eric has established himself as my go-to guy for work on the car, and he wanted Shaun there since he’s become something of an expert in the racer-x FMIC install. They each started working on separate things and I stood around drinking coffee, losing parts, and getting in the way. The install went without a hitch; both of these guys know what their doing and it plainly shows. Shaun treated my car as if it were his own; maybe even better; and was meticulous about the precision with the bumper cover trimming. Great job to both of them, and they’re (of course) highly recommended, no questions asked. After the FMIC install, I changed my air filter to a new AEM one, and Eric changed my oil.
Bren said I could drive my car in “S” mode (16 psi) down to the dyno, but since I’m a wimp and noted that the car felt “different”, I pretty much kept it out of boost. We met up at PSI racing in Auburn, MA. Eric helped with some adjustments to the FMIC piping (one part was hitting the master cylinder) and Bren took a baseline.
My last tune was winter gas, walbro 255, grimmspeed BCS, KStech intake, forge bpv, NGK plugs 1 step colder, oem TMIC, cobb catted downpipe and borla catback. On a road tune, with lousy new england winter gas, I ended up with 283 whp and 305 wtq. With the same lousy gas, the same tune (designed for the TMIC) but with the sweet new FMIC installed the car put down 279 whp and 330 wtq. This is interesting on two levels. The first is that I gained a substantial amount of torque due to the much better intercooling; clearly it matters. I did get a ceramic coating on the FMIC piping, and a thermal dispersant coating on the core, the object of which was to increase efficiency.
The second is a bit of a digression but has to do with road tuning and dyno numbers, how they compare and do they read high or low. When I was scheduling my very first tune with Bren he told me the road tuning dyno graph software he uses would give results very similar to a dynapack (since that’s what he uses), within a percent or two. Since I’m a mechanical engineer I figured that you could ABSOLUTELY relate one to the other if the right correction factors were used for road dyno software and the road/track conditions were adequate. Moreover, anyone who understands a vehicle dyno will realize that they’re really mostly useful for comparing changes. If it reads high, or low, as long as you use the same or similar dyno then you’ll know if you’re making progress and if your modifications/tunes are a good value for the dollar. As I’ve come to expect, Bren was true to his word and I could see the dyno computer monitor reproducing what he had already told me it would. Awesome!
Watching your car get wrung out on a dyno is anxiety causing. It’s different when YOU’RE the one driving it, at speed, wind noise, etc, but in person watching ‘er go makes you worry. Bren did a bunch of pulls and we all were surprised how much more power (and especially torque) the car made with the FMIC. I don’t know how many pulls Bren made with the car, but I kept an eye on the dynapack computer and watched the torque transform from a perfect upside down vee shape into a very nice and flat torque curve.
Bren kept tuning and I asked him how things were going, if the car felt healthy, all the questions you worry about when you see your car getting wrung out on a dyno. He told me that my VF46 was breaking records for power output and he hadn’t done anything crazy, and that the car was still running pig rich in certain RPM ranges. I saw the number climb from 279 to 285 to 290 then 295. On a couple of runs Bren made the car go over 300 whp on a VF46, which is fairly unusual from what I hear. If you read some of my older tuning reviews of Bren, I believe I mention that my turbo seems a bit of a freak and wants to spool early. Bren made this work to my advantage now that I had a better intercooler. We laughed at the numbers we were seeing, guessing that seeing ~300 whp from a VF46 would upset some people.
Bren explained what he was doing when I’d walk over and see how things were going, and without me even asking, mentioned that he was keeping things very conservative. At one point he added a little timing, and didn’t make any more power. He added a little more and made 3 hp more. He added another 2 degrees and the car pulled 2 degrees, so he took it all the way back to where it was in the first place, dropping the power below what was pulling zero degrees just to give me a little extra margin of safety. This is what I want, and what I like, and I really appreciate that Bren listens to my requests; my legacy is no race car, just a fun daily driver.
