Is there a specific thread on Cobb Stage 2 vs. Prodrive Stage 3?
#1
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Is there a specific thread on Cobb Stage 2 vs. Prodrive Stage 3?
I've looked high and low and all I see are people buying piecemeals and their comments. I'm curious to see Cobb Stage 2 Power Pack's actual dyno results vs. Prodrive Stage 3 Power Pack's actual dyno results, and also personal feelings.
Could anyone help?
Could anyone help?
#2
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Posts: n/a
Well, since nobody replied...
I'm going to do some analysis of both vendors' claims. Let's take a look at the basic components:
Prodrive Power Pack Stage 3:
- Rear muffler
- Mid pipe
- Catless downpipe
- Catless uppipe
- Intercooler Y pipe
- ECU reflash
Dyno Chart
Cobb Stage 2:
- Turbo back exhaust
- AccessECU
Dyno Chart
Now since I'm a newbie, I will guess that Cobb's turbo back exhaust system includes all of the stuff Prodrive includes except for the intercooler Y pipe.
Comparing the claimed numbers:
Prodrive (using the 4th gear numbers)
HP: 228.2 @ 7317RPMs
Torque: 222.2 Kpa @ 4251RPMs
Cobb:
HP: 224.4 @ 5500RPMs
Torque: 223.2 @ 5100RPMs
- I don't know the conversion between Kilo Pascal to lb/ft (assuming that's what the Mustang Dyno was spitting out), but let's set that one aside for now.
All my experience in tuning are from doing B-series and F20C (S2000), but a dynochart is a dynochart, so let's discuss.
1. The parts lists don't seem that much different - you have most of the basic bolt-ons, the ECU tuning. Difference is in the Y-pipe. And from all the reading I've done, the Y pipe supposedly does give some gains (Samco pipes), so 1 extra brownie point for Prodrive.
2. 3rd gear dyno seems to be odd for the WRX. I only did a quick search and read about STi's need to dyno in 5th gear, but I'm assuming WRX would dyno more accurately at 4th? When I used to dyno S2000s, 3rd gear was the way to go because it was closest to the 1:1 ratio.
- Problem: I don't know what gear was used for Cobb's dyno runs. Different gears can show different results.
3. Peak numbers: This is what most ricers care about, and (unfortunately) what most magazines talk about. When I used to tune my S2000, the goal wasn't all about peak power, it's the entire powerband - I'm sure for most of us that holds true. It's pretty obvious that Cobb's chart shows it peaking before Prodrive's curve, but Prodrive's curve doesn't seem to peak and fall like Cobb's (although the fall seemed pretty smooth.
- Problem: I don't know the gap between the sample numbers taken for each chart, so although Cobb's curve seemed smoother than Prodrive, it's very difficult to tell if that's due to number of samples or it's an inherent feature of the mustang dyno.
4. Performance numbers:
Cobb's claim based on customer feedback:
0-60 mph : 4.6 seconds
1/4 mile : 13.4 @ 101.5 mph
Prodrive's claim
0-60 mph : 5.08 seconds
1/4 mile : 13.76 @ 96.85 mph
- Problem: The difference of 0.52 seconds here from 0-60 is significant enough to question the driver's abilities, and also each car's environmental factors of the day of testing (temperature, humidity, altitude, etc.), plus each car's other equipment - for example, was Cobb's car stripped? Was Prodrive's car stripped? What was the weight of each car? What tires were used? Tire pressure?
5. Conclusion: with a price difference of $809 plus tax, it would seem at first glance that Cobb is the way to go. From the dyno chart given, it allows the turbo to spool faster, reaches peak power quicker, and pretty much maintains that peak power through redline with some degradation. However, looking at Prodrive's power curve, it seems to make sense for someone who might want to have a nice and steadily rising power curve (instead of a drop) as you reach higher into the RPM range.
My biggest problem when I started tuning S2000 back in 2000~2002 was the VTEC spike and the huge drop in power past 8300RPMs to redline. There were ways to move the curve to the right, but eventually the S2000 community figured out more and more ways to do it (check www.s2ki.com for more info).
