Accessport/Street tuner

[Kevin M]

Not even close dude. Go read the drama of the day in SRIC.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by BAN SUVS

Not even close dude. Go read the drama of the day in SRIC.

No thanks, I'm staying out of that.... I'm all out of 10 foot poles.

[tysonK]

Originally Posted by BAN SUVS

Not even close dude. Go read the drama of the day in SRIC.

I went and read "some" of that thread. It's funny how every thread like that pretty much looks exactly the same.

I wonder if the next dude who brings up road tuning and(notice did not use vs. there) dyno tuning will get such a reaction.

I just got back from Dust to Glory, it was good, not great though.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by tysonK

I just got back from Dust to Glory, it was good, not great though.

Dude, that's like telling a room full of snowboarders that the last Warren Miller flick was "pretty good". You have to remember that the subject alone makes that movie "good" around here... the fact that it was well filmed and well edited makes it pretty much a great film.

If you wanna call DtG "good but not great", go do so on a film critic's message board.

</sarcasm>

[tysonK]

ha!

good, I feel better not having to explain!

Good, I feel better not having to illustrate why I didn’t think it was great.

It was my expectations that lead me to my good but not great thesis, so it’s really my own fault. damn me.

I meant to post this in that other thread about the film but I was too lazy to find it.

,

[sperry]

Tyson.... are you drunk?

[Dean]

Originally Posted by sperry

I never said ECUTek is better than Cobb's offerings. I said a dumbass on the street has a hopeless chance of tuning a car to the level that an experienced professional with the right tools can. Hell, when you get down to it, the AP and the ECUTek are exactly the same thing: the stock ECU.

... So, if and when you can go out and tune your car from the ground up, on the street, in a repeatable, safe, and legal manner with the Street Tuner software, then I'll stop recommending the ECUTek over the Street Tuner. I'm not exactly holding my breath....

Ugh... I'm starting to feel like Kevin in these debates!

But that's the point, a PROFESSIONAL with the right tools did create the base maps for the AP/ST! You continue to minimize that and assume that 30 minutes on a dyno with a "professional" is magically better. Mike K's open to closed loop transition issues are a great example of where the AP outshined the ECUTek/dyno tune. Could it have been resolved on the ECUTek, yes, probably with many more pulls, but ECUTek and a DYNO are not magical!


Why in the world would I want to start from the ground up? I don't understand your premiss.

ECUTek doesn't start at ground zero. They publish base maps, etc. that the tuner uses to build the custiomized ones There isn't just a screen full of Zeros. Even AEM has base maps for at least the cars they have harness connectors for. What is this obsession with starting from scratch?

You are right, they are both the stock ECU with all it's abilities to adapt, and protect your engine, with maps on them.

With ECUTek, you get one or two maps "customized" to your car/needs that require a trip back to the tuner when you make changes that are outside the ability of the ECU to adapt.

With AP/ST you get 5-10+ maps that you can customize to your car/needs as they change over time.

Two different approaches, with different implications, costs, risks, and energy/effort involved.

All I ask is that we stop bagging on either product, and stick to the tech.

[Nick Koan]

For what its worth, the only ECUtek cars that can have two maps are the drive by cable WRXs (02-04 IIRC). All the drive by wire cars (Mine, STi, Forester XT, Baja turbo and I think 05 WRXs) can only have one map. That may change in time, but not at the moment.

<-- still an ECUtek fanboy

[sperry]

Originally Posted by Dean

But that's the point, a PROFESSIONAL with the right tools did create the base maps for the AP/ST! You continue to minimize that and assume that 30 minutes on a dyno with a "professional" is magically better. Mike K's open to closed loop transition issues are a great example of where the AP outshined the ECUTek/dyno tune. Could it have been resolved on the ECUTek, yes, probably with many more pulls, but ECUTek and a DYNO are not magical!


Why in the world would I want to start from the ground up? I don't understand your premiss.

ECUTek doesn't start at ground zero. They publish base maps, etc. that the tuner uses to build the custiomized ones There isn't just a screen full of Zeros. Even AEM has base maps for at least the cars they have harness connectors for. What is this obsession with starting from scratch?

You are right, they are both the stock ECU with all it's abilities to adapt, and protect your engine, with maps on them.

With ECUTek, you get one or two maps "customized" to your car/needs that require a trip back to the tuner when you make changes that are outside the ability of the ECU to adapt.

With AP/ST you get 5-10+ maps that you can customize to your car/needs as they change over time.

Two different approaches, with different implications, costs, risks, and energy/effort involved.

All I ask is that we stop bagging on either product, and stick to the tech.

Holy jesus Dean... I'm so sick of this argument... especially when you're not even bothering to read what I'm typing.

Let me reitterate:

- ECUTek and AP are exactly the same thing: ways to get a custom map on the stock ECU. By the laws of physics one can't be "better" than the other at their primary task: putting new maps on the ECU. This has absolutely *nothing* to do w/ the rest of my argument.

- Cobb's Street Tuner is being sold as an alternative a professional dyno tune. The idea is that one doesn't need an expensive dyno or experience to get the same performance out of the car. That concept is patently FALSE:

- First, a "road dyno" is never as repeat able as a controlled chassis dyno. -

- Second, someone w/o experience will virtually never tune a car as well as someone with professional experience.

As far as the "ground up" tuning... that was just a hypothetical example to demonstraight the ass kicking you'd recieve if you tried to tune a car on the street. It was not meant as evidence in the ECUTek vs. AP debate... in acutality, the fact that you bring up that Street Tuner maps started on a dyno is actually supporting evidence that tuning on the street is retarded.

