[techlogik]

Cobb already posted in their main thread that they need to write the protocol to communicate across the OBD to the DME for the flash to work. It is just a matter of dedicating time..and when one guy is doing the work...good luck with that ETA...6 months probably I said like 3 months ago....I underestimated.

[Al Blue4.6l]

Originally Posted by techlogik

Cobb already posted in their main thread that they need to write the protocol to communicate across the OBD to the DME for the flash to work. It is just a matter of dedicating time..and when one guy is doing the work...good luck with that ETA...6 months probably I said like 3 months ago....I underestimated.

given robb's comments in the other thread, I would think it would be out within the next 3 months, but I could be wrong.

[e92bmw]

Originally Posted by vgtek

i doubt it ...worth the wait (if you've already waited this long)

Well as you probably know when things first come out they have problems. So cobb is going to inevitably have a few glitches with cel and other unclearable codes( like weve seen on other customers) which isnt very good...at all!
Yes I do agree its convenient to flash a car, but we still need to see if cobb is truly undectable, since bmw can always see when your software was updated, then why wouldnt they see cobb?? Yup gotta wait and see, all this 07 wait tells me somethings not working out for the 07...sounds like trouble!

[335timb]

I'm moving on. No more waiting on COBB. Their "introduction to the community" occurred 12/28/10. They started the COBB "discussion" thread on 1/5/11. So, here we are 2 1/2 months after their intro, at which point they were fully supporting 2008+ models, with no 2007 support.

I thought COBB would be perfect for me: Living in Topeka Kansas doesn't exactly put me in close proximity to a GIAC dealer, and the Accessport could have been my flash salvation. But, no...still nothing.

I'm gonna just have to suck it up and drive to Oklahoma City, or perhaps I'll make a road trip out of it and go to Dallas for a weekend, where I can 'get flashed.'

This waiting (and waiting, and waiting) sucks.

Oh, and then there are the cries of, "Give us stage II for the '08+ models first!" Selfish bastards...

[roninsoldier83]

Originally Posted by 335timb

I'm moving on. No more waiting on COBB. Their "introduction to the community" occurred 12/28/10. They started the COBB "discussion" thread on 1/5/11. So, here we are 2 1/2 months after their intro, at which point they were fully supporting 2008+ models, with no 2007 support.

I thought COBB would be perfect for me: Living in Topeka Kansas doesn't exactly put me in close proximity to a GIAC dealer, and the Accessport could have been my flash salvation. But, no...still nothing.

I'm gonna just have to suck it up and drive to Oklahoma City, or perhaps I'll make a road trip out of it and go to Dallas for a weekend, where I can 'get flashed.'

This waiting (and waiting, and waiting) sucks.

Oh, and then there are the cries of, "Give us stage II for the '08+ models first!" Selfish bastards...

By comparison, this is nothing haha. For the short time I had my Mazdaspeed 6, the waiting period (for Cobb to release an AP) was insanely long. IIRC, from the moment they first announced an AP for the Mazdaspeed cars, it was well over a year before they actually launched an Accessport for them. I ended up playing with a couple piggybacks, getting bored with the car (not a big shock, I often do haha), tired of waiting on Cobb, and just sold the car.... for a STI... and bought an AP for it haha... which I sold... and swapped over to OpenECU haha.

Really though, while I've never been involved with "cracking" an ECU, I have tuned a few cars here and there, and as such, I wouldn't be shocked if stage 2 maps were released prior to the '07 AP. Maps aren't too terribly difficult to tune, nor do they take too long in most cases (on most of the cars I've played with/tuned in the past, haven't tuned a N54 yet obviously haha). My assumption is that Cobb creates a conservative map on a local "stage 2" car, sends the map to a few of their other locations in order to make sure other cars are "happy" running it, and makes a few minor changes here and there in order to get it ready for public use. After the map is released initially, I'm sure they will tweak it over time based on logs from customers/in house vehicles, but initially, most cars I've tuned with basic bolt-ons don't take too long at all (a couple hours at the dyno on average), whereas I'm sure there's a lot more work involved hacking an ECU or writing protocol to communicate with it.


