COBB Tuning Blog

COBB Tuning announces the availability of the COBB Post MAF Hose for the ‘08+ Subaru STI, ’08+ Subaru WRX and ‘05-’09 Subaru Legacy GT. The COBB Post MAF Hose balances form and function with its smart appearance and turbulence taming characteristics.

The COBB Post MAF Hose joins the stock airbox (or optional COBB SF Intake) to the turbo inlet tube by replacing the stock corrugated rubber piece, arguably one of the most aesthetically challenged OEM parts in the engine bay. While the sleek exterior is easy on the eyes, the slick interior is friendly to airflow, feeding a smooth column of air to the turbo.

The 4-ply silicone construction has the right compliance to bridge the chassis mounted airbox to the violent motion of a boxer engine being driven in anger, while the steel reinforcement prevents collapse when the turbo is drawing maximum vacuum at wide open throttle.

Available in COBB Blue and Stealth Black for $75, the COBB Post MAF Hose qualifies for free ground shipping in the US. Click here for more info.

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Takata Time Attack recently celebrated Independence Day with participation in Redline’s fourth west coast event of the year dubbed The Liberty Grand Prix. Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, California set the stage for a challenging contest as temperatures exceeded 90 degrees and average speeds on the course exceeded 100mph for Modified class cars. The LIC Motorsports crew was busy in the weeks preceding the event preparing for the challenge. The Takata Time Attack/LIC Motorsports STI is making over 500whp and is tuned on the stock ECU with the COBB Tuning AccessPORT, once again proving the AccessPORT is Motorsports grade!

“Chassis development has been and continues to be our focal point for development of the car” said Noah Levy of LIC Motorsports. “Based on feedback from our driver and the advice of some of our partners we have made some changes to the car to improve its high speed stability. Along the way we have also removed some weight from the car. We were hopeful for dramatic improvements in the handling of the car.”

As driver James Elterman took to the track on Saturday, he immediately found new confidence in the car at high speeds. Development continued throughout the weekend with alignment, spring rate, aero, and rear differential changes. With each change came reduced lap times and by Saturday evening it was looking as though a podium finish was attainable.
The serious business of racing took pause on Saturday night as the main straight of the raceway was converted to a drag strip. Street cars, prepared drag racers, as well as some Time Attack cars raced the 1,000 ft. drag strip as the sun set. The Takata Impreza made an impression on the fans as it posted the fastest trap speed of the evening at 112mph. After nightfall the fans and racers were treated to a 22 minute fireworks show.

In Sunday’s first Time Attack session James claimed 4th position just 1 second out of 3rd. The final session again proved to be a critical one.
“Going into the final round of the Time Attack we all felt the car had the potential of reaching the podium.” said Elterman. “We made some minor changes going into the final round but unfortunately we took a small step in the wrong direction. Despite this I was pushing for an improved time. The first lap offered no improvement, and on the second lap I had in incredible off in Turn 1. Fortunately the damage was contained to the front splitter, but it forced our retirement from the session.”

With no improvement in the final session, the team retained 4th place in Modified AWD. After some quick repairs by the LIC crew to the front splitter, the Takata Impreza was ready for the Super Session sprint race. James started in the second row of grid in 3rd for Modified AWD. After the race’s first lap, the 034 Motorsports Audi in 2nd position retired due to a mechanical issue, putting Elterman in 2nd. Four laps later the Cobb Nissan GTR of Brian Lock crossed line first for Modified AWD, with Elterman in 2nd.

The intense battle for the Modified AWD Season Championship continues with James Elterman and Brian Lock standing out from the rest of the pack. After 4 events Elterman retains a small lead over Lock with 150 points to his 149 points. With three races left in the series the Championship may likely come down to the final event.

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Our weekend competing in Redline Time Attack Round 6, Liberty Gran Prix started off about as rough as one could expect. Despite our intentions of fitting our new brake rotors and top hats for the first practice sessions on Friday morning, a miscommunication by our supplier left us without any new brake hardware. “The existing hardware was literally falling apart,” car chief Brian Marsteller stated as he frustratingly tried to remove the scorched bolts from our fire-damaged rotors.

