Cobb AP - DIY vs professional tuning

[Gwoben]

New to the club and to the modding scene. Subaru Impreza WRX '07, never modded/tuned. After reading for a few hours it seems that stage 1 tuning is a no-brainer. Question is, should I buy Cobb AP and do it myself (and re-tune as I get to stage 2) or do I go to a professional tuner with Dyno equipment (I happened to have one really close). Does professional tuning do anything other than loading a profile from Cobb AP?

[06wrx4me]

On the 07 stage 1 makes a difference, but stage 2 is where you want to be. I wouldn't waste the money personally on a dyno tune for stage 1. I'd wait and have a protune map made for stage 2.

There are many threads on here detailing out the difference between an open source tune and an AP map flash.

I have a Cobb AP with a custom map made by a dyno tuner. The AP was used to load the map.

Professional tuning custom tailors a map to your car. While the OTS maps that ship on the AP are decent you will pick up all kinds of gains with a custom made map. I picked up +38 whp and +66 ft-lbs tq over the stage 2 base map with a custom tune. The AP is just the vehicle used to flash it and gives you the flexibility to flash it yourself or unflash it once the map is made.

[Heide264]

Does professional tuning do anything other than loading a profile from Cobb AP?

Sure. The difference won't be nearly as noticeable as if you had some additional mods on the car, however.

Keep in mind, many professional tuners require a Cobb AP anyhow. I would recommend just getting a Cobb AP and flashing a stage 1 map. Down the road if you have some money sitting around, throw a down pipe, intake, ebcs, and whatever ya feel like on and get a pro tune.

I would use the terminology "Off The Shelf" (OTS) tune from now on. It is a better way of describing a preloaded Cobb AP tune that you flashed as compared to "tuning it yourself" which normally infers a personalized tune that was made by yourself or a "pro tune". Just a small FYI.

[Gwoben]

Thanks for the replies, just ordered the Cobb AP, will do some stage 2 mods and professional tuning in a few weeks when it gets warmer and I read more about stage 2 mods available.

[Heide264]

Thanks for the replies, just ordered the Cobb AP, will do some stage 2 mods and professional tuning in a few weeks when it gets warmer and I read more about stage 2 mods available.

I'd recommend just flashing stage 1 as soon as you get it. No need to wait for stage 2 mods if you already have the Cobb AP in your hands =)