Cobb Accessport & ECUTek Info LOOK HERE FIRST!

[CreoSTi]

Generic octane boosters (the kind you buy at AutoZone/Pep Boys) will not do much. For example, if they claim to raise 3-5 octane "points" from one bottle in 16 gallons, that just means it goes from 91 octane to 91.3-91.5 octane. Your best (and most cost effective) bet is to mix 100 octane (sold at certain gas stations throughout CA) with 91 octane to get 93.

 

If you're in SoCal, here's a list;

 

http://www.srtforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=151059

 

If you're in NorCal, I believe that there are a couple stations in San Jose and one in Sacramento (I'm still trying to find one in/near S.F.). Search on i-club.com for their exact locations.

 

-Mike-

[2006Specb122]

OOOHHHH!!!!!!

 

If there is one in Sacramento please let me know. I live in/near sac and drive around town all the time I could very easily find it if Ihad the phone number or address

 

Probably VERY expensive I would assume.

 

Interesting that soeone CAN sell 100 octane here but I'v never seen 93 as a standard at ANY gas station.. Thought there was a law that kept hte 93 out... doesn't make sense if they have some that offer 100. Interesting....

 

So would you mix or does Cobb/TDC have some maps for 100 octane~!!~

[CreoSTi]

Go onto i-club.com, and run a search. I know I saw the thread, but I don't remember where.

 

The station in San Jose sells it for ~$4.59/gallon.

 

You'll get no benefit running the 93 octane map with 100 octane (other than a lighter wallet), so just mix. You'd have to get an e-tune map from TDC or a ProTune for a 100 octane-specific map. I'll do the latter once I get the 18G installed.

 

-Mike-

[rporter]

I have run 92 on many occasions (northern MI stations in the boondocks), and infrequently 91, on my 93 map. I don't data-log, and my butt-dyno is not THAT finely tuned, but I haven't noticed a difference. Of course, the 91 & 92 was usuallly mixed wth 93.

 

Bottom line is also that you never reallly know what octane you are truly getting. A guy on another list has a friend who does station inspections for the State of Michigan, and there is more funny stuff going on than you would suspect. I surmise that it's the main reason that every car built since at least the late '80s will run without damage on 87......although not with all of the advertised power.

[2006Specb122]

Yeah I have a buddy who ran tests at various gas stations throughout California. He would always have to check a number of different things including the actual amount of gasoline coming versus the actual amount charged to the customer. It also makes it difficult for tuning if you don't know what gas you are actually getting.

 

I had a question but I didn't start my own thread. I wondered if any testing had been done with certain gasoline manufacturers. For example if I only use Chevron Gas in California is that better than same brand X gas in Caliofrnia. If so could i then be tuned slightly differently than if I just used any old gas from any station.... are any of them really going to perform different from one another????

 

Never heard anyone discuss brands of gasoline..only octane rating.

[rporter]

I had a question but I didn't start my own thread. I wondered if any testing had been done with certain gasoline manufacturers. For example if I only use Chevron Gas in California is that better than same brand X gas in Caliofrnia. If so could i then be tuned slightly differently than if I just used any old gas from any station.... are any of them really going to perform different from one another????

 

Never heard anyone discuss brands of gasoline..only octane rating.

 

That is a tough question. First off, the "name brands" are supposed to be made with their own additive package, so theoretically, Chevron would be the same at every station.

 

In reaity it may not be. As I understand from folks I know who distribute gas, the local distribution point is responsible for the additive package that makes Chevron or Shell or whatever from the gas from a refinery. Then the distributor takes over.

 

Assuming everybody does their job to get the right gas to a station's storage tanks (which can be iffy), then there is the issue of the quality from a local station. Do they sell enough, or has the 91 octane been in the tank since Christmas??

 

I have friends that claim they can tell differences in gas, but they are non-performance-car folks with n/a engines. I tend to stay with the name brands (BP, Mobil, Shell), and don't notice anything different.

 

For a semi-related story the seven-county area around Detroit must have Summer gas (basically RFG swill) from June through mid-September. The county 10 miles north of me (Lapeer county) is out of the area, so theoreticaly, they don't have to sell the Summer gas. Well. my Peterbilt salesman buddy sells trucks to the guy whose compay distributes about all of the gas in SE Michigan, and his area includes part of Lapeer county. I haven't gotten an answer yet, but I am virtually certain that he delivers RFG outside of the mandated area (which is fine with the EPA), as why would he set up special delveries of non-RFG-Summer gas to a basically rural county without many stations?

[2006Specb122]

QUESTION:

 

I read somewhere that you can't load maps that other people have created becuase the software they use must be married to your AP.

 

How do places like PDX and TDC create custom maps/tunes for everyone. How do you load it to your ECU?

 

I think I'm just missing something here....

 

thanks

[2006Specb122]

Question Two:

 

I'm using the Cobb Stage 2 91 Octane CA base map.

 

I have just comleted installing Cobb UP, Copp DP w/ hfc, Borla TBE system.

 

According to Cobb the stage 2 requirement is only a catback exhaust.

 

Am I missing some huge potential performance by not getting a custom tune from one of the vendors on this forum?

 

Why wouldn't cobb have another map that matches more for their equipment.

 

Do my extra components fall within guidelines of Stage 2?

 

Thanks

[VTGT]

i'm pretty sure the stage two map you need the turboback part of the exhaust. All you really need is a DP to run stage 2, but most also do the UP. You will always gain from getting a custom tune.

