Learn me: Subaru tuners in Ohio?

Hello GRM populace,

2013 WRX, currently with Cobb intake and OTS stage 1+ tune. My question is two fold and, as always, any guidance is greatly appreciated. NASIOC and IWSTI has plenty of suggestions, but I am looking more for input from GRMers specifically.

1) My car currently has the OTS tune from Cobb, but I've read there are significant driveability improvements to be had with a "custom" tune. Have members of this board found this to be true, or no?

2) Lived in Long Island, NY my whole life, moved to Akron, Ohio only last summer. Do not really know anything about the car guys in this area. Looking for recommendations for a reputable tuner within a reasonable distance. This would be useful not only for a tune, but just to get to know the local performance shops that know my car.

Thanks guys.

All Speed Innovations in Lebanon, Ohio comes to mind. I know one of the owners. I suspect you should be able to find someone closer to Akron, though, thats a heck of a drive.

I have no specific Subaru answer but Northern Ohio Area Racing Assoc (NORA) Akron Sports Car Club (ASCC) may lead you to some answers of what's up with the scene.
There is a forum section.

JohnRW1621 wrote: I have no specific Subaru answer but Northern Ohio Area Racing Assoc (NORA) Akron Sports Car Club (ASCC) may lead you to some answers of what's up with the scene. There is a forum section.

I have posted on that forum, but it seems it doesn't have a lot of activity...

eastsidemav wrote: All Speed Innovations in Lebanon, Ohio comes to mind. I know one of the owners. I suspect you should be able to find someone closer to Akron, though, thats a heck of a drive.

Looks like a good shop, but at 3 hrs+ away, I'd probably have better luck finding a tuner in Detroit..

No affiliation, but it looks like

www.pure-tuning.com/

in Toledo has a pretty good reputation.

BTW, I just googled "subaru tuners in ohio", and read a few of the threads.

JFX001 wrote: No affiliation, but it looks like www.pure-tuning.com/ in Toledo has a pretty good reputation. BTW, I just googled "subaru tuners in ohio", and read a few of the threads.

Thanks! I saw that one listed on a thread in NASIOC, I was just hoping someone on these boards knew of a shop they could personally vouch for or recommend, and whether the "pro-tune" with just an intake would be worth the cost.

Doesn't buschur still do subarus?

mndsm wrote: Doesn't buschur still do subarus?

Don't think so. Based on their website, it seems that they focus on the Evo, GTR and Focus ST

Yeah, Pure Tuning in Toledo is supposed to be pretty good. I've only bought some a/n fittings and stuff from them, but they seem to know their stuff.

What does "significant drive ability improvements" mean to you. Are you looking for smoother and quieter, more torques, more under the curve, or what?

Are you logging?

I do log from time to time and post them so the guys from Cobb can see them on NASIOC. I was hoping to achieve smoother power delivery...not really out for more power, car is plenty quick as it is. Just want it to be as linear as possible. The Cobb tune is fine (and a definite improvement over stock), but the more I read, the more it seems there is further room for improvement.

You are kind of stuck with a Cobb tuner/dealer so I would just pick one near you.

As far as effectiveness, that is really up to you to determine. I have driven cars that the owner swore up and down that the "pro tune" made a world of difference over a "canned" tune but to me there was zero difference.

The owner was happy so who am I to say anything?

The subaru 32 bit ECM gives you a few extra tools like per-gear ignition and per-gear torque request control. So there is some fine tuning that can be made to the maps on your ECM. But it's still a pretty crude map based engine control instead of something like a model based system so I wouldn't exactly expect a sea change.

grafmiata wrote: Yeah, Pure Tuning in Toledo is supposed to be pretty good. I've only bought some a/n fittings and stuff from them, but they seem to know their stuff.

Bingo! Pure Tuning is the spot.

Ojala wrote: You are kind of stuck with a Cobb tuner/dealer so I would just pick one near you. As far as effectiveness, that is really up to you to determine. I have driven cars that the owner swore up and down that the "pro tune" made a world of difference over a "canned" tune but to me there was zero difference. The owner was happy so who am I to say anything? The subaru 32 bit ECM gives you a few extra tools like per-gear ignition and per-gear torque request control. So there is some fine tuning that can be made to the maps on your ECM. But it's still a pretty crude map based engine control instead of something like a model based system so I wouldn't exactly expect a sea change.

Was looking for this kind of specific insight. Appreciate it. Will think long and hard about whether it'd be worth it or not. If I decide to go for it, I'll check out the shop in Toledo!

There's also Slowmotion Motorsports in Columbus, and Accelerated Performance in Toledo. Between those two and Pure, I wouldnt recommend anywhere else.

A little late to the game, but I'll throw my hat in.

First, welcome to Ohio!

Pure Tuning does outstanding work and is very good with Subarus.

We are also in Ohio, about 4 hours away from you down in Cincinnati, and have extensive experience with Subarus. TiC was started in 2005 and has grown by leaps and bounds through the years.

With that growth came a new Dyno Dynamics AWD dyno, and the man operating that dyno and doing tunes is Dominic Acia formerly of Maxwell Power Services. He has about 10 years of experience tuning Subarus and is very in touch with Cobb side of things.