US Subie Tuner Shops

[vozproto]

Know a good subie shop in your area that you have personal/referral experience with?
Let us know!

This is an overflow thread from the 'performance yard stick' thread.

Vendors recommended by folks with more than 10 posts marked with a *
I am not going to provide links or anything as I don't want to step on the toes of FFR and their vendor agreements.

And please only recommend shops that you have personally used or done business with. If you are the shop I think you probably need to talk to the Admins or Dave.

UPDATE - PLEASE NOTE: I have been informed by the mods that if you are a shop, you need to sign up as an advertiser in order to post your advertise or even post your contact info/url in your signatures.

Current List of FFR Community recommended Vendors:

California
Cobb Tuning*

Colorado
The Boost Creep*
MAC AutoSport*

Georgia
Top Speed

Maryland
Element Tuning
IAG Performance

Oregon
Cobb Tuning*

Texas
Cobb Tuning*

Utah
TrueTune

Washington
Maxwell Power Services*

[AJW Performance]

Where are you located?

[vozproto]

I am in Denver, where I need to find one eventually.

But to be honest this thread is moreso to act as a database for different subie shops with factory five customer experiences in any portion of the states. I envision having a listing by states in this thread that have been vetted by the community in one way or another.

[AJW Performance]

Good plan!

[jblaine]

I highly recommend Element Tuning ( http://elementtuning.com/ ) in MD. I have worked with Phil Grabow there on and off for 8 years (I am a customer of his).

Their number is 240.246.0302

[Inthenameofweez]

I am in Denver, where I need to find one eventually.

http://www.theboostcreepltd.com/

He's a genius. He will be tuning my vehicle very soon actually. Along with my 818 once it's completed.

For anyone in Texas, So. Cal, or Oregon: http://cobbtuning.com/info/?id=5100

The AccessPort is an amazing tuning platform that many 818 owners from the Subaru community will be using. All Cobb locations also do full service work. I'm hoping that Dave will have the opportunity to speak with Cobb's hard parts facility in hopes to see intake/exhaust systems made for this chassis. Maybe even intercooler/intake shrouds and plenums. That'd be fun...

If in the North Texas area, I HIGHLY recommend Watt Bigham for high performance (or even OEM spec) rebuilds. He has been working on engines for 30 years and Subarus for 7+. His knowledge is unending. He is located in Lavon, TX and operates from his personal shop. The business is known as Watt's Shop. http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe=off&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=watt's+shop
He's built: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHkmCq8StvA
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOWTUDNhEE0
among many others that haven't made it online yet.

My car built by him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMS9gkw9scM

[Street Rate Parts]

I know a good Canadian one...just waitin on Factory Five to reply to my email about sponsoring thie forum before I say anything. Hold on, can you say that you are good or is that like giving yourself your own nick name? hahahaha

[Etos]

Denver CO? If you don't mind the drive, Maxwell Power Services in washington is the best there is bar none. Dom knows his stuff and pretty much anyone who's ever dealt with him can tell you how great he is.

I would avoid a Cobb AP. It's definitely good, but it's not cheap at $700. Open source is every bit as good and all you need is the cable which is $110 brand new. Most tuner shops will definitely do Open source.

[pressley311]

Top Speed does a great job but they are in Atlanta GA area

[forced4]

Colorado area: Boost Creep or MAC Autosport. MAC tuned my WRX for me this summer and I am happy with their skill level and tune results.

[Ironhydroxide]

TrueTune in Bountiful Utah.

awesome guys, know their Ish

[rdcody]

+1 for Phil Grabow at Element Tuning, the dude churns out some wicked Subarus.

The reason I recommend Element (aside from the fact that they did a full build on my 08 STI) is that they also compete in actual races and that's where they do most of their R&D. I'm not super familiar with the 818 chassis, but I know that people who typically buy Factory Five cars want a level of performance/craftsmanship that is up to par.

