Laverne Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 for some reason I cannot get the search function to work... What are your thoughts. Accessport or opensource 05 LGT 5eat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEE-OTTO Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 for some reason I cannot get the search function to work... What are your thoughts. Accessport or opensource What changes do you have in mind or have done to the car thus far? Arent you doing a UP/DP or something similar? OS tune done by the right tuner is always a good choice vs an Off-The-Shelf tune aimed at the owner having a specific set of mods I personally have been down this route went OS over COBB AP because I have a 2.5i and only wanted to smooth out the throttle tip in tables, torque request values, hill holder, rolling RPMS, 93OCT and UEL headers. While COBB has an AP for my car and maps I was able to get a Tactrix Cable and OS tune for cheaper. You have a turbo vehicle so much more at stake as far as tweaking the engine, etc but the right tuner can work wonders. You are in Culpepper there is a good shop in Winchester (the name alludes me dammit) and then there is Mach V here in Sterling that can help you out with your tuning needs. Im sure many of the members have been in your shoes and can help you make an informed choice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyvt Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 With a good tuner and time, opensource is a very good way to go. It also depends on your mods and how often you will be changing parts out. Off-the-shelf tunes are good in the aspect it will get you somewhat close to where you need to be but every car is different and mods will effect every car differently. I am currently tuned open sourced right now by a local tuner but I will be picking up a Accessport not for the off the shelf tunes, but I will have 4 different maps for my car and it will be easier for me to put the tunes in the AP and flash my ecu than carrying around my laptop everywhere. I will have a Gas tune, E85 tune, and 2 gas-e85 tunes. One for when I'm switching from gas to e85 and one for when I'm switching back. E85 is very prominent where I live but when I travel will switch back over to gas. It sounds like you are in an area with some good reputable shops so talking to them also can get you pointed in the right direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino6303 Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I had a cobb ap OTS stage 2. It left alot on the table and had quite a bit of knock. Now I am finishing my infamous tune and haven't even looked back. The infamous tune is so much better than the cobb ots tunes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laverne Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 On my 05 LGT 5eat,Im going BNR 16,and turbo back. Found a decent deal on a Cobb APv2 however if Im just gonna have to tune it afterwards anyway then maybe opensource is the way to go.. Is it as painless as most say it is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
O.C.D. Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I have only e-tuned twice but I am sooo glad I did as opposed to going with an AP. You will also learn a lot of valuable information and processes while going open source. It really is a better option. my $.02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasejase Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I like the cobb for the functionality of it all... You can have your car protuned via a cobb AP. Etunes are also a bit easier, and the options appear more plentiful with an AP. The AP interface is easy to use... Fits in your glove box... and has a boat load of other functions on it. You can use it as a boost gauge, data log tool, code reader/clearer... etc, etc. I prefer an AP over having to lug around a laptop personally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iNVAR Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3660759&postcount=30 Pros of AP: 1) small and convenient 2) "realtime" map loading - valet, economy, 91 octane, etc. maps that are available off the shelf. 3) on the fly tuning if you have a laptop with their accesstuner software. connect your laptop, and i think you can make a tweak to the realtime map immediately and see what happens. no need to reflash. Cons of AP: 1) price - $400+ for a used one. $500+ for a new one. tactrix is about $100-150, vagcom is $10. 2) smaller screen, can't display as much on the screen. with RR you can display a buttload of parameters on the screen at once. 3) larger logging interval. RR recently introduced a function called "fast poll" which allows me to log about 18 different parameters with a logging interval of about 98ms. AP can't even approach this. i think their interval is something like 200+ with 8 parameters. 4) doesn't have access to as many different parameters as RR. opensource tuning has a lot of support from the community. AP support is really... only from Cobb vendors/tuners (infamous will tune for AP) 5) as bmx said, RR has a ton of customization available to you. So there you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasejase Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 ^ That 'review' certainly leans towards someone that chooses RR over an AP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BarManBean Posted January 23, 2013 Moderators Share Posted January 23, 2013 I like opensource for my '05 because it's practically free. $12 for a cable from amazon and your done if you have a laptop running windows already. I'm custom tuned for $162 vs and AP off-the-shelf tune for $595--hard to argue that. If you have an 07+, the price difference is a fair bit less, but opensource is still cheaper. At the end of the day, you are really probably best off to pick your tuner first and then find out what THEY want you to use. Use whatever they are more comfortable with if they have a preference. "Bullet-proof" your OEM TMIC! <<Buy your kit here>> Not currently in stock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tehnation Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I prefer the OS. Why buy a ap for 500 bucks, when you can buy a laptop for that cost, and a really nice one at that? You can use the laptop for anything, searching lgt forum while your working on car, do school work, work work, look at porn... Granted the ap has some degree of user friendliness. But once your dialed in on a tune, why