COBB Tuning Blog

COBB Tuning is announcing a restructuring of the AccessPORT product line in order to better align our internal resources with our core markets. Effective immediately, COBB Tuning is discontinuing development of AccessPORTs for naturally aspirated vehicles including: Honda Civic Si, Infiniti G35 & G37, Mazda RX-8, Nissan 350Z & 370Z and Subaru 2.5i & 2.5RS. This refocus of resources and efforts will ensure that COBB Tuning can provide the high level of service each individual AccessPORT platform requires going forward.

This means that AccessPORT firmware, AccessTUNER (Pro and Race) software and Off-The-Shelf calibrations for the above vehicles have reached their final level of development and customers may continue to use them in their current form. AccessPORTs for these applications will remain available for purchase for the next 30 days. AccessPORT hardware will remain under warranty 1 year from the date of purchase and repair services will remain available should your AccessPORT require service.  Off-The-Shelf maps and AccessTUNER software will remain available for download from the COBB Tuning website at their current version levels.

At COBB Tuning, we are committed to our customers’ satisfaction with our products.  In light of this change of product support, we are extending our AccessPORT Satisfaction Guarantee to 90-days from the date of purchase for discontinued platforms.  Please click on this link to learn more about our AccessPORT Satisfaction Guarantee.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this announcement, or you wish to learn more about COBB Tuning products, please contact one of our Customer Service agents at 801.713.0035 or support@cobbtuning.com.

1 Comment »

The COBB Tuning Motorsports team dominated Round 4 of the Redline Time Attack series at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, taking 1st in Super Modified AWD, 1st in Modified AWD, 1st in Street Tire AWD and capturing the Overall Event Win. The Super Session wheel-to-wheel race was an exciting inter-class battle and saw the Nissan GT-R win overall in Modified trim and the STI take the Street Tire class win. In addition to bringing home maximum points, Brian Lock set a new track record for a Modified Class car at Auto Club Speedway in the GT-R with a lap time of 1:43.072.

In a bid to appease the “Racing Gods,” the team showed up sporting COBB-blue hair-dos, but the success of the weekend was a direct result of the long hours and tireless effort put in by the talented and dedicated guys that make up the COBB Tuning Motorsports crew. The team took advantage of the month-long break between events and made significant changes to all three race cars in an effort to maximize performance and reliability, ultimately setting the team up to race hard for the remainder of the season.

The Nissan GT-R was treated to a complete engine rebuild with upgraded rods and pistons to better cope with the nearly 1,000 crank HP being produced. The Subaru STI went under the knife having a new custom safety cage fabricated from scratch and the transmission rebuilt while the Cosworth engine was sent home for a refresh and new Cosworth intake manifold added. The Nissan 370Z received a new set of rear springs to reduce excessive corner-exit oversteer. Finally, all three cars had OS Giken limited-slip differentials installed (GT-R front, STI & 370Z rear) to better get the AccessPORT tuned power down on the track where it belongs.

The extensive hours of hard-work paid off in spades as the team racked up its most successful weekend to date in the Redline Time Attack. Brian Lock in the Nissan GT-R screamed past the competition to take the Modified Class win and set a new track record of 1:43.072 in the process. After setting the new record, the GT-R visited pit lane to receive a new set of Yokohama A005 racing slicks before heading right back out on track to battle it out in the Super Modified class. The added grip of the Yokohama slicks dropped the GT-R’s lap time to a 1:39.730, fast enough to take the win in the Super Modified class and clinch the team’s second Overall event win!

photo courtesy of rpmgear.com

In the Street Tire AWD Class, Cameron Benner was on a mission to grab the 1st place position that had so far eluded him. The revitalized Subaru STI proved to be the perfect tool for the job as Cameron charged ahead the rest of the Street Class field, taking a decisive first win with a 3-second lead over his closest competitor!

photo courtesy of rpmgear.com

Gary Sheehan subbed in for an ill-feeling Trey Cobb to take on the Nissan 370Z driving duties. Although Gary was ineligible to compete in the Enthusiast Class, the event presented an opportunity to see how the suspension and driveline changes affected the performance of the little Z, and they proved to be quite effective. The COBB 370Z turned a time just 0.5 seconds shy of the Enthusiast RWD class winning lap in the final Time Attack session, and also revealed a few simple areas of improvement that, once addressed, should make it a serious class contender.

photo courtesy of rpmgear.com

The wheel-to-wheel Super Session turned out to be an exciting inter-class battle that once again showed that solid preparation, nerves of steel and blue hair will take the day. Brian Lock ran the Nissan GT-R in Modified trim with R-compound tires and gapped the field to take the overall win and much-needed Modified class championship points. Cameron Benner had a great drive in his Street Tire Class STI, battling with Modified class cars on the way to his class win and 4th place overall, adding to his impressive championship lead.

