I'll be getting an Accessport soon and I'm looking to get some opinions on whether or not it would be worth it to spend the ~75$ on a better OTS tune than the Cobb stage 1.
I plan on getting an FMIC and going E30/Stage 2 within the next 5-6 months and will try to take advantage of one of Dizzy's incredible free E30 tune with a pump gas tune deals. (I already have RMM, Mountune airbox, shifter base bushings).
Thanks for your input!
I ran all 3 Cobb stages before moving up to a dizzy stage 2 91 tune and all I can say it's a pretty big difference in power and feel from the Cobb OTS tunes.
Going from stock to stage 1 really feels like it wakes the car up and runs how you would wish it came from the factory. A little more torque and less torque limiting in the first 2 gears really helps.
Stage 1 to stage 2/3 isn't too big a difference. At this point I had my CPE intercooler so charge Temps skyrocketing weren't a worry anymore. Stage 2 and 3 seem very similar in that they both add some more power and torque, as well as up the boost limit a bit but I would say the difference wasn't as noticible as stock to stage 1.
Going from Cobb to a flash tune from Dizzy was almost on par to going from stock to stage 1 in terms of how different the car feels. The way he tunes is a lot smoother and less torquey than the Cobb tunes but the power is still there when you need it. The best way I can explain it is instead of all the torque making your wheels want to spin from launch, torque and hp more slowly ramp up until you reach the midrange where most of the power is. I like this as the car is a DD and it's nice to still putt around town normally until I really need to get on the gas.
If you prefer the tons of low end torque feel similar to Cobb, I have heard Stratified is a good option and a more aggressive mapping in that sense.
To answer the original question, if I planned on keeping my IC stock for a while I would definitely recommend a flash tune from any well known tuner until you decide to go e30. You'll definitely get more power out of it than a Cobb stage 1 tune and save some money in the meantime while you build up the mods needed for the e30 tune.