I just want flash-based user adjustability. To someone like myself who doesn't really care for OTS maps, Giac would be pointless. I just want to tune the car myself, and prefer flash based tuning.... so, unfortunately, unless a group of hackers get together and create open source tuning software for the MSD80/81, Cobb really is my only option... and the waiting continues

[335timb]

And I'm a bit of a flash-it-and-forget-about-it sort of guy, so GIAC would be just fine. I just wish it didn't involve so much travel. But then again, perhaps I'd REALLY enjoy the drive back home!

(Lets see: Topeka to Oklahoma City is 300 miles, at 70 mph that is almost 4.5 hours one way, plus stops for food/gas/restroom... Plus time at the facility... back home... 12 hours or so? And an Accessport would take how long? Less than an hour?)

[Litos]

Originally Posted by roninsoldier83

just sold the car.... for a STI... and bought an AP for it haha... which I sold... and swapped over to OpenECU haha.

i did the same - got tuned from Kieth Fields in Dallas from AWDTuning.

him and Cobb were beefing because almost everyone in the area will go to Kieth for OpenECU tuning as opposed to their Plano Cobb location (which is about 10-15 miles down the road HAHA !!!!)

[COBB Tuning]

We appreciate everyone's interest in support for the 2007 model year vehicles and sincerely apologize for not being able to immediately meet your needs. We certainly understand that there are many options available and that you may look elsewhere for a tuning solution; hopefully you'll still consider our products once we do roll out our 2007 support.

Best regards-
Lance

[COBB Tuning]

Originally Posted by Litos

i did the same - got tuned from Kieth Fields in Dallas from AWDTuning.

him and Cobb were beefing because almost everyone in the area will go to Kieth for OpenECU tuning as opposed to their Plano Cobb location (which is about 10-15 miles down the road HAHA !!!!)

Much like BMW, there are indeed many choices available in the Subaru tuning arena. Fortunately we've got two of the absolute best Subaru ECU reverse engineers in the world working for us, so we're able to do some pretty neat stuff with the OEM ECU

Best regards-
Lance

[Icysheet]

Can't wait for 2007 support! I'm sorta glad it's not out yet only because I shouldn't spend the money yet

Not sure if it's been asked yet, but when the 2007 Accessport comes out, will the handheld unit only work with 2007 vehicles? Or will we be able to resell the Accessport to any 335i owner?

[Litos]

Originally Posted by COBB Tuning

Much like BMW, there are indeed many choices available in the Subaru tuning arena. Fortunately we've got two of the absolute best Subaru ECU reverse engineers in the world working for us, so we're able to do some pretty neat stuff with the OEM ECU

Best regards-
Lance

i 100% agree with you and will never doubt your abilities, but you have quite a few 07 owners that are getting uncomfortable with Cobb's lack of 07 support.

[badass335]

Originally Posted by Litos

i 100% agree with you and will never doubt your abilities, but you have quite a few 07 owners that are getting uncomfortable with Cobb's lack of 07 support.

+1.....

[roninsoldier83]

Originally Posted by Litos

i did the same - got tuned from Kieth Fields in Dallas from AWDTuning.

him and Cobb were beefing because almost everyone in the area will go to Kieth for OpenECU tuning as opposed to their Plano Cobb location (which is about 10-15 miles down the road HAHA !!!!)

For me I bought an AP almost immediately after buying the STI (had one before it on my old '04 WRX), tuned the car (it's been a while, but I think their old tuning software was called StreetTuner) ect. However, shortly after that OpenECU really started to emerge. I played with it on a few other local Subaru's, got used to it, and liked it just fine (logged with RomRaider/Enginuity).

I used to swap out parts a lot on that car, and make minor adjustments to the tune whenever I swapped out parts... and since the AP can only marry 1 car at a time, and I also helped a few other local Subaru guys from time to time, it just made more sense to buy a dirt cheap Tactrix cable (around $70 IIRC), sell the AP and convert over to OpenECU. Nothing against Cobb or the AP, it just made more sense to me, selling the AP allowed me to recoup some cash, and I was able to play with any Subaru I wanted as well, which was a big bonus.