The Takata Time Attack/LIC Motorsports STI, had a strong showing this weekend, taking 2nd place in the Modified AWD Class with a 01:45.923 lap time and 2nd place in class in the Super Session . This car runs a COBB AccessPORT and was tuned at COBB Tuning Surgeline in Portland, Oregon. The LIC Motorsports team continues to show what quality preparation and great tuning can do as they consistently field the fastest Modified Class Subaru in the series and currently lead the Modified Class championship.

Jon Drenas showed what a lightly modified Mitsubishi EVO X can do by finishing in 2nd place in the AWD Street Class. Jon arrived at the track late in the event and laid down a 1:52.702 lap with almost no practice time in his HB Speed-tuned AccessPORT EVO X. Jon and his EVO X is a force to be reckoned with on the West Coast and has proven that you can drive your race car to the track, race it all weekend, and drive back home with a trophy in the passenger seat.

Chris Billedo drove his AccessPORT equipped Honda Civic Si to the sharp end of the Enthusiast FWD class with a solid 2nd place finish, continuing his streak of podium finishes and setting himself up for an impressive Redline Time Attack championship result.

The COBB Tuning Motorsports Team next heads to Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois for Round 5 on June 12th where they look to extend their East Coast Championship leads in the Modified and Street Tire classes.

No Comments »

While perhaps not as exciting to the reader, the 370Z was drama free and reliable the entire weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This allowed me to continue to focus on improving as a driver and getting more comfortable in the car. Having other experienced and talented drivers as part of the team is also an enormous benefit as I can always pick their brains on what areas I should focus on improving or suggestions on a faster racing line.

The weekend started as the others have, arriving to yet another track I’ve never driven and spending the first session or two just trying to figure out where the course goes. The Las Vegas Motorsport Park track we were on was quite different from the last track I drove in New Jersey. The lush green run off areas and flowing lines of sight had been replaced with desert tans and browns, everywhere blurring the line between what was track and what was gravel. One portion of the track, that was actually one of the higher speed sections, had gravel run off that concluded with an industrial park. Only a chain link fence served as the last ditch attempt to keep you from becoming someone’s lobby ornament should you choose to do something silly in that corner. Fortunately, the gravel trap proved to be very effective at stopping cars, as a few people found out first hand. Thankfully, I was not one of them.

Overall the LVMS course proved to be enjoyable for me. I cannot wax and wane about how technical it was because, let’s face it, I’m a complete novice. Every track thus far has been technical and challenging for me. However, this was the first weekend that I actually felt some degree of enjoyment, or perhaps a better word is calmness, while on track. I felt less like I was trying to catch up to what the car was doing, and more on placing the car at its limits and feeling comfortable knowing how it would react. Having a predictable car to drive is a great way to build driver confidence, and the AST coilovers and Whiteline/Robispec front sway bar has contributed enormously to doing just that. Power delivery was also consistent and extremely smooth all weekend long as the AccessPORT Stage 2 maps continue to be evaluated and refined before their eventual public release. And while I’m enjoying the added power and torque out of corners, the stock rear LSD is not sharing in the same enthusiasm. It’s continuing to struggle to evenly distribute drive to the rear wheels out of corners. Perhaps that’ll be something we look to address for the future, though most room for improvement on track is still in the driver.

On Sunday, the day of the actual Time Attack, I was able to further drop my times during practice. The previous afternoon I had reviewed video with Brian Lock, comparing it to some laps he took in the car the same day, to help me see where I might gain some time. I also discussed some additional improvements with Billy Brooks, who has been lending his years of driving and setup expertise. The net sum was knocking a couple of seconds off my prior times down into the 1:59.x range. By the time the actual competition rounds started, track temps had climbed a bit and in my first session, I was a bit sloppy. I was sliding through a few sections more than before, not able to drive off the corners as aggressively as in the morning, and so on. Basically, I felt like I was over-driving the car, which in part was likely true but ultimately I wasn’t able to repeat my best times from morning practice.

