I just wanted to share my experience with EFI Logics in Bethel, CT. I have a lightly modded 2011 WRX that prior to the EFI tune was running Cobb Stage II with a Process West TMIC and Cobb DP and SPT Catback and STi pitch stop. (installed by someone other than EFI)
I contacted EFI about 2 weeks before my appt. for the tune. Upon my first call I made it clear that despite the car pulling hard, I had recently developed a ‘diving’ idle that was causing my car to bog a bit when coming to a stop. I explained that this all started after my last batch of mods (mentioned above) and it was an intermittent issue and that the car, despite shuddering, never did stall. Pete (front desk) assured me that Chris was a competent tuner and would more than likely be able to ‘tune out’ this issue. I also inquired of Pete about installing an EBCS and an intake to go along with the dyno tune, as I had heard from some others that this was a necessity for my particular car. I was told that this was not true (by Pete) and that Chris would install the EBCS if I needed it. I emailed Pete back as I wanted those confirmations from the tuner himself (Chris). Pete responded to me and I sensed a bit of tension on his part for not taking HIS word because I wanted to personally ask Chris about these issues. He started off his reply to me with ‘first of all Chris’s opinions are MY opinions’….. and so forth. I decided to call Pete on the phone the next day and apologize as I didn’t want him to take this the wrong way. I went on to explain to him that I was used to non tuning personnel referring specific tech questions to the actual tuner. He seemed to be ok with my explanation.
Fast forward 2 weeks….. I sent a quick reminder email to EFI reminding them of my appt. I show up that morning before they open and I sit there and wait for the crew. I had a long, mellow ride and was very excited but also anxious as I hoped to leave with a quick car that had a strong and non-diving idle. Chris arrived shortly after Pete and we talked a bit before the tune. I reminded him of the idle issue and he told me that he had heard of some wrx’s that had this similar issue. Dyno pulls went well and Chris motioned for me to hop into car after the last pull. He proceeded to tell me my numbers and how he tried to replicate this diving idle while on dyno but could not. No surprise there, different environment and besides, it is an intermittent issue. After I got my graph print up, I asked Chris to take a spin with me on street to check things out. He agreed, but I got the sense that normally he does not do that (take on road after tune). Regardless, on the road, idle issue unfortunately didn’t come up and car seemed fine. Paid my money and left.
Driving along, I heard some loud rattling like never before. Yes I know subie’s rattle and squeak especially in the winter, but this was new. I was able to determine that the noise was coming from the ‘hood’ part of dash that overhangs the speedo. I called EFI and got Pete on the line. I told him of the noise and also quickly added that I’m sure THEY didn’t do anything that would cause it, but that my prior installation of a boost gauge may have left something loosened and that the dyno vibes may of increased this issue. He told me to come back and have it looked at. Chris had his ASE tech Jack look at it and he quickly corrected issue by reinstalling dash clips properly and noise was gone immediately (thank you Jack). I then drove home feeling alright. Towards the end of my drive (115 miles) back to NJ that damn idle started it’s diving again (but only down to 600rpms). Chris raised my idle up from 700 to 800 btw. Anyhow, I was not too alarmed by this because at 600 rpms the car wasn’t shuddering or bogging, but still dropping 200rpms or so. I also noticed the next day on their dyno database, that my AFR was 11.6-11.7 at around 3600-4400 rpms (peak torque) on the dyno pulls. A buddy of mine saw that and just casually mentioned that he would be more comfortable with 11.2-11.3 in that area. I emailed Chris about the idle and how I really wanted to get the car smoke tested by a shop that is local to me and about what my friend had said about the AFR’s. He got back to me with something like “who is this guy, what is his name”, “I don’t want to keep comparing my tuning philosophy to others”…. Etc….Etc…. He said that those numbers (AFR) were fine for my particular set-up and not to worry about it. He also expressed some concern about me taking my car to another shop instead of him. But I wouldn’t be doing this if they (EFI) had done some pre-tune diagnostics themselves . I was there that day and didn’t think I would have to be the one to say to him, ‘hey, don’t you think you should check my car out before throwing it on the dyno?’ No patient goes to a doctor with a sharp pain in their chest, and says, ‘’ ok, let’s order an EKG and blood test” The patient shouldn’t have to suggest any diagnostic tests…. That should be left to the expert.