Element isn't in business to push parts, they builds monster cars. There are tons of Subaru shops around the country that will sell you a catback and an AccessPort where as Element will sit you down and go over your options step by step and tailor your build to what your goal is. Phil could have just sold me the biggest and most expensive parts he offers but he didnt. He actually asked me what my goal was and how I want my car to perform.

To give you an idea of what kinda cars he builds, check out the YouTube link below showcasing his Time Attack car:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hEkzuNEWaE

[biknman]

Ditto for Element Tuning in MD or rather for the entire Mid-Atlantic area! Fastest track Subys around and Phil offers one of the best standalone ECUs (Hyrda) packages available out there for Subys, also Phil's knowledge of tuning Suby's is second to none.

[gorilla]

I'll throw another MD shop in again. IAG Performance has one of the best reputations on Nasioc and has built and or sponsored very fast suby track cars in many disciplines. They also have a top notch on-site body shop, cnc mill, alignment rack, tire machine, dyno and a team of some of the best techs and fabricators in the east. It doesn't hurt they have a sick facility.

<-----Biased? Yes. They built my DD GT30R 415whp Legacy and I worked there in sales for 6 months. But don't get me wrong, I'm not the only one on the IAG Bandwagon: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1368973

^Not a single negative vendor review after 4 years of being in business.

[skullandbones]

I'm sure there are competent tuners in the "valley of the sun" area (Phoenix, Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler) but is there someone on the forum who has first hand experience with a tuner? I would be interested in a vendor who is OK with a home builder and doesn't mind dealing with a newby in the Subi world. I would like to get up to speed but there are a lot of questions and some dealers just don't want to talk with you unless you lay down 2 or 3 K first. I know one good business (AMP) but I don't think they deal with imports. Thanks, WEK. :D

[Draco-REX]

Not a Tuner shop, but if you're in the Columbus OH area and want some Subie (or VW, or anything really) work done (i.e. refreshing your donor's engine or stripping pars from your donor, or even work on your driver) SigmaTech Automotive (614)876-1007 is the place to go. Z.B. is a great guy and fantastic tech. Work that I can't do myself I take to him without hesitation and he has a great reputation in the local Subaru community.

[bbatts]

Any Subie tuners in TN, KY or Indy?

[skullandbones]

Maybe one of these great Subi tuners will move to the valley. Can't beat the weather. Ohio is just too much of a commute for me!! But thanks. WEK.

[Evan78]

For tuning I would recommend Clark Turner. He's based in Arizona, but I forget the name of the shop he is typically at. I believe he does work in Las Vegas on a regular basis as well as traveling all over the US and providing an email service as well.

http://www.clarkturnertuning.com
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1516351

[skullandbones]

So much for the local guy. Mr. Turner sounds like a solid resouce. Thanks for the head up!!! WEK.

[Matt_H]

Wanted to throw out another two shops in Maryland. The first being Andrewtech Automotive. They are a bunch of stand up guys and have worked on my cars for over four years, and they are big in the Subaru community. Most people know them as the transmission shop since they are well known for installing PPG gears in Subaru transmission.

The second place is TurboXS, also in Maryland right down the street from Andrewtech. They have been tuning my cars just as long as I've been taking my cars to Andrewtech. Jermaine is the tuner there and he does great work.

[AJW Performance]

We are a Subaru shop located in Massachusetts :)
We are a vendor here on the forum as well.

[a2cpc]

Any Subie tuners in TN, KY or Indy?

Look here...

http://www.indianaimpreza.com/

May not be a "tuner' per se, but a lot of very knowledgeable folks.

[Ks2]

for those wanting a EJ207 (JDM STI) the best tuner around is clark turner

*edit just noticed soemone else already posted this...

also you dont have to be in AZ for it, he can E-tune it from anywhere he did the tune for mine through email

[skullandbones]

I guess I was still thinking in terms of the guy leaning over the engine tuning the carb and distributor by ear. I forgot it is the 21st century. So can you give a ballpark figure on what a "email tune" costs and what sort of info you have to provide to do such a transaction? Is there software involved on your end? Just curious. Thanks, WEK.

