Please post up the negatives you have heard, along with where you have heard them from if possiable. That way if they are in fact mis information Cobb can give their side and explain. I am also hoping Cobb will inform the community on the new software they are supposed to be releasing and what the changes might be.

 

Just from people around here, and online. I heard that the stage 1 wasnt too impressive, but I don't know about stage 2, and I don't have any personal experience with it. I know AP used to be the hotness, maybe it still is, but i am amazed at how many people are offering ECU tunes these days.

 

Quoted from my posts on the Evo X forum

 

At COBB Tuning we make every effort to ensure that our products and customer service are of the highest quality. All of our software, maps and tuning products undergo hundreds of hours of R&D and testing to endeavor to offer the best possible end-user tuning experience possible. This means that while other free tuning platforms can release new features and tables more quickly, COBB Tuning works diligently to bring our users the features that they want in the most timely manner that thorough R&D and testing allows.

COBB Tuning recognizes that this development does not always move at the pace that some enthusiasts would desire. Of course, as an EVO X enthusiast, you want your car to be the top priority in the development process. However, limited resources dictate how quickly these features can be designed, tested and implemented. We always listen to our customers and users and will continue to implement your feedback into future development of the AccessPORT and AccessTUNER tuning tools.

COBB Tuning is a company of enthusiasts. We use our own products every weekend on the drag strip, racetrack and autocross course. We understand that having your car perform to its peak potential is a top priority. In this spirit we will continue to constantly improve and develop our products so that we can bring you the best tuning platform available.

COBB Tuning is gladly willing to answer your technical questions, or quickly resolve any issues you may have with our product. Our forums are available for the open exchange of tuning questions and ideas and users are welcome to call us during business hours for answers to any technical questions you may have.

Your satisfaction is our top priority. We hope that if you have an AccessPORT you continue to rely on it for unparalleled tuning capability and on COBB Tuning for our top-notch customer service. If you are looking for a tuning solution for your EVO or any other supported vehicle, we hope that you strongly consider an AccessPORT.

You can reach COBB Tuning at 801-713-0035 or at tech@cobbtuning.com. You can reach COBB Tuning Surgeline in Portland, Oregon at 503-670-9500 or at sales@surgelinetuning.com or our COBB Tuning Plano location at 214 291-3020 plano@cobbtuning.com.

 

Just got mine today, thanks john btw, it was probably the easiest thing to use. and its cool because you can get a custom tune down the line and save it and be able to switch back and forth from stock to modded stock to modded. i love it and i've only had it for 1 hour.

 

Just ordered mine

I'd rather wait for a feature and have it done right then have something rushed and blow up my evo. And i'm not good at ECU tuning, i dont want to try and do it myself. I'll report back when I get it.

 

The danger of a tread like this is that drive by's would quickly read a few negative posts and conclude that the AP is a bad product. Just read through here, there are already some posts in that vein. To the OP, your post is intended to improve the Race Tuning software. Unfortunately something like this can quickly damage the reputation of a good company and have a lasting negative effect.

 

I would just like to see the protune open to more tuners. Unless you use ATR there is only one Protuner within 300 miles of me. It keeps you from choosing someone with better customer service or far better prices.

 

cobbs a good product off the shelf. noticed big time gains over stock w/ a $600 mod...cant find anything cheaper for the $$$

 

I agree. I have the AP and am happy with it. Great gains for minimal effort. Considering that some tuners charge $500 plus for a one time ecu flash which requires that you send in your ecu, I would say the AP is a great deal. I am sure it will only get better as they continue to improve the product.

 

625 plus another 400 for a custom tune at the Cobb Sites. So 1025 for a tune alone. I've paid it once. Cobb still charges 400 for a 2nd time customer too.

 

Your comparing apples and oranges...any tuner that dyno tunes will charge $400+ on average no matter what the system....Cobb goes a couple steps further by giving you that off the shelf option and the ease of use compared to other systems instead of waiting or doing it yourself.

E-Tunes from Cobb are still $150 for the first tune, and $75 for each additional, compared to ECU mail in tunes where you have to send off your ECU.

 

I have a OTS Stage 2 and is happy with it. To be fair, custom tuning is optional and you will pay that no matter what tuner you go to.

 

I love my AP. Hands down the easiest thing to use. Plus, I got mine for under $500 shipped brand new from a very nice private sale.

Pretty pleased with my stage 1 93 w/ HKS PF map. Gas mileage increased SUBSTANTIALLY... getting around 25-27mpg on the highway as opposed to the OEM map that gave me a crappy 18mpg on the highway.

The only thing that worries me is battery life when I'm either installing/uninstalling the AP software, or changing maps.

Can we get that annoying fan disabled??

 

I'm not seeing the danger, if a single thread can ruin a companies reputation or several threads for that matter its not that strong to begin with. All products will have good and bad reviews, no matter what it is. I know when I bought my AP I was told by the guys running 8's and 9's it was a waste of money, don't do it. Yet I did the research and got mine anyways because it fit what I was looking for.

The intent of all this is to get a voice out there for those of us who wish to some some additional movement and tuning opportunities for the AP. To date our "Voice" with Cobb has been minimal compared to the other platforms. The Honda and Mazda crowd is much more vocal with Cobb and I they are having more of their demands met by them. This is largely due to the fact that more of them are using their AP to the full potential. There are very few people in the Evo X nation that actually use the ATR tuning software most just flash on the staged maps so they can run the alloted aftermarket parts and go about their business. If you go to the different forums you will notice that most people are content with what they have until they have one of the following issues.
Unexplained overboosting, updating errors, or want a map for a specific intake that isn't offered on Cobbs site. Pretty minimal issues that usally can be fixed by the end user if they are armed with the right knowledge.

The one thing I have noticed and tried to personally help people with is when these little issues arise if they don't get answers right away they just put their AP up for sale and convert to OS. Just take a look at the for sale sections you will see how many have gone up for sale in the last 2 months. There has been a rash of them lately. There have also been quite a bit of them for sale due to the lack of tuners avaliable to people to them and there are much less now since Cobb added the serial lock. I called alot of the different tuners and talked to them about the reasons why they have asked people to switch over and most of them say the same thing "The Cobb Pro Tune software is just to expensive and gives the same results as the OS software"

For me if this were my company I might try a different approach at getting more people started on using my product. If there were more tuners using mine there would potentally be more sales of the actuall AP's units instead of people selling them off. This type of marketing strategy has been used before where actually lowering the price has actually increased sales. Case in point a ski resort local to where I live tried just this a few years ago under new management;

Now Cobb is a bit different set up but they could also stand to gain from doing something like this to get sales of the AP up and then impliment sales of software upgrades. Items like having a $25 dollar upgrade for turning off the TPMS dash light would be a good one and I know for fact would increase AP sales as well as generate additional funding from the upgrade. Persoanlly I would like to see a software upgrade addition for ATR that would allow me to graph my logs and dyno results for comparisions so I don't have to fool with Excel macros.

Items like this are what I am striving to get across with what little voice we have. I also encourage others to list items they would like to see, what does the end user consumer want? What would keep those of you from switching, or what would have for those who already did?

Again I am by no means trying to damage Cobbs reputation, I am just a consumer looking for some additions. I am still running my AP and as of now not switching over. This however is all dependent on when this new software is released and what all it entails for tuning ability.