Onizuka

iTrader: (17)

You shouldn't have any doubts about either of the tuner's. I think GST's proven performance is dyno tuned only, but with Ed you can have your car road tuned. I decided I wanted a road tune for my car and went with Ed at EQ Tuning. The great thing about Ed is that he'll work with you for the tune that you want and he won't stop tuning until he believes it's perfect. We were able to squeeze 271 AWHP/308 TQ out of my STi with just a down pipe, high flow cat, and a cat back.

dan2304k

iTrader: (2)

+1 for EQ

I don't have any personal experience with Mike, but I can say without any hesitation that Ed is a great guy and does a hell of a good job. He was extremely patient and helpful when we found out that my cigarette lighter didn't work and had to be fixed before we could tune. (Turns out Subaru changed the pin assignment for that connector between 04 and 05 so after my 05 dash conversion, the wiring was wrong) Also, my car has never run better. =)

I suspect Mike will do a good job too, he has a good reputation around here after all (how many years has he been around now??), but my preference will always be for road tuning -- closer to actual driving conditions, with air flow over the intercooler, etc. It's also nice to be able to actually HEAR the engine, instead of just dyno noise. Some times your ears can tell you things that sensors can not.

KOSTI

iTrader: (4)

So ED does open source tunning?

I<3subie

iTrader: (13)

There is a differance tuning a race car and a street car. So GST's sucess on the track doesnt play.


I'd vote for Ed..

A search for good and bad and make a choice from there. Just make sure to wade throu all the so and so is #1 it discounts allot of other shops and is not always true. Last go to some meets and ask around.. People tend to talk more about a experance in person then post anything bad that could refect negative about a shop. Fear of being flamed on the forum.

Yes that has happen in the past.

rau

iTrader: (9)

i must quote this post, for it speaks the truth.

GST Motorsports

iTrader: (14)

Ed does great work and if I am not mistaken can offer dyno tuning as well not just road tuning.

As the other posters have posted I would simply research your options, perhaps discuss with other forum members at a meet and then call the tuner you decide to discuss your plans both short and long term.

If we can be of any assistance please do not hesitate to contact us, where ever you ultimately decide to go I am sure you will be happy.

Mike

joltdudeuc

iTrader: (6)

Go with Mike

Max Xevious

iTrader: (8)

oh really? Can you please elaborate on this?

importfanatic17

iTrader: (15)

Okay, I'll tell my story as I have now had experiences with both tuners...

When I first bought my 2005 STi last year, I met Earl (most of you know him) and he highly recommended GST for parts and tuning. As I had no idea what mods to do then, I went to GST and ordered a "Cobb Stage 2" package consisting of a Cobb AccessPort version 2, Walbro 255lph fuel pump, catless TiTek downpipe and GReddy Evo 2 catback exhaust. This was a great call on the parts as it wasn't obnoxiously loud and worked great for my dd. Earl helped me install the parts at my house (he did all the work - lol) and I scheduled a date to get tuned on both 91 octane and VP 109.

Once I installed the Walbro, it wasn't working correctly (the 1st time GST said they had seen this) so I requested that they replace it on the day of the tune. I was told that they were busy that day and they would not install it without me having to pay (understandable but still kinda annoying). So, I went down on the day of my tune, swapped out the fuel pump in their parking lot and got ready for my tune. I sat for quite awhile after my scheduled tune time while they finished up some other projects and whatnot and then the tune commenced.

As this was the first time I had a car tuned, I was very curious and went to watch. I wasn't allowed in the tunnel so I watched from afar and after about 15-20 minutes, Mike came off of the dyno, said "your car isn't holding boost," handed me the keys and walked off. I had no idea what that meant but Derek explained to me that I could either port the wastegate, use a helper spring, or go EWG to help alleviate that problem.

Anyway, I didn't know what any of that was really and was utterly disappointed with the way Mike handled it. Needless to say, I didn't get the VP 109 tune (later got refunded for it as I paid beforehand) and then later took the car to the drag strip to see the difference as I didn't really notice one on the street.

Bone stock I was running 13.4xx with 1.7x 60's at about 100mph. After the tuning session with GST, the best I could muster was a 13.0x with the same 60's and a lesser trap. I can't recall the weather on the two separate days but still...

Flash forward to earlier this year and my experience with Ed @ EQ.
I had a K&N short ram intake, Hallman Pro manual boost controller, RS*R catless turboback exhaust and a modified Invidia uppipe with TiAL 44mm EWG.
Now one can see that is quite a change in mods but that isn't the point, the tuning and customer care is.

