Think I Threw a Rod....

[Shomare]

Blaming COBB for blown FoST engines is not the right path to go down.

They are probably the most established tuner in the American FI market.

I've been around Subie's for 2 decades, my FiST for almost half a decade, I've not once heard of COBB OTS tunes causing issues. A COBB protune by Jimmy down the street, yes.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This all day.

I WISH COBB would make a AP for our Rangers. As I've got a great protuner locally and custom tune is much better than an OTS option.

BTW, emailed asking them, no current plans.

May be that people pushed too hard too fast but I clearly remember every early popped engine having one thing in common. I ran a Forum for ST enthusiast and later, one for RS enthusiast so I was pretty aware of how often it was happening. The problem did seem to go away (blown engines as a result of tuning), so I am inclined to that your point the the user had a lot to do with it but I know it made me think twice about tuning given the frequency it was happening.

I went with Montune, Randy custom tuning my cars and was very content. In fact, if not for the safeguards he put in to one of tunes, I might have suffered a similar fait.

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[TORQUERULES]

May be that people pushed too hard too fast but I clearly remember every early popped engine having one thing in common. I ran a Forum for ST enthusiast and later, one for RS enthusiast so I was pretty aware of how often it was happening. The problem did seem to go away (blown engines as a result of tuning), so I am inclined to that your point the the user had a lot to do with it but I know it made me think twice about tuning given the frequency it was happening.

I went with Montune, Randy custom tuning my cars and was very content. In fact, if not for the safeguards he put in to one of tunes, I might have suffered a similar fait.

This is why I decided to switch to Unleashed Tuning. I was starting to get a random ping here and there with my last 5 Star revision which made me think we were pushing things too hard. Of course winter gas does not help, but the tune should be able to take that into effect using the OAR value to adjust timing, fuel, etc. I loved the power and their customer service was great, but after a while I began to think we were starting to chase issues that we created by trying to work out the kinks on the from original base tune. I stand by the review of them on this site that they are great to work with and they are responsive to needs, plus they provide powerful tunes, but they might be a little rough around the edges in places. I think given time with the platform (4cyl Ecoboosts), this will subside. Unleashed has many years of experience with Ecoboosts and the they have been working on the 4cyl Ecoboosts much longer than some and it shows. Power, smoothness, and just enough changes here and there to make the driving experience better than stock. Plus customer service that is insanely good.

 

[TORQUERULES]

Also, I want to put this out there... When I got my SCT device I went ahead and loaded their canned tune before 5 Star sent me my original tunes, and honestly it was pretty darned good, at least on my truck. Great power, shifting was good, and I was surprised for a canned tune that came with the handheld. If you look at their dynos, they claim pretty close to the same gains as the FRPP tune...

I have a Cobb AP on my Mazdaspeed with Stratified custom tunes and while I love it, I found that when the car was still pretty much stock with only an intake, fuel pump internals (for insurance later), bigger IC, and catback, the Hypertech tuner with its canned tunes was more powerful and more fun to drive than the Cobb canned tunes. There are a few Mazdaspeed guys who have tried the Hypertech that agree. Of course the Mazdaspeed Cult of Cobb wins out with their deafening cries of Cobb! Cobb! Cobb!, but for most owners they could save some cash and go with the much simpler tuner. Now when things got serious and custom tuning was required, then Cobb was the only way to go. It does have fantastic capabilities, but for our platform the current providers are good enough honestly.

 

[TORQUERULES]

I guess I am saying that often canned tunes are enough for many people. It might be good to send a log or two to make sure things look good on your application, but do not let the tuner then start tweaking if you are satisfied with how it runs with the canned tune. I learned the hard way that things can start to get frustrating as you could cause issues elsewhere. If you know a tuner has the experience with the platform that goes above and beyond, then make sure you are careful with the tweaks for more power. Save those for new parts that may need some tweaking instead.