0anijpOPZHY
A couple more pulls and Bren said the car was making the same power over and over, even heat soaked, which meant it was tuned very conservatively. We ended the dyno runs with near 300 whp and 365 wtq. Again, the numbers don’t really matter to me, what matters is consistency, drivability, reliability, and finally, what we’re all here for, having fun driving your car. That being said, this thing moves! It actually has a top end now and you can guess how the extra torque feels.
YSdHNqQ-Tr4
For economy or very slippery conditions, “I” mode is at 5.5 psi, and made 140 whp. You can almost legally street race with 140 whp, since even standing on it, you’re going no where fast, lol!
They took the car off the dyno, Bren brough his laptop, Eric hopped in the back seat, and we went out to polish off the tune. Bren made a couple of minor adjustments, asking me a few questions, and before I knew it we were back at the shop. I hung out a little while longer and watched Bren start his next tune, then finally headed home. Since I like to worry about things, I did a couple learning views on the way home. Perfect. Nothing pulled, A/F trims very good. Normal for a Bren tune.
What a day! Sea foaming, FMIC install, boost leak check, oil change, air filter change, dyno tuning, road tune for finalizing it then the 2 hour ride back to Maine.
Bren has firmly established himself not only as a great tuner, but my tuner. As always, highly recommended. Great job Bren, I’m happy to have you tuning my car.
shtbxr22
01-23-2011, 06:08 PM
YES!! :up:
So update: Had Bren tune the wife's 2009 Impreza Outback Sport (2.5i). Why? Excellent question. I think it irritated me that you could hear the car pinging on 87 octane (what she puts in it, and good luck convincing her to do otherwise). I had brought it up with Bren while tuning my car and he had mentioned that from the factory, the N/A Subaru's were tuned pretty aggressive and just stopped pinging on 93.
Since a big part of what I like about the tune is the throttle response and overall driveability, I decided to give it a shot. There were no definitions written for her ECU yet, so Bren spent a while writing one, and emailed me a base map.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE!
Now, no dyno numbers, no real objective data, but I will tell you that it made me laugh out loud when I started her up and took it out for a spin. A 2.5i will never be "fast" but this thing has a substantial amount of pull over stock. Bren said estimated 12whp increase, but that's really just tossing a number out there. The thing scoots, and 1st & 2nd gear around town are fun to drive.
Moreover, the car feels smoother. Now my wife is the queen of "oh, did you change something?", meaning she doesn't really notice anything. She'd have to go from 100 to 400 whp to really notice a "big" difference. She noticed this; she remarked on being pushed back in her seat, and how smooth it was.
So, stage 1 of my wife-corruption is complete; now she's tuned and liking the extra power. The car just plain runs better too. Stage 2 will be to get her to be willing to buy 91 octane... stage 3 will be an upgrade to a factory turbo subaru... all in time.... lol
The tune was reasonably priced, made a huge drivability difference in the car and the extra power makes it a lot more fun to drive. Totally worth it. Well done Bren.
BG @ BrenTuning
02-08-2011, 04:37 PM
There should be more we can do with that car in person - depending on how bored you or she is :)
The drive ability difference and low end response/throttle response makes that tune well over and above worth the wallet expense.
The midrange timing is packed in on those cars stock and especially for low grade fuel. You can tell MHI knew this by the way the Dynamic advance table is setup (heavy additive in this area). You will regularly see these cars with .5 or .75 IAM after one pull.
Stay tuned: Engine being pulled 4/2. She's running great, but I have some goodies to put in. :D
BG @ BrenTuning
03-23-2011, 01:06 PM
Might as well do it right the first time ;)
Delayed to April 16/17! Soon though...
I'm so jealous, I can't wait to see what she puts down.
apkarian100
04-03-2011, 09:30 PM
Wowza! Should be sweet!
TurboRush
04-04-2011, 07:50 PM
Wow, looks like a monster in the making!
