Earlier this year, I was having some trouble getting mystage 2 FBO “right.” After spending a bunch of money replacing everything Icould think of, I reached out to Mitch McKee at Cobb with a couplequestions regarding the Accessport. Although I had a competitor’s tune already,Mitch was very receptive and eager to help me out. Mitch went above and beyondto answer my questions, and even tried to help me get squared away with thesetup I was running at the time. Mitch’s customer service was so impressive, Idecided to give Cobb a try.<o></o>

Aside from the awesome pre-sale communication, I reallyliked the features the Cobb AP had to offer. One of the key selling points wasthe ability to log the car and easily view the logs. I was not able to do thatpreviously, even with the Durametric for some reason. I also liked the ease ofuse to switch maps, the ability to view and clear codes, the versatility to getcustom tuned based on mods, and the ability see real time values from thesensors (boost, AFR, etc). Basically, Cobb was everything I could ask for in atuner and more.<o></o>

The day the AP was due to arrive, Mitch sent me an emailasking if I had received it and asked to be in the loop about what I thoughtabout it. Upon receiving my AP (which shipped extremely quickly I might add), Iwas having a difficult time installing it. I shot Mitch an email and in lessthan an hour (I believe it was only a few minutes), I had a response walking methrough the steps. From there, it took about 20 minutes and I was on my way. Itook the car out for a spin on the highway and tested another importantelement, the part throttle drivability. Full throttle acceleration is onething, but unless I’m at a racing event I want the car to drive smoothly andpredictable. Here is where the Cobb tuning shined. Cruising on the highway,modulating the throttle position, and varying rpms up and down to simulate howI would drive, there was no drama and the car drove as it came from the factorythat way. Had the car not felt as good as it did, I would have continued beingmiserable and sold it. Instead, I fell in love all over again.<o></o>

After getting used to the stage 2 OTS map, I had asked Mitchif there was room to be a little more aggressive. Still, Mitch was eager toanswer any of my questions and his communication was very quick. Over thecourse of the past month, Mitch really helped me out above and beyond what Icould have anticipated. He has really surpassed all expectations I had and gotmy car running smooth and strong.<o></o>

Fast forward to this past week, Mitch told me that he andTim Bailey (another awesome tuner) would be on the East Coast and that hewanted to get my car on the dyno for a Cobb Pro tune. Being an amazingopportunity, I obliged and drove up to The Shop in Connecticut to meet them.Once again, I was blown away when I met Jimmy who is the owner of The Shop. Idon’t know why it took so long for me to find guys like him, Mitch, and Tim inthe automotive industry. It’s like I entered some cheat code in the aftermarketworld where all the really cool guys network.<o></o>

Mitch and the guys got the car on the dyno and got tobusiness. He started with the pump maps, both high and low boost.Unfortunately, I had come with too much gas in the car and couldn’t get a racemap done. It doesn’t end there though. Mitch and Tim offered to drive 2.5 hoursto Englishtown track that night to make a map for me to run. I soon got on myway but they had a couple other cars to tune before heading down.<o></o>

I arrived at Englishtown and the DA was 1900, humid as hellout, and air temps were roughly 86°. I know enough that I wouldn’t have beendisappointed with my times, but wanted to see what the car could do. Afterwaiting for an hour, I got my first run against a z06. The car RIPPED out ofthe hole and motored down the track. 10.4@130.5 with a 1.51 60’ . I couldn’t believe it. This is faster than I went before withrace gas and both race/93 pump maps on my previous setup. I then went to thepits and let the car cool down while I waited for Mitch and Tim. Unfortunately,the boys got held up and didn’t make it until 15 mins before the track closed.In preparation, I had thrown race gas in the car. We unfortunately didn’t havetime to square the car away so I rushed the last pass I could. Raced against aGTR and won (by a lot) but no time was displayed. I went to the tower and wastold I went too fast and had to leave because I didn’t have the right safetygear.<o></o>

In summary, dealing with Mitch (and Cobb) has been one ofthe best experiences I have had in this sport. The service/support I receivedand continue to receive post-sale are second to none. Mitch is a great dude andthe Cobb AP is a brilliant tool for tuning. It’s a winning combination. Ihighly recommend Cobb to anyone looking to modify their car from mild to wild.I’m sure I sound like a cheerleader, but it is well deserved kudos from theexperience I’ve had thus far.<o></o>

 

Nice write up Chris. Akunob texted me last night about E-town but it was a little late for me to get there.

I'm glad you have your car running how you want it to. I'm curious as to what ET E-town would kick you out for? I would have thought you would be kicked out with the 10.4? My friends rent Atco fairly frequently. I'll let you know when the next rental is.

Did you have to send out your ECU for the initial COBB flash since I believe the GIAC tune rewrites the ECU?

 

I been modding cars for about 24 years now. I just bought a 997.2 CPO Turbo car. Tym and Mitch called me over to put on a COBB at "The Shop" in CT. My car is bone stock. Before the tune, the car made 440whp. Which is more than some 997.1 cars with exhaust etc. Now it makes 490WHP with a 80+ gain in torque as well. Again everything else being stock. Cobb has a nice unit. I will be working with them on upgrades etc as time progresses.

 

Thanks brother! The three of us should meet up sometime, even to grab a cup of coffee and chat p-cars. It was nice meeting Obi the other day. His car is so clean!
Definitely let me know about a track rental also, that sounds good.
I had a reflash prior which is what caused the problem on initial download. When you load the Cobb map for the first time, it saves the "stock" map from the car. After a few tries, we realized my previous flash was likely encrypted and unable to be saved. As a result, I had to completely wipe the ecu when loading the flash. Luckily, I didn't have to pull it and send it anywhere.

 

Oh also to answer your question, under 11.5 you need full face helmet and fire jacket (which I had). Under 10.0 ET and/or greater than 135 mph trap you need a cage.
I had my fire jacket but didn't wear it the whole night. Probably got caught on that pass right before closing.

 

Chris great meeting you at Englishtown! My car might be clean but your car is FAST with a capital F!!!! I was two cars behind you on your 10.4 pass, incredible...and you were just getting started! Folks, this is likely one of the fastest .2 TTS on the East Coast! For reference I ran a 10.89@127mph on my run.

Nice job Chris, to think that you have more planned for your car is mind-blowing! I couldn't stay to meet the Cobb guys (that was me who held up the track for 30mins by putting my car in the gravel...stupid mistake!) I had to leave early...some other time! You have an amazing car bro!

 

A couple of pics from the E-town Raceway meet...(Chris I realized looking through my phone that I didn't get a pic of your car...it would have been worth it, just to get a shot of your wicked O.Z. wheels...in black no less!). Stage 7 we've got to get you out here, once you are done with your upgrades...!!!

 

Sounds good- can't wait!

 

Nice to see this kind of threads, P-cars guys getting together to have some fun on the track... Chris your made the right decition, COBB is the way go, period!
Also glad to see that Mitch are making more fast .2's out there, "way the go Mitch your the man"

I will report more good news on the COBB tune next week!!!

 

Congratulations Chris! Glad your car is running so strong. 10.4 is fantastic in +1,900DA.


Cheers.

 

Thank you for the kind words Chris! It has really been a pleasure to work with you! I am super excited to see what you can do with the car!

-Mitch