If you look at the Mustang Ecoboost forums, you will see a lot of guys running the canned FRPP tune with larger ICs, full exhausts, etc. and they are doing fine, so often they are very adaptive as well.

 

[D Fresh]

May be that people pushed too hard too fast but I clearly remember every early popped engine having one thing in common. I ran a Forum for ST enthusiast and later, one for RS enthusiast so I was pretty aware of how often it was happening. The problem did seem to go away (blown engines as a result of tuning), so I am inclined to that your point the the user had a lot to do with it but I know it made me think twice about tuning given the frequency it was happening.

I went with Montune, Randy custom tuning my cars and was very content. In fact, if not for the safeguards he put in to one of tunes, I might have suffered a similar fait.

Mountune uses the COBB AP. And when you buy their AP, it comes with their OTS maps AND COBBS, at least on the FiST.

Mountune is essentially a COBB Protuner.

Both are quality organizations.

I guess I am saying that often canned tunes are enough for many people. It might be good to send a log or two to make sure things look good on your application, but do not let the tuner then start tweaking if you are satisfied with how it runs with the canned tune. I learned the hard way that things can start to get frustrating as you could cause issues elsewhere. If you know a tuner has the experience with the platform that goes above and beyond, then make sure you are careful with the tweaks for more power. Save those for new parts that may need some tweaking instead.

If you look at the Mustang Ecoboost forums, you will see a lot of guys running the canned FRPP tune with larger ICs, full exhausts, etc. and they are doing fine, so often they are very adaptive as well.

Again, tweaks to tunes are usually more about safety and driveability. Not about power.

Full TBEs, intercoolers, intakes, charge piping, all these can effect AFRs and cause major problems if not tuned for.

In my experince, to get the most of your mods and for the safety of your engine EVERY single mod should be tuned for. Or at a minimum the tune should be looked at through logs or realtime.

 

[Shomare]

Mountune uses the COBB AP. And when you buy their AP, it comes with their OTS maps AND COBBS, at least on the FiST.

Mountune is essentially a COBB Protuner.

Both are quality organizations.


Again, tweaks to tunes are usually more about safety and driveability. Not about power.

Full TBEs, intercoolers, intakes, charge piping, all these can effect AFRs and cause major problems if not tuned for.

In my experince, to get the most of your mods and for the safety of your engine EVERY single mod should be tuned for. Or at a minimum the tune should be looked at through logs or realtime.

yes, I know but the Cobb tune was never installed on my car because the canned Cobb tune had some issues, turbo flutter if I remember correctly. My car was tuned by Montune and it included specific equipment installed, tires and multiple data logs to fine tune it.

 

[JAKE2.3]

yes, I know but the Cobb tune was never installed on my car because the canned Cobb tune had some issues, turbo flutter if I remember correctly. My car was tuned by Montune and it included specific equipment installed, tires and multiple data logs to fine tune it.

For what it's worth, the cobb tunes aren't loved by the eb mustang group either. Everyone seems to love the tuning device, but their canned tunes are underwhelming and not considered very smooth from what I hear.

 

[D Fresh]

you guys should start a COBB thread for FFS.

every time i see a new post on here, I'm hoping its the OP chiming in on some news...but nopes, its you COBB suckers sucking some more COBB stories.

grow a pair and start a thread of your own, the mods are asleep and not paying attention, it's not that hard.

This thread is 24 pages long. The OP has posted maybe 10 times.

Yet it is the fault of the most recent tangent that you aren't getting the moneyshot you desire? Sorry to be a dick tease.

We are all waiting for the outcome just like you.

 

[txquailguy]

Blaming COBB for blown FoST engines is not the right path to go down.

They are probably the most established tuner in the American FI market.

I've been around Subie's for 2 decades, my FiST for almost half a decade, I've not once heard of COBB OTS tunes causing issues. A COBB protune by Jimmy down the street, yes.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This all day.

I WISH COBB would make a AP for our Rangers. As I've got a great protuner locally and custom tune is much better than an OTS option.