Ed came to a BBQ at my buddy's house in Tracy. He had a tune planned with another guy that was there but I did not have a scheduled tune at that point. After seeing how Ed took his time with the other guy's tune and how he interacted with everyone, I decided that if he accepted, I would also like to get tuned that day.
Ed said sure, and even after spending hours shooting the **** and tuning the other car, off we went.

I stopped at the Chevron (not my favorite gas, Shell fanboy here ) and Ed was patient as I got some more gas. We shot the **** while looking for an abandoned road suitable for tuning as Ed will NOT tune anywhere that he does not deem safe (meaning anywhere with traffic, homes, bad roads, etc).

We found a suitable area and began the tuning session which consists of a series of pulls and changes done by Ed. We probably spent a good 2 HOURS tuning and the difference of before and after was HUGE (obviously with the parts I added). The car was extremely smooth from idle all the way to redline and pulled like a ****.

Ed drove the car so that I could experience it from the passenger seat and I'll tell you, it was ****ing amazing!! Anyway, Ed was astonished with the power the car was making on his software and you could definitely feel it, although I never got to make it to the drag strip to see the outcome (the car has since been de-modded).

Summary:
Ed took his time and answered all of my questions, no matter how dumb they were. I didn't really like my experience at GST due to several of the above noted factors and would definitely recommend EQ Tuning any day of the week.
I can also recall several other people that have been tuned by both and not one of those people has said they would go back to GST, if that tells you anything.

Understand, I am not trying to bash GST or praise EQ unfairly, just relaying my two experiences.
I know I didn't cover everything so if you have any questions whatsoever, feel free to ask by either posting or PM.

VRT MBasile

iTrader: (17)

both Ed and Mike are great tuners, and I've heard them both call the other a great tuner. My experience with Ed was great and I love the tune.

I have not personally dealt with Mike but I have been to GST twice and had differing experiences. The first time (which was to replace a wheel stud) the cutomer service was about at the level you'd expect from Midas or Jiffy Lube (that was the customer service, not the work itself) it was very much "wheres your car? sit there. here's your total. here's your car." The second time I was with my buddy who was doing a turbo swap (spending lots of money there) and they were much nicer. I bought some stuff at the same time and got good follow up on getting the correct part.

For me Ed was a very easy person to work with and did a great job on the tunes (did 91 octane and 100 octane) and is always happy to answer any questions of mine that I may have, even though the tune was like 2 years ago. I would definitely return to him for future tunes.

I cannot compare tune to tune from both tuners, and I don't think many people can either, but in terms of working with EQ vs GST I prefer my EQ experience over the GST ones (not that GST is a bad shop).

GST Motorsports

iTrader: (14)

For any of you with specific customer service related or performance related issues with any past work please PM me detailing your experience as we have put significant measures in place over the past 3-4 months to make sure we providing nothing but the best service we can. I would like to hear from all past customers that have any opinions on how we can further improve our service to you all.

Sorry for the off topic post.

Mike

OneManArmy

iTrader: (7)

Its a lot easier to keep your "customer service" up when you're one dude and its one on one customers and MUCH lower in customer numbers... not to mention have an entire shop to run.



my biggest deal is this... What happens if....

slow04wrx

iTrader: (3)

Trashing threads happens when people assume stupid stuff, and make comments they have no basis to speak on except their own bias. For example you, Why would you assume thats not the complete full story, are you some type of Sherlock Holmes. Infact that is the whole story and it couldn't be more simple, I've also used GST in the past before that time and was happy, just not the latest time. It's as simple as how I wrote it above, I agree I don't want either person being trashed But I do feel I owe my 2 cents, and that is what the OP asked for and what msg forums are about.

willow

iTrader: (3)

Thanks everybody for feedbacks. I didn't realize until now someone can get for sharing their experience with either one of these tuners.
If that's the case, I would appreciate moderator to delete/stop this thread now. I just wanted my hard earned cash to be well spend.

In any case, I feel I'm lucky to have a opportunity to pick and choose from these good suby tuners. It's great to live in bay-area!

VRT MBasile

iTrader: (17)

you just gotta know who to ignore and who's comments to pay attention to when it comes to sharing opinions. (I'm not implying to ignore Ray's comments, he's one to listen to)

Ray, great customer service at an automotive shop is achievable. Not everyone cares about customer service though, some only care about the quality of the work. I however, care about both. Again, I'm not saying GST is a bad shop. As to what Mike said, it seems like they've acknowledged that there is a market out there that cares about both and is working to cater to that market as well, and kudos to them for doing so.