Being 4th of July weekend, having parts rushed was going to be difficult. The best we could do was have parts sent back up to Portland after this weekend, making the possibility for a DNF ever present in all of our minds. I began to peruse the parking lot, searching for any spectator owned STIs that may have been running our same brake setup. Luckily, before things got ugly, the LIC crew came through with a pair of rotors and top hats from a previous package they used to run allowing us to get on track!

Having not run any practice sessions Friday, I took the opportunity to reflect back to my experiences from SubieFest 2009 and used my spare time to walk the track and do my best to become re-acquainted with the “fastest road in the west”. Saturday morning as I walked back to the pit from the driver’s meeting, I was happily surprised to see that Tim and Brian had rotors back on the car and that we would be making our first session.

I took the first few out laps incredibly slowly, we were watching a remarkable amount of smoke billow from the engine bay as the engine burned off the oil soak the car got at Chicago last month. We anticipated some oil burn off as the car got back to temperature for the first time since the fire, but we didn’t expect the extent that we ended up having. Residual oil seemed to pour from every possible orifice of the car; the sub frame, intercooler and radiator, and the frame rails were all spitting oil onto the cars fan assembly. This raised some big question marks as we were all hesitant to disregard a possible oil leak as just residual oil, but as we ran slower laps our indicated oil pressures suggested that we were leak free.

Nevertheless the front of the car and intercooler/radiator assembly was apart for the majority of Saturday morning; a thorough cleaning was in order to try and remove more of the oil that was giving us such trouble. It wasn’t until the late afternoon sessions that we were finally able to put in some hot laps. Despite having not touched our setup since Chicago, the car felt decent. We definitely had something to work with. A high 1.30 lap time in the last session of Saturday moved us into the lead in Street Tire Class, but we all knew the car was green and that there was so much more time left in our chassis.

There was a distinct moment at last year’s SubieFest where I realized where a lap at Willow Springs can be either made or broken- this was the turn 8-9 complex. Remembering the Harman and LIC car just walking away from me as I tried to follow them through this high speed section of the track, made me realize how much better the car now felt. The feel of the car through turns 8 and 9 is so intimate because it is such as high risk/high benefit corner; I found that as a driver I was so in tune with what the car was doing in this complex because I knew the risk of going off and the rewards here for going fast. The AST 5200’s were absolutely, hands down, phenomenal here. Getting off the brakes, the car took an excellent set through 8, and the steady state performance that is so crucial in this portion of the track was amazing. While last year I struggled to maintain speed through this section, I was now making time on most of my competitors through 8 and 9. In comparing data with some other teams, we actually found I was carrying roughly 10mph higher into turn 8 than even some of the mod cars running on R-comps.

With lap times that put us into an early leading position, it was time for us to outline a race strategy that would allow us to lower times in the relatively short amount of practice time we had left. Brian Lock, Brian Marsteller and I made the decision that instead of spending time we didn’t have trying to continue chassis setup; we’d try and improve the setup we already had. We would do this by altering tire pressures. This wouldn’t find us seconds, but that’s not what we needed. By lowering our tire pressures by just a few PSI we kept the balance of our setup, while increasing overall grip- we were rewarded by dropping several tenths of a second, widening the gap even further over our competition.

Moving into the Time Attack, with ambient temps over 100 and track temps of above 140 degrees, the key was to be smooth. Most competitors over drove their cars, dust plumes constantly shot out of turn 9 as drivers would dip wheels as their tires screamed to maintain grip in the blistering heat. We matched our early morning times that afternoon, despite the increase in temps. While it felt like we were constantly behind the eight ball all weekend, it looked like our luck was finally shifting. Coming out of our first qualifying position, we were gridded 1st overall in the street class.