[CreoSTi]

What VTGT said. Your best bet is to drive it around for a few weeks, then get a baseline dyno run at a shop like GRuppe-S (~$75 for a 3 runs). Mike will tell you if it's worth extracting more power or not. In my case, he told me to save my money as my car was running pretty well on Cobb's standard 91 octane Stage 2 map.

 

I did get a ProTune on my Forester XT, which yielded ~10whp/15lb.ft. more than Cobb's standard Stage 2 map.

 

-Mike-

[2006Specb122]

Mike,

 

Thanks for the info. How far from Sacramento do you think Gruppe-S is?

 

Sounds like an honest place.

 

That was my thinking... unless I'm lacking some serious extra tune I think I'd be fine with Cobb's map. I'm not trying to squeeze every last drop out of my car but I think Stage 2 will have no complaints from me in terms of HP and torque!

 

Also the more you squeeze I'm sure the more you work the engine.....

 

I need about 150k miles in the next 5 years.

[TSiWRX]

A true custom-tune may make your engine work "less" overall when you're not really on it. Remember, you can tell your tuner how aggressive you want things done - the tune not only optimizes your vehicle, but optimizes it to your end-needs.

 

Additionally, the custom-tune can account for unique factors that you may see with your vehicle and driving conditions that could lend to it some extra protection, even while running balls-out. For example, it's known that Cobb's off-the-shelf "Stage II" maps can be slightly knocky up-high. Thus, this is an area where the money you've spent on a custom tune can help increase the "safety buffer" you see with your car.

 

Typically, you can expect about 10 to 20 wHP and slightly greater wTQ increases, in terms of "peak" numbers, over an off-the-shelf baseline. However, don't focus too much on this "peak" number. The true benefit of such custom tunes (or "even" e-tunes) is an enhanced power-delivery curve *_overall_*, as well as, in many cases, increased driveability.

 

The Cobb off-the-shelf "Stage II" map as stated in their AccessPORT FAQ as well as on countless threads here on LGT.com has the pre-requisite of only a catless shorty DP. However, optimization is only reached with a full turbo-back setup.

[CreoSTi]

 

Thanks for the info. How far from Sacramento do you think Gruppe-S is?

 

 

It's ~1 hour 40 mins. from Sacramento (in Hayward). I get most of my installs done at LIC Motorsports in Novato, but I go to Mike for tuning. Also, read what TSi+WRX said.

 

-Mike-

[TSiWRX]

^ I also want to say to read what brother CreoSTi said, too....

 

Definitely, listen to your tuner - if they say that you don't really need to have a custom-tune, then there's probably good reason for that assessment (i.e. local fuel quality, your desires might not match with "reachable reality," etc.).

 

Trusted tuners who know what they're doing is the most important part of this equation. Do what your tuner suggests.

[rporter]

The Cobb off-the-shelf "Stage II" map as stated in their AccessPORT FAQ as well as on countless threads here on LGT.com has the pre-requisite of only a catless shorty DP. However, optimization is only reached with a full turbo-back setup.

 

Well...not exactly. Replacing the DP with a better catted or catless pipe qualifies.

 

Actually, the best advice is for folks to read all of Cobb's explanation in the FAQ:

 

http://cobbtuning.com/legacy/accessport-faq.html

 

under the "What is needed for Stage 2?" question.

[2006Specb122]

It's ~1 hour 40 mins. from Sacramento (in Hayward). I get most of my installs done at LIC Motorsports in Novato, but I go to Mike for tuning. Also, read what TSi+WRX said.

 

-Mike-

 

Where is Navaot? I can't recall and I'm too lazy to look at the big map!

 

I went to hayward 8 times last month. WOW ... that was about 30-40 hours spent just driving to and from Hayward..... I could have dropped in... maybe next time.

 

thanks for the great info EVERYONE...

[TSiWRX]

Well...not exactly. Replacing the DP with a better catted or catless pipe qualifies.

 

Actually, the best advice is for folks to read all of Cobb's explanation in the FAQ:

 

http://cobbtuning.com/legacy/accessport-faq.html

 

under the "What is needed for Stage 2?" question.

 

^ Ah dangit, my fault indeed !

 

Catless shorty (hum...I don't seem to know of any catted shorties...anyone?), catted full-length, un-catted full-length - it all qualifies.

 

Thanks for the spot!

[derffred]

goin to the dealer monday.. should i just flash back to stock? or should i unmarry...

[rporter]

Depends what you're going in for.

 

For engine/electronics stuff, reflash it back. For other stuff, don't bother.

[wrx034me]

i pose a question to you guys. does reflashing over a previous AP map reset the learned ecu data? ie timing multipliers and whatnot?

[2006Specb122]

mmmmmmm DON"T KNOW...

 

I am going to guess NO

[rporter]

i pose a question to you guys. does reflashing over a previous AP map reset the learned ecu data? ie timing multipliers and whatnot?

 

From my experience reflashing base maps......yes.

 

It needs to relearn through the adaptive cycle.

 

Now, I don't know on realtime maps, as I've only done a realtime map change once, and it was in the middle of a long road trip to drop to a lower octane map. From that point, the car went right back on cruise control, so I didn't notice anything.

[subie4me]

hey Guys, I got a buddy with a 05legacy GT that wants to put is car back to stock before he sells it (it's fully stage2 right now). just wondering if his parts will work on my 06 LGT, Mainly wondering about the COBB access port?

[Impulse]

holy thread revival!

 

 

no, if you are talking about the version 1 accessports (big ones with monochromatic screens) they are transmission and year specific. 05 AP v1 will not work with any 06 LGTs. All the other physical pipes should work fine though

[2006Specb122]

plus one!

 

And I have the version 1 AP...don't make it sound so old school...

 

It does the same thing!!!!!!