Cobb stg 1 91 tune

[Mustang Mikes Queen Creek]

Does anyone else feel the stg 1 91 octane tune feels soggy in Drive and sport mode compared to the stock Ford tune,Seems like the trans shift points are way softer in drive mode but do shift later,Ive noticed the stock tune feels crisp and engaged in tip in power in every gear,I do feel the cobb tune pulls a tad harder in the mid range and top end but seems like it takes way more throttle input to get the car moving.

I haven't had Adam send me a tune file yet do to the lack of an intercooler,but regardless of the tune am I expected to loose all that nice throttle response from stock,Or does adams tune keep the car nice and torquey with the oem throttle response or more,It really seems like the stage 1 tune takes way longer to spool in both modes,Personally I think the tune stinks.

I'm also reluctant to toss a solid tune at it now that people aren popping their motors,Seems like the more and more I own this car,the more things I find to dislike about it.Are these cars just fragile and finicky or are people blowing them up for other reasons,Having a hard time pulling the trigger on more parts if these things are junk.

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[Witj85]

I don't know if they're finicky as much as there certain parts that should be replaced before running a tune. Idk if the owner specified but the last car that popped didn't have an intercooler listed but was running a lot of other boltons. Also other ppl on here have had issues with Cobb ots tunes.

 

[Mustang Mikes Queen Creek]

Yeah no intercooler and Bolton's plus tune is a brain fart,Our 91 octane fuel is junk here,So I tend to be very easy on the car,Ive installed the upr dv catch can,the mit pipe and air cleaner in the stock box.I have a down pipe ts wg actuator,and still need to buy a fmic.Paid for adams tune months ago but haven't been able to swing an intercooler yet,Either way I like the stock for tune,waaaaaay better then the cobb job can tunes,I really wish I had passed on the cobb and bought the intercooler first, now I have a 1000.00 in parts and tune ability that I cant use until I purchase one.Is what it is.I only drive the car a couple of days every two weeks,So it's not too annoying for the most part.

 

[TheLion]

Does anyone else feel the stg 1 91 octane tune feels soggy in Drive and sport mode compared to the stock Ford tune,Seems like the trans shift points are way softer in drive mode but do shift later,Ive noticed the stock tune feels crisp and engaged in tip in power in every gear,I do feel the cobb tune pulls a tad harder in the mid range and top end but seems like it takes way more throttle input to get the car moving.

I haven't had Adam send me a tune file yet do to the lack of an intercooler,but regardless of the tune am I expected to loose all that nice throttle response from stock,Or does adams tune keep the car nice and torquey with the oem throttle response or more,It really seems like the stage 1 tune takes way longer to spool in both modes,Personally I think the tune stinks.

I'm also reluctant to toss a solid tune at it now that people aren popping their motors,Seems like the more and more I own this car,the more things I find to dislike about it.Are these cars just fragile and finicky or are people blowing them up for other reasons,Having a hard time pulling the trigger on more parts if these things are junk.

PCM software plays a HUGE role in any modern engine's performance. It is not more important than hardware, but just as important. You need both to be optimized to the make the most of the energy contained in the fuel.

That being said, Cobb does not specialize in domestic cars, they specialize in imports and their bred and butter are Boxer engine's used in Subaru's (which interestingly enough are not the most robust engine despite propaganda, a quick search for blown WRX engine will reveal many pages worth on all sorts of forums stock and modified).

I am going to knock Cobb a bit, their track record suggests they do not understand the Ecoboost architecture as well as say Tune+, Livernois, Lund or other tuners which specialize in ecoboost engines and other domestic brews (Chevy and Dodge also).

If you do a search for blown Focus ST engines, you'll find a list on a forum and a very sizable portion of those blown engines were running Cobb Stage 3.

If you go with a tune from Livernois, Tune+, Lund or another highly reputable and knowledgeable tuner you will have a very different experience. Livernois can be used on a bone stock car, I'm not sure about Tune+ or Lund, but I"m sure they have stock hardware options as well.

Lets not forget Ford Performance, who also has a very respectable tune but also allows you to keep the factory warranty (at reduced mileage of 36k vs. the original 60k). Any one of the 4 above are great choices and all have stellar track records for reliability.