We were eventually bumped to 2nd by a wicked fast 135i that clicked off an impressive sub 1.30 lap times. Regardless, in Street AWD the competition remained incredibly close; the first 4 competitors were separated by less than one second. We’d have to work for this one. Steve Ruiz brought the heat as usual, running just 2/10ths off our pace coming out of the first time attack session. We made a few slight tire pressure changes in anticipation of slightly cooler track temps in the second time attack session, and despite a 4 wheels off excursion coming out of 9 with the accelerator still pegged, we dropped one more tenth. Just 3/10’s of a second separated Ruiz’s StopTech EVO from the STI at the end of the day- a testament to the level of preparation had on both cars.

While the Street AWD victory in the time attack was in the bag for us, the exciting super session still remained. The grid looked full as I glanced over from our pit; Mike Bonanni and I shared our excitement for what was going to be a great race. The green flew and I watched the G-STIG in the GST Impreza and the COBB GT-R jockey for position into turn 1. As the field spread, I held and inside line through the first turn and homed in on who I’d be racing with. It looked as though the Super Modified FWD Mini piloted by Dez Ballard may be my main competitor. While he was in front, I could tell that I was making time on him. His tires were ailing, and by lap 4 I was riding all over his bumper.

I was mere inches off his rear bumper through Omega and down through 5. The Mini stretched its legs as the 700hp compact stayed neck and neck with me down the back straight and over turn 7. I positioned myself on the outside, and braked just after he did securing me a clean pass into 8 and through 9. By turn 2, it looked as though the Mini had dropped off pace, and with just one lap to go, we had secured 5th place overall in the super session and 1st in the Street Tire Class!

The Liberty Gran Prix at Willow Springs has been one of our more challenging events, having only run 5 sessions the whole weekend we just didn’t have time to do what we wanted but despite the setbacks we kept our attitudes positive and our heads on our shoulders. We used pragmatism and logic to derive an approach that would maximize our use of time. In the end this approach paid off giving us a win we really worked for and deserved.

I want to give thanks to all the car’s sponsors, AST Suspension, COBB Tuning, Velocity Carbon, Jongbloed wheels, and our newest sponsor that has just come on board, Subaru of Ontario! Looking ahead, we will be taking the car back to my alma mater, Portland International Raceway, for 2 months of rigorous testing prior to Round 7. We will further to develop our chassis and suspension setup, and when we arrive in Pahrump in mid-September, we will be certainly looking for another win.

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The COBB Tuning Motorsports Team once again proved the power of stock ECU tuning with the COBB Tuning AccessPORT by scoring two first place wins in class as well as an overall win in the Modified AWD class. Brian Lock rocketed the COBB Tuning Motorsports GT-R to a first place win in the Modified AWD Class during the Record Assault session putting the GT-R well ahead of his next nearest competitor by a full second with a 1:23.488 lap time, smashing through the Modified Class track record in the process.

Not to be outdone by his teammate, COBB Tuning Motorsports STI driver, Cameron Benner, quickly raced to the top of the standings during Saturday practice and held that position for the duration of the weekend. However, this was no run away victory as Steve Ruiz in the Stoptech EVOX nipped at his heals as the two fought for lead by tenths of a second. In the end, Cameron was able to grab the AWD Street Tire win with a 1:30.200 lap time.

Both cars were able to handily take their classes in the Super session as well, with Cameron besting several Modified class cars in the process. Brian Lock and the GT-R proved once again that the GT-R is a formidable opponent, especially in the hands of Lock who has spent the majority of his career banging doors in Grand Am Cup and USTCC touring car racing. Brian was able to jump into 2nd place behind the GST Motorsports Super Modified Impreza and hold his lead over 3rd place James Elterman in the Takata Time Attack/LIC Motorsports STI to the finish line.

For Cameron, the Super Session was incredibly exciting as he battled several Modified Class cars. Cameron was able to dispatch the Street Tire RWD 135 BMW of Mike Bonanni, who was suffering oiling issues, as well as the Modified Class 700hp front wheel drive class AFB Motoring Mini of Dez Ballard. Cameron and the mini drove an incredibly close race with the two swapping position several times. In the end, Cameron was able to pull the mini down the back straight on the penultimate lap and hold that lead to the checkered flag despite his 200whp disadvantage.