I actually heard that one of the guys that headed up the OpenECU initiative now works for Cobb.... but I never confirmed it (Cobb?!?). I also heard said hacker is also able to still work on OpenECU so long as they're not giving away proprietary secrets ect, which, I have no idea if it's true, but if it is, that's pretty stand-up on Cobb's behalf in my opinion.

Locally, if a person wants to get a Subaru/Mitsu tuned by a pro (doesn't want to tune themselves/isn't comfortable ect), most all of the "big" tuners around here (BoostCreep/Harvey, Superrupair, Revolutions Performance, MAC Auto ect) are all Cobb licensed Protuners, but tune with OpenECU as well, so the software a person wants to use really doesn't matter, but it just makes more sense if a person is going to dyno tune their car anyway, they can just save some cash not having to buy any hardware.

However, for the OTS flash-it-once-and-forget-it people, the AP offers a decent value. Technically a person can download OpenECU, buy a tactrix cable, and find an OTS map online (a lot tuners sell maps online, and if you look hard enough, you can find plenty of maps for free), you can save some cash. However, the ease of use is superior with the AP as it walks you through everything, likely less stress free for the user, and the ability to log data on the screen without needing extra software, and it breaking it down for you, probably makes it easier on people who aren't total car geeks. Plus, the AP has resale value, making the initial cost pretty easy to justify longterm
(easier than say a Dinan or Giac flash that carries no resale value [puts_flame_suit_on] haha).

Overall, I'm looking forward to playing with this car via ATR.... although it would be nice to have some sort of ETA.... I get that it's hard to give due to the nature of the work, but honestly I would love to at least understand the process and what needs to be done so I can make my own "in my head timeline"

[blisstik]

On another thread, Rob said they were stress testing code. I wonder how much longer. A range would keep the flame away.

[COBB Tuning]

These are aall great points and allow me to talk a bit more about our company and some of the people we employ. There are many options in the marketplace for Subarus as it is likely the most popular "tuner" car being sold today in many respects, in large part due to the extreme ease of advanced tuning on the OEM ECU and standalones alike. Each have a unique set of benefits and serve different segments of the market...choice has really been a great thing for that market and we're just happy to be considered as one of the leading options.

Originally Posted by roninsoldier83

For me I bought an AP almost immediately after buying the STI (had one before it on my old '04 WRX), tuned the car (it's been a while, but I think their old tuning software was called StreetTuner) ect. However, shortly after that OpenECU really started to emerge. I played with it on a few other local Subaru's, got used to it, and liked it just fine (logged with RomRaider/Enginuity).

I used to swap out parts a lot on that car, and make minor adjustments to the tune whenever I swapped out parts... and since the AP can only marry 1 car at a time, and I also helped a few other local Subaru guys from time to time, it just made more sense to buy a dirt cheap Tactrix cable (around $70 IIRC), sell the AP and convert over to OpenECU. Nothing against Cobb or the AP, it just made more sense to me, selling the AP allowed me to recoup some cash, and I was able to play with any Subaru I wanted as well, which was a big bonus.

I actually heard that one of the guys that headed up the OpenECU initiative now works for Cobb.... but I never confirmed it (Cobb?!?). I also heard said hacker is also able to still work on OpenECU so long as they're not giving away proprietary secrets ect, which, I have no idea if it's true, but if it is, that's pretty stand-up on Cobb's behalf in my opinion.

This is all true. We hired "merchgod" of the OpenECU/RomRaider ECU reverse engineering projects to serve a similar role for us. Bill has been one of the absolute biggest contributors to the advancement of Subaru OEM ECU tuning and we were lucky enough to lure him aboard at least partially based upon our ability to provide a great set of resources and highly skilled teammates to continue his work. Likewise, we respect his dedication and contributions to the OpenECU project and do not wish to restrict his ability to continue those in any way/shape/form. I don't wish to speak for Bill but I believe his participation in the community projects has decreased since joining us due to finding great enjoyment from the contributions he's been able to make to the Subaru enthusiast crowd by helping advance and improve our products.

