Modifying a car… It’s something nearly all enthusiasts do.  The only question is what path should one follow on the modification trail.  In the past, it was as easy as putting a check valve on your turbo to control the boost and then cranking it up until you felt the butt dyno surge.  This just isn’t a safe way to do things though, especially with modern turbo vehicles already coming from the factory with tuning that is as close to the edge as their lawyers will allow.  No longer then, is a $30 manual boost controller an acceptable first modification.  What is an acceptable modification then?  Most people try to rationalize their purchase by comparing the cost to benefit.  How much horsepower is modification X going to give me for my money?  In this regard, a full exhaust, headers, and intake are normally the top choices for power-adders.  Today though, we are starting to see a large number of online discussions touting engine tuning (via the engine control module) as the number one most important modification.  Why is this?  Well, if we compare a turboback exhaust on Subaru’s STI which might cost us $1100 and give us 30hp to one of the popular engine management solutions on the market (Cobb Tuning’s AccessPort) which will cost us $650 and give us as much horsepower as we dare ask it for.  The cost to benefit for engine management looks great.  But what else should we consider?  How about engine longevity?  There have been many instances where the car comes with persistent engine knock from the factory.  This means there is something wrong with the tuning and perhaps we can tune around it to improve the safety and still get a bump in engine performance.

This article is intended to describe the abilities and benefits of Cobb Tuning’s AccessPort and StreetTuner engine management solutions, as well as take the reader through my own journey into tuning my engine.