New 2013 WRX owner: stage 1 tune questions

[Jdoner]

Just have a few quick questions for you more knowledgeable wrx owners. I want to increase performance in my car without major moddiing: essentially I was wondering if a stage 1 tune would be worth it using stock intake (perhaps with a K&N drop in) and stock exhaust. I like the stock exhaust look/sound and do not want a loud ride. Honestly, would rather retain stock intake if possible as I hear the stock intake and exhaust are not TOO bad. My concern is the rumor of a poor, lean factory tune. I understand that a stage 1 will not make the car a rocketship but that it will add noticeable power and a wider range of smooth acceleration. Also, there are the concerns of voiding the warranty by going to a stage 1 tune, so I would be interested in something than can be reset for dealer services, or in the event that something happens to the car (unrelated to the tune). Can this all be accomplished with the Cobb Access Port? The car will be primarily driven by my wife with me driving it with every available opportunity, so I'm just trying to stay conservative. Any feedback is highly appreciated, thanks!

[Drews]

Yes, the AP is all you'd need for stage 1. You don't need to change anything else.

[UEDan]

Stage 1 tune is made for a stock car. You are right the stock intake is not restrictive until higher power levels. The stock air filter is fine as well. The k&n filter is an oiled filter which can potentially dirty up your maf sensor.
Newer Subarus don't have the bad lean tune you've heard about but they are rough, a stage 1 tune will indeed smooth everything out.
If you are just looking for just a stage 1 tune I would look into getting a tactrix cable with an open source protune rather than an access port.

And welcome! Try not to steal the WRX too much :-P

Posted from a fone.

[Jdoner]

Thanks for the input guys!

[Alexmartynyuk]

I tuned a 2011 wrx which was stock, with my tune there was a very noticeable difference in power and driveability in general. I would go the opensource way because it has a checksum fix so when you take the car to the dealer and flash it back to stock they wont know that it was running a stage 1 map.

[teflon_jones]

I'd really like to know how that checksum "fix" works and really get verifiable information that it indeed exists and secondly that it actually works. The whole point of a integer/counter like that is it very hard to change it back, and it's a fundamental part of the programming on the chip, which is part of why it's so hard to change.

Do you have any further information?

[fickel8]

Just have a few quick questions for you more knowledgeable wrx owners. I want to increase performance in my car without major moddiing: essentially I was wondering if a stage 1 tune would be worth it using stock intake (perhaps with a K&N drop in) and stock exhaust. I like the stock exhaust look/sound and do not want a loud ride. Honestly, would rather retain stock intake if possible as I hear the stock intake and exhaust are not TOO bad. My concern is the rumor of a poor, lean factory tune. I understand that a stage 1 will not make the car a rocketship but that it will add noticeable power and a wider range of smooth acceleration. Also, there are the concerns of voiding the warranty by going to a stage 1 tune, so I would be interested in something than can be reset for dealer services, or in the event that something happens to the car (unrelated to the tune). Can this all be accomplished with the Cobb Access Port? The car will be primarily driven by my wife with me driving it with every available opportunity, so I'm just trying to stay conservative. Any feedback is highly appreciated, thanks!

This is what myself and several others have done and have not had any problems.

Step 1) Buy a tactrix cable so you can upload a stage 1 map from your laptop. You can also buy the AP, but this route will save you $300- $400 Tactrix

Step 2) Buy a stage 1 tune. I suggest torqued performance because it has worked well for me and several others. Several of us have reviewed the tune on this site. http://www.torquedperformance.net

PM me with questions

[slowdown]

Just have a few quick questions for you more knowledgeable wrx owners. I want to increase performance in my car without major moddiing: essentially I was wondering if a stage 1 tune would be worth it using stock intake (perhaps with a K&N drop in) and stock exhaust. I like the stock exhaust look/sound and do not want a loud ride. Honestly, would rather retain stock intake if possible as I hear the stock intake and exhaust are not TOO bad. My concern is the rumor of a poor, lean factory tune. I understand that a stage 1 will not make the car a rocketship but that it will add noticeable power and a wider range of smooth acceleration. Also, there are the concerns of voiding the warranty by going to a stage 1 tune, so I would be interested in something than can be reset for dealer services, or in the event that something happens to the car (unrelated to the tune). Can this all be accomplished with the Cobb Access Port? The car will be primarily driven by my wife with me driving it with every available opportunity, so I'm just trying to stay conservative. Any feedback is highly appreciated, thanks!

Cobb AP is fine but please have a professional put it on a dyno and make sure all of the parameters are where they should be. Every car has subtle differences and an OTS tune could end up pushing things more than you want. Explain to the tuner you want smooth power with safety #1 and he will make sure you are making good power without too much boost or pushing the injectors too much. Without a doubt - even just that will blow your mind what it does to the car. Rather than true open source they will run the flash and then adjust from there. But with the AP you get anti-theft and some other options that make it a nice purchase.

[Alexmartynyuk]

I'd really like to know how that checksum "fix" works and really get verifiable information that it indeed exists and secondly that it actually works. The whole point of a integer/counter like that is it very hard to change it back, and it's a fundamental part of the programming on the chip, which is part of why it's so hard to change.

Do you have any further information?

Well from what I read if you flashed your car with an ap or opensource it screws up the cid but only if 1 or more bytes of the rom are changed but if you restore the original rom it supposedly restores the original cid and cvn value. I don't know how true this is and have never tested this myself its just something I read up on RR and some other forums.

[rurso01]

With a tactrix cable, is it idiot proof as I have no knowledge of tuning. I want to get a stage 1 map flashed on as I had one installed from Kenjotti on wrxmodders.com: The Best Search Links on the Net but that site disappeared (anyone know why?) Regardless, a cheap stage 1 map done on either my MacBook or PC laptop would be sweet for $75 bucks

Would someone be able to walk me through flashing a map? I don't want to risk my motor or warranty so flashing to stock maps during service would be ideal

[jasontee1]

Stick with the Cobb if you get a check engine light or want to view fuel temp or intake temp or anything the computer in your car is reading you can view it on the Cobb

[Ingo]

Stick with the Cobb if you get a check engine light or want to view fuel temp or intake temp or anything the computer in your car is reading you can view it on the Cobb

You can do that with the opensource too, just have to lug a cumbersome laptop along...

[Alexmartynyuk]

With a tactrix cable, is it idiot proof as I have no knowledge of tuning. I want to get a stage 1 map flashed on as I had one installed from Kenjotti on wrxmodders.com: The Best Search Links on the Net but that site disappeared (anyone know why?) Regardless, a cheap stage 1 map done on either my MacBook or PC laptop would be sweet for $75 bucks

Would someone be able to walk me through flashing a map? I don't want to risk my motor or warranty so flashing to stock maps during service would be ideal

It is idiot proof, simple as getting your tactrix hooked up and press a button on a laptop, I can walk you through it if you want. If you already have a stage 1 map installed why are you looking for another one?

[rurso01]

Sorry I should've clarified... I had one on my old 05 wrx. I just don't want to risk frying the motor or messing up the warranty.

[Alexmartynyuk]

yeah you would be able to save the original map and flash it when going to the dealer. A good map shouldn't fry your engine as long as there is no mechanical issues, as for warranty they shouldn't be able to tell if you had a different map on there.