Rhett Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 ^Yep, especially since I'm way down here in NC and I have to do it by myself with no experience in tuning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sschmelcke Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 Thats why I wish ECS or EFI would learn to tune them. I work 5 min from ECS. He tuned my old car and used to email me map revisions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhett Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 Besides, I really don't have the funds for all this modding mess. lol! This whole thing is taking way too much time too! I'm almost ready to count my losses and go back to stock everything except for audio if Bilstein production doesn't begin this month. Hell, I might even try to sell the car if someone will give me what I owe on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sschmelcke Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 Id love to get a new car but mines paid off. I am enjoying the lack of a car payment and increased bank account size Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhett Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 Well, if I did sell it, I wouldn't be buying another new car, at least at this price, but I know what you mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rutchard Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 It's just too bad this wasn't through a more widely used tuning company. Nobody uses ECUTek in the US anymore, most don't want to invest their time or money into it. You guys need an OpenSource definition so you've got more tuners to choose from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhett Posted May 7, 2013 Share Posted May 7, 2013 ^Didn't know that. I even found another ECUTek tuner in NC that I was going to sell me the cables and he was going to help me with the street tune, after I purchased the base tune from John. But after the guy in NC spoke with John to get it all set up for me, John said it all had to go through him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhett Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Game back on! Got the link last night, so I guess I got a big decision to make since I almost talked myself out of it yesterday. Thanks to Purscitus, I know what benefits to expect from this tune, but I'm interested in any cons that may be involved. Basically, is there any real chance I can blow my engine? Any feedback would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sschmelcke Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Theres always a chance to blow the engine if your dyno tuning. A bit harder with a 3.6 na engine though. Ive had more damage done to my car dyno tuning than 100k miles of road driving. you will have to sign a waiver that states if your car blows up its not his fault. not to scare you or anything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhett Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 I'm not putting it on the Dyno. I'll have to street tune it to get it dailed in. Is that safer on the engine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BadTrainDriver Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 I'm starting to lose my hunger for this tune. Getting tired of the roller coaster ride and waiting to hear from John. I'm also second guessing if adding less than 20hp is worth $750. I also can't help to wonder if he is this hard to get in contact with BEFORE he gets my money, how hard will it be AFTER he gets my money. Don't get me wrong, I like power as much as the next guy, but there has to be a line drawn where expected gain is not worth the money it takes to get there. $750 for maybe 20whp is definitely pasted that line for me. Other than in a straight line, there are lots of ways to make your car faster without increasing horsepower. Suspension, brakes, wheels, tires. Making those better makes your car faster. To each their own, but to me...it's just not worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sschmelcke Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 I'm not putting it on the Dyno. I'll have to street tune it to get it dailed in. Is that safer on the engine? A Dyno tune would probably be more accurate since its hard to find a street to flog the snot out of your car for multiple runs. Either way safety is based on the tuners ability to tune. If you get a hack job tuner your engine can pop fairly fast. A good tuner knows when to back off and when to listen to your needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhett Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Finding a road is not a problem, but being confident I can safely apply a street tune without damaging my engine is!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sschmelcke Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Your going to do the tune? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhett Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Don't get me wrong, I like power as much as the next guy, but there has to be a line drawn where expected gain is not worth the money it takes to get there. $750 for maybe 20whp is definitely pasted that line for me. Other than in a straight line, there are lots of ways to make your car faster without increasing horsepower. Suspension, brakes, wheels, tires. Making those better makes your car faster. To each their own, but to me...it's just not worth it. $750 gets me the cables also. Not sure if you knew that, or if it makes any difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhett Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Your going to do the tune? I guess, if I buy it. I don't really have many options. John said it would be simple for me to do it myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perscitus Posted May 8, 2013 Author Share Posted May 8, 2013 Rhett - sure, there is always a danger and a slight possibility for things to go wrong. However, like sschmelcke said, its down to the tuner/tune and what happens on the dyno and post-tune how you treat your car. Since our motors are N/A and we are not getting a bleeding edge aggressive E85 or race-gas tune, there is a nice safety cushion there. Plus Ecutek just changes certain areas and setting of an otherwise stock/latest 3.6R ECU firmware so there is an added bonus there plus essentially all of the stock Subaru safeguards. What you will want to do is (assuming you take the 93 tune) use only 89 or 93 fuel from now on. No more 87 with the adjusted cam and ignition timings, modified fuel maps. At least not until John raveges my car again to develop an 87 map for us. Beyond that, regular enthusiast maintenance applies. Fairly frequent engine oil, diffs, transmission oil changes/flushes, spark plugs @60K, maybe every 30K from then on. Only good quality gas, proper coolant levels, etc. The car will just need that extra bit of TLC which I'm sure you already provide it. Once tuned, especially for FI applications, its not as forgiving on late service, poor quality gas, regular driver maintenance (aka - lack of maintenace), but again - shouldn't be a problem for anyone on this forum. BadTrainDriver, all - its only $750 if you opt for the full tuning kit (including Ecutek license and cables). This way you can theoretically tune and reflash yourself. To get the maps that have been developed already applied onto an otherwise stock or mildly modified 3.6R its only $150-200. Another $150 or so for dyno time if there is a need or want to fine tune them to a given car (highly recommended but not neccessary for say sschmelcke or ItalianLegacy whos intake/exhaust setup matches mine, likley a good idea for Rhett who has a more stock setup). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhett Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 That kinda sucks that I'd still need to pay for Dyno time on top of the $750 in order to make the most out of that tune. I didn't think a CBE would make that much difference, since there's not really a gain in performance on the H6, but I guess it's more about the fact that the base tune was developed on your car with a CBE. Also, I thought the whole point of the ECUtek was about tuners being able to remotely tune and tweak ECUs if you send them logs. I guess putting a car on a Dyno is still the best way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sschmelcke Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 I shot John another facebook message. I already took my day of last week but you guys got me wanting the tune again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhett Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 I starting to think you can just have mine. Lol! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sschmelcke Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 send him a message. sounds like a deal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perscitus Posted May 8, 2013 Author Share Posted May 8, 2013 That kinda sucks that I'd still need to pay for Dyno time on top of the $750 in order to make the most out of that tune. I didn't think a CBE would make that much difference, since there's not really a gain in performance on the H6, but I guess it's more about the fact that the base tune was developed on your car with a CBE. Also, I thought the whole point of the ECUtek was about tuners being able to remotely tune and tweak ECUs if you send them logs. I guess putting a car on a Dyno is still the best way?You should be fine without the dyno time and any modification on top of the base map developed on my car, but as a precaution and to get the most out of the tune for your particular car - yes - some dyno or street tuning and stock-exhaust tweaks would be ideal. Yes, the remote tuning and then local re-flashing capability is there (especially since you'd get the kit with cables) but John seems reluctant for some reason to make that a reality. I think for $750 its the least you or anyone deserves from John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sschmelcke Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Ive done the Etune thing. What ive learned is if you wanna do it right you do it on a dyno. You can always squeeze as much as possible out of a dyno tune. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minuccims Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 So stating just a 20 HP gain is an understatement . The delta gains over the full rpm range, for both HP and TQ, need to be considered. The improvements as a daily driver will be immediately noticed. So a tune and dyno for $300-400 is quite inexpensive. You can blow that on an intake and filter for little to no gains. Don't get me wrong, I like power as much as the next guy, but there has to be a line drawn where expected gain is not worth the money it takes to get there. $750 for maybe 20whp is definitely pasted that line for me. Other than in a straight line, there are lots of ways to make your car faster without increasing horsepower. Suspension, brakes, wheels, tires. Making those better makes your car faster. To each their own, but to me...it's just not worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhett Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Just did a google search on street tuning vs. dyno tuning. Lots of info and opinions out there. Sounds like a combination of the two is ideal, but a street tune is sufficient for stock cars like mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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