FB16 DIT - Boost Pressure - UK

Typical Max Boost levels between 3500rpm and 5500rpm

  • 0.7

    Votes: 5 23.8%
  • 0.8

    Votes: 11 52.4%
  • 0.9

    Votes: 3 14.3%
  • 1.0

    Votes: 2 9.5%
  • 1.1 !!!!!

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    21

ScottyLevorg

New Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2016
Messages
15
Hi Folks,

I've got a 2015 Levorg 1.6 GT , i've noticed that my car only boosts to 0.7 or 0.8 Bar boost, I'm totally convinced the vehicle I test drove boosted to 1.0 Bar - does anyone who owns a Levorg with the 1.6 Engine know what their maximum boost level is?

I've searched online and can't find any info.....

My car has just cover 9000 miles and is about to go in for it's first service at the dealer.

Thanks in advance for any comments

Scott
 

ScottyLevorg

New Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2016
Messages
15
I get between 0.7 to 0.8
Hi John,

Yeah 12500 miles in and it looks like 0.8 Bar is all its going to do - looking at other 1.6 Turbo's on the market thats on the low side of what is possible - i'm guessing the engine is tuned for longevity and economy rather than performance - the tuners i've spoken to swear blind that they could remap a standard car to 200hp - i'm guessing that would mean upping the boost - having killed a few Subaru's that way in the past i'm reluctant to do it, especially under warranty!

Anyone considering modifying their 1.6GT for a bit more performance?
 

nipponcruiser

New Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2016
Messages
1
Location
Dresden, Germany
Hi John,

...

Anyone considering modifying their 1.6GT for a bit more performance?
As far as I know, the 1.6 got the low torque variant of the CVT, so more power out of the engine could be dangerous. I rather would like some modification of the TCU, to get rid of the useless virtual gears in auto mode and for more smooth operations (mine acts quite rough sometimes).
 

Matic

New Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2017
Messages
14
Hi guys,

I have heard from a subaru specialist in the netherlands (believe me, the guy is known for his mapping, also in the pro driving world) that mapping the levorg 1.6 is safe at 200hp and 290nm :)

As soon as the engine warranty is over, ill be going for it i think
 

nicodache

Active Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2014
Messages
523
Location
50.45459,3.95254
well, at the same time, the australian 2.0l apparently makes 265hp and 350nm.

talking about output per liter, we get
132hp and 175NM for 2l vs 106hp and 156NM for 1.6l.

so definitely, mapping that fb16dit higher is doable without too much risk, and the figures you indicated seem fairly conservative :)
 

Matic

New Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2017
Messages
14
For the motor yes, for the transmission, no.
The 2.0 has a far better gearbox/transmission than the 1.6. Tests (in japan for example where they drive the levorg for about 3 years i think now) say that the number i have givven are safe, higher leads to breaking parts like the transmission-box.

Cheers,
Mike
 

moojy

Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2016
Messages
64
Have used the inline tuning box from tdi-tuning in UK on a 1.6). Gives you adjustable bhp from 199-213. No ecu remap needed.
 

manumissio

New Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2017
Messages
20
Hi Moojy
what's your experience? Does the turbopressure go up? Is there more power/torque at lower revolutions? Stays the CVT in balance? Etc.
 

ozkan bicer

Active Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2015
Messages
116
Location
istanbul , Turkey
I have been using the TDI Tuning box for a couple of months now and it is still 0.8 max turbo pressure. I suspect the electronic measurement is not correct.
 

moojy

Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2016
Messages
64
I certainly feel more power and torque at lower revolutions. The CVT seems fine with this. Max boost pressure I have seen is 0.6.
tbh, the boost and performance of the car is not it's problem imho. It is a very good engine and a good transmission. I have only just switched to automatic from a beautiful manual Impreza GB270. The challenge with the Levorg seem to be the odd configuration decisions Subaru always make. Everthing is a compromise when setting up a car, but Subaru's compromises seem to me to be pandering to no-one in particular:
1. The transmission is just "sleepy", makes all the wrong gear change decisions. This is a software problem as far as I can see, not a hardware one, it is perfectly capable of making fast switches just doesnt want to. Adding the tdi-tuning box makes pulling out a little less scary cos at least you get some pull now; but the CVT does it's best to smother that if possible, but more torque/power from the box def helps. All of that without turbopressure readings being increased on my car - tbh I am not that fussed in what the pressure of the turbo is, (most turbos run around 6-8 psi anyway so 0.6 bar is about right), as long as I get the power and torque don't care how it does it.
2. The suspension is just weird - crashy at front and wallowy at back. Subaru just doesnt understand suspension in my experience (owned 6 subarus over 15 years). The GB270 was tuned by Prodrive. Absolutely fabulous. Firm without being crashy. Pliant enough to swallow bumps and just stick to the road. Wish Subaru would ask Prodrive to help them with suspension for UK roads and not try to do it themselves, they haven't a clue.
3. Biggest problem with the Levorg by far - the numb and artificial feeling steering. Heavy self-centering when you don't want it to be (would have bought a German Audi Panzer if I wanted that - what happened to the lovely light Japanese touch?). And fails to centre when you do want it to - has to be coaxed back into a straight line after cornering. Combined with a total lack of feedback, makes the handling really tedious. Basiclaly the steering needs to be guided all the time; the car has sharp handling and remarkable pace but it so hampered by being a reluctant cornerer. Again you get the feeling there is a fab machine under there that Subaru is trying to smother. This is the part I most want to fix. Whether on the twisties or on the motorway that steering is tiresome to drive. The GB270 was absolute bliss compared - I could drive for 10 hours continuous without feeling tired. This thing makes me want to get out after an hour.