Bu11dogg2
04-07-2011, 11:19 AM
what turbo is that?
BG @ BrenTuning
04-07-2011, 12:54 PM
A special sauce small 20g, greddy internal wheel 11 fin :) Full scoot by 3400.
Bu11dogg2
04-07-2011, 01:20 PM
oh my.
20g's + legacys = fun
DHGurs
04-07-2011, 01:22 PM
oh my.
20g's + legacys = fun
http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTGrTITV43FB0NveLGfVhSzZHcNazYuY lEGK4pvyL5Eo79HbeaNeg
bmx045
04-09-2011, 08:08 AM
Bren goes above and beyond for his customers...
BG @ BrenTuning
04-09-2011, 11:01 PM
Bren goes above and beyond for his customers...
:devil:
This weekend! Pistons and some goodies! If all goes well, a tune next Saturday. If it doesn't go well, massive bills and a tune the following Saturday lol.
hiprsha666
04-12-2011, 11:02 PM
No break in period for new pistons and what not? Or will you do enough miles in a week.
There are a TON of conflicting opinions about break in. I can tell you on all of my new cars, I drove the **** out of them right from day 1. I did a lot of searching around, found advice as conservative as let it idle and change the oil every 100 miles for 10,000 miles, to the drag racers, fire 'er up and let it rip method.
I ultimately decided to go with the advice of my uncle, who was a chief design engineer for Roger Penske for indy 500 race car engines back in the mid 90's. He was responsible for the 265E engine, 3.42 liters and 1020+ horsepower. This is what he wrote:
-Once it lights, hold the speed at 2000-2500 for about 5 minutes, until things settle down a bit. You can vary the RPM during this time between those limits, but don't be too aggressive. After this, I would let it run for about 15-20 minutes to get temp in it, running the speed up and down between 1500 and 3000 RPM. Pretty light load. Don't let it idle for too long at any point.
-I'd drive it around (once you have checked under the hood making sure there are no leaks, drips, or loose items) for about an hour after this, never using more than 20-30% throttle in the first half hour. A little load is good, but you want to cycle it, nothing prolonged. Gradually work it in.
-Bring it back in and do whatever checks are appropriate. Besides a visual for leaks and things, taking a look at valve lash is a good idea. Remember, these clearances will change with engine temperature, so don't readjust unless necessary. Follow manufacturer rec's.
-I would also change the oil after this little drive. You can refill with your oil of choice.
-Be kind to the engine over the these next 100-200 miles. Gradually ramp up the throttle & boost load, maybe nothing more than 50% until 100 mile mark. Watch your temps (don't spike the poor girl), and keep boost to 1/2 max until 200 miles in the bank.
-After this, cut it loose and smile.
I'll probably do more than 200 miles that week, assuming all goes well. I hope to have 2-3x that by tune day.
hiprsha666
04-12-2011, 11:48 PM
Oh cool. Thanks for sharing that info.
BG @ BrenTuning
04-13-2011, 10:48 AM
Chris - always does his research.
shtbxr22
04-18-2011, 06:56 PM
And the build has been completed......break-in is in progress..............I'm tired as ****!
And the build has been completed......break-in is in progress..............I'm tired as ****!
500 miles on the build with Bren's break-in tune. So far so good. Lots of smells, lots of sounds, but learning view is usually pretty good.
Total Power/Engine Mods:
KSTech Intake
Cobb Catted Downpipe
Borla Exhaust
Grimmspeed 3 Port Boost Control Solenoid
Forge BPV
1 step colder Plugs
Wiseco Pistons
Grimmspeed Cross Pipe (Ceramic Coated)
Grimmspeed Up Pipe (Ceramic Coated)
Gates Timing Belt Kit with Pulleys
STI Seperator Plate
ACT Clutch
06' WRX Flywheel
TSK Throwout Bearing
td06SL2-20g
Forge Wastegate Actuator
DW 850 cc Injectors
Racer-X FMIC
Group N Engine/Transmission Mounts
Breaking it in with Castrol, will put AMSOIL in her prior to tune. Thus far changed the oil at 5 minutes, 20 miles, & 250 miles.
