Tejas Chapter
Cobb Tuning Tour

Saturday, November 23, 2013
Planned by Brian Peterson

Cobb Tuning, 2311 W Rundberg Ln. Suite 500, Austin, TX 78758 get directions

9:30 AM – 10:00AM Registration, coffee, orange juice and some rolls.

10:30AM Cobb facility tour(s).

11:00AM Seminar concerning engine tunes, suspension theory and maintenance schedules followed by questions and answers. All previously submitted questions will be answered during the informal talk by the Cobb engineers.

11:00AM Dynamometer runs for volunteer's cars if available.

Noon installation of tunes for testing on eligible cars with N54 or early N55 motors prior to the Texas Autobahn tour to Black’s Barbeque in Lockhart.

Return to Cobb to uninstall tunes for those who are trying them out for the day only.
Cobb Tuning has been tuning turbo charged cars for a number of years. They were the first in the western hemisphere to decrypt the Nissan GTR R35 ECU, the BMW N54 MSD80/81 DME, and the early N55 DME to allow loading of flash tunes with a handheld device. Cobb carefully tests all tune parameters on their state of the art Mustang all wheel dynamometer and runs extended alpha testing before releasing their mappings and proprietary handheld devices to the public for purchase. Refreshingly, in their goal to be thorough in their testing, they do not engage in product preannouncements for the devices on which they are working. Recently, for BMW 1 (E82/8) and 3 (E90/2/3 non M) Series, they have developed Front Mount Inter Coolers, Downpipes with aftermarket cell catalytic converters, suspension springs and anti-sway bars, with more products on the way.
Josh Dankel, Cobb ECU Engineer, will start at 10 AM with an introduction to Cobb and delve into depth about the products it makes for BMW. This will be followed by a walking tour (or two if required by the group size) of the offices, manufacturing and prototyping shop, the dynamometer room. If the dynamometer itself is not being upgraded, a few cars will be selected to be measured on this device, both stock and after flashing a tune. Let us know if you want to be one. Any supported N54/55 car can be flashed with a base tune for any interested party to feel the gains available from the Cobb tune.

After the shop tour, and if the dynamometer is not being upgraded, Cobb will hook up some volunteer's cars for some power verification runs without, then with, the Cobb tune installed. Other volunteers may have a Cobb tune installed prior to the Saturday afternoon drive to lunch. Oh, and the tunes will be removed at the end of the drive unless you have a paper sack with unmarked bills on hand.

There will be a general brief lecture on car and engine maintenance, suspension design, and ECU security and tuning theory. This will be brief so that questions (prior submission via email to brianopeterson @gmail.com will guarantee an answer if the topic if appropriate) can be answered on the spot and enlightening discussion may ensue. While Cobb is dedicated to the turbo technology (note not one BMW is sold without a turbocharger these days), the technicians have a vast repository of experience in not only naturally aspirated engines but also diesels, although Cobb at this time does not support these engine. General questions on tuning, maintenance intervals, and preventative maintenance in general are encouraged from owners of these engines.

At the conclusion of this informal seminar and the dynamometer runs, we will embark on the drive to Black's Barbeque in Lockhart for lunch with all interested Club members. Members who have N54 or early N55 (until early April 2012 production) power plants in their cars can have a Cobb tune installed for all who want to experience the extra enjoyment it will bring.

Attendees are encouraged to submit any technological questions concerning engine maintenance or performance enhancement prior to the meeting via email to me at [email protected].

Let me know via email if you would like your car performance tested on the dynamometer as is and with tune installed. This will be limited to only a very few cars and only if the dynamometer is not being upgraded. If it is, Cobb may be willing to delay this to another date for those interested when the dynamometer will be operational and will be available for our use for a couple of hours.
After the tech session, we will make a dash via the Central Texas Autobahn down to Lockhart for BBQ at Black's. This will be a good chance for those that load a tune to try out the changes.

More info