[Evan78]

The link I posted to NASIOC in my "Clark Turner" post above has a bunch of details on his prices. To summarize, it runs $100-$200 per map and the hardware (AccessPort) runs $600.

A "map" is a custom tune/program that gets loaded onto the car's ECU and contains all the instructions for fuel, timing, boost, etc.

The procedure in this scenario would be to receive a file (map) from Clark via email that you would load onto an AccessPort (AP) by plugging it into your computer via a usb cable. After loading it on the AP, you would then unplug the AP from the computer and plug it into your car using the included usb to OBD-II cable. Once connected to the car, the AP powers on and has a simple menu system for transferring the map to the ecu.

The software used on your end would be the AP Manager that comes with the AP and is downloadable from the Cobb Tuning (manufacturer) website.


There is an open source (free) program that has similar functionality but requires a computer and tactrix cable for loading the maps. Once the map has been loaded, the computer is no longer required except in the even that you want to change maps. The pros and cons of each system (AccessPort and open source) have been debated endlessly on nasioc and been discussed on this forum as well. I'm not sure if Clark supports the open source stuff or not.

[Xusia]

By "support", I'm assuming you mean the process of loading the map (I would completely understand a tuner wanting to support a "standard" solution like an AP). I'm sure that Clark (or any tuner) supports the map itself, regardless of how it gets into the ECU.

Assuming that's what you meant, those who think they might need help loading the map will probably want to use the AP. Those who are more computer savvy may opt to save the $600 "rape charge" and go with the open source solution.

[soap box]
Being a computer person, $600 for what is essentially a ROM flasher is highway robbery. If I choose to go the route of loading a map made by someone else I'll be using the open source solution just on principle...
[/soap box]

[skullandbones]

Sounds very similar to the EFI tuning for the 5.0. I hope some of the knowledge is transferable. I understand that there is also an 'open source' method of flashing the 5.0 but there is a steep learning curve to get proficient at it. I guess it would be to much to ask for the hardware to work on both systems. Thanks for the explanation, Evan. WEK.

[Evan78]

By "support", I'm assuming you mean the process of loading the map (I would completely understand a tuner wanting to support a "standard" solution like an AP). I'm sure that Clark (or any tuner) supports the map itself, regardless of how it gets into the ECU.

Assuming that's what you meant, those who think they might need help loading the map will probably want to use the AP. Those who are more computer savvy may opt to save the $600 "rape charge" and go with the open source solution.

[soap box]
Being a computer person, $600 for what is essentially a ROM flasher is highway robbery. If I choose to go the route of loading a map made by someone else I'll be using the open source solution just on principle...
[/soap box]

By support, I meant I don't know if he will provide a map in the open source format. As far as I know, they are not interchangeable.

As a computer person, would you say that paying hundreds or thousands of dollars for a CD or DVD is highway robbery? What about being paid lots of money for a few keystrokes on a keyboard?

I have no idea what, if anything, the open source project learned from Cobb's efforts, but the AccessPort was available years before the open source option and the price obviously needs to cover not only the hardware and it's development, but the time involved in reverse engineering the Subaru ECU's. In the early days of the WRX, the only other option for a reflash was EcuTek, and I think it was even more expensive and didn't even include any time of ROM flasher, you had to mail your ECU or visit a shop that had the equipment.

I have the ability to use the open source method, but I still plunk down the money for the AccessPort for a variety of reasons. The open source option is great, and it'll get the job done, as long as your tuner is willing to use it.

[Evan78]

Sounds very similar to the EFI tuning for the 5.0. I hope some of the knowledge is transferable. I understand that there is also an 'open source' method of flashing the 5.0 but there is a steep learning curve to get proficient at it. I guess it would be to much to ask for the hardware to work on both systems. Thanks for the explanation, Evan. WEK.I don't have any experience with the domestic stuff, but I'm sure all the concepts are the same.

[biknman]

1+ IAG can do it all when comes to building the Subys a 1 stop shop for anything suby from regular maintenance to show to full on GT racer.

[biknman]

1+ for Andrewtech Automotive the best Suby transmisson builder in the nation.