Another AP1Chief E-tune Review
04-30-2018, 02:45 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Another AP1Chief E-tune Review
So a little background on my vehicle. Turbo'd AP1 tuned by one of the great local tuners in my area. Due to unfortunate events, he can no longer tune pre-OEM flashable s2000s so that leaves a giant hole in s2000s for my area.
Over the winter, I had my head rebuilt due to worn guides + bent valves. The second I turned her on, she sounded different. I figured a minor retune might be in order. With no real place to go anymore (except driving hours away) and what I think is a relatively minor retune, I figured I would give one of the E-tuners a try.
I did a little searching here on the forums and decided to give Josh (AP1Chief) a try and I'm glad I did. From the beginning he went over my entire Cal and logs without even asking for a dime. He let me know what he thought of the tune and even admitted everything pretty much was perfect - none of the sky is falling BS that a lot of shops might push. He did say I was running just a hair lean up top - within 2 revisions of my cal file, my baby is running happy as a clam. Rates are extremely reasonable! I actually felt guilty and doubled his rate just because I know what a retune / tune costs from a shop vs what he's charging to basically do the same thing!
Do not hesitate, give josh a try if you want to go the E-tune route - I highly recommend it!
Over the winter, I had my head rebuilt due to worn guides + bent valves. The second I turned her on, she sounded different. I figured a minor retune might be in order. With no real place to go anymore (except driving hours away) and what I think is a relatively minor retune, I figured I would give one of the E-tuners a try.
I did a little searching here on the forums and decided to give Josh (AP1Chief) a try and I'm glad I did. From the beginning he went over my entire Cal and logs without even asking for a dime. He let me know what he thought of the tune and even admitted everything pretty much was perfect - none of the sky is falling BS that a lot of shops might push. He did say I was running just a hair lean up top - within 2 revisions of my cal file, my baby is running happy as a clam. Rates are extremely reasonable! I actually felt guilty and doubled his rate just because I know what a retune / tune costs from a shop vs what he's charging to basically do the same thing!
Do not hesitate, give josh a try if you want to go the E-tune route - I highly recommend it!
04-30-2018, 03:05 PM
#2
So a little background on my vehicle. Turbo'd AP1 tuned by one of the great local tuners in my area. Due to unfortunate events, he can no longer tune pre-OEM flashable s2000s so that leaves a giant hole in s2000s for my area.
Over the winter, I had my head rebuilt due to worn guides + bent valves. The second I turned her on, she sounded different. I figured a minor retune might be in order. With no real place to go anymore (except driving hours away) and what I think is a relatively minor retune, I figured I would give one of the E-tuners a try.
I did a little searching here on the forums and decided to give Josh (AP1Chief) a try and I'm glad I did. From the beginning he went over my entire Cal and logs without even asking for a dime. He let me know what he thought of the tune and even admitted everything pretty much was perfect - none of the sky is falling BS that a lot of shops might push. He did say I was running just a hair lean up top - within 2 revisions of my cal file, my baby is running happy as a clam. Rates are extremely reasonable! I actually felt guilty and doubled his rate just because I know what a retune / tune costs from a shop vs what he's charging to basically do the same thing!
Do not hesitate, give josh a try if you want to go the E-tune route - I highly recommend it!
Over the winter, I had my head rebuilt due to worn guides + bent valves. The second I turned her on, she sounded different. I figured a minor retune might be in order. With no real place to go anymore (except driving hours away) and what I think is a relatively minor retune, I figured I would give one of the E-tuners a try.
I did a little searching here on the forums and decided to give Josh (AP1Chief) a try and I'm glad I did. From the beginning he went over my entire Cal and logs without even asking for a dime. He let me know what he thought of the tune and even admitted everything pretty much was perfect - none of the sky is falling BS that a lot of shops might push. He did say I was running just a hair lean up top - within 2 revisions of my cal file, my baby is running happy as a clam. Rates are extremely reasonable! I actually felt guilty and doubled his rate just because I know what a retune / tune costs from a shop vs what he's charging to basically do the same thing!