She's going to be quick when we're done. :devil:
BG @ BrenTuning
04-22-2011, 09:55 AM
So far so good however the brand new turbo out of the box possibly has a bit more shaft play then desired. Going to check with the manufacturer today before proceeding.
Temp update: The shaft play on the new turbo was very unsat and it turned into junk quickly. Switched out for a new one and now tracking down a pre-turbo leak (uppipe to turbo). WHP already over 340. :) Bren & Kevin @ PSI have been monsters working on this thing, and have invested a ridiculous amount of time and energy. Should be done tomorrow. :)
Update 2: Car is spooling very slow, we *think* it's a bpv to turbo inlet leak and/or vacuum leak. I found a tear on the turbo inlet, so that's getting replaced anyway. Parts ordered, will be installed ASAP. Soon!!!
Oldguyfxt
05-11-2011, 09:42 PM
My 04 FXT is going to see Mr Bren courtesy of my wagoon boys tomorrow. thanks for the post. Now I am absolutely sure my car is in the best hands.
Alright. Through a sad series of events, it's taken a very long time for the car to be done. I will write a seperate review of the products available at turbochargers.com, but suffice to say that I had 2 turbo's fail on me, and ultimately it ended up costing me a huge amount of money paying for shipping, labor, parts, and a rental.
On to the review of Bren. As bad as the experience was with failing turbo's, it was a good opportunity to see what Bren does when things don't go well. I'll cut to the chase; he didn't stop until he came through. He lost a tremendous amount of money on my car, I think he spent near 8 hours on it trying to figure out on the first day. When that didn't work, he spent a few more hours revising the map, trying to assist with troubleshooting, answering email after email and generally being very patient.
So it was with some trepidation that I drove down with turbo #3, a BNR billet 18G. After a quick road tune the week before (which Bren didn't charge me for, saying that he's sorry I've had so many problems), it was time to put it on the dyno. Well, it pulled 300whp and 320wtq baseline from his road tune. By the end of the session we were at 325 and 350, but the numbers don't reflect how much better the car feels. It is quick now. I do think the BNR turbo is overrated, but it's still a good kick in the pants.
This is less of a review than I usually write, I didn't go into my normal painful detail. The important thing here is how Bren performed when things went to hell. He really went above and beyond, making sure that things ended up right. Sometimes it just takes time; I'm a busy guy and can't just drop everything to check this or that on the car. He understood, worked with me, spent WAAAYYYY too much time troubleshooting, and at the end of the day, I ended up with a mechanically sound car that hauls.
I'm sure he'll post the dyno graphs soon, I know it wasn't as much of an increase over my freak vf46 as we had hoped, but the area under the curve is awesome... I'm very pleased with how the car feels. Smooth. Powerful.
Once more, Bren is highly recommended.
bmx045
06-28-2011, 08:53 AM
Alright. Through a sad series of events, it's taken a very long time for the car to be done. I will write a seperate review of the products available at turbochargers.com, but suffice to say that I had 2 turbo's fail on me, and ultimately it ended up costing me a huge amount of money paying for shipping, labor, parts, and a rental.
On to the review of Bren. As bad as the experience was with failing turbo's, it was a good opportunity to see what Bren does when things don't go well. I'll cut to the chase; he didn't stop until he came through. He lost a tremendous amount of money on my car, I think he spent near 8 hours on it trying to figure out on the first day. When that didn't work, he spent a few more hours revising the map, trying to assist with troubleshooting, answering email after email and generally being very patient.