Tuning is based on personal philosophy. I would like to see everyone's opinion but I firmly believe in taking a look at the numbers and charts - that is, if they are equal in terms of the equipment used and testing methods. The easiest conclusion I reached from looking at the 2 charts is that I can't make up my mind! Both seemed genuine, but each used a different testing method and God knows what each car's condition was.
So, where can I find dyno charts on 2 similarly equipped cars running purely on Cobb and purely on Prodrive?
Irvine Subaru recommends Prodrive, I'm leaning towards Prodrive because they're down the street from me. However, I don't know if I could NOT tinker with my car as time goes on. I had, for example, no less than 7 different exhaust systems on my S2000 - well, I was dyno tuning and selling the stuff so I had no choice at the time, but each one had its advantages and disadvantages.
I'm not wealthy, but I do feel comfortable enough to pluck down some money for the WRX. I didn't get the STi because I needed to be low key about my car, and also the 1.9% APR financing didn't apply to STi
Prodrive Power Pack Stage 3:
- Rear muffler
- Mid pipe
- Catless downpipe
- Catless uppipe
- Intercooler Y pipe
- ECU reflash
Dyno Chart
Cobb Stage 2:
- Turbo back exhaust
- AccessECU
Dyno Chart
Now since I'm a newbie, I will guess that Cobb's turbo back exhaust system includes all of the stuff Prodrive includes except for the intercooler Y pipe.
Comparing the claimed numbers:
Prodrive (using the 4th gear numbers)
HP: 228.2 @ 7317RPMs
Torque: 222.2 Kpa @ 4251RPMs
Cobb:
HP: 224.4 @ 5500RPMs
Torque: 223.2 @ 5100RPMs
- I don't know the conversion between Kilo Pascal to lb/ft (assuming that's what the Mustang Dyno was spitting out), but let's set that one aside for now.
All my experience in tuning are from doing B-series and F20C (S2000), but a dynochart is a dynochart, so let's discuss.
1. The parts lists don't seem that much different - you have most of the basic bolt-ons, the ECU tuning. Difference is in the Y-pipe. And from all the reading I've done, the Y pipe supposedly does give some gains (Samco pipes), so 1 extra brownie point for Prodrive.
2. 3rd gear dyno seems to be odd for the WRX. I only did a quick search and read about STi's need to dyno in 5th gear, but I'm assuming WRX would dyno more accurately at 4th? When I used to dyno S2000s, 3rd gear was the way to go because it was closest to the 1:1 ratio.
- Problem: I don't know what gear was used for Cobb's dyno runs. Different gears can show different results.
3. Peak numbers: This is what most ricers care about, and (unfortunately) what most magazines talk about. When I used to tune my S2000, the goal wasn't all about peak power, it's the entire powerband - I'm sure for most of us that holds true. It's pretty obvious that Cobb's chart shows it peaking before Prodrive's curve, but Prodrive's curve doesn't seem to peak and fall like Cobb's (although the fall seemed pretty smooth.
- Problem: I don't know the gap between the sample numbers taken for each chart, so although Cobb's curve seemed smoother than Prodrive, it's very difficult to tell if that's due to number of samples or it's an inherent feature of the mustang dyno.
4. Performance numbers:
Cobb's claim based on customer feedback:
0-60 mph : 4.6 seconds
1/4 mile : 13.4 @ 101.5 mph
Prodrive's claim
0-60 mph : 5.08 seconds
1/4 mile : 13.76 @ 96.85 mph
- Problem: The difference of 0.52 seconds here from 0-60 is significant enough to question the driver's abilities, and also each car's environmental factors of the day of testing (temperature, humidity, altitude, etc.), plus each car's other equipment - for example, was Cobb's car stripped? Was Prodrive's car stripped? What was the weight of each car? What tires were used? Tire pressure?
5. Conclusion: with a price difference of $809 plus tax, it would seem at first glance that Cobb is the way to go. From the dyno chart given, it allows the turbo to spool faster, reaches peak power quicker, and pretty much maintains that peak power through redline with some degradation. However, looking at Prodrive's power curve, it seems to make sense for someone who might want to have a nice and steadily rising power curve (instead of a drop) as you reach higher into the RPM range.
