I don't disagree with this, but most places you can get the cobb for cheaper and if you know people can get tuning done for 250ish since you have a base map to start with. I don't understand why its so far fetched though, to me its still a personal preference. Only other nice thing is for people that just want the mail in type flash who don't want to upgrade anything else at the moment, but dont want to waste money off the bat to get a retune when you upgrade. And for people really concerned about their warranty despite no one getting busted for it ever, they can flash back to stock at their house.

I refuse to argue with you as I respect and you know more about these things then I do for sure, but this is just my two cents.

edit: not really arguing now that I think about it, more so stating opinions. Arguing is too strong and negative of a word for this thread i would say.

 

Since the units work for numerous other cars as well and new ones are $695 (and have only been discounted once - this month by 10%) they're always worth pretty decent money on the open market. $550 seems to be the going rate. That's a nice factor.

 

I know we are in the age of ebay and everything being whored out.
I respect your opinion.

I think they are both good values, and geared for slightly different customers.


Sean

 

Well said. Classy guy.

 

I am also both an Ecutek and Cobb dealer

I want to share some thoughts on this

Both Cobb and Ecutek are amazing companies

Without companies like Ecutek and Cobb who support professional tuning shops with world class tuning tools like the Ecutek Flash Can and the Cobb Access Tuner most of us full time tuners would have to resort to piggy back devices like the unichip and SAFC to tune cars

While open source has been a huge hit with the Evo 8 market after its advent in many cases companies like Ecutek and Access Port are the ones who make a huge investment in development costs to inovate tuning solutions for new applications

In the case of the GTR Skyline Cobb as first to the market with the Access Tuner

In the case of the Ecutek, they came out with a professional, fully functional tuning tool nearly a full year ago. Ecutek's Flash Can Evo X programmer has been 100% amazing. Not a bug, not a clitch - amazing product all the way. As far as tuneable parameters its really great, live map tracing, great data logging and wideband support. Its not a do it yourself tuning tool, the business model is gear to customers who want a really good pro tune and dyno session and just drive the car, kind of like the HKS V PRO or Apexi Power FC business plan. In other areas of the world suck as Japan and the UK there less of a do it yourself appeal and desire and in those areas ecutek is the king for its superb customer service and rapid speed of product development.

In the case of Cobb, they have world class customer support and a great organization staffed with some of the best in the business. Their model of business plan is slightly different and is different than Ecutek.

Cobb Access Port is both a traditional reflashing box like the domestic market may be familar with and a tuning platform.

The AP combines many features of different products in one device.

Although the cost to purchase the AP is originally higher than other tuning optiuons there are enhanced features and also a residual value when and if it is time to resell.

On the tuning side the Cobb tuning tools are really revolutionary with the live tuning, map trace and other tuning aides which really have set new standards. Although the Evo offerings have lagged behind the subaru product, there has been ongoing and steady improvement on the Evo side.

At the end of the day, it is a benefit to the community to have a choice between the two products.

Depending on the customer's individual needs and goals a good tuner will be able to recomend the choice which works best.

Both of them have pros and cons. They are simply different products.

At the end of the day a pro tuned Cobb Access Port will cost significantly more than a tuned Ecutek but will provide the end user many features and options not currently available through Ecutek. However, when the customer is driving the car down the road it will function nearly exactly the same as the tuneable parameters are almost identical.

I hope this makes sense.

 

This is all news to me. The Ecutek is really cutting edge stuff which works like a charm and enables me to put out really great running cars for my customers.

Going forward, Ecutek will no doubt continue to innovate and be the first to market on many future applications.

For exmple Ecutek had the Ralliart Lancer application in my hands 2 months before the cars hit the usa - that kind of service is what we pay for.

Al

 

No doubt that Cobb Products have always commanded great resale prices so when a customer upgrades to a stand alone or sells his car there is a return on the initial investment

The ability to simply uninstall the product with a puch of a button and sell it is impressive

Also - Ecutek license enabled Subaru ecus have also enjoyed a great resale value

On the Subaru side, Ecutek is a greta bang for the buck IMHO. Their Subaru offerings are super inpressive with support of virtually every tunable parameter for virtually every Subaru ecu ever offered

In reality they are both amazingly great products

 

"At the end of the day a pro tuned Cobb Access Port will cost significantly more than a tuned Ecutek but will provide the end user many features and options not currently available through Ecutek. However, when the customer is driving the car down the road it will function nearly exactly the same as the tuneable parameters are almost identical."

absolutely agree with Al on this.

 

the gentleman.
Absolutely necessary a pro tune for me , since i am a total dummy about the ECU tune.
Cobb or not, i need some one to make it right.
Now i paid over 30K for a car, so i want to run it safe.
If my opinion count here.

 

I know nothing about the X so don't take this the wrong way, but with that list of mods + a tune, shouldn't you be getting more power? I would think you would have had 330-350 whp with that set up you have.

 

I just carefuly read your post and I think the only solution for you will be a full custom tuned map. Regardless of which platform you choose (AP or Ecutek) I don't think any base map will be sufficient to operate such a complex set up.

Either system will work fine to tune the set up. Cobb will cost more but you get more features and capability. (Which you may not need or want). It comes down to reviewing the features of each and determining which system better suits your needs.

My over all suggestion would be to go with 100% meth and some smaller 800 injectors - you will get a crisper idle an better driveability.

Al

 

DynoFlash,

i called up my local tuner, they are going to use ecuflash opensource to tune my car. is it any good?

if i want to stick with 50/50 meth, are my 1000cc going to be ok or still flowing too much?

 

The AP initial cost of entry is more with a custom tune, but offers significant more and has historically high resale value as others have said. Most of that initial cost difference is recovered when sold.

Features can be found here:
http://cobbtuning.com/products/?id=3942

Some of the big selling points are the ability to switch maps on the fly (great for meth/E85/high octane users), data logging/monitoring (great for mail tuning or the curious), read/clear DTCs in multiple modules, built in shift light, being able to keep the AP in the car at all times, and who doesn't like a cool toy to play with!?! .

In racing I've found it to be invaluable having the ability to switch maps, read/clear DTCs, and log without needing to worry about having a laptop around.

Rob

 

I cant comment on "if it is any good" I have never used or seen the Evo X open source so I would be unable to make any inteligent comment

I would suggest you speak with your tuner to determine what he / she recomends on injector sizing

Best of luck

 

There is no doubt that the Cobb represents a totally unique innovation in terms of its capabilities and functionality

I have found that most customers who have seen and used the Access Port find it a tremendous value and love all the adanved features

Its kind of like when you are used to a traditional cell phone and then use an i-phone - after a short while you start to feel like all the additional features are things you can not live without

Here at Dyno Flash we simply take the customers out and show them the function and features on demonstration cars. I have found this is the best way to educate the customers.

While the Evo 8 and IX customers never really embraced the Access Port to the degree that the Subaru commnunity did, with the Evo X we are seeing a lot of interest and also very robust sales since its release - this despite the general economic recession. I feel that the AP Evo X will be a huge success on the Evo X as its features are well suited to the type of customer who we see owning Evo X's

Al