So as the days went by the idle kept diving lower and lower. I was getting live readings from my accessport of low to mid 500’s , where days prior I was only in the low 600’s (rpm’s). Now the car was back to its shuddering and bogging with the needle popping right back up to 800 after a second or so of diving. I end up finally getting the smoke test from this local shop and it came up just fine. Obviously if EFI had done this test themselves they would of discovered this as well, but hindsight is 20/20 and it still should have been done. And if they would of done it, I then would of requested a bump in my idle from 700 to 850 or 900 (instead of 800 where Chris set it) right there on the spot. I even sent Chris a cobb datalog , capturing a big rpm dive. I didn’t hear back from him…. Another email was sent apologizing about my friend throwing in his 2 cents about the AFR’s and how despite what my friend said, I still trusted his tune. I requested that he send me 2 maps for higher idles (850 and 900rpms). I NEVER even mentioned to him my disappointment in him for not doing some pre tune diagnostics on my car.
In summary, to this day I have never heard back from them and still don’t have the requested maps. I would never suggest not going to them for a tune (btw, Chris’s tune is certainly more powerful and smoother than my previous OTS map, no complaints there), but be VERY careful in how you word your questions concerning his ‘tuning philosophy’ and try to clear up any pre-existing issues (whether they be legitimate one’s or typical subie anomalies , like my idle issue) before your tune with them. I’m still shocked the way my situation was handled (or lack of handling… ex. Not returning emails or picking up phone when I called). It’s even more shocking when I read all the favorable comments they have acquired from various customers. If you go there, hopefully you’ll arrive with a problem free car or at least have clearly reproducible issues that they can access on the spot before the tune. And also hope for a tune that EXACTLY matches your expectations, because if the tune isn’t to your liking or if you have questions and concerns, you may want to keep your mouth shut or plan on strategically framing those questions and concerns in a way that doesn’t break eggshell egos. Because if you don’t, then you may end up like me wondering what you did wrong and how you could of possibly pissed someone off so bad that they will never get back to you. And to be honest, I have ZERO interest in reading their response to this review (if they should choose to do so). This is for others to learn from.
I contacted EFI about 2 weeks before my appt. for the tune. Upon my first call I made it clear that despite the car pulling hard, I had recently developed a ‘diving’ idle that was causing my car to bog a bit when coming to a stop. I explained that this all started after my last batch of mods (mentioned above) and it was an intermittent issue and that the car, despite shuddering, never did stall. Pete (front desk) assured me that Chris was a competent tuner and would more than likely be able to ‘tune out’ this issue. I also inquired of Pete about installing an EBCS and an intake to go along with the dyno tune, as I had heard from some others that this was a necessity for my particular car. I was told that this was not true (by Pete) and that Chris would install the EBCS if I needed it. I emailed Pete back as I wanted those confirmations from the tuner himself (Chris). Pete responded to me and I sensed a bit of tension on his part for not taking HIS word because I wanted to personally ask Chris about these issues. He started off his reply to me with ‘first of all Chris’s opinions are MY opinions’….. and so forth. I decided to call Pete on the phone the next day and apologize as I didn’t want him to take this the wrong way. I went on to explain to him that I was used to non tuning personnel referring specific tech questions to the actual tuner. He seemed to be ok with my explanation.
Fast forward 2 weeks….. I sent a quick reminder email to EFI reminding them of my appt. I show up that morning before they open and I sit there and wait for the crew. I had a long, mellow ride and was very excited but also anxious as I hoped to leave with a quick car that had a strong and non-diving idle. Chris arrived shortly after Pete and we talked a bit before the tune. I reminded him of the idle issue and he told me that he had heard of some wrx’s that had this similar issue. Dyno pulls went well and Chris motioned for me to hop into car after the last pull. He proceeded to tell me my numbers and how he tried to replicate this diving idle while on dyno but could not. No surprise there, different environment and besides, it is an intermittent issue. After I got my graph print up, I asked Chris to take a spin with me on street to check things out. He agreed, but I got the sense that normally he does not do that (take on road after tune). Regardless, on the road, idle issue unfortunately didn’t come up and car seemed fine. Paid my money and left.