Despite some minor mechanical difficulties for the STI, ambient temperatures that reached over 105 degrees on race day and track temps that soared above 150 degrees, the cars performed flawlessly showing that solid preparation and a well-sorted car, as well as reliable horsepower thanks to the COBB Tuning AccessPORT, win races.

The team has a 2-month respite from Redline Time Attack and will use that time to repair, refit and do some testing. Look for the team to back on track in Sin City in September!

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The COBB Tuning XLE BPV is a compact and lightweight by-pass valve is capable of holding very high boost pressure without leaking and its unique design allows extremely fast venting of boost when actuated. It is designed to operate in multiple venting modes and can be quickly reconfigured using simple hand tools. Innovative engineering and precision manufacturing result in a compact package able to fit in the confines of a tight engine bay.

The COBB Tuning XLE Bypass Valve is available for:

• 2006-2009 Mazdaspeed3
• 2006-2007 Mazdaspeed6
• Nissan GT-R
• 2002-2007 WRXs
• 2008-2010 WRX
• 2004-2007 STI
• 2008-2010 STI
• 2005-2009 Legacy GT
• 2009 Impreza 2.5 GT
• 2006-2008 Forester XT

The COBB Tuning XLE BPV is available directly from COBBTuning.com or by calling 801-713-0035 with FREE GROUND SHIPPING!

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Checking the weather report for our weekend at Autobahn Country Club gave us the first inclination of how our weekend would go: The usual afternoon thunderstorms that frequented the Joliet, Illinois area were going to make Redline Time Attack Round 5 particularly interesting.

We got situated at the track Friday afternoon and after setting up the paddock space, took time to walk the 2.1-mile “South” course. Walking the full length of the course, we got the feeling that the racing surface was going to be exceptionally “green” in places. The thunder showers that are so common place wipe the track clean of any accumulated rubber on nearly a daily basis. We could tell just by scuffing our shoes on the track that this surface was going to be quite slick to start off with. Saturday practice showed us that though the track appeared straightforward, it was definitely nuanced with some intricate technical sections.

Over the course of Saturday and moving into Sunday morning, I worked on perfecting these more technical portions of the track; this process was both challenging and frustrating at times, but finding tenths of a second by altering a line here or modifying a breaking point there rewarded us with lower lap times. As we concluded Saturday practice our times were continuing to drop, our equipment was holding up well and another COBB sweep looked to be in the works. We began Sunday practice by running consistent 1.36’s; our familiar competition from New Jersey, Todd Reid in the Fortune Auto EVO IX was running high 1.35’s. We felt our car was cable of low 1.34’s to high 1.33’s but the chassis had developed a severe oscillation that would make corner exit incredibly jarring.

With the increased bite the car had with the new OS Giken rear diff, the rear dampers were set too soft and the outside rear shock would bounce off the bump stop on corner exit. We remedied the issue by making a quick adjustment to the AST 5200 series struts which reduced the oscillation while maintaining drivability..

With these changes to rebound along with several small changes in driving line, we were able to drop into the low 1.35’s and in our last practice session posted two times consistently in the low 1.34’s. Checking the weather radar brought ominous news. It looked as though it would be a race against the weather for our first time attack session. A large thunderstorm system was moving in and it was questionable if we were going to get any dry laps at all.

Fortunately, our luck held out and we left the grid with the wipers off and dry track ahead. I set out on the warm-up lap — the track was slightly more slick than earlier in the morning, nevertheless my next lap around I got the green and it was onto hot lap one. I ran the car hard but maintained a smooth line; I was shooting for a high 1.33. Brian Marsteller, my crew chief, came on the radio and notified me we had managed a low 1.35. That wasn’t going to be good enough, as the Professional Awesome EVO IX had dropped into high 1.34’s. I set out to match the 1.34.2 we had set earlier in practice, but the racing gods had other things planned.