would you still need it? The cost for a custom ap map is the same as an os map... I can only imagine the ap being useful if you do not plan to get an etune or tune from a shop, or maybe you live 3-4 hours from any decent tuner. But I think the AP was king when the lgts first came out, but it looks like OS is by far the more cost effective, bang for the buck option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasejase Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 ^ True, unless your like many people, who already have a desktop computer, and aren't in the mood to spend another $500 on a laptop. Eh, i like my AP (and i have a laptop, netbook, and a desktop lol). Sits in my car. It's there when i need it, or want to use it. It clips onto my vent too, so im no struggling with it on my passenger seat or lap during a log. No right or wrong answer here, but there are strong points for either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasejase Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 ... and you can usually find a used AP for $300-350 ish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tehnation Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Do the math! OS tune, 150 dollars for tune, 15 dollars for vag-com cable for 05-06 ithink, or 100 for tactrix for later than 06, but your an 05 so you can get away with a cheap cable. so basically if you have a laptop you can get a superior tune over an off the shelf generic for like 500-165=335 less than an ap. OS is better and cheaper... You can buy a laptop for the same price as AP. Thats what made me go OS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasejase Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I never said that the AP was cheaper. The 'better' part is subjective. I can appreciate both sides of the arguement. Not saying you made the wrong choice here. Keep in mind that having an AP, doesnt equate to having an off the shelf generic tune. That's only true if you own an AP, AND have an off the shelf generic tune. One does not equal the other. I've had three custom tunes with my AP. Two out of three of those, were with tuners that were AP only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iNVAR Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 ^ That 'review' certainly leans towards someone that chooses RR over an AP. No it isn't. It only leans towards it if you count each item I listed equally. I stated the facts in an unbiased way. I listed the AP as small and convenient as (1) because that's its biggest selling point. If you're someone that finds that important, you'll value that more. And if you find that being able to switch maps on the fly is nice, then it's worth it. What I posted is the truth and those are the biggest differences between the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serb Legacy GT Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 For me, I have a macbook so I didn't want to buy a second laptop just for the purposes of tuning. Yes, an AP is $500+ new or $350-$425 used, but in 2-3 years you can resell it for about $350-$400. A laptop won't get anything close to that, so that could be a positive for the AP if you look at it that way. I just purchased a used one and my reasons for going with the AP is that it's small, portable, simpler, and if I ever want to I could always sell it. Now if I had a windows 7 laptop and was familiar with OS on the laptop I would probably feel different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BarManBean Posted January 24, 2013 Moderators Share Posted January 24, 2013 I bought a laptop on craigslist for $30--the lady said the wireless internet didn't work but she just had it turned off, lol. The laptop is now my tuning laptop / garage laptop. Great for plugging into my speakers in the garage for pandora, etc. Can't argue with the fact that APs seem to depreciate infinitely slower than your everyday laptop. "Bullet-proof" your OEM TMIC! <<Buy your kit here>> Not currently in stock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iNVAR Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Yes, but your AP is only useful for your car, and a laptop is...well, an actual laptop that does a whole lot of other stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasejase Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 The whole juggling a laptop while driving is a pita. I've been the passenger during those data logs several times. Doing that solo has to be inherently more dangerous than an ap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iNVAR Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Only if you don't have a defrost button. But seriously, the AP definitely has its merits. I've had both but I prefer the laptop and that's why I sold the AP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasejase Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 Absolutely. It's nice that we even have an option for our cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMLegacy Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 AP is for newbies, or those who just want improved performance and then forget about it. OS and eTune is for more the enthused or those on a budget (92% of us). IF u you want to learn about tuning and also get the MOST out of your car while staying safe, OS+etune is the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrw Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 AP and a custom BrenTuning E-Tune gets my vote Or if you're local a custom BrenTuning ProTune via OpenSource Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyvt Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 AP is for newbies, or those who just want improved performance and then forget about it. OS and eTune is for more the enthused or those on a budget (92% of us). IF u you want to learn about tuning and also get the MOST out of your car while staying safe, OS+etune is the way to go. Not necessarily true. I am tuned opensource right now and the only reason I plan to pick up a AP is because I will be running more than 1 map. I live in Nebraska and E85 is very prominent here but when I travel I need to switch back to to gas. I will have 4 CUSTOM maps loaded on my AP and not OTS tunes. I know I could lug my laptop with me everywhere and flash when I need to but the AP fits in my glove box and I don't always have my laptop with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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