Hello,

Ive been up and down this board and others, and after talking with Ron at Axis Racing, he recommended the Hydra EM for my GC8 buildup... no motor swap, this is gonna be a motor buildup ...

ej257 bottom end, built up heads, 7k redline, 300-350whp goal... reliable as can be done.

The issues arrising are from my research into the hydra.

One side, its perfect and will do the job but other sources say that it will not run in the winter time (columbus ohio), and that i should try other sources.


Im completely stuck and dont have any ideas which direction to go with engine managment.

ANy help greatly appreciated.

I should note that after the axis buildup, i will only be running a td04 w/ wrx injectors and perrin up, helix dp, etc ... because i dont have the money for the bigger turbo, fmic and fuel ... so with that in mind, im going to try the car out as is with the management, and if it runs well throughout the year, i will upgrade to a bigger turbo, but maybe i wont go tooo big because i love the GC8 to death, i sold my GDB for it, and now im just trying to do a proper, good buildup...

thanks!~

Why wouldn't it run in the winter? I haven't heard that one before... I'm guessing who ever had it didn't set it up to run/start in the colder temps.

(although it NEVER gets that cold here in Oregon)

Here's my 2 cents.

-Save your money on headwork. Ej25 heads flow pretty well.
-Just get a regular ej257, not built. It will hold 300-350whp well.
-Think about other cheaper EM solutions. Link has some plug and play solutions...as well you could run a TEC in parrallel and keep your stock ecu for most functions.
-For 300-350whp you could run a sti TMIC (read cheap) and a vf39 (cheap) Throw some race gas in and you are in the above 300whp range. 280ish on pump

300-350whp can be done for pretty cheap and without much building imo.

The other option could be an ej20 swap. All said and done it could be the same price as ej257 shortblock with em etc. BUT the advantage is you could sell off some parts to buy a new turbo/IC and you would have a better choice for EM solutions imo. UTEC's and reflashes are cheap these days and imo better for a daily driver than a standalone.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

^^^
Thanks, thats exactly what I was thinking, except i do want to go w/ a fmic and bigger turbo, 18g-ish... but i heard that about the winter driving froma friend in Chicago.

Thats why I asked because it didnt sound right.

But i will be reusing the stock heads and just adding new springs and such so that i can sustain a safe 7000 redline, though it can go upto 8,000, i just want to make sure the heads breathe nicely.

I will be using the ej257 bottom end, and to be honest, i just dont have the time to do a swap and nobody around me will, so im gonna stick with stock ecu and add a standalone/piggyback.

Does this make sense? I think from what I've read and been told this is a good path to go on.

Seriously, If you are going to spend money, spend it on a good STI longblock AND a hydra. The hydra makes a car run so smoothe in everyday driving, I don't know why you would choose anything else. You get what you pay for. These two items will prove to be a solid foundation for any car buildup. Anything else and you are limiting yourself in the future. You'd be amazed at how quick that 300hp goal can turn into 450hp. Headwork isn't a bad investment either while the engine is out. You just have to decide how much you can spend.

I have a link plus I'll let go for $800 with the serial link.

I have the Hydra and I didn't notice any problems with it this winter; and I think down here in Dayton the weather is actually a little worse.

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I've got a killer deal on a motec m8 if you're interested.

wgknestrick, you are dead right. After doing --multiple-- searches and research for the past year, the sti long block made the most sense for my project.

On EM, the hydra was suggested to me by Ron at Axis Racing, and to be honest, it was another tuner I was talking with that told me the hydra wasnt the best option, but then another said this and that and it became this huge confusion on my part.

BUT, the bottom line being that from what Ive read the Hydra seems badass.

Motec M8? Can you post some links or specs on that? If you have some Em for sale, just give me some info, Ill check with Ron and make sure he tunes with that stuff since he is doing the motor buildup and design and tuning. Actually, Im giving him my car so he can break it in for me ;) What a nice guy!

wgknestrick, you are dead right. After doing --multiple-- searches and research for the past year, the sti long block made the most sense for my project.

On EM, the hydra was suggested to me by Ron at Axis Racing, and to be honest, it was another tuner I was talking with that told me the hydra wasnt the best option, but then another said this and that and it became this huge confusion on my part.

BUT, the bottom line being that from what Ive read the Hydra seems badass.

Motec M8? Can you post some links or specs on that? If you have some Em for sale, just give me some info, Ill check with Ron and make sure he tunes with that stuff since he is doing the motor buildup and design and tuning. Actually, Im giving him my car so he can break it in for me ;) What a nice guy!
http://www.motec.com/support/manuals/Manual%20M4%20M48%20M8%20A5.pdf

I'll let its reputation speak for itself. PM me if you have any questions

Brad

thx im on that site now

why wouldn't it run? it's got all sort of compensation setups.

I'm running a hydra on my car (V6 STI GC8) right now and have absolutely no problems with it here in thailand (40celsius ++ during summer though, no real winter here :huh: ). My other friend is runing it on a euro version (210hp) GC8 as well with no problems.

it allll depends on how expirenced you/ your tuner is

you could have a tec3r/hydra/link/m8 and it could be fine or it could run like #### .. garbage in garbage out

it allll depends on how expirenced you/ your tuner is

you could have a tec3r/hydra/link/m8 and it could be fine or it could run like #### .. garbage in garbage out
I think this about sums up EM all together; well said.

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