Same goes for a highly respected gentlemen "thistle" who previously wrote freely available patches for the Evo 8/9 ECU, including speed density. He is our lead ECU reverse engineer for the GTR platform We are a collection of car-lovers and ECU hacker geeks who appreciate the opportunity to work with others of the same DNA; our sum is much greater than our parts.

One funny thing related to your story is that since then, interestingly enough, the price of the Tactrix cables has gone up (the 2.0 version is ~$170) and the AccessPORT has gone down

Originally Posted by roninsoldier83

Locally, if a person wants to get a Subaru/Mitsu tuned by a pro (doesn't want to tune themselves/isn't comfortable ect), most all of the "big" tuners around here (BoostCreep/Harvey, Superrupair, Revolutions Performance, MAC Auto ect) are all Cobb licensed Protuners, but tune with OpenECU as well, so the software a person wants to use really doesn't matter, but it just makes more sense if a person is going to dyno tune their car anyway, they can just save some cash not having to buy any hardware.

However, for the OTS flash-it-once-and-forget-it people, the AP offers a decent value. Technically a person can download OpenECU, buy a tactrix cable, and find an OTS map online (a lot tuners sell maps online, and if you look hard enough, you can find plenty of maps for free), you can save some cash. However, the ease of use is superior with the AP as it walks you through everything, likely less stress free for the user, and the ability to log data on the screen without needing extra software, and it breaking it down for you, probably makes it easier on people who aren't total car geeks. Plus, the AP has resale value, making the initial cost pretty easy to justify longterm
(easier than say a Dinan or Giac flash that carries no resale value [puts_flame_suit_on] haha).

Overall, I'm looking forward to playing with this car via ATR.... although it would be nice to have some sort of ETA.... I get that it's hard to give due to the nature of the work, but honestly I would love to at least understand the process and what needs to be done so I can make my own "in my head timeline"

There are definitely cheaper options than the AccessPORT for Subarus, no question. We certainly hope we provide a product that is worthy of the price. We provide some really neat functionality to the end user through advanced features on the AccessPORT as well as OTS maps (which are continually refined and improved) and full-time free customer support to both AP owners and our ProTUNER network. We strive to provide high quality products and exemplary customer service!

Best regards-
Lance
R&D Calibrator

[roninsoldier83]

Originally Posted by COBB Tuning

These are aall great points and allow me to talk a bit more about our company and some of the people we employ. There are many options in the marketplace for Subarus as it is likely the most popular "tuner" car being sold today in many respects, in large part due to the extreme ease of advanced tuning on the OEM ECU and standalones alike. Each have a unique set of benefits and serve different segments of the market...choice has really been a great thing for that market and we're just happy to be considered as one of the leading options.



This is all true. We hired "merchgod" of the OpenECU/RomRaider ECU reverse engineering projects to serve a similar role for us. Bill has been one of the absolute biggest contributors to the advancement of Subaru OEM ECU tuning and we were lucky enough to lure him aboard at least partially based upon our ability to provide a great set of resources and highly skilled teammates to continue his work. Likewise, we respect his dedication and contributions to the OpenECU project and do not wish to restrict his ability to continue those in any way/shape/form. I don't wish to speak for Bill but I believe his participation in the community projects has decreased since joining us due to finding great enjoyment from the contributions he's been able to make to the Subaru enthusiast crowd by helping advance and improve our products.

Same goes for a highly respected gentlemen "thistle" who previously wrote freely available patches for the Evo 8/9 ECU, including speed density. He is our lead ECU reverse engineer for the GTR platform We are a collection of car-lovers and ECU hacker geeks who appreciate the opportunity to work with others of the same DNA; our sum is much greater than our parts.