So it was with some trepidation that I drove down with turbo #3, a BNR billet 18G. After a quick road tune the week before (which Bren didn't charge me for, saying that he's sorry I've had so many problems), it was time to put it on the dyno. Well, it pulled 300whp and 320wtq baseline from his road tune. By the end of the session we were at 325 and 350, but the numbers don't reflect how much better the car feels. It is quick now. I do think the BNR turbo is overrated, but it's still a good kick in the pants.
This is less of a review than I usually write, I didn't go into my normal painful detail. The important thing here is how Bren performed when things went to hell. He really went above and beyond, making sure that things ended up right. Sometimes it just takes time; I'm a busy guy and can't just drop everything to check this or that on the car. He understood, worked with me, spent WAAAYYYY too much time troubleshooting, and at the end of the day, I ended up with a mechanically sound car that hauls.
I'm sure he'll post the dyno graphs soon, I know it wasn't as much of an increase over my freak vf46 as we had hoped, but the area under the curve is awesome... I'm very pleased with how the car feels. Smooth. Powerful.
Once more, Bren is highly recommended.
He likes talking about your car, when he's tuning my car. And we're both named Chris :lol: and we're both anal about our cars!
lol, dare I ask what he said?
bmx045
06-28-2011, 10:18 AM
apparently you and I think alike. lol.
bmx045
06-28-2011, 10:26 AM
I'm so sorry.
BTW your map is on my car right now :D feels good.
shtbxr22
06-28-2011, 11:19 AM
You're weird....both of you. :lol:
bmx045
06-28-2011, 11:22 AM
You're weird....both of you. :lol:
Who collects blown vf40's and takes pics of them and posts them on facebook? Eric does.
:rofl:
You're weird....both of you. :lol:
FACT!
arcadia25
06-28-2011, 12:26 PM
Who collects blown vf40's and takes pics of them and posts them on facebook? Eric does.
:rofl:
Ouch burn
shtbxr22
06-28-2011, 01:05 PM
Who collects blown vf40's and takes pics of them and posts them on facebook? Eric does.
:rofl:
:D
ymhrid2
06-28-2011, 01:24 PM
I second the first post (too long to quote). I got my first protune by bren this past weekend and the car runs amazing. Thanks Bren!
BG @ BrenTuning
06-28-2011, 03:30 PM
20G's with "experimental parts"
:mad::mad::mad::mad:
:snoop:
Berge56
06-28-2011, 04:56 PM
haha that 20g sounds like a good time.
shtbxr22
06-28-2011, 06:25 PM
20G's with "experimental parts"
:mad::mad::mad::mad:
:snoop:
yeah, the experiment was to see how fast they could grenade. :mad:
I would estimate I lost $2000 because of those parts.
shtbxr22
06-28-2011, 07:30 PM
Thanks for Arizona helping you out a little. ;)
Well, this, for now, concludes my review of Bren as far as Subaru is concerned.
Bren helpedme through this last bit of mods, and like I said above, got the car to 325/350 whp/wtq. It was a lot of fun to drive even if the 18g billet wasn't a great turbo.
Then life got in the way, I needed cash and the car was worth a fair amount more than I owed on it, so I returned it to stock (mostly) and sold it. Bren went out of his way one more time for me and this Subaru, making me a good base map so I could sell the car with the couple mods that it has remaining. Keep in mind, Bren was with his family, on a Sunday, away from his computer, and because of the relationship I have established with him and his extreme professionalism, he came through and had a map emailed to me within a couple of hours. On his day off.
Bren is a great dude and one of the people I'm going to miss as I travel to AZ to start a new life. He started as a useful tuner and became a friend. I cannot recommend him enough, but more than just recommending him, I'm asking anyone who goes to him to be a good customer; have your **** together, don't be stingy, understand that modding cars is inherently stupid and costly, and **** will go wrong, then enjoy the masterful tuning he does and rest assured that your car is safe, and I don't have to tell you how it feels.
