[pj_rage]

OP, which did you decide? Are you happy with your decision?

I'm in a similar boat. Not planning to go crazy, car is my dd. Reliability and smoothness are most important. I will never run meth or e85, and don't care about install or uninstall time. I plan to get dci at the same time as the tune/piggy and run just those for a while. Also will not be changing maps regularly / at all. I think I'll eventually get a fmic, and *maybe* dps, but that's the extent of it, and those would be a ways off in the future. I don't anticipate ever getting protuned (and if I did I wouldn't mind switching to Cobb at that point if I didn't already have it).

So I just want to make the most and smoothest (stock feeling) power possible in a reliable way with just dci and sooner or later an fmic.

Peoples opinions are literally dead even split, and every time I research I come to a conclusion and the next time I research it I change my mind lol. It's also hard because a lot of the comparisons are for a lot more mods than I'll have and also especially running meth and ethanol that I do not plan on using. There's not much data for our case besides this thread. Couple that with the advancements both Cobb has been making and jb4 has made by adding g5 and most information I found through search is outdated. Yet don't dare post a new question on the topic or you'll be lambasted lol.

Anyway, it's between the Cobb and jb4 g5 for me at this point. Basically from what I've gathered I worry that Cobb won't feel as powerful for stock plus dci, but would feel smoother than jb4 g5. And worry that jb4 g5 would feel a little more powerful with auto tuning but wouldn't feel quite as smooth as the Cobb. Smoothness being very important to me makes me want to go Cobb, but not sure it would have the wow factor for just tune and dci that people rave about when going jb4. And then they say jb4 g5 is much smoother than past jb4 and still seems to have the punch, and that the smoothness between the two is close but it's not clear if the Cobb is still a bit smoother. Especially for part throttle dd driving or spirited street driving.

[RElias21]

Originally Posted by pj_rage

OP, which did you decide? Are you happy with your decision?

I'm in a similar boat. Not planning to go crazy, car is my dd. Reliability and smoothness are most important. I will never run meth or e85, and don't care about install or uninstall time. I plan to get dci at the same time as the tune/piggy and run just those for a while. Also will not be changing maps regularly / at all. I think I'll eventually get a fmic, and *maybe* dps, but that's the extent of it, and those would be a ways off in the future. I don't anticipate ever getting protuned (and if I did I wouldn't mind switching to Cobb at that point if I didn't already have it).

So I just want to make the most and smoothest (stock feeling) power possible in a reliable way with just dci and sooner or later an fmic.

Peoples opinions are literally dead even split, and every time I research I come to a conclusion and the next time I research it I change my mind lol. It's also hard because a lot of the comparisons are for a lot more mods than I'll have and also especially running meth and ethanol that I do not plan on using. There's not much data for our case besides this thread. Couple that with the advancements both Cobb has been making and jb4 has made by adding g5 and most information I found through search is outdated. Yet don't dare post a new question on the topic or you'll be lambasted lol.

Anyway, it's between the Cobb and jb4 g5 for me at this point. Basically from what I've gathered I worry that Cobb won't feel as powerful for stock plus dci, but would feel smoother than jb4 g5. And worry that jb4 g5 would feel a little more powerful with auto tuning but wouldn't feel quite as smooth as the Cobb. Smoothness being very important to me makes me want to go Cobb, but not sure it would have the wow factor for just tune and dci that people rave about when going jb4. And then they say jb4 g5 is much smoother than past jb4 and still seems to have the punch, and that the smoothness between the two is close but it's not clear if the Cobb is still a bit smoother. Especially for part throttle dd driving or spirited street driving.

Hey man,

I went with Cobb + Protune. Just the Cobb was a HUGE difference over stock. The Protune experience with Jake @ PTF was outstanding. Never seen someone spoken so highly of by every single person who has interacted with him. He's just a great guy and a great tuner.

Unfortunately, I don't think I have the answer for you, though. The reason I can't answer your question is because I don't know if my Cobb + Protune is faster than what my car would have been with a JB4 g5 on my car, or if it's smoother. I also don't know if it was worth double the price.

