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How actually bad are COBB tunes?

Nerdy Oreo

Go Kart Champion
Location
Rhode Island
Car(s)
Mk7 Gti S
I'm getting an AP and while I wait for my EQT stage 2 tune I'm thinking of flashing a stage 1 or 2 COBB tune. Is it worth it? I've heard very bad and very good things about Cobbs tunes
 

daconchslop

Autocross Champion
Location
SC
Car(s)
ACS SE/Tech
It won’t harm anything. Run the Cobb ots until you get the tune from EQT. At least you’d be able to see how much better EQT is over Cobb.
 

Nerdy Oreo

Go Kart Champion
Location
Rhode Island
Car(s)
Mk7 Gti S
It won’t harm anything. Run the Cobb ots until you get the tune from EQT. At least you’d be able to see how much better EQT is over Cobb.
That's what I'm thinking. Should I run COBB stage 2 or do they have different requirements? I'm not doing the dsg tune yet sadly.
 

Nerdy Oreo

Go Kart Champion
Location
Rhode Island
Car(s)
Mk7 Gti S
Dumps way too much fuel.
and what does that do to the car (negative wise). like I don't want to damage the car while I wait for EQS to send me their tune. Also how do I add the tune from EQT to the AP? I have a Mac, will the Cobb Software Work on my Mac?
 

Nerdy Oreo

Go Kart Champion
Location
Rhode Island
Car(s)
Mk7 Gti S
yeah i saw that. im super excited for EQT. Im trying to find the highest power and torque gains for this car. It has a DP, Inlet tube, intake, and Dogbone mount+insert
 

fauMkVGTI

Go Kart Newbie
Location
San Antonio, TX
Car(s)
Golf R
On my MK6 I ran the Cobb OTS Stage 2 tune and liked it for daily driving. I ended up switching to Stratified which had way more power but my DSG was acting up with Stratified which wasn't the case with Cobb which was most likely due to the lower power figures. Long story short, COBB tunes are perfectly fine for a DD and some people might prefer them as they are on the safe side (lower power/less stress on components).
 

ShadyMF

Go Kart Champion
Location
Upstate NY
Car(s)
2020 GTI IS38 6MT
I personally haven't found them to be as bad as people say. That could be due to newer tune revisions. Cobb does update their OTS files occasionally.

You'll get a little more power from Pro tuners OTS tunes, but there is nothing wrong with Cobb's OTS maps from what I've seen. They are on par with any tuners OTS from a drivability/safety standpoint IMO and from that logging ive seen myself and others.
 

mrmatto

Autocross Champion
Location
Jacksonville, FL
Car(s)
2024 GTI DSG
I have a hard time finding any specifics on why they're "bad" tunes other than they don't make as much power as some others, which isn't necessarily bad considering it's a free tune and maybe more appropriate for a car that's on stock or A/S rubber. So what's the deal? Power is inconsistent or not smooth? Bad AFRs? Knock? Timing pull?
 
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ShadyMF

Go Kart Champion
Location
Upstate NY
Car(s)
2020 GTI IS38 6MT
I have a hard time finding any specifics on why they're "bad" tunes other than they don't make as much power as some others, which isn't necessarily bad considering it's a free tune. So what's the deal? Power is inconsistent or not smooth? Bad AFRs? Knock? Timing pull?

Most of the negativity i've seen centers around people seeing knock correction.

If you're seeing a few degrees of correction, as long as you see the ECU adjusting for it and ramping back up, is not a bad thing. I think a lot of people assume seeing that at all means a bad tune or less power etc when thats not the case.
 

Nerdy Oreo

Go Kart Champion
Location
Rhode Island
Car(s)
Mk7 Gti S
Most of the negativity i've seen centers around people seeing knock correction.

If you're seeing a few degrees of correction, as long as you see the ECU adjusting for it and ramping back up, is not a bad thing. I think a lot of people assume seeing that at all means a bad tune or less power etc when thats not the case.
so what should I watch for on the AP? Like how do you recommend having it laid out when it comes to gauges and things?
 

ShadyMF

Go Kart Champion
Location
Upstate NY
Car(s)
2020 GTI IS38 6MT
so what should I watch for on the AP? Like how do you recommend having it laid out when it comes to gauges and things?

You will get different answers from different people. Once I know things are looking good, I put my AP away and never look at it again.


When I first start logging, and want to check my car under different conditions I typically look at the following monitors live:

AFR
Short Term Fuel Trims
Long Term Fuel Trims
Knock Adapation on cylinders 1,2,3,4
Knock Average Correction (If I don't have all cylinder knock adaptation listed, just to see if anything is happening)
 

jimlloyd40

Autocross Champion
Location
Phoenix
Car(s)
2018 SE DSG
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