http://cobbtuning.com/wrx/accessport.html Seems like I hear a lot of people use this and like it a lot. Are there any down sides to using this over other methods like a piggy back system or a straight up reflash of your ECU? I am highly tempted with the ease of use it seems to have, downloadable maps and the fact I can get a very sizeable hp/torque increase with the stage 1 map on stock equipment.
I believe their add on to the accesport will allow tuning to a piggy backs level, readymix is running that on his car, I suspect he'll chime in. I used to think I was going with a utec now I'm sure I'm getting the cobb instead.
Couldn't you just offer to do flashes for people too? You just have to unmarry the Accessport from the ECU then you can use it on another car at that point...well when you unmarry it does it revert your car back to stock mappings? Otherwise what's to stop people from just saying "hey, give me $20 and I'll throw whatever map you want on your car quick." Well other then the whole "honor system" thing
from what I believe and have read from my AP it reverts it back to stock when you unmarry it, I love the AP and it has some features that are fun but if you can find someone with the streettuner software you can fully tune your car but if you are going for a crazy mad setup then I would say buy both then. I really love it though and I want to valet my car just to set it to valet mode, but IMHO it is the best bang for the buck and it greatly improves driveability
pretty much everything in this thread is true. Alot of us(including me) are running accessport. There are no draw backs to this, the maps are considered safe. A local member is learning how to use the protuner. We he has it down pat, i am sure he will start tuning.
the accessport is only allowed to be used on one car at a time, meaning to make it work on another car you would have to revert back to stock (unmarry) for the ecu. So you could remove the ap from one can and install it on another, but the 1st car would be stock again. Also, since the street tuner and protuner software has come out, the ap is very flexible. Once I get some time and a few tunes under my belt, I will start offering my tuning services for the ap to help dial them in a bit. Russ
I have a 2005 STi with a TBE and will be installing the Stage 2 map as soon as my AP arrives in a few days. When you reflash the ECU with a Base map (Stage 2 for example) are you using up one of the 100 or so possible stock ECU flashes? Also, if you run a Real Time map do you need to select this map every time you start the car or if it is selected will it automatically run off of the Real Time map? I ask this for the times you would use the Valet mode. I wouldn't want to switch to Valet, hand my keys to some punk kid to park my car and allow him/her the ability to shut the car off, restart it and have full power. Anyone have some comforting knowledge about this? Jason
I don't have one but I've been reading everything I can on them. No, the real time map will only be reset if you reset the ECU or you reprogram it. http://www.wrxforum.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=11;t=001121 Scroll down towards the bottom of the first post and it talks about real time maps.
And here is the answer to your 100 flashes question. http://forum.ecutek.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=762 No, there is no 100 flash limit. Also in reading some other posts, this rumor only applied to base maps, not real time maps. So even if there were a 100 flash limit...how often are you really going to be changing your base map? I would think 100 times, if it were limited, would be more then plenty.
So am I correct in saying that a Base map is flashed into the ECU and when running a Real Time map, it is run from the AP?
The base map gets flashed onto the ECU. This map cannot be deleted from the ECU with a simple ECU reset as the data gets written to the ECU itself. The only way to remove the map is to flash it with another map or to unmarry the AP from your vehicle (which essentially is doing the same thing). A realtime map, on the other hand, is just running "from memory" so to speak. If you reset the ECU any realtime map that was loaded will be lost. The AP does not need to be plugged in to run a realtime map. You can load a realtime map, unplug the AP from your car, the realtime map will still be there.
Is it best then to flash the Base map (Stage 2 in my case) into the ECU and if swapping to Economy or Valet to just use the Real Time? Or should you just use Real Time maps all the time, even from the start?
When you marry the accessport, you have to flash a basemap before you do anything else. You want to use the base maps as...well as a base. The base maps can contain some extra data that the realtime maps don't. If you look at the map notes for the realtime maps on Cobb's site, most suggest you flash the corresponding base map. So if your at stage 2, flash the stage 2 91oct map, then run either the 91 or 93oct realtime.
I'd flash the base map. There is some data that cannot be entered without flashing the ECU. Thus, if you're only using real time maps, you're not really getting the whole benefit out of your AP. Check out this thread over at Cobb. This should help to answer your questions: http://www.wrxforum.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=11;t=001121
the base map is what it says, the base , I have mine set to the 91 octane stage 2, and then I have the economy map loaded when I am just driving day to day. and when I want more power I load the 93octane map (realtime) my base is always 91 but for your question, yes the base map uses one of those 100 flashes, but the realtime does not, and when you go to the "show current map" option it only will show your base map, not realtime, you just have to keep track of that on your own. I love my AP and I am just trying the econo. map now it kills boost but I want too see how much gas it saves, with $3 a gallon, with the STi can you do a 91 map since stock I believe is 93 octane???