But here is my take...
All I can say is that it gave me what I wanted, with ZERO problems or issues (knock on wood). I have a lot of power increase for just a tune & DCI. Stock feels like the car doesn't even move now. It feels like a pig! I also have the ability to upgrade the Cobb map (and Protune) when I upgrade mods (Helix FMIC in the future), and I have the OUTSTANDING guidance of Jake, which to me is a huge advantage.

Also, I went to the dealer the other day and uninstalled the Cobb before I went, and had no issues. That's a plus as well. It definitely takes some time though, so maybe uninstalling the JB4 might be even quicker.

Overall, I chose Cobb because I was hoping that all else being equal, the protune would put me over the jb4. I think as I get closer to FBO, this may become more evident. Again, I could be wrong. This was just my feeling based on my research.

Some days I wonder if should have bought the jb4, but only because of the price difference. I don't think I would have a faster car right now.

That's my take.

[pj_rage]

Hey great insight, thanks. Did you mean just the cobb without protune was big? Did the protune make a big difference?

One other thing I had heard was that with the Cobb tunes, they don't adapt to weather changes, etc as well as jb4 would on autotune map. Not sure how significant this is though.

[RElias21]

The tune alone, without the Protune was a BIG difference.

I am positive the Protune gave me even more power, but the difference from Stock --> Cobb Stage 1 aggressive OTS was greater than the feel from Stage 1 aggressive OTS --> Stage 1 Aggressive Protune.

Again however, I do think that as I add more, like a FMIC, Jake would be able to do more with the Protune.

[pj_rage]

Awesome thanks for your update. I haven't looked too much, not sure where my nearest protuner would be. Kind of curious if protuned with just dci would be similar to jb4 g5 with no kind of pro or customization. Never ending questions haha. Just have to pick one and be done I guess. Thanks a lot for your input though.

[RElias21]

If you go Cobb, just etune with Jake.

And if you will go Cobb, just buy the AP from PTF, so you can get the best price for etune..

[FrozenM3nace]

JB4 Combo on burgermotorsports site includes the JB4,DCI for a little more power or COBB for ease of install.

[Lucid Moment]

Originally Posted by Ragi Elias

The tune alone, without the Protune was a BIG difference.

I am positive the Protune gave me even more power, but the difference from Stock --> Cobb Stage 1 aggressive OTS was greater than the feel from Stage 1 aggressive OTS --> Stage 1 Aggressive Protune.

Again however, I do think that as I add more, like a FMIC, Jake would be able to do more with the Protune.

Did you have the car dyno'd in between running the ap and the tune?

[RElias21]

No, I've never had my car dyno'd.

[JLiusifer]

I went with the Cobb AP and I have no regrets. Install took 30 min tops and it can always be converted back to the stock map without the dealership knowing.

[Da Dark Knight]

waiting for my cobb to arrive and then fmic and dp in a month or so.

One thing I don't understand is dci...does that even make a difference without fmic and dp upgrade?

[///Macht]

I'd also recommend going with a Cobb AP and an e-Tune from Jake. I'm only running the base E30 map from PTF, and the power is ridiculous. You really can't understand how it transforms your car until you just go for it. If the base map is any indication of how the final tune will turn out, we're looking at a massive increase over the stage 1 aggressive OTS map.

Cobb is just so hassle free, regardless of whether you're capable of installing the JB4 by yourself. Set it and forget it is the name of the game. I'd rather not leave my engine's well being in my clumsy hands!

[pj_rage]

What's the e30 tune? Do you mean the custom tune was a huge improvement over the ots? What are your other mods. Everything I see is that it doesn't make a major difference when you're close to stock?

[///Macht]

My only other mod other than the AP is a BMS dual cone intake, so I'm as stock as you can get almost. An E30 map from PTF will transform your car even further past the OTS maps that come with the AP. OTS is a huge improvement over stock, and a pro/e-Tune is a huge improvement over OTS. If you're talking bang-for-the-buck, a Cobb AP + an e-Tune is what you need.

You're sitting at about 270whp when stock, and I'm running at about 380whp (according to virtual dyno) with a base E30 map and an intake. I think that's some pretty amazing bang-for-your-buck.