Sooooo... Ive had me ALTA Ecu since march, and had been struggling with CEL's and Reduced Engine Power lights. It got so bad that I gave up on it and yanked it. I was convinced it wasnt the Ecu programming or harness that was causing the problems, but rather a side affect caused be the increase in boost.

Anyways I had heard of turbo inlet tubes collapsing under increased boost, so rather than buying an aftermarket part, I purchased the OEM JCW piece. It was 120 bucks, fits nicely, and best of all, no more CEL's.

Before, I couldnt drive more than 2 days without a problem. I didnt trust the car to even be able to go on a weekend trip. Now, Ive gone almost 2 months and 4000 miles without an issue. Not one.

I thought this might be helpfull to anybody having Alta ECU problems and not being able to figure it out, the tube is pretty cheap so you might want to try it out.

 

two words...

Code Reader.

 

two words...

got one

ok its more than two words... Code readers arent gonna help anybody thats just getting reduced engine power lights.

Whats kind of sad is that a code reader is a must if you have the Alta Ecu, I dont know how I would have delt with all my problems without one. Now whens a real dyno tune gonna be ready!

 

By replacing the turbo inlet tube, you may have inadvertently solved the original problem causing the CEL's: a leaking intake hose fitting. There is nothing functionally wrong with the original tube vs. the cooler looking JCW tube.

I had a lot of CEL's and thought it was my homemade intake design. It turned out to be a leaking boost tube. The MAF air balance is critical.

 

That does make sense, perhaps the leak wasnt there with stock boost settings, but only became a problem with the increase in boost.

The original tube is a lot less rigid than the JCW tube, rubber vs hard plastic