Driving along, I heard some loud rattling like never before. Yes I know subie’s rattle and squeak especially in the winter, but this was new. I was able to determine that the noise was coming from the ‘hood’ part of dash that overhangs the speedo. I called EFI and got Pete on the line. I told him of the noise and also quickly added that I’m sure THEY didn’t do anything that would cause it, but that my prior installation of a boost gauge may have left something loosened and that the dyno vibes may of increased this issue. He told me to come back and have it looked at. Chris had his ASE tech Jack look at it and he quickly corrected issue by reinstalling dash clips properly and noise was gone immediately (thank you Jack). I then drove home feeling alright. Towards the end of my drive (115 miles) back to NJ that damn idle started it’s diving again (but only down to 600rpms). Chris raised my idle up from 700 to 800 btw. Anyhow, I was not too alarmed by this because at 600 rpms the car wasn’t shuddering or bogging, but still dropping 200rpms or so. I also noticed the next day on their dyno database, that my AFR was 11.6-11.7 at around 3600-4400 rpms (peak torque) on the dyno pulls. A buddy of mine saw that and just casually mentioned that he would be more comfortable with 11.2-11.3 in that area. I emailed Chris about the idle and how I really wanted to get the car smoke tested by a shop that is local to me and about what my friend had said about the AFR’s. He got back to me with something like “who is this guy, what is his name”, “I don’t want to keep comparing my tuning philosophy to others”…. Etc….Etc…. He said that those numbers (AFR) were fine for my particular set-up and not to worry about it. He also expressed some concern about me taking my car to another shop instead of him. But I wouldn’t be doing this if they (EFI) had done some pre-tune diagnostics themselves . I was there that day and didn’t think I would have to be the one to say to him, ‘hey, don’t you think you should check my car out before throwing it on the dyno?’ No patient goes to a doctor with a sharp pain in their chest, and says, ‘’ ok, let’s order an EKG and blood test” The patient shouldn’t have to suggest any diagnostic tests…. That should be left to the expert.
So as the days went by the idle kept diving lower and lower. I was getting live readings from my accessport of low to mid 500’s , where days prior I was only in the low 600’s (rpm’s). Now the car was back to its shuddering and bogging with the needle popping right back up to 800 after a second or so of diving. I end up finally getting the smoke test from this local shop and it came up just fine. Obviously if EFI had done this test themselves they would of discovered this as well, but hindsight is 20/20 and it still should have been done. And if they would of done it, I then would of requested a bump in my idle from 700 to 850 or 900 (instead of 800 where Chris set it) right there on the spot. I even sent Chris a cobb datalog , capturing a big rpm dive. I didn’t hear back from him…. Another email was sent apologizing about my friend throwing in his 2 cents about the AFR’s and how despite what my friend said, I still trusted his tune. I requested that he send me 2 maps for higher idles (850 and 900rpms). I NEVER even mentioned to him my disappointment in him for not doing some pre tune diagnostics on my car.
In summary, to this day I have never heard back from them and still don’t have the requested maps. I would never suggest not going to them for a tune (btw, Chris’s tune is certainly more powerful and smoother than my previous OTS map, no complaints there), but be VERY careful in how you word your questions concerning his ‘tuning philosophy’ and try to clear up any pre-existing issues (whether they be legitimate one’s or typical subie anomalies , like my idle issue) before your tune with them. I’m still shocked the way my situation was handled (or lack of handling… ex. Not returning emails or picking up phone when I called). It’s even more shocking when I read all the favorable comments they have acquired from various customers. If you go there, hopefully you’ll arrive with a problem free car or at least have clearly reproducible issues that they can access on the spot before the tune. And also hope for a tune that EXACTLY matches your expectations, because if the tune isn’t to your liking or if you have questions and concerns, you may want to keep your mouth shut or plan on strategically framing those questions and concerns in a way that doesn’t break eggshell egos. Because if you don’t, then you may end up like me wondering what you did wrong and how you could of possibly pissed someone off so bad that they will never get back to you. And to be honest, I have ZERO interest in reading their response to this review (if they should choose to do so). This is for others to learn from.