For the second and final session of the day, the wind had picked up and track temperatures dropped. I went out again trying to consciously not over-drive the car and staying as smooth as possible with my inputs. In practice I’d learned that while I was completely comfortable sliding the car around and making exciting on-board video, my times were slower when I did so. Smooth and clean was proving to be faster, so I focused on just hitting my lines, braking points and not being too aggressive with throttle out of corners. Lap by lap I was able to drive down my lap times and ended up with a 2:00.9 result; a full second off my time from earlier in the day, but enough to secure a 3rd place finish and my first podium.

1 Comment »

Check out the latest video from Redline Time Attack and see exclusive interviews with COBB Tuning Motorsports drivers Brian Lock and Cameron Benner as well as new footage of the cars on track!

1 Comment »

Round 3 of the Redline Time Attack at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was an event full of victory and defeat. Emotions ran the gamut of highs and lows as the COBB Tuning Motorsports team continued to have issues with their R35 GT-R, while Cameron Benner and Trey Cobb in the COBB Tuning Motorsports STI and 370Z respectively, were able to grab podium finishes.

The weekend got off to a rough start when large chunks of bearing material were discovered in the oil of the COBB Tuning Motorsports GT-R following Friday morning practice. This engine had come from a badly wrecked GT-R and the team surmised that the bearings might have already been compromised prior to the New Jersey event. While the car was still running and showing good oil pressure, it was decided to park the GT-R instead of risking another catastrophic failure which could compromise not only safety for driver Brian Lock, but possibly the safety of the other competitors as well.

This put the spotlight squarely on Trey Cobb and his 370Z and Cameron Benner in his 2006 STI. Cameron has reached the podium in each race he has contested while Trey has slowly been climbing the ranks while he sorts not only his car, but learns and has become more competent and aggressive as a driver.

Cameron’s weekend started more or less uneventfully, with the car continuing to be the unbreakable war horse of the COBB Tuning Motorsports stable. Cameron continued to push as his competitors posted ever lower lap times. In the end, Steve Ruiz, in the Stoptech/AEM EVOX was able to edge Cameron out by just over half a second to take first with a 1:47.491 to Cameron’s 1:48.0.

In the Enthusiast RWD Class, Trey Cobb continued to show his mettle as he became more comfortable with his 370Z. With a few more refinements to his AST coilovers and a little more daring racing lines, Trey was able to snatch his first podium, a 3rd place in only his 3rd ever race! With the car very close to be optimized, the only adjustments are being made to the nut behind the wheel proving that despite not having huge amounts of horsepower, the 370Z is a capable car and is well suited to the enthusiast class.

Down but not out, Brian Lock ventured back out on track in the AWD Modified class, this time at the helm of Cameron Benner’s Street Tire class STI, in an effort to keep his championship hopes alive. While a DNF would have put Brian completely out of the points chase, he was able to capture 7th in a car that was not only down on power compared to his rivals, but running street tires while the rest of the field ran on R-compound rubber.

Despite the setbacks with the GT-R, the weekend was an overall success for the COBB Tuning Motorsports Team. With two podium finishes from Trey Cobb and Cameron Benner, the team has its sights on more victories in Fontana, CA at Auto Club Speedway, just 32 days away.

1 Comment »

With victory and champagne fresh in the minds of the COBB Tuning Motorsports team, Friday afternoon practice signaled the begining of a tough weekend for the team for Round 3 of the Redline Time Attack at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The GT-R of Brian Lock continued to have engine issues in Las Vegas, despite it’s miraculous 11th-hour victory in New Jersey.

An oil change following the Friday practice session revealed large quantities of bearing material, most likely caused by an oil starvation issue discovered during a track testing session earlier in the week. Knowing that complete engine failure was eminent should the car continue to compete, the team decided that caution was the better part of valor and parked the GT-R for the weekend.

Down but not out, Brian Lock and STI diver, Cameron Benner, will share Benner’s car for the remainder of the weekend with Cameron continuing to campaign in Street Class, and Brian looking to secure some points in the Modified Class.

COBB Tuning founder, Trey Cobb, continues to mature as a driver and has showed good speed at this tight and technical 2.2-mile Las Vegas track. Look for Trey near the top of the podium on Sunday!

For more photos from the weekend click HERE for the COBB Tuning Flickr page.

