SUPER NEW INFO: I drove down to Chicago (from Madison, I live in Madison until the 14th of August) to get tuned by Jorge today. I was a little late (seriously wtf Illinois construction right in front of a toll), got the 255 Walbro put in, and then Jorge politely asks what gas we're tuning on. I totally forgot Chicago gas is 100% better than MN gas. And I didn't bring any MN gas. He offered to tune the car on the 93/100 blend I had in it, but it would have been (nearly) useless once I had driven back to Minnesota, plus cost me 400 bucks. Not only that, but he informed me that the stock VF39 on the '06 longblock can boost creep in cold weather unless ported. I owe Jorge big for not just throwing the car on the dyno and blaming me when it blew up sometime this winter. This guy is a class act even in the face of losing an easy $400. The new plan of action: pull off the VF39, P&P, slap it on, new clutch, drive the sucker back to P&L and get 'er tuned on 91 and 100. tl;dr - I drove to Chicago to get a fuel pump installed.
I'm going to go to Jorge in Chicago if he's free sometime this week. Don't start the new job until the 28th, so if he can squeeze in the hour or so it would take to tune the car (VF39, STi TMIC, Invidia DP, STi catback), I'm there. I'm not going to RS because I want to keep the AP functionality. /thread
An FYI: Most tuners I have heard of say 2hrs or more for a tune...I'm sure some get done early, I'm just saying, don't count on it only being an hour.
No worries, no worries, thanks for the heads up. I suspect, because the tune I've got already works damn well, it'll be far fewer pulls to tweak it than your average GT30r/SZ55/whatever tuning session. ...but who knows? That's why I'm going to get tuned
Thanks. For now I'm going to be running the OTS COBB map designed for crappy crappy California gas, so the issues should clear up... ...but I can't wait to get the car tuned. I'm hoping for north of 280whp, I'll post the graph when I get it done
I drove to Chicago to buy a K4RT30Y shifter bushing and make two pulls on their dyno. I knew the possibilities of what I was getting into though.
PnP'd VF39 (Josh at Chimera) with 50/50 91oct/93oct and a conservative tune by Bullwinkle granted me the results below. He lives here and does not charge $400 (yet, ). Also, your AP will getcha $450 on eBay and a Tactrix cable is $75. I'm not saying, I'm just saying...
hm....so I'm hearing "sell the AP and get an opensource tune from RSMotors"? 'cause Chicago's a long way just to keep AP functionality, frankly.
If you're just gonna flash and forget, then sure, go with the OpenSource If you really need to switch maps and use the bells and whistles of the new AP, then keep the AP
Sorta. I had an AP...it was nice. The numbers in that graph above reflect the OTS VF39 map from Cobb versus Bullwinkle's road tune. Also road tunes do not require dyno time. To me, it seems very spendy to pay for both an AP and a pro tune with associated dyno time. That's easily a $1k proposition not including your personal time and fuel costs to get there and back. [Jorge's oft-lauded skills notwithstanding.] I understand the benefit of switching between maps and the portability of the AP unit but a laptop and Tactrix cable can be had for the price of an AP. You can also switch maps using the OpenECU. I mean, really, how often would anyone be switching? I rarely drove around with my AP plugged in. It was pretty cool to toggle through the different screens but I don't think the AP is a good substitute for proper gauges either. I digress. Regardless of the path you choose please post the results!
Can you put me in touch with the chap that did that tune for you? I think I'm going to stay with the stock porting (yeah, I know it creeps in cold weather), ditch the AP and get opensourced.
Bullwinkle... I am still contemplating a tune... may just take a file of the vishnu ecutek tune and save it (for personal use in case I revert later) and go your tune so I get more form the car.. some things dont feel just right... I played with Billl tonight.. he wasnt ready... but he pulled on me as mine hit a spot in the rev range where it sounded like fuel cut... but I may be waiting till I recover from replacing the ecu and have also done some more basic mods... maybe injectors, up-pipe, and fuel pump... although I am ready that some Foresters have the Sti injectors already
For me, it was 2-3 times a week. 3 maps: pump, 96 octane, STU map for autocross. Also, switching maps with an openecu tune means owning, or having access to a laptop and cable. Used, "tuning" laptops are still less than a new AP, but it's a hidden cost nonetheless. But yeah, sounds like openecu is a good option for the OP at this point... unless Jorge is making a group tuning trip soon... shoulda read the pre-tune check-lists
New Vishnu and Ecutek's locked their ecus, so you can't do much with it with opensource for now. Now you have that 'other' ecu that's dead right? You can send that into tactrix.com and have them revive it back for like $70-80. Then begin tuning that one.
thats what I was gonna do but couldnt find the post with the info to send it in... duh and now you say tactrix I remember it was on there... ha ha I will have to do that a little later now... recover form spending more then I wanted int he first place... I could have just paid you the cash and had some left but no I had to play and when I finally decided to stop it %^&%^&%^& up.. I will be in touch when the time comes...
For some reason you seem to be the exception to any rule Sheen! BTW - I am dying for my black nuts. I'm not dismissing the cost of the laptop, I'm just saying that you can buy a new/used laptop and Tactrix + freeware for the price of an AP and still have a laptop, that's all.
