Cobb stage 2 early review

[MikeK]

Well last friday I had cobb stage 2 installed, so I thought I would give my first impressions after about 1000 miles of mostly highway and some city driving.

Firstly, although the increase in torque is noticable, the difference really isn't that great. What is hugely noticable though is the fact that the torque comes on much much sooner, almost 1000 rpm sooner, and it stays strong until much higher in the rev range. The power is also much much smoother than before ... I used to have an annoying flat spot at around 4500 rpm (which showed up nicely in the baseline dyno chart) but that is gone now. (I will bring the dyno chart to the meet this week).

So in the stock car, I would put my foot down and have to wait until around 3800 - 4000 rpm for the car to start pulling, then almost straight away it would hesitate as it went through the flat spot, then it would pull again before quickly dropping off above 5500 or so.

Now, when I put my foot down it almost immediately takes off, and it pulls smoothly until much higher in the revs than before. The torque curve now is flatter, much wider and slightly higher than before. It starts earlier and finishes later. Overall, a superb improvement.

I am now using cobb's turboback as well. The sound quality from this is awesome, really deep and mean sounding. The only problem has been the volume ... this thing is LOUD! It sounds very similar to the vishnu setup on scott's car, but louder. I will see how long I can last with it before I opt for something quieter.

Overall, this is what the WRX should be like from the factory. The power is stronger and smoother, and comes on much earlier. This is what the old WRX used to be like before subaru decided to get it past california's emission laws. It is definately nowhere near STi power, but it is a lot more less gay than it was before.

The only down side ... on the way home my tranny started making some expensive sounding noises under engine braking. I got the guys at Cobb to whack their spanky gear oil in it, I am hoping this is just normal for this oil. It definately shifts about a million times smoother and easier than before so hopefully everthing is alright <fingers crossed>

I also came home with an AccessPort. This thing rocks!! I haven't explored everything it can do yet, but just to give an example, at the hotel I stayed at on the way home, I plugged the thing in, switched the ignition to "on", and on the AccessPort selected "switch map -> anti theft A". 10 seconds later it said it was done, so I unplugged it and tried to start the car. As soon as the engine caught it would cut out straight away ... (they have another anti theft map as well, it didn't come with a list of what the maps are so I will have to try that later to work out what it does). In the morning, I plugged it back in and chose stage 2 91 octane map, and it started and ran perfectly.

They have all kinds of other maps on their site, including an STX legal map. Overall, a great product. They said the STi version is still months away though, so STi guys, don't hold your breath.

[MattR]

Sweet, Congrats man! I'm sure the car is way more driveable...I can't wait to hear it.

Do you have a 5-speed? or Auto? Just curious..

Wow, everyone on this board is going mod crazy a week before Autocross season, I love it.

[MikeSTI]

I would say there are going to be lots of nice cars this year

[tysonK]

First of all best quote in a modification briefing:

"it is a lot more less gay.."

And I hope the people at Auto-X will believe when you say STX legal map. I know I would because I know you but, some people would think if it is that easy to change than why not change before your run for that extra boost gain?

Anyways before I even got my WRX I always thought the people at COBB made some nice stuff I'm glad you got it so we can can see how it (LOOKS, FEELS, SOUNDS)...nice!

You sounds pretty happy with it so far. Hopefully the tranny is alright and nothing big to worry about.

[MikeK]

Just found the map page:

http://www.cobbtuning.com/wrx/accessport/

The name in the left column is what shows up on the accessport screen.

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by MattR

Do you have a 5-speed? or Auto? Just curious..

5 speed

[dknv]

Originally Posted by MattR

Wow, everyone on this board is going mod crazy a week before Autocross season, I love it.

Yeah, I wish I just had a little more time (& money!) to get all the stuff done I'd like to do before next Sat.

Mike, nicee briefing, thanks for sharing. So, r u bringing out your car next weekend to join us?

[ArthurS]

Sweet! Sounds like you got ahold of a great setup

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by dknv

Mike, nicee briefing, thanks for sharing. So, r u bringing out your car next weekend to join us?

Hi Debbie .. I will be at the training day on the 17th, and I should make the meet this week. Will you be bringing the new car to the meet?