No Comments »

No Comments »

No Comments »

COBB Motorsports’ 3,000 mile trek from California to New Jersey paid off big with Brian Lock taking the the Overall Win in his Nissan GT-R Modified Class car, a historic first for the Redline Time Attack series. Cameron Benner and his Street Tire Subaru STI were strong all weekend and brought home the 2nd place trophy in class. Trey Cobb and his Enthusiast Class Nissan 370Z are beginning to hit their stride and finished a strong 4th in class. With equally impressive performances in the Super Session wheel-to-wheel race, COBB Motorsports left New Jersey leading the East Coast Championship points race in both the Modified AWD and Street Tire AWD classes and 4th place in Enthusiast RWD Class.

Success did not come easily, as the weekend certainly had its challenges. The Modified Class Nissan GT-R began developing engine hiccups in right hand corners early in the weekend that became progressively worse throughout the event. Sr. Calibrator Tim Bailey and Car Chief Dustin Harris initially suspected fuel starvation issues, but problems continued even with a full fuel tank, triggering the ECU into limp mode and forcing Brian to pit. The issue was later determined to be electrical, which can often be very difficult to find and solve quickly. The GT-R failed to complete a single full power lap in both Sunday morning practice sessions and even took the car out of the first timed session on Sunday afternoon. The team worked feverishly between Time Attack sessions, checking every electrical connection and thoroughly securing the wiring loom to prevent any movement on track. The scramble paid off in spades and Brian was able to get the GT-R to perform at its peak, delivering three flying laps in the final Time Attack session, producing a staggering laptime of 1:06.768. This turned out to be the fastest lap of the event, giving the Modified Class AWD win, Modified Class Overall win and Event Overall win to a Modified class car for the first time in the history of Redline Time Attack.

Further complications arose mid-event with the Subaru.  Cameron Benner’s weekend started out very strong with the Street Tire Subaru STI nipping at the heels of cars in the higher performance Modified Class. Cameron came in to Round 2 still on a steep learning curve with the Redline Time Attack format and his limited experience learning new tracks, but his lap times and composure on track certainly didn’t show it. Trouble started late in the day on Saturday with an external wastegate fitting failure which caused boost control issues. Car Chief Brian Marstellar was able to re-tap the wastegate with a larger fitting, however, damage to the wastegate was ultimately more severe than initially thought, resulting in boost levels that were 5psi lower than the targeted 24psi and really hurting power production. Tim Bailey worked some more of his AccessPORT tuning magic to coax some additional boost and power out of the STI boxer, giving Cameron just enough back to secure a strong 2nd place podium in Street Tire AWD in final Time Attack session of the day.

Trey Cobb’s Nissan 370Z proved to be trouble free throughout the weekend, giving him a stable platform to further develop his driving talent. Billy Brooks, Cobb Tuning’s lead Hard Parts Engineer, tweaked the 370Z’s suspension between events, and Brian Hanchey of AST Suspension helped the team dial-in the 5200 series double adjustable coilovers at the track, which helped resolve the corner exit power-down problems Trey was experiencing at Buttonwillow. Trey quickly got down to business of learning yet another new track and pushing the performance envelope of his 370Z while never putting a wheel wrong throughout all the practices. In the final Time Attack session Trey put his head down and got to business pushing the mildly modified Z to the limit, and beyond. Trey was able to put together a fastest laptime of 1:21.672, just 9/10ths of a second out of a podium position in Enthusiast RWD class and 1.5 seconds faster than the nearest Enthusiast AWD turbo EVO Xs!

The crowd favorite Super Session wheel-to-wheel race once again provided plenty of action. Brian and the Modified GT-R sat on pole with Cameron in the Street Tire STI took the green flag from the back of the grid. Brian had a great battle with the Turn In Concepts WRX driven by Tony Wiesenhahn and ultimately prevailed, taking home the Super Session overall win and firmly putting him in first place in the Modified East Coast Championship. Cameron took home the win in the Super Session Street Tire class, and the extra points pushed him into the Street Tire East Coast Championship lead as well.

The COBB Motorsports team is back on the road again heading west for the next round of the Redline Time Attack at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The rig will stop off in Salt Lake City, UT so the cars can be treated to a much needed round of service and some additional track testing at Miller Motorsports Park before picking up where it left off in the West Coast Championship points scuffle. Brian and the Nissan GT-R sit 2nd in points in the Modified West Coast Championship, Cameron and the Subaru STI are currently leading the Street Tire West Coast Championship and Trey and the 370Z are sitting in 7th in the Enthusiast Class West Coast Championship.