My biggest problem when I started tuning S2000 back in 2000~2002 was the VTEC spike and the huge drop in power past 8300RPMs to redline. There were ways to move the curve to the right, but eventually the S2000 community figured out more and more ways to do it (check www.s2ki.com for more info).
Tuning is based on personal philosophy. I would like to see everyone's opinion but I firmly believe in taking a look at the numbers and charts - that is, if they are equal in terms of the equipment used and testing methods. The easiest conclusion I reached from looking at the 2 charts is that I can't make up my mind! Both seemed genuine, but each used a different testing method and God knows what each car's condition was.
So, where can I find dyno charts on 2 similarly equipped cars running purely on Cobb and purely on Prodrive?
Irvine Subaru recommends Prodrive, I'm leaning towards Prodrive because they're down the street from me. However, I don't know if I could NOT tinker with my car as time goes on. I had, for example, no less than 7 different exhaust systems on my S2000 - well, I was dyno tuning and selling the stuff so I had no choice at the time, but each one had its advantages and disadvantages.
I'm not wealthy, but I do feel comfortable enough to pluck down some money for the WRX. I didn't get the STi because I needed to be low key about my car, and also the 1.9% APR financing didn't apply to STi
#3
One thing to keep in mind, the Cobb Stage 2 does not include an uppipe either. The addition of the uppipe and the intercooler hose gives probably about 5 or more wheel hp. Plus, Cobb is very respected in the Subaru tuning community. Obviously Prodrive is also, but how many people are running the Prodrive power packs versus the Cobb AccessPORT? Go with Cobb and you'll never look back.
psycho
psycho
#4
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Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: St. Louis MO
Posts: 1,245
Car Info: 02 PSM WRX
Cobb's 0-60 and 1/4 times are based on the average times of their costomers. Cobb's stage 1 is close to the results of the prodrive and it is just the $600 Accessport on a stock WRX. Like psychobooe said I would go with Cobb's stage 2 since IMO it is better and with the extra $800 you could buy an upipe and do some suspension work which will make your WRX handel a lot better. My Accessport is on order and I cant wait. Also dont forget Cobb will be comeing out with the street tuner which will allow you to custom tune your car. If you want to do this in the future all you have to do is send them your accessport and they will send you the street tuner and only charge you the difference of the 2.
Cobb stage 1
0-60=4.9
1/4 mile=13.9 @96
Cobb stage 1
0-60=4.9
1/4 mile=13.9 @96
Last edited by MO REX; 05-02-2004 at 10:28 AM.
#5
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Location: pompous douchebag
Posts: 9,351
Car Info: $200,000 sports car
the prodrive dyno chart shows HP and boost (kpa) not torque. the cobb dyno chart shows HP and torque. The cobb chart is from a mustang dyno, which are notorious for reading lower than any other dyno's. with the cobb setup you are paying for tuning done in american driving conditions using american gas. with the prodrive setup, you are paying for the name.
#7
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Location: Corpus Christi, Texas
Posts: 1,663
Car Info: 2002 Honda S2000
I would go with cobb also, with the accessport you'll never have to buy a reflash again. You just add your parts and download the corresponding map. I think that's a very good option.
#9
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Location: Corpus Christi, Texas
Posts: 1,663
Car Info: 2002 Honda S2000
Originally posted by casualsurfer
Question: what's the difference between Cobb's ECU and Cobb's AccessPort handheld device? Should I get both?
Question: what's the difference between Cobb's ECU and Cobb's AccessPort handheld device? Should I get both?
Accessport: Handheld device that stores maps so that lets you switch the maps while your ECU is still in your car without sending your ECU in. You do this by connecting the accessport to the OBDII connector to set your maps.
Another thing that's good about Accessport:
You can only flash your ECU a certain amount of times before you wear out the memory. With Accessport you only flash your ECU once, and just load up the maps whenever you want, no worries.
#10
Between Prodrive and Cobb Tuning, there's not a whole lot difference between them. Now compare the prices though . The cost alone should definitely help you decide. I have a reflashed ECU from Cobb Tuning, their reasonable prices and great customer service makes it all worth it. Still patiently awaiting for my Accessport. :banana:
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