Do not hesitate, give josh a try if you want to go the E-tune route - I highly recommend it!
LMK if you ever need anything else tune related
04-30-2018, 06:41 PM
#3
I'm confused here. I thought the only options were a KPro on an RSX ECU or a piggyback (e.g. Greddy eManage Ultimate, MapECU3, etc.) with the existing ECU. I didn't think it was possible to modify the existing ECU and there are long threads here that state that.
Here in NJ, we need to do an ODBII inspection on 1996+ cars. That blocks an ECU replacement.
How does what is being discussed here work?
Here in NJ, we need to do an ODBII inspection on 1996+ cars. That blocks an ECU replacement.
How does what is being discussed here work?
05-01-2018, 05:38 AM
#4
Thread Starter
I'm confused here. I thought the only options were a KPro on an RSX ECU or a piggyback (e.g. Greddy eManage Ultimate, MapECU3, etc.) with the existing ECU. I didn't think it was possible to modify the existing ECU and there are long threads here that state that.
Here in NJ, we need to do an ODBII inspection on 1996+ cars. That blocks an ECU replacement.
How does what is being discussed here work?
Here in NJ, we need to do an ODBII inspection on 1996+ cars. That blocks an ECU replacement.
How does what is being discussed here work?
As for inspection, in an hour, I can swap out my injectors / MAP sensor / ECU to be OBD2 compliant. It's not hard
05-01-2018, 01:54 PM
#7
Reading the first posts it sounded as if there was another way. Pre-1996 you can do anything. Post-1996 you need that ODBII.
One thing that looks really interesting in some of the standalone ECUs is traction control by yaw rate. Syvecs says that is their preferred way for road racing. AEM has a not too expensive CAN sensor that includes yaw, g-forces, and GPS.
One thing that looks really interesting in some of the standalone ECUs is traction control by yaw rate. Syvecs says that is their preferred way for road racing. AEM has a not too expensive CAN sensor that includes yaw, g-forces, and GPS.
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05-21-2018, 05:53 PM
#8
Thread Starter
Just a bump up, I've sent Josh a few more logs with me driving around, stop and go traffic, etc and everything is looking great. Car feels that much stronger but just doing a little fuel tweaking here and there.
Point of the post is that, with josh, you're a life customer. It's not a 1 and done but rather a commitment from him to you. He'll keep working with you and that says something.
Point of the post is that, with josh, you're a life customer. It's not a 1 and done but rather a commitment from him to you. He'll keep working with you and that says something.
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AP1Chief (05-21-2018)
05-30-2018, 10:56 AM
#9
I gave AP1Chief a shot and payed him to setup my boost comp map. he went above and beyond and really got it going solid I got way more then what I payed for. He definitely knows what he is doing and im going to have him help me in the future.
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AP1Chief (05-30-2018)
06-06-2018, 07:36 AM
#10
Thread Starter
Adding another update.
I bit the bullet and went for a full tune by Josh. The revisions were working but it was a bandaid fix for what I thought was a great tune. The whole process was pretty cool. You load up remote access software onto your laptop and then use your cellphone as a hotspot. Josh can then tune your car directly while you are driving around. It's easy and it works. Doing a little comparison between my old map and new map, as a non-tuner, I can physically SEE the difference in the tables. Everything is smooth, nothing jagged and that all translates into a very smooth drive. Vtec kicks in great and I get smooth hp and torque all the way to redline.
All good things. Highly recommended.
I bit the bullet and went for a full tune by Josh. The revisions were working but it was a bandaid fix for what I thought was a great tune. The whole process was pretty cool. You load up remote access software onto your laptop and then use your cellphone as a hotspot. Josh can then tune your car directly while you are driving around. It's easy and it works. Doing a little comparison between my old map and new map, as a non-tuner, I can physically SEE the difference in the tables. Everything is smooth, nothing jagged and that all translates into a very smooth drive. Vtec kicks in great and I get smooth hp and torque all the way to redline.
All good things. Highly recommended.
