Anyone switch from COBB to Ecutek?

[wukindada]

Thinking about making the switch..I am having NO luck with finding a Protuner:(
Good/Bad experiences
Ecutek seems to have a very large tuner network.
Is the latest Ecutek able to fix cels?

[KGreb]

I used Cobb on my old WRX and am using ECUTek on my LGT. In my opinion the major differences really come down to the skill of the tuner. Perhaps you could contact one of the vendors that have licensed ProTuner and ECUTek and ask their opinion of the differences?

[mouldman1]

I was thinking of an AP for my 06 OBXT but talked to a subaru dealer that does tuning and he explained that the Ecutek tune is better because it is a Custom Tune and they change more parmeters than the Cobb. ANyway find a Subaru Dealer that is involved with rally cars and they could help you out.

[jim1969]

I wouldn't. I have EcuTeK. I have a good tune. However, I can't sell my license if I sell the car. You can with the AP. I can't do an ECU swap + cash type thing you see on WRX and STI pre 2005 because the ECU has our VIN number on it and cannot be changed. So I'll have this on my car till the end and will never be able to get cash back if I part out. Find a good ProTuner. Take a drive or find enough people in the area to get Jorge or PDX to make a trip. my 2 cents.

[scans007]

Cobb or ECUtek......this battle is silly. So many people have so many strong feelings, but it all comes down to the tuner they went to.....just like it was said above. The same car Cobb tuned could yeild better numbers then ECUTek, then take the same car to a diff tuner and ECUTek could yeild better then cobb......

Moral of the story....It doesn't matter........find a great tunner

That said......I'm a fan of Cobb, doesn't use up flashes to the ECU as it uses "realtime" maps to tune, then once there just balst a base map once. While with an ECUtek, they reflash base (that's all it has) evertime they make a change. Also cobb has the cool generic maps (Econo mode, anti theft, blah blah) We could go on....:D

[wukindada]

Closest tuner is over 500 miles(:

[jim1969]

are there enought guys in your area interested in getting a custom tune? Look in regional forums here and at nasioc and iwsti. You'd also need a dyno.
Make a weekend of it. Maybe the guy could tune you on a sat. Drive down on a friday and come home sunday. Just an idea but if you really want the tune. I used to drive about that far to and from college a few times a year. A good tune is worth the trip.

[TSi+WRX]

^ +1 with brother jim1969 and others - it's the tuner that matters most, AP-Pro/StreetTUNE or ECUTek, it's the guy behind the computer that matters.

Also, like jim1969 mentioned, if you can get enough local guys together, and have access to a dyno (or want a "street" tune, without dyno, to better fit with your real-world driving situations), many tuners will fly out for a "tune day."

:)

ECUTek or AP, doesn't matter much to me - although, in retrospect, I would have liked to run more than one map, and that's currently not possible with the ECUTek.

-----

I was thinking of an AP for my 06 OBXT but talked to a subaru dealer that does tuning and he explained that the Ecutek tune is better because it is a Custom Tune and they change more parmeters than the Cobb. ANyway find a Subaru Dealer that is involved with rally cars and they could help you out.

Either their explaination was not "full," or you misunderstood.....

A Cobb AccessPORT ProTUNE or StreetTUNE is every bit as "custom" as an ECUTek tune. Similarly, one can also "mail-in" his/her ECU for an "off the shelf" ECUTek map that's not fully customized to the unique vehicle.

[wukindada]

Topspeed out of Atlanta is coming down the first week of December. The problem is he can currently tune Ecutek & he has contacted COBB about getting licensed but as usual COBB is dragging it's feet:(

[Magowin]

Closest tuner is over 500 miles(:

I drove 326 miles to TDC for my Protune with AP and don't regret it at all and will make the trip again if I need to from more added parts.

[Boostjunkie]

If it's too much of a b!tch to get to the nearest ProTuner, sell your AP get most of your money back out of it and get tuned with Ecutek. I honestly think that if you have a good Protuner local to you that it is the best option. Resaleable hardware that is equivilent in cost to the Ecutek licence, multiple maps, and the ability for the end user to reflash any stored maps at any time.

