Specific dilemma... involves AP vs OpenSource

*Sum it up: Do I unmarry the AP and go opensource my next tune*

 

Alright... Going stage III

 

06 Legacy GT Stage II already protuned on Apv1 by Jorge at P & L. His tuning and charts are always superb.

 

Moved from Chicago to eastern NC. Most reputable places Ive been considering: Mach V in Sterling, VA... Topspeed(Scott Seigel) in GA... or an Infamous tune.

 

Those places are 8 hours away. National Speed Inc. http://www.nationalspeedinc.com/ is 45min away. They do not have ties w/ COBB and do not tune on APs. I was hesitent to go there. They do have a nice line-up of cars that have been tuned and customer testimonials, and I have not found any horror stories about there tuner(Taylor King).

 

Sum it up: Do I unmarry the AP and go opensource my next tune?

Yes.

+1

Its the next best thing to a protune (opensource done right). I'm using Infamous for my stage III later this year. Already have him for a stage 2 + and highly recommend it.

Open source

Opensource is taking it... so a long drive is non-rec

 

Alright so who to go to then... National Speed?

 

I want it done right

Dude, I'm havng so much trouble with ECUflash (open source) I say stay with the cobb. Forget this shot in the dark tuning and get a dyno tune you know is spot on. So what if you have to drive? That's why we have these cars, we love to drive them.

 

just my .02

Are you sure you even need another tune? No sense and converting if all is well...And you should know where my vote goes

Since theres only 23k on the VF40, I can stage 2.5 it

 

In addition to the stage II- If I put on the 73mm intake(p&l) and fmic...

 

Infamous, that tune would be too simple for you maybe we should talk

Infamous has had great feedback on his tunes. He will be cleaning up my tune once my car is back together.

Have you contacted these guys to find out what they might be able to do for you..

 

http://www.turbotime.us/home.html

 

They built and tuned a friends WRX last year, and he was VERY happy with the results.

 

Edit, at least that's how I remember him telling me.. They say they are not a "tuner shop" on the services page, but I swear he said they did the tune...

Also Motion Lab in Charlotte, but I have no knowledge of them..

 

http://www.motionlabtuning.com/?page_id=51

Where are you located if National Speed is that close? Jacksonville/Camp Lejeune?

 

The chief advantage of the AP is the hardware features. You get the display and the realtime tuning capability. To me, that's worth all the money. I do all my own tuning and I like being able to read stuff off the ECU without busting out a laptop. And realtime tuning alone is worth the money, having to cut the car off is such a pain. If you have no use for those hardware features then it doesn't necessarily make sense to keep it. Note that you are about to get a big hit in your AP resale as Cobb just lowered prices.

 

EDIT: I see you have an AP1. There's less reason to keep it then. It's probably worth dirt by now anyway.

Realtime tuning is really only of value when you have a dyno to use it on. Otherwise it is only a slight convienience to not have to reflash the ECU after each change.

true... hmmm. 45min drive to National Speed. Heard of great turn around times from Infamous.

 

Tough decisions

I disagree. I think Realtime tuning is less useful on a dyno... it's not a big deal to reflash after a pull. The realtime tuning is most useful when you've got a two-man team road tuning.

Just to preface my response: I'm not talking about steady-state or cruising conditions. I'm referring to tuning for high-load and mid-to-high RPM.

 

So how do you find a steady-state, long enough stretch of road with a steady enough right foot to hold the car at a given load and rpm point and then adjust the tuning parameter to see results, perhaps multiple times? Perhaps I'm just missing the space, steady right foot and "tuning partner." With a load dyno I can (by myself) hold the car at a desired load/rpm point and adjust the tuning parameter to see changes in output, instead of having to make a guess on where to go, stop the dyno, reflash the car and resume on the dyno.

 

I guess if you are making real-time tuning work on the street, then awesome, but I just don't see it as a useful tool without the ability to hold a steady load and RPM. I've tried. My friend uses AP with the Accesstuner software on his FXT. We still end up logging, then changing parameters. Wash, rinse, repeat. It is nice, albeit not much faster, to load real time parameters versus reflashing the ECU.

The biggest difference between COBB and Opensource is live tuning. Live tuning allows the tuner to make a much better tune in less time than they could with opensource.

 

I sold my V1 AP years ago and have been OS since. As soon as I can afford a V2 AP, I'm getting one. The AP really is simply a better way, but you have to pay for it.

 

 

to anyone saying Realtime tuning on the dyno isn't better than OS... Dyno time is charged by the hour, usually at $175/hr or more. Realtime tunning can easily save 30min or much more.

I'm referring to tuning for high-load and mid-to-high RPM.

that's the easy stuff. driveability tuning is much more time consuming and harder... I haven't had to do much of it right now with a stage 2 setup, but on so many other non Subaru cars realtime tuning has been essential. When you've got a car that's so out of tune it won't even idle, realtime tuning is invaluable. it's also nice to make adjustments and be able to see immediate changes in fuel trims. I scaled injectors on a Honda (with custom turbo setup) one time doing that. I had a friend just keep driving around as I adjusted the fuel maps cell-by-cell until the trims were in line. I never had to cut the car off and I never had to go through a bunch of Excel spreadsheets or anything like that.

 

I built a completely custom 20x20 fuel map on my Rx-7 (with standalone) using realtime tuning.

Have you contacted these guys to find out what they might be able to do for you..

 

http://www.turbotime.us/home.html

 

They built and tuned a friends WRX last year, and he was VERY happy with the results.

 

Edit, at least that's how I remember him telling me.. They say they are not a "tuner shop" on the services page, but I swear he said they did the tune...

 

They do indeed tune Subarus, and they're doing my car at this very moment. I towed my car 8.5 hours so they could work on it. I can't imagine living nearby and going elsewhere.

 

FWIW, the tuners in Georgia keep hopping shops so I'd be sure the guy you're expecting actually still works there if you plan to go!

^ They tuned you on what?

Turbo Time is about 15 minutes from me

^ They tuned you on what?

 

They offer full tuning with RomRaider so you're not locked out of your own ECU.

 

They're doing an engine rebuild with forged pistons & rods, an ACT clutch, WRX flywheel, plus tuning it for all the crap I've already bolted on -- list here