If you don't want to tune, I found (before I tuned) that a really good combination on the stock software is the following:

1. Inter cooler
2. Upgraded Diverter Valve / BOV
3. Brisk RR14YS plugs (noticeable increase in response and smooth operation). Just be sure to change the plugs if you tune and avoid my mistake, the RR14YS sit deeper in the chamber, so the have a slight effect of advancing ignition, which is perfectly fine on stock software but not suitable for the added heat of a tune, change to RR14S if you run a tune or OE plugs work also.

Those 3 mods will run you about $800 but are all low risk regarding warranty and play very well with the stock software to give you enhanced and more consistent power. All of them except for the plugs can also be used with any tune (again, plugs need to be upgraded from the RR14YS to the RR14S if you tune).

Also I believe all of the above have very good transmission tuning as well. Some offer transmission tune as a separate tune and cost while others integrate it as one package (Livernois and probably Ford Performance, but I'm not sure about Lund and I think Tune+ sells that separately).

 

[ypena02]

My car went from a 13.7 to 13.0 on just the Cobb stage 1 ots tune. There was also never any negative ignition corrections with their tunes, I think they understand the EBM PCM just fine.

 

[Mustang Mikes Queen Creek]

I've got the brisk non projectile coyote plugs in the motor allready as well, one range colder.Im sure the cobb tune loaded up at the track would run better then stock seeing as your leaving at a higher rpm and leaving on boost,the tune def feels better upstairs,but around town and bottom end power feels lazy to me.Also these Ecoboost come with different gear sets,mine is a 331 equipped rear,maybe the 355s are better with the ots 1 tune.Ill stick with the stock tune for now and just slam on the parts all at once and data log for Adam,Its not a drag car by any means ,I race my pushrod stuff for the fun factor,would be nice to have a peppy mid 12 sec weekend cruiser for the eb though.

 

[TheLion]

My car went from a 13.7 to 13.0 on just the Cobb stage 1 ots tune. There was also never any negative ignition corrections with their tunes, I think they understand the EBM PCM just fine.

I'm not suggesting they don't get more power out of the engine, I never suggested that at all. What I suggested was they may not do it in the safest or most optimal way. Your running a Stage 1 tune from Cobb, I have not seen anyone blown an engine from their Stage 1, which I think is pretty safe due to the lower power levels.

But there are quite a few Focus ST's, WRX's and now even a few Ecoboost Mustangs with blown engines running their Stage 3 PCM software, those are real instances which show the inherent higher risk in their methodology when pushing more power.

While you can get away with certain methodologies and changing certain parameters at lower power levels without causing failure, you may not be able to do so at higher power levels and the proof is in the pudding. I'm not interested in starting a flame war or degrading you for your choices, I just wanted to point out those are risks that are known.

If your happy at your current power level see no need to change to a different PCM software, but if you want more power, I would advise going with Tune+ over a Stage 2 or Stage 3 from Cobb. You already have the programmer...but Tune+'s track record is markedly better at the higher power levels.

 

[Regs]

I believe you keep your 5 year warranty for the drivetrain, but if the engine damage is caused by the tune, it's only 3 years via Ford Performance. The tune seems to be vaporware as they have yet to figure out how to install the tune.

 

[ypena02]

I'm not suggesting they don't get more power out of the engine, I never suggested that at all. What I suggested was they may not do it in the safest or most optimal way. Your running a Stage 1 tune from Cobb, I have not seen anyone blown an engine from their Stage 1, which I think is pretty safe due to the lower power levels.

But there are quite a few Focus ST's, WRX's and now even a few Ecoboost Mustangs with blown engines running their Stage 3 PCM software, those are real instances which show the inherent higher risk in their methodology when pushing more power.

While you can get away with certain methodologies and changing certain parameters at lower power levels without causing failure, you may not be able to do so at higher power levels and the proof is in the pudding. I'm not interested in starting a flame war or degrading you for your choices, I just wanted to point out those are risks that are known.

If your happy at your current power level see no need to change to a different PCM software, but if you want more power, I would advise going with Tune+ over a Stage 2 or Stage 3 from Cobb. You already have the programmer...but Tune+'s track record is markedly better at the higher power levels.

Where did you read about the EBMs blowing up on the Cobb stg 3? First I've heard of it :shrug: I'm also not concerned about the Focus ST or WRX. I ran the Cobb ots tune for a few weeks for shits and giggles but was extremely impressed with the results at the track.
The car is now pro-tuned by Kevin Jewer of Six Sigma Tuning and the car is making much more power. I'm hoping to have 1/4 numbers soon as the weather has been shitty here recently.

