Advice on Cobb Stange 1 Upgrade

1730 Views 14 Replies 10 Participants Last post by pizza_pablo, Jun 28, 2017

qah_rex

Discussion Starter · Jun 15, 2017

Hi all. I have a 2017 Base WRX Manual with a little over 2,000 miles. I got it early this year. I was looking into possibly getting a Cobb Stage 1 package which includes the AccessPort and Big SF intake. Is it recommended to upgrade this early? Also, what are some experiences with the stage 1 upgrade? This would be the first time I would ever modify my car, so I'm a little nervous on making the jump, although I hear some great things about this upgrade.

Thanks!

1 - 15 of 15 Posts

Wrexic

· #2 · Jun 15, 2017

Depends on who's recommending, and what they're recommending for.

If you wanna be worry free as far as major repairs go during the warranty period, it would not be recommended.

If you wanna fix the terrible throttle mapping and get a little more power out of the car, then it would be recommended.

That being said, it's a fairly common upgrade to the car, so if you're worried about the quality of the parts, or available input from others who might have installed this package, don't be. Cobb is a reputable tuning company, and I hear their customer service is good.

I personally haven't installed it for the warranty reason...but that's subject to change.

BrassKnuckles

· #3 · Jun 16, 2017

The advice I see is wait until after 10k miles and just be aware that warranty claims can be denied on certain repairs if they can blame this ECU reflash. And they will always be able to tell you did this upgrade so hiding it wont help.

That said, as said above, I hear lots of good things about the upgrade too.

Stanley Yahtzee

· #4 · Jun 16, 2017

MAPerformance will give you a free map if you buy your access port from them. its a lot more power than the basic cobb stage 1 map. it is of coarse a risk tho.

HJS

· #5 · Jun 17, 2017

I bought my WRX used at 40k miles and had a Cobb dealer install Stage 2 with custom tune at about 48k miles. This was in Oct 2016. No issues at all and very happy with the mod. In PNW and was advised by their staff that due to our climate (cool and damp) that they recommend against the intake with Stage 2 because of boost creep. You would do well to seek a Cobb dealers advice, but if I recall correctly, that wouldn't have been a problem with Stage 1.

zax

· #6 · Jun 17, 2017

HJS said:
I bought my WRX used at 40k miles and had a Cobb dealer install Stage 2 with custom tune at about 48k miles. This was in Oct 2016. No issues at all and very happy with the mod. In PNW and was advised by their staff that due to our climate (cool and damp) that they recommend against the intake with Stage 2 because of boost creep. You would do well to seek a Cobb dealers advice, but if I recall correctly, that wouldn't have been a problem with Stage 1.

It's not.

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pizza_pablo

· #7 · Jun 21, 2017

Before purchase of my '17 WRX Limited 6mt, I had planned on tuning to stage 1 right away. After purchase I became apprehensive for warranty purposes and decided to wait until at least 20K miles. Now, I've driven it for over 14,000 miles and couldn't hold out any longer. I figure if anything major would happen, it would have by now. After 14K miles I'm very familiar with the squirty jumpiness of the stock tune. As soon as I pulled out of the driveway, after flashing the Cobb Stage 1 - 91 octane tune, without any other hardware added, I noticed the extreme difference. Easy take off. Linear throttle response. No, or very little, rev hang between gears. No torque dead spot at 4200 RPM. It's simply awesome and like many others state, the WRX should have come from the factory this way.
It drives like any other manual tranny car now. PREDICTABLE. I've been running the Cobb stage 1 tune for about 2 weeks and have experienced no issues. Nothing but joy.
I did buy my AP from Maperformance and plan to run the Cobb stage 1 tune for a month so that when I do flash the MAP stage 1 tune, I'll be able to appreciate the difference.

Bottom line, whether or not to accept the risk is obviously and totally up to you.

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JDMPauL

· #8 · Jun 22, 2017

I have a 2017 wrx base with 1,300 miles. I already have parts for stage 2+. Waiting till I change the factory fill to install each piece on.

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Schoat333

· #9 · Jun 22, 2017

I ordered my AP from MAPerformance for my 2017 with 10,000 miles. Should be delivered today. I waited as long as I could to mod, but I couldn't wait any longer.

