Cobb Accessport and other brand TBE's

[whtlegacy]

I've got an 04 WRX wagon and I ordered my Cobb Accessport the first day I got it. Hopefully, I'll have my Accessport in the next 4 weeks or so but in the meantime I'm doing some suspension modifications. Additionally, I'm considering starting my turbo back exhaust by purchasing a catback. I really like the Borla Hush for it's stealth-ness and price (under $500) but I'm worried about compatibility with my accessport. Do the Cobb stage 2 maps apply to any turbo back exhaust? or are they really optimized for Cobb's system? Basically, how versatile is my accessport?

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[totoherbs]

Any will work... infact there was a thread last week about this same topic. Depending on the quality of the system you may or may not hit target boost.

Exhaust reading....
http://www.cobbtuning.com/tech/exhaustdesign/index.html

http://www.vishnutuning.com/exhaust101.htm

[whtlegacy]

I read over those documents and it sounds like the Borla is a great solution. I believe it is 3" piping which is what Cobb recommends but I'm now reading that some people have had problems fitting the Borla to certain downpipes. Anything I should know about this catback before I pull the trigger? I'll probably buy it early next week after doing a little more research.

[whittleman]

Rich at Daddy's sells Borla and is always a great help. I suggest you ask him.

[whtlegacy]

that's actually who i'm talking to about this. thanks though.

[RayO]

I think that you need a downpipe and not just a catback to fully utilize the Stage 2 map on the Accessport.
I'm guessing that Stage 1 with anybody's catback would be fine. I'm planning to add a Cobb catted downpipe after I get my Accessport. My plan is to use Stage 1 until the downpipe is installed, and then move to Stage 2. I've already got a Prodrive axleback.

[whtlegacy]

I understand that you also need the DP for stage 2. I'm going to be running stage 1 until I complete my TBE.

[paintbing]

You can always get the cat-back exhaust and use the AccessPort to program a stage 1 increase, and once you get the dp, you can change it to stage 2. That is the best part of the AccessPort. You can switch pretty easily... but you don't want to switch too many times between stage 1 and 2, as that WILL lower the life of the ECU. Changing the maps with the Accessport however will not.
Happy hunting!

[whtlegacy]

how does switching change the lifespan of the ECU? i know Cobb had to overcome some ECU limit on reflashes but what's the story with this?

[drees]

You can switch real-time maps as many times as you want, there is no limit.

However, people say that you can only reflash the base map up to 100 times, but I'm not sure if anyone has actually reached that limit. Fortunately, you rarely need to change base maps with the AccessPort.

[DtownIan]

1. Cobb's AccessPort will work with any catback. It's not Cobb specific because a pipe is a pipe.

2. The Borla Hush has had problems mounting to the stock downpipe because the stock dp uses a doughnut flange (for flex). It's not really a big deal because you can probably get it to fit pretty well. Also, once you replace the downpipe with an aftermarket piece, the Borla will mate up fine.

3. Getting a new dp isn't Cobb specific either.

[Trevor723]

Originally posted by DtownIan
2. The Borla Hush has had problems mounting to the stock downpipe because the stock dp uses a doughnut flange (for flex). It's not really a big deal because you can probably get it to fit pretty well. Also, once you replace the downpipe with an aftermarket piece, the Borla will mate up fine

This is backwards if I remember correct, the Hush uses the doughnut flange and mates poorly with the aftermarket flat flanges.

[Daddy's SCP]

Originally posted by whtlegacy
that's actually who i'm talking to about this. thanks though.

Any downpipe that was designed to use the factory style 2.5" donut gasket is the ideal mate for the Borla Hush, that includes the factory 3rd cat pipe as well. Most of the people that have had some issue with the Hush are people using DPs that use thin crush gaskets rather than the donut gasket, with most posts that I've seen referencing the "Helix/Invidia" but the story will be true of any DP that does not use the donut gasket. The picture below tells the story. You can see how the flang that mates to the donut gasket is on part of a slip joint pipe section that flares like a trumpet at the end to allow it to fit securely over a donut gasket, not a thin crush gasket. Some people have been able to use it with "non" donut gasket downpipes but results will vary and it wouldn't be my recommendation unless you planned on taking it to a local shop to have a different flange welded on.



- Rich

[blarg]

borla hush = cat-back....you still need a downpipe and high flow cat/cat delete to run stage 2 maps.

[whtlegacy]

Originally posted by whtlegacy
I understand that you also need the DP for stage 2. I'm going to be running stage 1 until I complete my TBE.