 

[TheLion]

Where did you read about the EBMs blowing up on the Cobb stg 3? First I've heard of it :shrug: I'm also not concerned about the Focus ST or WRX. I ran the Cobb ots tune for a few weeks for shits and giggles but was extremely impressed with the results at the track.
The car is now pro-tuned by Kevin Jewer of Six Sigma Tuning and the car is making much more power. I'm hoping to have 1/4 numbers soon as the weather has been shitty here recently.

User has a Cobb OTS 93 tune (may be stage 2 or 3)
http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66542&page=8

And quite a frew of them on here with Cobb OTS Stage 3:
http://www.focusst.org/forum/focus-st-maintenance/17529-blown-motor-resource-thread.html

Sure, the 2.3L is a different motor than the 2.0L in the Focus St, however it shares many similarities in how the PCM manages the engine from a software standpoint and is similar in size and displacement.

Both also share the same type of hypereutectic pistons. The 2.3L gets it's larger displacement over the 2.0L not from bore but from stroke. The 2.3L overall is built tougher (stronger block, better oil pan / pump, twinscroll turbo is more efficient) etc., but the weak point remains unchanged, the pistons. Again, good PCM software goes a very long way in preventing piston damage.

It doesn't really matter though, your no longer running the Cobb OTS tune anyway since you have had it tuned by Six Sigma. Regardless of the tune though, it's impressive at how fast these mustang ecoboost's run with just a tune and maybe one or two other bolt on's. That's why I went with the Ecoboost instead of the Camaro V6 or the WRX.

 

[Dannyho]

User has a Cobb OTS 93 tune (may be stage 2 or 3)
http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66542&page=8

It looks like he ordered an intercooler just before he blew it but never mentions if it's installed or not. Not listed in his sig. just pointing it out.

 

[TheLion]

Not sure, but we do know it was a Cobb OTS tune for 93 octane, I don't think the Stage 1 is 93 octane, which would make it Stage 2 or 3. Regardless, it obviously wasn't safe to run on an otherwise lightly modded car...

 

[Mustang Mikes Queen Creek]

I now second that opinion,I revised my access port last week,Installed the cobb stg 1 91 tune,and padded the fuel with a few gallons of 100,Nothing else done other then a panel filter and the mit pipe from airaid,Car ran 13.13 at 104.6 on factory 17 radial tires ballooned to 38 psi.All else being stock,I feel the revised tune def feels better then what I experienced before,Also the weather is .uch colder here in Az now,Made the passes in 48 degree temps.Cars def alot more peppy now.Still need to log for Adam.

 

[TheLion]

That's when the EB does well with the stock IC, is cold weather. Bama ran a 13.6 on a bone stock 15 Auto EB with 3.15 rear end, it was 54F out. Livernois only ran a 13.8 on a their stock auto EB, but in much warmer weather. FMIC will deffinately help a lot in warmer weather, but the car will still run faster in cooler weather even with full bolt ons as it allows any of the heat exchangers (IC or FMIC, Radiator, Intake Air Temps) to be more effective.

The real trick is to run the manuals fast, the tend to be a lot harder to drag than the autos, but YoKen ran a 12.7 on hit Tune+ 93 tune in a manual with only other mods being FMIC and DR's, which is around what most 93 tuned auto's run (with similar mods) assuming their tires hold up.

 

[apx632]

To run Cobb Stage 2 or Stage 3 you have to run the Cobb parts. You cannot run anything other than their parts or the tune doesn't work properly. That said stage 2 and 3 are literally useless. You can get a tune from Tune+ for as cheap as 150 bucks. Takes about a week (Adam usually does 4 to 5 revisions) and boom you are done and make more power than any cobb staged tune period. For 300 bucks from Tune+ you get the lifetime tune which means unlimited revisions, tuning for multiple fuels (pump, e30, race gas etc). The reason I'm mentioning Tune+ is because he tunes using the Accessport which you already own. Livernois and Lund you would have to purchase their tuners to be able to get their tunes which means more money out of pocket.
I myself run a 93 octane tune from Tune+. I daily drive my car 80 miles round trip a day work wise, plus any personal driving, so I put over 1200 miles in a month on my car. I've had my tune since June and it's ran flawlessly.

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