MRGTX

· #10 · Jun 28, 2017

pizza_pablo said:
Before purchase of my '17 WRX Limited 6mt, I had planned on tuning to stage 1 right away. After purchase I became apprehensive for warranty purposes and decided to wait until at least 20K miles. Now, I've driven it for over 14,000 miles and couldn't hold out any longer. I figure if anything major would happen, it would have by now. After 14K miles I'm very familiar with the squirty jumpiness of the stock tune. As soon as I pulled out of the driveway, after flashing the Cobb Stage 1 - 91 octane tune, without any other hardware added, I noticed the extreme difference. Easy take off. Linear throttle response. No, or very little, rev hang between gears. No torque dead spot at 4200 RPM. It's simply awesome and like many others state, the WRX should have come from the factory this way.
It drives like any other manual tranny car now. PREDICTABLE. I've been running the Cobb stage 1 tune for about 2 weeks and have experienced no issues. Nothing but joy.
I did buy my AP from Maperformance and plan to run the Cobb stage 1 tune for a month so that when I do flash the MAP stage 1 tune, I'll be able to appreciate the difference.

Bottom line, whether or not to accept the risk is obviously and totally up to you.

This is extremely useful feedback as I'm in the same spot as you were and the OP is.

I'm really happy with everything about the WRX except the power curve and the throttle mapping. It sounds like just a basic Cobb tune would more or less solve these issues? The thing that I can't quite figure out is why Subaru would have tuned the car this way. They spend millions of dollars on R&D....and Cobb comes along and fixes everything?

pizza_pablo

· #11 · Jun 28, 2017

MRGTX said:
This is extremely useful feedback as I'm in the same spot as you were and the OP is.

I'm really happy with everything about the WRX except the power curve and the throttle mapping. It sounds like just a basic Cobb tune would more or less solve these issues? The thing that I can't quite figure out is why Subaru would have tuned the car this way. They spend millions of dollars on R&D....and Cobb comes along and fixes everything?

Yes. The Cobb stage 1 tune, with no parts added, means my '17 WRX take off, shift around corners and totally behave like any other manual transmission vehicle.
The power is still available, but when it comes on its WAY more predictable. There is no more unusual squirting of boost.
I've read others speculate, here and 'the other' forum about why the OEM tube is life it is. Some say for emissions. Others say it is for more impressive test drives. Neither seems more likely or reasonable, but could be, just the same.
If not for the fact that tuning could potentially lead to warranty issues, I would say to absolutely go for it, but that's a risk that only you can choose.
I tried to wait until 36K miles and then 20K, but just over 14K is all I could wait. I convinced myself that if anything catastrophic were to occur, it would have by now.
A word of caution, with the Cobb stage 1 tune, the car gets to red line, MUCH faster and easier, in 1st gear. Trust me, I know!

MRGTX

· #12 · Jun 28, 2017

Thanks for this feedback...
I'm with you that the hypotheses that folks are offering up don't quite make sense. My overwhelming impression on my test drive was that despite 350,000ish manual transmission miles, I was doing something wrong between shifts (actually, it was the standard rev hang, I guess) and that I'd need to calibrate my foot to keep the thing from blasting off as soon as I got rolling in 1st. I was already into the car for the long lists of merits but the test drive wasn't the biggest selling point thanks to the stock tuning weirdness!

I guess I'd feel better about it if I was a bit smarter and knew if something about the stock tune was there to protect the motor from knock or to avoid heat-soaking the intercooler (by being in boost for a shorter duration)...or if it offered some other margin of protection. It just seems deliberate.

So I suspect that I might be able to answer these question for myself as I continue to read and learn about my new car...admittedly some of this research should have been done before I signed the papers; but what kinds of failures has the FA20 experienced so far? What brought them about?

Has anyone had a failure declined under warranty because of a basic tune like this?

Sorry to hijack the thread but I suspect the OP would like to know as well.

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pizza_pablo

· #13 · Jun 28, 2017 (Edited)

@MRGTX, I agree to all of your concerns.
I can tell you that I researched purchase of the WRX, from September of 15 (received it in September of '16) and continue to read the forums and am subscribed to many threads here, and 'the other' forum.
I've read about many folks enjoying trouble free use of the Cobb and MAPerformance state 1 tunes. MAP tune is my next step.
I ran across a bit of early `15 WRX engine issues, but can't recall anything of concern or that I would consider a huge risk.
I also read a few warranty issues, but again, I feel the benefits out weigh the risks, obviously, since I went for it.

Stanley Yahtzee

· #14 · Jun 28, 2017

pizza_pablo said:
I've read others speculate, here and 'the other' forum about why the OEM tube is life it is. Some say for emissions. Others say it is for more impressive test drives.

its actually both, the rev hang is done for emissions reasons. a little more of the particularly bad gasses get released into the air when the engine drops revs too fast.

the throttle map being so front-loaded is for sales purposes.

pizza_pablo

· #15 · Jun 28, 2017

Stanley Yahtzee said:
its actually both, the rev hang is done for emissions reasons. a little more of the particularly bad gasses get released into the air when the engine drops revs too fast.

the throttle map being so front-loaded is for sales purposes.

I'm not surprised. Thanks!

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