I started on hot lap 2, and the first third of the lap was a real flyer; section times indicated we were on track for a low 1.34 when disaster struck. I rounded the high speed left-hand kink in 5th gear, checked my mirrors as usual and noticed a massive amount of smoke billowing from the car. I got on the radio, “Brian we’ve got a big problem, repeat pulling off line, we’ve got a problem.”

I tried to stay calm. Initially I thought the brakes had set fire, but the growing amounts of smoke pouring from the hood scoop suggested otherwise. I exited the car and frantically motioned for a fire bottle from a nearby turn worker. I grabbed the fire bottle, lowered my visor and dowsed the engine bay. A slick coating of oil on the inside of the hood was a dead giveaway — an oil line had blown off and ignited on the exhaust header.

We towed the car back to the paddock and assessed the damage. The extent of the damage was surprisingly superficial, albeit it would keep us from making the super session. In the end we had managed a best time of 1.35.093 which broke the track record, was only good enough to put us in second, just .3-seconds off first place.

Our experience at Autobahn continued to reaffirm that our hard work and pragmatic approach to car setup. The fire was a good reminder as to the importance of continued diligence required to keep a car mechanically sound. The STI will be fitted with a new timing belt assembly as well as new rotors and brake pads. We plan to be more than ready to bring the heat back to the west coast at Willow Springs in just a couple more weeks.

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A critical firmware update has been released for 2.0 liter Subaru AccessPORT equipped vehicles.

Applications:

• 2002-2005 WRX

Updated Firmware Version:

• 1.6.0.1-13443

Bug Fixes:

• Critical Fix: Fixed communications for FTDI Dongles (5 pin).
  • Fixed communications which was broken in the 1.6.0.0-12994 release.
• Critical Fix: Fixed compatibility issue with version 0 EEPROM
  • Caused upgrade from early generation firmwares to stall-out on C logo
  • AccessPORTs stuck in boot-up mode must be sent in for service.

Firmware Update Instructions:

1. Connect the AccessPORT to your PC
2. Download latest version of AccessPORT Updater
3. Run AccessPORT Updater
4. Answer all prompts
5. Version 1.6.0.1-13443 will be installed on your AccessPORT

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The Fifth round of the Redline Time Attack at Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois was one for the books! This was the most costly race by far in terms of incidents and bent metal, as well as a small fire in the engine bay of the COBB Tuning Motorsports STI. Even with the carnage on the track, the COBB team recorded another win in the Modified AWD Class in the COBB Tuning Motorsports GT-R and a 2nd place in the AWD Street Class in the COBB Tuning Motorsports STI.

Chicago presented a unique challenge for competitors as twice-daily thunderstorms doused the track with hour-long deluges that kept the track slick and difficult to drive. This made finding the proper setup essential, as well as quickly learning the 2.1-mile track and taking advantage of the briefly dry racing surface critical.

After sweeping Round 4 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., the team was confident that a repeat of those successes was achievable. However, rival, Ryan Gates and his 700hp EVO X, has proven that when things go his way, he is able to rival the speed of the GT-R.

After the fast banking of Auto Club Speedway, the team quickly realized that a brand-new setup would be needed for Autobahn and alignment issues would harry the GT-R on this more technical track. With precious few sessions to dial in the suspension, the team had their work cut out as they labored to find the perfect settings.

Brian Lock, driver of the COBB Tuning Motorsports GT-R who won overall at Auto Club Speedway, noted that there were a few issues to deal with in practice. “I knew the weekend was going to be a whirl wind. 2-day events are already pretty packed, but add to that the fact that no one on our team had been to this track before made for a lot of work. Saturday the car did not roll out of the trailer fast at all; we were almost 3-seconds off our final pace. We had made a rear toe adjustment prior to this event that was not ideal for the track, and we had to re-balance our aero with the change to an all-new Aeromotions wing. Both tasks are not especially hard by themselves, but doing this in only three dry sessions while trying to learn the track at the same time proved otherwise. Like normal though, the COBB Tuning Motorsports crew performed flawlessly. We were able to make great improvements all day, and ended the day on top of the leader board.”