One funny thing related to your story is that since then, interestingly enough, the price of the Tactrix cables has gone up (the 2.0 version is ~$170) and the AccessPORT has gone down



There are definitely cheaper options than the AccessPORT for Subarus, no question. We certainly hope we provide a product that is worthy of the price. We provide some really neat functionality to the end user through advanced features on the AccessPORT as well as OTS maps (which are continually refined and improved) and full-time free customer support to both AP owners and our ProTUNER network. We strive to provide high quality products and exemplary customer service!

Best regards-
Lance
R&D Calibrator

Hope that didn't come the wrong way, I've been a big fan of the work you guys do for YEARS!! Not only have I rocked a couple AP's, I've also rocked a few of your hard parts as well (TBE's, pulley ect). For the longest time you guys were the only company that made a DP for the GD chassis WRX/STI with a cast bellmouth, standard extra WBO2 bung (saved me some time & cash I used to run a LM-1 wideband haha), and I believe the rest of the pipe was made from inconel, very high quality stuff, superb fitment, and of course because this was well known, Cobb parts always demanded a premium when it came time to resell parts (nice little bonus).

Glad to hear the rumors were substantiated! I know you guys really do have a group of top notch engineers on your staff, and what's nice is the backgrounds some of them come from, they really do seem to love cars and helping tuning communities.

I actually did notice the Tactrix cables went up in price, but it's been a long time since I had to buy one haha. In truth, I like playing with ST & ATR software, I just happened to have a bunch of buddies that were either already running OpenECU or converting from piggybacks (mostly UTEC's) or something to that effect, so it just made more sense to swap over to OpenECU for me... with that said, to someone whose never tuned/played with a car before, obviously it goes without saying, user beware, you will have more than enough rope to hang yourself and not much of a direct support chain haha (running OpenECU that is). This goes without saying to me.

You guys have always had extraordinary customer service, I've never had a problem with you or your products (quite the opposite actually). I actually had a big shit eating grin on my face when you guys announced you would be supporting the E90-E92 N54's!!

Honestly, I apologize if my post came off the wrong way, you guys bring a lot of value to the table. Not only with the AP, OTS maps, ATR software, but also with customer service, and a HUGE number of Protuners out there (I'm good friends with several local Protuners to say the least). You can't get that with open source software, I understand that, I do see the value in it... always have. I'm just one of those arrogant assholes that thought "I'll just fumble around and figure it out myself" haha, which worked out alright for me most of the time. With that said, with some of the nuances that this engine/ECU seems to have, I'm sure I'll be hitting yourself, Rob or Christian up for pointers specific to this car once '07 support and ATR software are released haha!! I.e. I'll be more than willing to take advantage of your knowledge of this platform in order to expand my own knowledge base on a new-to-me platform

Looking forward to the release, thanks for the hard work and continued effort!!

-Brandon

[acdHQK713K]

Originally Posted by Icysheet

Can't wait for 2007 support! I'm sorta glad it's not out yet only because I shouldn't spend the money yet

Not sure if it's been asked yet, but when the 2007 Accessport comes out, will the handheld unit only work with 2007 vehicles? Or will we be able to resell the Accessport to any 335i owner?

Would like to know the answer to this as well. Will us 2007 guys be using the same AP with just updated firmware?

[gboop]

Originally Posted by crewkip

Would like to know the answer to this as well. Will us 2007 guys be using the same AP with just updated firmware?

I think it has been answered in the main thread already, but here is a PM response from Rob that I got a while back:

Originally Posted by Rob@Cobb

Hey,

That is correct. Adding 2007 support will be a firmware upgrade.

Cheers,
Rob

[acdHQK713K]

Originally Posted by gboop

I think it has been answered in the main thread already, but here is a PM response from Rob that I got a while back:

Thought I had read that somewhere. Thank you

[acdHQK713K]

Friendly bump. Can't wait for the 2007 support.

[gboop]

Originally Posted by crewkip

Friendly bump. Can't wait for the 2007 support.

But you have to wait if you want AP. No other choice...

[acdHQK713K]

Originally Posted by gboop

But you have to wait if you want AP. No other choice...

Oh I am waiting. I have an AP sitting at home ready for the firmware.