So what's next? I've been talking with him about tuning BMW's.... ;)
Once more, he took my car from a dangerous tun from a horrible competitor, to 325 whp, taught me a world of info, became my friend, and came through for me time after time. I respect this man and wish him nothing but success. Of course, and as always, highly recommended.
-Chris
hiprsha666
08-03-2011, 01:28 AM
:sadpanda: :up:
BG @ BrenTuning
08-04-2011, 12:26 PM
Well, this, for now, concludes my review of Bren as far as Subaru is concerned.
Bren helpedme through this last bit of mods, and like I said above, got the car to 325/350 whp/wtq. It was a lot of fun to drive even if the 18g billet wasn't a great turbo.
Then life got in the way, I needed cash and the car was worth a fair amount more than I owed on it, so I returned it to stock (mostly) and sold it. Bren went out of his way one more time for me and this Subaru, making me a good base map so I could sell the car with the couple mods that it has remaining. Keep in mind, Bren was with his family, on a Sunday, away from his computer, and because of the relationship I have established with him and his extreme professionalism, he came through and had a map emailed to me within a couple of hours. On his day off.
Bren is a great dude and one of the people I'm going to miss as I travel to AZ to start a new life. He started as a useful tuner and became a friend. I cannot recommend him enough, but more than just recommending him, I'm asking anyone who goes to him to be a good customer; have your **** together, don't be stingy, understand that modding cars is inherently stupid and costly, and **** will go wrong, then enjoy the masterful tuning he does and rest assured that your car is safe, and I don't have to tell you how it feels.
So what's next? I've been talking with him about tuning BMW's.... ;)
Once more, he took my car from a dangerous tun from a horrible competitor, to 325 whp, taught me a world of info, became my friend, and came through for me time after time. I respect this man and wish him nothing but success. Of course, and as always, highly recommended.
-Chris
Thanks Chris, It will be tough losing you to AZ's warm weather, but I will be ready to get that TT I6 :cool: screaming when you do pick out your new fair weather vehicle to drive.
I always enjoyed tuning your Subaru because you appreciate the full experience and my efforts. I am honored to have you choose me as a vendor. Good luck in your new venture and life.
and most importantly :sadpanda:
Well, I moved to AZ, Bren stayed in New England, and I bought a 2007 BMW 335i. Before I left, I drove her down to visit with Bren, he checked her out and was going to flash it for me, but due to my bad luck and a strange ECU, it wasn't to be. So, after a couple of hours of trying, we went out to dinner, Bren gave me some sweet air intake scoops as a going away gift, and off to AZ I went.
After I got settled in AZ, Bren had me ship my ECU to one of his guys, with clear instructions on how to remove it and where to send it to. A couple of days later, I got it back. I opened up the package with the eagerness of a kid at Christmas time, and installed it right away.
I didn't notice a huge difference at first, and I called Bren to ask what was up. He figured out that I must not have correctly put the ECU to sleep prior to removing it, and recommended disconnecting the battery. 20 mins later, I connected everything and fired her up. I casually mentioned to my girlfriend that I'd be right back.
This thing MOVES. Stock, just the ECU flash, it's much faster than the legacy @ 325whp. I don't know what it's putting down, but a lot. A few of you have seen the 20-100 vid I posted on facebook (disclaimer: OBVIOUSLY a track) and it screams.
It's hard to keep the tires glued down in first and it can get a little squirrelly in second too. All I know is that it took about a second and a half off my 20-100 time. The torque is incredible, and it starts pulling at under 2k RPMs. Not only that, but it doesn't fall on its face at 5k like nearly every Subaru I've been in does, in fact, it seems to perk up a bit between 6-7k.
So, more of the same. Bren is a master tuner, the car screams, and he takes care of you making sure that everything is good and as it should be. Change car brands? Still use Bren.
-Chris
BG @ BrenTuning
11-17-2011, 10:27 PM
Based on the dyno I would expect your new ride somewhere between 350-370whp and equal torque. A force not to be reckoned with :).
Thanks for the kind words Chris.
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