Cameron Benner’s STI continued to return strong results following his first win at Auto Club Speedway. Again, the team looked to a repeat performance as the STI, as well as the driver, show more speed at each event. However, despite careful preparation, a failed hose and a little bad luck would come into play.

“We made a few minimal bound and rebound settings to minimize oscillation, to keep the car settled mid-corner and at the exits and also to take advantage of the new OS Giken rear diff. The track is fun, it reminds me of Portland International Raceway, my ‘Alma Mater’. The track itself is rather slick as the track surface is very green, but once you get the hang of it, it’s really fun. It is deceivingly difficult to drive,” said Cameron.

Saturday practice gave the teams a little bit of a peek at what the Chicago area weather had in store for the Sunday race. Like clockwork, the skies would darken and bring brief, but heavy rains, high-winds and lightning, closing the track and also making the track surface slick. Normally, racetracks accumulate a certain layer of rubber which aids in mechanical grip. Because the Autobahn circuit’s surface gets a daily rinsing, this “grippiness” is washed away, leaving what racers refer to as a “green” track. Also, the humid air never lets the track dry fully, leaving a somewhat damp and very slick surface each afternoon. In order to be able to try for good times on a dry track, the team would need to try and get in lap times before the day’s afternoon rain could complicate conditions. With the team glued to the Doppler weather forecast on their laptops, they were able to predict with good accuracy, when the bad weather would arrive.

In order to get in clean laps early, the team decided to take advantage of a new Redline Time Attack feature — the Record Assault. Basically, this is a session where teams try to beat the standing lap record for their class. The catch is that these laps count for the overall weekend’s times, so you can win the event without going out for a normal timed “Time Attack” session. Knowing this and that a weather front was set to roll in that afternoon, Brian went out in the GT-R while the track was dry enough to put down quick laps and have a crack at besting the track record for a Modified Class car.

This proved rather fortuitous as the GT-R was able to post some “insurance” laps so should the rain and lightening close the track, the team would have posted times in the dry, giving them a little bit of an edge and some breathing room.

With the toe and wing issues sorted, the GT-R was able to post a 1:28.1 lap time, with Ryan Gates trailing a few tenths behind. Brian felt sure that the car was capable of a 1:27 or even a 1:26, but the less-than-ideal conditions prevented him from cutting more time.

For the GT-R, these would be the last posted runs of the weekend. Rain would wash out the Modified and Super Modified sessions leaving the Record Assault session laps as the final standing laps. This put Brian and the GT-R solidly in first place in front of Ryan Gates who once again was chasing mechanical troubles.

Cameron was able to squeeze out one last session before the rains came, however, his session would not be without some personal drama. In practice, Cameron was neck and neck with the “Professional Awesome” EVO VII of Dan O’Donnell posting a low 1:34 lap time and knocking on the door of a 1:33. However, Dan was also in the hunt and both drivers hovered around the 1:34 mark. With the rain looming in the distance, Cameron went out and posted at 1:35.093 to O’Donnell’s 1:34.727. With one lap to go, Cameron poured on the heat and was looking to post a 1:33 when disaster struck. On the back-side of the track, the oil-pressure warning light came on and smoke began to billow from behind the car. Cameron hit the emergency shut off and pulled the car off the track and it quickly became apparent that the STI was on fire. Cameron was able to get out of the car and extinguish the flames. The team later discovered that one of the lines feeding the oil cooler core had failed spraying oil over hot brakes and header, causing the small fire. Although the damage was light, it was enough to sideline the car for the weekend. However, rain prevented further attempts. Despite the flames, Cameron had secured 2nd place in the AWD Street Tire class.

