Hey folks. So this past Sunday I was lucky enough to have a whole day to visit Ed in Davis to get an ecutek road tune.

Ed:
Ed is a very friendly and knoledgeable tuner who will truly go the extra mile for every customer. I mean jesus christ the guy spent like 3-4 hours fine tuning my car for the same normal price, which by the way is cheaper than anyone else... He didn't mind me asking the most noobish of questions over and over again lol. It was also really cool to have the tuning done right next to me so I could peer over his shoulder and ask about anything I wanted, unlike with some dyno tunes where you can't even be in the same frickin' room with the guy! Now on to the tune.

Let me just say that I went into the whole thing in order to keep my engine healthy, because many CA Cobb cars are running dangerously lean and making little power (if you have questions, pm me or Ed or call Gruppe-S, L.I.C. etc). I basically wanted to make sure my AFR's were perfect, and to eliminate any present knock. To be blunt, I can't afford a new engine any time soon. Any performance gains were just going to be added bonuses. Ed actually said my Cobb car ran better than most (I am only talking about off the shelf maps, not street tuner or pro tuner), but I did in fact of a good amount of knock. My advance multiplier was stuck at 11 instead of 16, and you'll notice in the comparison graph the spot where the power just dips hard on the Cobb tune because the ecu had pulled so much timing in response to repeated knock. AFter his tune was done there was no knock whatsoever, with beautiful AFR's staying between 10.7-10.9 all through the power band. At that point I would be satisfied because my car would be safe, but he also happened to increase hp and tq at EVERY rpm! Peak power is about 16 psi, with full boost coming on at only 2900 frickin-rpm. Not too shabby...A couple pulls actually had a few hp more, but this one was the prettiest

Btw These are third gear pulls. it was at least 90 degrees out and I have stock cooling system right now except for a crucial radiator cap hahah, so the tune is VERY safe and will be meaner up in my moist and cooler Santa Cruz mountains

As for how it actually feels, it really is a very noticeable difference! Power comes on quicker and pulls harder in every gear. Most noticeable is the top end, which as you can see has been much improved. 4th gear is much stronger and more usable. The car feels very smooth and linear, with zero hiccups whatsoever. Boost is more linear...as in if you want half of your boost you just press the pedal half way down. Very easy to control. I even think the car sounds smoother, slightly quieter and less lumpy - more like a real sports car (the girlfriend thinks so too ). Okay i've rambled enough and people have probably posted while I was writing this second part so yeah....I can't thank Ed enough for a wonderful tune that puts my mind at ease and my foot to the pedal!!!

btw I don't mean this post as a bashing for the off the shelf maker's product, just wanted to show the facts. Some of their customers' cars run very well. They are good folks. Obviously off the shelf maps aren't going to be as good as custom tunes, but I will say I'm glad my car is safer and I recommend the change. Gotta be honest

Engine Mods:
Ecutek
Helix down-pipe
Vishnu up-pipe
Borla Hush dp-back

 

Jeremy

 

Jeremy, those are Dan's right? Those are some sweet *** numbers, nice curve as well!

 

Yeah I think people get this idea that peek WHP is everything, but what is more important is the linier application of that WHP. I have seen guys who say they get XX amount of HP but in reality the guy with that linier curve like you have will smoke them every time. Making sure your car run properly is key. This is why I haven't modded my car yet. I won't until I can get somone to dyno it and verify that everything is running as it should.

Glad to hear your car is running smoother. It offers that peice of mind that something isn't gonig to blow up on you.