Some TDI tuning stats attached for the box. I can def recommend it.
On "level" motorway driving I get around 40-42 mpg with it fitted while still getting 200bhp at the lowest setting. Now just wish I could sort the above problems.... :-(
 

Attachments

wd-levorg

New Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2017
Messages
7
Hi guys,

I have heard from a subaru specialist in the netherlands (believe me, the guy is known for his mapping, also in the pro driving world) that mapping the levorg 1.6 is safe at 200hp and 290nm :)

As soon as the engine warranty is over, ill be going for it i think
Hi Matic,

As I am from belgium, do you have the name of this Subaru specialist in the Netherlands ?

Regards,

Wim
 

wd-levorg

New Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2017
Messages
7
For the motor yes, for the transmission, no.

Cheers,
Mike
Hi Mike,

I think it is not only a transmission matter. The 1.6 DIT engine has a relatively small twin-scroll turbo, which is conceived in the first place for fast response, not for high(er) boost pressure levels. Higher boost levels may jeopardize the endurance of this twin-scroll turbo. Brett Middleton from our well-known MRT performance in Australia seems to confirm this.

Regards,
Wim
 

Daniel Berry

New Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2018
Messages
2
well, at the same time, the australian 2.0l apparently makes 265hp and 350nm.

talking about output per liter, we get
132hp and 175NM for 2l vs 106hp and 156NM for 1.6l.

so definitely, mapping that fb16dit higher is doable without too much risk, and the figures you indicated seem fairly conservative :)
The Aussie 1.6 puts out 170bhp icant understand why you would have 64 less hp
 

SkyBeam

Member
Joined
May 2, 2017
Messages
41
The Aussie 1.6 puts out 170bhp icant understand why you would have 64 less hp
He was calculating hp PER LITER.

170hp/1.7l = 106hp/l

The 2.0l engine seems to do 132hp/l so slightly more.
However as mentioned here the limit seems to be rather the gearbox/CVT in our 1.6l models which can barely handle more than 250Nm within safe boundaries. Putting ~300Nm seems to be possible but might damage the transmission in long run. MRT seems to work on increased hydraulic pressure on CVTs to allow higher torque transmission without chain slip (chain slip kills the CVT pullies basically).
On the other hand the 1.6 between 1800 and 4800rpm. So if you don't want to put more load on the CVT the only way to get better hp is to increase torque at low/high ends of this rev-scale. Unfortunately this is of limited use especially in CVT mode where the engine is supposed to be kept in optimum rev range all the time.

Therefore I see very limited tuning potential for the 1.6 DIT engine due to transmission limitations. Perhaps rather an eco tuning would be helpful in order to reduce the high consumption of the engine. The 2.0l model has got another transmission which is capable to transfer 350Nm in stock configuration and from what I heard it's pretty safe to transfer about 400Nm. But can't say much about it, the 2.0l model is not available here.
 

Paulg456

New Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2018
Messages
1
Have used the inline tuning box from tdi-tuning in UK on a 1.6). Gives you adjustable bhp from 199-213. No ecu remap needed.
Hi, are you still finding the box good? Just picked up my Levorg and going from a 2.5 forrester xten I can notice the power drop!! Mines only done 5000 miles so dont want to do and damage. How did you find instalation?

Cheers , Paul
 

Alex from Italy

New Member
Joined
Apr 25, 2017
Messages
19
Maximum stock boost on 1.6 gts is 0.9. I've mapped, Ecutek + race experts (+ HKS super turbo muffler, Cosworth air sport filter, Fujitsubo manifold and, not directly related, HKS SQV4 blow off ). Levorg compression ratio is already high. 11:1 DO NOT GIVE TOO MUCH BOOST!
PROBLEM: OIL TEMPERATURE GOES UP VERY FAST. Post remapping, after less than 15 min of "flat out" it goes to 115 celsius degrees, growing. So it's very recommended, to avoid any possible damage (maybe not immediate, but during the years, from or in 10k miles on...) to install an extra oil radiator, that I did. (WRX custom oil radiator). Currently I run boost at 1.1 and it's recommended (to stay safe) not to go further. With all I did I don't reach 200 hp (It's 196).
P.S. don't even think to change the turbine, unless you strongly put your hands inside the engine. Thing that in my opinion would be in every case no sense at all considering that you could - very high odds, I would say for sure - damage the transmission ...
Hope to help. :)
 
Last edited:

moojy

Member
Joined
Mar 3, 2016
Messages
64
Hi, are you still finding the box good? Just picked up my Levorg and going from a 2.5 forrester xten I can notice the power drop!! Mines only done 5000 miles so dont want to do and damage. How did you find instalation?

Cheers , Paul
Done 28,000 miles and everything seems fine. Must admit to sometimes feeling the box doesnt make that much difference. I think when it takes a car 1 sec to make a sudden change in gear, it doesnt matter how much torque or power you have. So there are times when I think this doesnt feel any different - if you cannot persuade the cvt to do anything.
 

subidriver

New Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2018
Messages
4
Hi!
I have 1,6L EU version of MY2017 Levorg. Put in HKS SSQV4 bov, delete mufflers and ECU was remaped from specialist on racing engines. So now the engine develop 210HP and 280Nm on the wheels with 1.2bar of boost pressure.
Have traveled with this mods over 15k km and everything seems to be ok with oil change intervals after 7,5k km.
 
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