[Evo Mike]

What year WRX do you have? if its' an 04' then your problem at around 4000 rpm's where the motor seems to hold back is, the stock ECU is switching from closed loop boost to open loop boost... a stupid thing that subaru decided to do on the newer models. If you have an 02-03 i do not know what to say lol.

well.. i hope that kit works out well for you! I wanna see what it does on the dyno compared to the vishnu kit.

[Evo Mike]

ohhh i found you owned an 04 wrx! see, i was right! you can go to subaru and get an ECU reflash to fix the problem you're having in the 4000 rpm range. That way you wont have that lagging feeling when you are at full throttle as you were having before. That lagging feeling should be MORE obvious with the turbo back exhaust. Just get on the gas in 3rd gear and when the car hits around 4100-4200 rpms, hold it there... you'll see what i'm talking about :wink: it'll make you want to get the reflash right away.!

[dknv]

Originally Posted by MikeK

Will you be bringing the new car to the meet?

I plan to. It should have its invisible bra installed by then.

[MikeK]

I think you are right about the cause Mike (too many Mikes here!), but the cobb reflash reprograms it to be more like the 02-03 ecu anyway, so it is no longer a problem

[MikeSTI]

Originally Posted by Evo Mike

it'll make you want to get the reflash right away.!

hehe Evo Mike read the title :wink:

[sperry]

Mike: a question about the AccessPort reflash...

Are you actually reflashing new maps into the ECU or just changing some parameters on the one or two maps that are in there? From the sound of things (like the Anti-Theft map) you're actually able to completely reflash the stock ECU at will. While that's a super cool feature, I'd becareful with over doing it, as I've heard the stock ECU's EEPROM can wear out in as little as 100 reflashes! :shock: I don't know how accurate that info is since I read it on the internet, but I'd try to get more info about it before you go and reflash the ECU with an anti-theft map every night. It'd suck to have to buy a new ECU every year because the memory dies... or worse have a memory error write an FFFF over one of your advance multipliers and damage the engine.

[MikeK]

This is what I have gathered from reading the manual the last couple of days:

Map switching does NOT reflash the ecu. The accessport uses 2 types of maps ... baseline, and realtime. Changing the baseline map does use a reflash. If your ecu ever loses power, it will revert from whatever realtime map you have selected back to the baseline map and lose all the learning it has done since it was plugged in.

Realtime maps on the other hand behave exactly like ecu learning ... they reside in the area of memory that only persists while the ecu has power. As a result, they can be changed an unlimited number of times, but if you lose power you lose the map. No big deal of course, since the map is still stored on the accessport and it only takes 10 seconds to switch it back in.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by MikeK

This is what I have gathered from reading the manual the last couple of days:

Map switching does NOT reflash the ecu. The accessport uses 2 types of maps ... baseline, and realtime. Changing the baseline map does use a reflash. If your ecu ever loses power, it will revert from whatever realtime map you have selected back to the baseline map and lose all the learning it has done since it was plugged in.

Realtime maps on the other hand behave exactly like ecu learning ... they reside in the area of memory that only persists while the ecu has power. As a result, they can be changed an unlimited number of times, but if you lose power you lose the map. No big deal of course, since the map is still stored on the accessport and it only takes 10 seconds to switch it back in.

Awesome. That sounds just like the user tunable aspects of the EcuTek... little things like a boost multiplier, idle speed, timing adavnce, etc can be modified, but are lost if you lose power to the ECU. It sounds like Cobb's gone a little bit further and has added a few other options. Pretty slick IMO!

[MikeSTI]

I wish it was ready for my car

[JoelK]

I ordered mine on Feb 10, and...... still waiting. They've been shipping 02/03s as late as the 15th-20th of Feb so mine should go out soon. That's one of the reasons I skipped the BBQ (boss dropping a bomb on that Monday wanting 3-4 months' worth of work done in 7 weeks was the other).

[kamenrider]

WTB Accessport for my STi too...

[sperry]

According to EcuTek's website the STi EcuTek reflash *is out*. One of the guys down at ESX is getting it very soon (like next week or something) IIRC.

[Kevin M]

May 1st is the official release date. It's gonna be quite some time before Cobb has a flash ready for the STi/Forester XT.