BTW, emailed asking them, no current plans.

I'll keep my OTS tune with PLENTY of power and let the custom guys learn the hard way
Custom = Limit Pushing
Also depends on who wrote your OTS tune...

 

[txquailguy]

I think the Ranger is just too small of a market for them. It seems like it'd be easy enough, though. They already make APs for several Fords, and tune the 2.3 in at least 3 other Ford applications.

Approximately 160K 5th Gen Rangers sold so far......
Doesn't seem like too small of a market.

 

[D Fresh]

I'll keep my OTS tune with PLENTY of power and let the custom guys learn the hard way
Custom = Limit Pushing
Also depends on who wrote your OTS tune...

Every road/dyno/log based tune I've ever seen has been more about...

1. Safety in regards to knock events, preferred fuel (by the vehicle), and timing.

2. Cleaning up of the curve.

3. And very last making the most of your setup..

Any tuner tweaking a tune should be asking their customer what they are trying to achieve. Any owner tweaking their tune should ask for #1 and #2 specifically.

Your belief that an OTS tune is safer than a custom tune goes 180 degrees against conventional wisdom.

Approximately 160K 5th Gen Rangers sold so far......
Doesn't seem like too small of a market.

This is the biggest/only Ranger forum in the US, we have roughly 10,000 members.

The vast majority of drivers will have a bone stock vehicle their entire lives.

 

[TORQUERULES]

Mountune uses the COBB AP. And when you buy their AP, it comes with their OTS maps AND COBBS, at least on the FiST.

Mountune is essentially a COBB Protuner.

Both are quality organizations.


Again, tweaks to tunes are usually more about safety and driveability. Not about power.

Full TBEs, intercoolers, intakes, charge piping, all these can effect AFRs and cause major problems if not tuned for.

In my experince, to get the most of your mods and for the safety of your engine EVERY single mod should be tuned for. Or at a minimum the tune should be looked at through logs or realtime.

I agree, I just wanted to point out that if you aren't 100% sure if the quality of your tuner, then a canned tune might be the safest bet for many. I wanted to try 5 Star due to the results they were showing, but realized that I should have went tried and true from the start.

 

[TORQUERULES]

Every road/dyno/log based tune I've ever seen has been more about...

1. Safety in regards to knock events, preferred fuel (by the vehicle), and timing.

2. Cleaning up of the curve.

3. And very last making the most of your setup..

Any tuner tweaking a tune should be asking their customer what they are trying to achieve. Any owner tweaking their tune should ask for #1 and #2 specifically.

Your belief that an OTS tune is safer than a custom tune goes 180 degrees against conventional wisdom.




This is the biggest/only Ranger forum in the US, we have roughly 10,000 members.

The vast majority of drivers will have a bone stock vehicle their entire lives.

It might be safer IF the tuner you are using is NOT doing the things you said. I think that is happening in many cases. It was for me. You begin to chase your tail. One tune good power, bad shifting. Next tune good shifting, but way down on power. Next tune spot on. Send in logs to check things out. Get a revision and now something new is amiss... Many users may not have the patience or knowledge to keep on top of that or get out when you know you are going down the wrong path.

 

[TORQUERULES]

For what it's worth, the cobb tunes aren't loved by the eb mustang group either. Everyone seems to love the tuning device, but their canned tunes are underwhelming and not considered very smooth from what I hear.

Same for the Mazdaspeed.

 

[D Fresh]

It might be safer IF the tuner you are using is NOT doing the things you said. I think that is happening in many cases. It was for me. You begin to chase your tail. One tune good power, bad shifting. Next tune good shifting, but way down on power. Next tune spot on. Send in logs to check things out. Get a revision and now something new is amiss... Many users may not have the patience or knowledge to keep on top of that or get out when you know you are going down the wrong path.

I mean, to me, somebody chasing their tail like that is a sign they don't really know what they're doing.

In that very specific instance the first step onto the right path would've been to find a new guide.

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