[Rommel]

check out this thread
http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20818

[chucktoo]

Today why would anyone want to use Ecutek ? A year ago they were the only game in town and you had no choice.

Cobb has protuner and street tuner available now but not as widely distributed yet.

You can have multiple maps with Cobb now - Euctek is still promissing but no delivery date.

If I could sell my Ecutek liscense I would but that is not possible.

Basically Ecutek has done nothing to their product in the last year and Cobb has dramatically evolved theirs and is still making improvements.

I am extreemly biased on the topic because of bad personal experiances with Ecutek. I found our friends in England to be total aholes about solving problems.

[jim1969]

I though you could resell your EcuTeK license.

[wukindada]

Anyone @ Stage II+ that would be willing to let me use a custom map for a while;) It looks as though Topspeed out of Atlanta is my best chance...maybe 45-60 days out:(

[peterwillett]

Check out the thread "oem vs pro tune"

I am extremely happy with my tune from TDC, this has totally changed my opinion of the car, so much power and driveability for so little $$

[Mines]

This thread really caught my eye because prior to this discussion, i was 100% set on getting a ecutek relash (at harman motive of course) now im debating whether the additional 150 ($1049 total) for the protune at harman motive is worth it, opposed to the ecutek reflash.

[jmanzs]

Im happy the stage 2 map off cobbs web site, I dynoed at 256hp and 294tq and havent had to pay out the a** for tune time and dyno time. Just my 2 cents

[chucktoo]

With Cobb you can have it your way. With ECUtek you get it their way.

There are more things on the way from Cobb to allow for higher hp configurations .

People like PDX can do high hp tunes with ECUtek using different MAFs and MAPs and what ever else is needed but many other tuners can not.

ECUtek has the problem that all tuners are not of equal skill . ECUtek does a poor job of communication with their tuners or so some tuners have told me. Cobb being "Local" and having an LGT is much more cooperative and proactive.

Too bad there are not more PXDs around they do it all extreemly well.

The next six months will tell who is on top of factory ECU tuning. By Spring unless ECUtek really gets going it will be all over , there will really be only one choice Cobb.

[wukindada]

^^ No way that is WHP!
I am most likely going to stay with COBB after reading the suggestions given. It is just sooo frustrating waiting around trying to get a Protune:icon_evil The tuner in Atlanta is actively trying to get support for a tuning day in Tampa over a 2 day period he says he needs @ least 8-10 cars to make it cost effective.
So far only 3 have shown interest 2 GT's & 1 STI.
The central florida area is brainwashed with EcuTek & EcuTek only:icon_frow Any time you call & ask a shop about a COBB Protune all you get is bashing.
For all of the 5EAT cars that have been Protuned did they spend some time actually STREET tuning the car? I have been told recently that is the only way to extract the most out of the 5EAT.

[jmanzs]

^^ No way that is WHP!
I am most likely going to stay with COBB after reading the suggestions given. It is just sooo frustrating waiting around trying to get a Protune:icon_evil The tuner in Atlanta is actively trying to get support for a tuning day in Tampa over a 2 day period he says he needs @ least 8-10 cars to make it cost effective.
So far only 3 have shown interest 2 GT's & 1 STI.
The central florida area is brainwashed with EcuTek & EcuTek only:icon_frow Any time you call & ask a shop about a COBB Protune all you get is bashing.
For all of the 5EAT cars that have been Protuned did they spend some time actually STREET tuning the car? I have been told recently that is the only way to extract the most out of the 5EAT.

yep whp and wht and the thing is I live in parker colorado a mile above sea level

[malfeas99]

Topspeed out of Atlanta is coming down the first week of December. The problem is he can currently tune Ecutek & he has contacted COBB about getting licensed but as usual COBB is dragging it's feet:(

Doug at TopSpeed did my Ecutek tune.

If you're worried about Ecutek relying on tuner's skill, then your troubles are over if Doug is the guy at the laptop sitting in your driver's seat.

He knows EXACTLY what he is doing.