Everyone at COBB Motorsports is fired up from overcoming the obstacles thrown at them in New Jersey and are looking forward to bringing that success back into the West Coast Championship. Come on out to Las Vegas Motor Speedway on April 23-25 to see all the Redline Time Attack action and be sure to stop by the COBB Motorsports rig to hang out with the crew and check out the racing hardware. See you there!

1 Comment »

Follow Trey Cobb in the COBB Tuning Motorsports RWD Street Class 370Z as he races around the track! Trey was able to grab 7th place in the highly-competitive enthusiast class after a 4-year hiatus from the racetrack! Trey’s 370Z is running a complete COBB Tuning prototype cat-back exhaust system with high-flow cats, COBB Tuning prototype SF intake system with COBB Tuning prototype airboxes and tuned with an AccessPORT. The car also features a COBB Tuning custom oil-cooler to keep engine temps in check. The suspension features AST 5200 double adjustable coilovers, with a Whiteline front swaybar. The brakes were beefed up with Stoptech stainless brake lines and performance pads. Rolling stock is a set of Volk Progressive ME wheels measuring 19×9.5-inches in the front and 19×10.5-inches in the rear running street tires. Trey will be sorting this car as the season continues to be even more competitive!

No Comments »

As part of the festivities at the Redline Time Attack Series, Bonanni Motorsports will be showing their 370z showcar at all West Coast events. This car features a whole host of go fast parts, including the COBB Tuning AccessPORT! While the car will not be racing, it does show what can be achieved with Nissan’s sportscar on a reasonable, real-world budget.

“My goals with this car are to show the public what can be done with this platform with a real world budget,” said Mike Bonanni. “Although it will not actually be competing in time attack events due to my obligations as a driver for the Berk Technology race team, this car is still being built with fast lap times in mind. I have helped many companies develop and test new performance parts for the 370Z and plan to continue using this car to help pioneer the 370Z performance aftermarket so the everyday consumer can have access to proven effective parts like the COBB Tuning AccessPORT.”

See the Bonanni Motorsports 370z starting March 27th at the first round of the Redline Time Attack at Buttonwillow Raceway!

No Comments »

At COBB Tuning, we love it when our customers and tuners use the tools we work so hard to create, to make big horsepower. We love it even more when it is a complex and difficult build. The Nissan gurus at Altered Atmosphere Motorsports have done just this, with a Twin Turbocharged 370Z tuned with a COBB Tuning AccessPORT. This car makes over 500whp all on the stock block!

The turbo kit is of AAM’s own design and manufacture utilizing twin Garrett turbochargers. Tuning was done via a COBB Tuning AccessPORT and AccessTUNER Pro, proving that COBB Tuning products are a great way to tune forced-induction Nissan applications. “We are equally impressed with the tuning capabilities of the Cobb AP for Nissan/Infiniti vehicles,” said Jon of Altered Atmosphere. “We’ve even built Nissan GT-Rs with upgraded turbochargers pushing upwards of 700AWHP, and tuned these cars using just the AP. It really is a fantastic tool for tuning the majority of the cars we work on here at the shop. Keep up the great work guys!”

Look for more big power builds from AAM in the near future as they continue to push the envelope of Nissan and Infiniti performance with tuning from the COBB Tuning AccessPORT!

Read about the buildup on my350Z.com

No Comments »

The GT-R has been touted as the greatest car of this decade, and at the hands of an experienced driver with the right modifications, it can be a fearsome racer. Mike Cronin Jr., who some of you might remember from our trip to Spring Mountain Raceway for the Top Gear Tuner expose, is also competing in the Redline Time Attack in the Modified AWD Class. With some properly-chosen modifications, bolstered cooling and braking capabilities and a COBB AccessPORT, Mike was able to take 2nd in the Modified AWD Class at the final round of the Redline Time Attack.

Mike’s car, which is run and Sponsored by Fontana Nissan, is tuned by Jon Drenas at HB Speed in Huntington Beach, California.

This car features simple engine performance upgrades like a turbo-back exhaust and an E-Tune from HBSpeed. Jon was able to extract very impressive performance from a car that has yet to see a dyno. Jon has helped with datalog analysis trackside at the events to ensure that the Fontana Nissan GT-R is running optimally, and did so flawlessly throughout the weekend. Mike was the fastest GTR in the Modified AWD class with a blazing lap of 1:44.730 in the Time Attack session. That time held up for 2nd overall in Modified AWD. We will see Mike and Fontana back again next year for the 2010 season, and hopefully see him on top of the podium.

No Comments »