Is the Cobb Accessport worth the money?

Car is a 2007 with 91k miles. It's maintained well and a DD.

 

Thinking about the Cobb Accessport for a Christmas present to myself. I've read all of the reviews, but is it actually worth the $600 to buy one? For those that have been running with one, do you regret the purchase?

I'm guessing you want an AP to get tuned....IMO, you shouldn't really be asking us if we think that the AP is worth it, you should be comparing it to your other options and deciding what works best for you.

 

Aside from AP tuning, your other option is OS tuning, and there are a million threads discussing AP vs open source tuning. OS tuning can be done with a vag-com ($15-25) cable or a Tactrix cable. I may be wrong, but I think 07+ needs a tactrix 2.0, which goes for around $130 used, or ~$175 new.

 

You can buy an AP used, and you don't need the V3. The V2 still works fine, and can be had for ~$385 used.

 

I have a nice desktop computer, but only have a laptop from work. I didn't want to put tuning software on my work laptop, so if I did open source tuning, I would've needed a new (or used, of course) laptop for myself, and didn't feel like messing with that. With the AP, you only need a computer, doesn't matter if laptop or desktop.

 

I'm happy with it. I feel like it would be kind of a hassle using a laptop for datalogging and flashing roms, but if you have a nice thin/small laptop, probably isn't too bad. I'm on a Stage 1 e-tune right now, but I also went with the AP because my local protuner (Jorge at IAG) only does AP tunes, so if I go that route in the future, I'm set.

If you have a laptop using a tactrix cable to open source tune is way cheaper. If you buy a AP you are paying for the convenience of pressing one button to tune rather than clicking through menus on a laptop. Is it really worth the price difference?

Yep, comes down to how good are you with a computer.

 

I'm 59y/o, those computers scare me. Both my cars have AP. My Tuner lives about 8 miles away. If I need anything I meet him on a Sunday morning and he does what the car needs.

 

http://www.tuningalliance.com contact him from his Vendor thread on here. He's a great tuner. He can help you either way.

Having been opensource and AccessPort I can say there is a lot more daily utility in the AP than in opensource. I like to use my AP as a water temp gauge and a boost gauge, its also nice to not have to lug my laptop out to the car if I want to log or change my tune. The other thing that is good for a local tuner is the AP allows you to use RealTime tuning which allows faster more accurate tunes using less pulls.

It's pretty good for data and logging in a compact size. Most tuners can give you a map to load on it for you so you can quickly switch. It's about twice the cost of a pro street tune though.

 

If you wanna log and see boost info it's great and doesn't require a laptop.

AP is worth the price if you don't want to spend the time and risk with an OS tune. Comes down to preference.

Had the V1 AP as my first 'mod' - got it right after I bought the car - and it was 100% worth every penny just to run off the shelf maps. Totally transformed the car from stock.

 

Now I can't say I know as much about the '09 leggys or the specifics of the V2 AP now that I've moved into a larger modification list and have an opensource etune. But for plug and play simplicity the AP I had was a nice device.

Had the V1 AP as my first 'mod' - got it right after I bought the car - and it was 100% worth every penny just to run off the shelf maps. Totally transformed the car from stock.

 

Now I can't say I know as much about the '09 leggys or the specifics of the V2 AP now that I've moved into a larger modification list and have an opensource etune. But for plug and play simplicity the AP I had was a nice device.

 

I've got the V1 AP as well, about 130k on the 93 octane tune. The V2 and V3 certainly look professional, the V1 looks like some dude made it from parts from Radioshack!

My car came with the APv2A, and after using it as much as I have, I probably would have purchased one by now anyways.

I end up doing the datalogging for my tune with ATR and my laptop anyway though as I have an Innovate LC-1 WBO2 sensor that I use.

Also, my AP is mounted on the dash 90% of my drivetime to view the realtime parameters (guages).

 

It kinda boils down to what exactly you are looking to get out of it and how comfortable/knowledgable you are around your vehicle.

Assuming you have a dependable laptop already...

$175 for the Tactrix + $300 for a Pro e-tune (with awesome results) = $475

$350 for a used APv2 + OTS maps (blah) = $350

 

Either way, you should use an aftermarket WBO2 sensor (~$150) for logging/tuning to ensure safety.

You'll need to weld in an O2 bung on the exhaust also.

 

So by the time it's all said and done, you could be north of $500 pretty easily.

And then you still have to do all your own datalogging.

 

In the beginning, I was looking at ProTunes because I was so overwhelmed with the procedures as I am still pretty new to Turbo Subarus.

 

Now, I am very glad I went the direction I did and invested the time and labor to do an e-tune.

I'm not going to be doing my own tuning anytime soon, but I have learned so much thru this process, and most of it has been fun :-)

 

I do annoy the wife with how much I am on the forum researching and reading though. lol.

Main thing for me has been simplicity. It's been a great monitoring/diagnosis tool let alone the map management capabilities.

Have the V2. V3 looks cool but not sure it's all really need.

Put it this way, if you like Apple software, you'll like AP. If you're more of an Android person, go for open source.

IMO if you have the money to spare yes, I bought a V3 AP and enjoy having the gauges and easy data logging.

 

Look at it this way, buy for $600-650. Use it until you sell/crash/blowup/replace car, than sell for ~$400. Net cost for a few years with an AP of about $200. Can't beat that.

Both have their pros and cons. This topic is beaten to death and back. I'd recommend googling this question and reading the pros and cons.

All my Subie friends have an AP and love it. I'm about to invest in one also

I have been playing with Open Source on my civics and Miata for years. They do the job but require a lot of time and a steep learning curve. I wish the AP was available for other cars I drive as I paid more than that for the Mega Squirt in my Miata.

 

The AP has data logging and it can read every sensor in the car in real time without a laptop.....END OF STORY!!! My wide band in my miata is worth $200 alone.

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/tactrix-openecu-vs-accessport-175120.html?p=3660759

Pros of AP:

1) small and convenient

 

2) "realtime" map loading - valet, economy, 91 octane, etc. maps that are available off the shelf. no need to connect green connectors or even shut the car off to load these realtime maps.

 

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.

 

4) constantly being developed, new features being unlocked since "merchgod" (the creator of ROMRaider) is in their employ. AP has ability to do certain things that OS doesn't.... or OS is still testing it out.

 

Cons of AP:

1) price - $400+ for a used one. $500+ for a new one. tactrix is about $100-150, vagcom is $10, if you can find a vagcom that works (rare nowadays)

 

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.

 

edit: added another (4) to AP pros