Very badly running under load -- HELP!!!!

Hi all,

My WRX wagon import appears to be a bit sick! When driving around under light throttle it runs fine but if I decide to take it up a peg and put my foot down I get a sort of kangarooing effect. It is like it boosts then cuts the boost and then boosts again and this continues until it decides to put it into limp mode.

There are no error codes.

Car has a scooby ecu, Baileys DV and decat SS exhaust. No other mods to speak of. It is a 94 WRX Wagon.

My first guess was the DV, but I don't have a standard part to refit to the car. Otherwise, anyone any ideas on this one. It is almost like it is getting starved.

Mine behaves similar, if I'm light on the throttle it feels like it pulls better, if I toe it then it feels and sounds like its choking up. I've put the standard recirc on mine (which has helped throttle response slightly) and my next steps are the plugs and coilpacks. A few people seem to be having similar issues. I might just have to bite the bullet and take it to my local Subaru main dealer

i'd say maf sensor is another thing to add to the list of checking

Is it a harsh drop off of boost like your foot slipped off the peddle

The harshness really depends on how open the throttle is. If I am on WOT, then it almost feels like it is Kangarooing, but on half throttle, it is there but not as noticable.

Like was said above, when i use gentle throttle and boost comes in, it feels like it pulls alot better. Very strange.

I did wonder about the MAF, but I am not experiencing any other issues. Car runs fine under light throttle and has no idling issues at all. Never stalled either.

It does feel like it is being choked, either air or fuel??!!

What about the turbo actuator, could that cause this?

I would check your spark plugs as a first step they may be on the way out, mine behaved like this so I changed the plugs and 2 of them were nackered so under load could not delievr the spark they needed. Changed all 4 and the problem was cured instantly.

Yeah, check the coilpacks on top of the sparks plugs for cracking and breakages... plus the plugs as well as already mentioned.

Thanks for the replies. I will take a look at the coil packs and spark plugs...probably due a change anyway.

One other question. It looked like some or all of the pipework from the boost solenoid has been played with.
If the restrictor pill is missing, or the pipes have been swapped over and it is in the wrong place (connected to actuator instead of res box), what could that potentially do? Would it cause any issues like the ones I am having?

Should you need new coilpack/s, see here...

WRX COIL PACKS

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