All I have is Up-pipe and intake, along with plugged BPV, and I got 255whp/285wtq on TopSpeed's dyno. Sti's dyno somewhere around 240-245 whp and wtq on the same equipment.

I can't wait to see what he can do with it once my DP goes in.

[chucktoo]

Doug is a good tuner but all tuners are not created equal. I am sure he can tune Cobb just as well as ECUtek and in fact give you different maps for different gas.

ECUtek can not support multiple maps yet. I see no reason why anyone one would want ECUtek.

[malfeas99]

Doug is a good tuner but all tuners are not created equal. I am sure he can tune Cobb just as well as ECUtek and in fact give you different maps for different gas.

ECUtek can not support multiple maps yet. I see no reason why anyone one would want ECUtek.

Well, I want ECUtek, because I already paid $$$ for it. http://www.legacygt.com/forums/images/smilies/icon_tongue.gif

[Boostjunkie]

yep whp and wht and the thing is I live in parker colorado a mile above sea level

That is nice and all, but if you look closely, the correction factor is 1.22. For an N/A car that might be in the ballpark, but for a forced induction car that is way too much.

[Outback XT]

Yes but the turbo can only make up so much for elevation before it has gone beyond its abilities. Remember we only have a tiny little snail. Ask anyone who has driven their GT/XT/WRX, etc with a tune both at a mile high and at sea level and they will tell you there is a big difference in power.

[Outback XT]

yep whp and wht and the thing is I live in parker colorado a mile above sea level

Actually, to help out the defense of your numbers, in Parker you are at about 5900ft. But the correction is probably still off. Just too many variables!

[jmanzs]

Ya, I dont know exactly how the corrections work. All I know is that we put it on the dyno and those where the numbers it spit out. Can anyone explain how the corrections work? I could see corrections if you were trying to find bhp but not for whp

[TSi+WRX]

Don't sweat things too much, dynos are dynos - they're tuning tools. :)

So there are ones that read high, and ones that read low...and ones that are heartbreakers. What's the big deal?

Take her out to the strip, see how she goes. Do a coupla pulls, see if that puts a grin on your face. That's the important part. ;)

[scans007]

Take her out to the strip, see how she goes. Do a coupla pulls, see if that puts a grin on your face. That's the important part. ;)

Sounds dirty.......I'm in :munch:

[KTM 525]

Ya, I dont know exactly how the corrections work.
Well it has to do with weather parameters and altitude. SAE corrections are suppose to help "even the field". The theory is it would give a guy like yourself at 5900 feet the same corrected numbers as me here at sea level to compare with. The results are never perfect but gets things pretty close. Lets say we both dyno 260WHP 290TRQ SAE corrected. In theory we have the same powermaking potential as each other. You go to your dragstrip and I go to mine and another story will be told. When you input weather parameters such as temperature,altitude,humidity,dew point and barometric pressure you can calculate a Density Altitude or DA. These figures have a direct relationship with SAE correction factors. SAE corrections makes those parameters equal placing everyone under the same conditions theoretically. Here in the fall (North East) we can see DA's in the MINUS 1,000 to Minus 1,500ft even though I am at around 80ft above. Mineshaft DA's are a great help at the strip.

[jmanzs]

Thank you ktm that helps!

[iamboon]

wukindada - keep fighting the cause!

TDC a protuner out of the northeast is willing to come to Tampa Florida but we would need to get ten cars lined up. On tamparacing.com there are about six or seven STI guys that want protunes. I informed TDC that I would be happy to pay for his flight and help set up a Dyno location. The nearest Dyno that is at a reasonable price is in Orlando. Other than the dealer do you know of a Dyno center in Tampa?

So now there is two in Tampa....any others interested in a Protune?

[KTM 525]

You guys get Jon from TDC down there you wont be sorry! His Protunes ROCK.

[iamboon]

it is Jon... so we are hopefully we can get this set up for early Dec

thanks

[TPLGT]

I stumbled upon this old thread...I HAD Ecutek and now have an AP. I had some serious issues with WGDC on my 06...for some reason Ecutek could not hit a certain level so I was leaving a lot on the table. I said screw it and went to an AP.

$700 down the drain.