So let me summarize one more time, so I don't have to repeat myself in later posts:

ECUTek vs. AP: knock yourself out, it's the same technology. AP's got a nice ability to load multiple maps, but that comes at the cost of risk since it's hard to 100% authenticate the maps you're downloading off the internet. However, if you're getting all your maps made by your tuner for your car/purpose, you're all set.

Road vs. Chassis Dyno: Road dynos are what "tuners" use when they can't afford a real chassis dyno. If it's the best you've got, well then it's the best you've got... but we've got access to a real tuner with a real dyno, so tuning your car on a "road dyno" is retarded, as it will never be as accurate and repeatable as a chassis dyno.

Home Tuning vs. Professional Tuning: Unless they're a friggen genius, or just plain lucky, chances are Joe Public can't tune as well as an experienced professional... or Joe Public would open Joe Public Motorsports, buy a dyno and make some money as a professional. Just because I have some channel-locks and know what teeth look like, doesn't mean I can call myself a dentist. Real experience and training counts for a lot more than "well I read some shit on the internet about tuning".

Tweaking after a Pro Tune: If you think you can "tweak" your maps yourself better than your tuner, then either you will be risking the safety built into the pro's tune because there's no room for improvement, or you didn't explain the purpose of the maps to you tuner properly and he left something on the table. A real pro will interact w/ you and get the car right, or you're not dealing w/ a real pro. Bottom line: you shouldn't need to tweak anything.

Finally... as far as bagging on "either product", you're missing something. I'm not really talking about two specifc products... I'm talking about two types of products. Pro tuning software vs. home tuning software. ECUTek, Access Port, hell even the lowly UniChip... they're all fine, since they're not meant for Joe Public. Stuff like the Street Tuner, UTEC, and whatever the home tuning deal that's coming from ECUTek... well, I say stay away... or at the least know what you're getting yourself into... know that you're probably not as smart as the pro, know that you don't have the same tools available, know that you're either not going to be as fast and/or you're not going to have the same margin of safety.

*gasp* I think I've said all I want to say... someone else feel free to have the last word.

[dknv]

Originally Posted by sperry

*gasp* I think I've said all I want to say... someone else feel free to have the last word.

Am I watching a re-run of some bad episode, or what? I guess it might be informative, or even entertaining for some of our newer members.

[cody]

Originally Posted by dknv

Am I watching a re-run of some bad episode, or what? I guess it might be informative, or even entertaining for some of our newer members.

Oh yah, opinion spewing is what has made car forums interesting for me.

[MattR]

Originally Posted by cody

Oh yah, opinion spewing is what has made car forums interesting for me.

This is more hemorrhaging than spewing.

[bruspeed]

Originally Posted by MattR

This is more hemorrhaging than spewing.

hemorrhaging=gross

Just wanted to say something.

[AtomicLabMonkey]

We've hashed out this argument before, and our different opinions are pretty well known - Scott & Kevin & Dean & me aren't going to change each other's minds on the subject. Why are we still talking about this?

[bruspeed]

So then, what are you gonna end up doing Mike?

[MikeSTI]

I hope Nate will learn how to use MikeK ST and then I can have him make me maps for my car. (when I buy my ST ofcourse)

I really just want to be able to switch maps. Maybe a 100 oct. 91 oct. and econo map for long drives to events.

I like the idea of a pro tune but I still think it would be cool to see what the tuner is doing to the maps so that when I data log I can see how the car is adjusting or tweaking the maps to make the car run. this is the difference between the 2 when it comes to cost. the EcuTech will require additional hardware to run a data logger were the ST has one built-in? (with the addition of a wideband O2)

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by bruspeed

So then, what are you gonna end up doing Mike?

I ordered street tuner (with the money I had set aside for a clear bra ... oh well, my front end is already chipped). I am going to give it to Nate to play with for a few weeks, then next month I will whack on the exhaust and get him to make me an esp map.

[doubleurx]

ECUtek is way better than Cobb AP.

C'mon folks I read it on NASIOC!

[MattR]

Originally Posted by doubleurx

ECUtek is way better than Cobb AP.

C'mon folks I read it on NASIOC!

It must be true.!

I of course love my Nate @ SS EcuTek tuned Subaru...3 out of 4 STi owners recommend it.!

[doubleurx]

Originally Posted by MattR

It must be true.!

I of course love my Nate @ SS EcuTek tuned Subaru...3 out of 4 STi owners recommend it.!

Hmmmm Matt never asks for a second tune at home, I'm changing from Cobb to ECUtek.

[MattR]

Originally Posted by doubleurx

Hmmmm Matt never asks for a second tune at home, I'm changing from Cobb to ECUtek.

I knew all my time spent watching NASCAR would pay off! I got my "sponsors" listed in my speech, and convinced someone to buy a product, I rule.

[MikeSTI]

Originally Posted by doubleurx

Hmmmm Matt never asks for a second tune at home, I'm changing from Cobb to ECUtek.

ummm when were you with Cobb?

[MattR]

Originally Posted by MikeSTI

ummm when were you with Cobb?

That's not important we're marketing here...shoooo!

[MikeSTI]

Originally Posted by MattR

That's not important we're marketing here...shoooo!

then my maketing is I want a Pro tune instead of this shelf map Go Nate Go!!!

[MattR]

Eric got a special "Salt Lake" map from Cobb, that seems to be very strong at our altitude.



But... ECUTEK