As Brian and the GT-R rolled back out on track for the first official Modified Class session, the skies opened up and the organizers scrubbed the session. As the rain began to fall in sheets well into the afternoon, the organizers decided that the Modified and Super Modified Class standings would be decided by the earlier Record Assault times. By late afternoon, the sun came out and the teams prepared for the Super Session.

However, before the Super Session could begin, the track had dried enough to let the Street class back on track for one more timed session despite the fact that the track was not yet dry. To add insult to injury, Gregory Haye in the Challenge/Bridgestone Honda S2000 grendaded his engine in the last corner, sending oil all over the track. This car oiled it’s own tires and spun into the grassy over run. Before the condition of the track could be fully assessed, the Honda Civic of William Chan also spun off, narrowly missing Haye. However, seconds later, the EVO X of Justin Mathews also added himself to the turn 13 mayhem and in the process grazing Haye but severely colliding with Chan. All three drivers were unharmed, however, both the EVO and the Civic were badly damaged.

This was a precursor to the wild carnage that would mark one of the most costly, in terms of bent metal, Super Sessions in Redline history. With a track still slick from the rain and with standing water still on the front straight, the cars made their way to the pre-grid. In a precursor to the mayhem that would follow, one of the EVOs spun on the parade lap.

As the pack rounded the final corner and made their way down the front straight, the green flag dropped and things got ugly. Heeding the organizers directions to ease up and avoid contact at all costs, Brian yielded the line to an overzealous EVO driver who dive-bombed him by putting 4-wheels off (into muddy wet grass) came back on track and punted the Miata of Richard Fischer off track, who was able to gather it together and carry on.

The GT-R was more than a handful in the wet and to make matters worse,the AWD system rebelled in the incredibly slick conditions relegating the GT-R to RWD mode, with standing water still on the track. With his hands full of an ill-handling and bucking GT-R, Brian concentrated on bringing the GT-R home in once piece!

The mayhem started with the Mazdaspeed Miata Fischer losing control on the front straight, spinning and impacting the pit wall armco barrier, shattering his rear window and hitting the timing equipment sending a car battery and other debris all over the track. Fischer was able to continue on around the track despite heavy damage to his Miata. Several officials jumped out on the hot track to clear debris before other cars came onto the front straight.

However, the worst was yet to come. As the Mazdaspeed 5 of Jason Saini turned into turn 3, his car refused to turn and shot off the track head-on into the armco sending the car over the wall where it landed, high-sided on the turn 3 overrun barrier. With two heavy crashes, one car seriously wrecked, the organizers flew the black flag ending the session. Again, no drivers were hurt. At the end of the super session The EVOs held the top spots with the GT-R in third in the Modified Class.

While the weekend was in some ways one of the more challenging weekends in terms of strategy, timing and setup, the COBB Tuning Motorsports team once again stood on top of the podium in the AWD Modified Class. Despite his close brush with a career as a fire fighter, Cameron was once again on the podium with a 2nd in the Street AWD Class.

The team is already looking forward to Redline Time Attack Round 6 at Willow Springs in Rosamond, Calif. This will be a diametric shift in weather, from the humid and rainy streets of Autobahn, to 100+ degree temperatures of the California Desert at Big Willow.

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The COBB Tuning Motorsports Team is once again proving their “metal,” this time at Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois. The COBB Tuning Motorsports GT-R and STI driven by Brian Lock and Cameron Benner, respectively, are both leading the field at the end of testing on Saturday. The GT-R posted a 1:29 in the Modified AWD class and the STI is sitting in first in the AWD Street Tire class with a 1:37.

After his win at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Cameron is looking a repeat here at Autobahn. “The car feels great,” said Cameron Benner, driver of the COBB Tuning Motorsports STI. “We made a few minimal bound and rebound settings to minimize oscillation, to keep the car settled mid-corner and at the exits and also to take advantage of the new OS Giken rear diff. The track is fun, it reminds me of Portland International Raceway, my ‘Alma Mater’. The track itself is rather slick as the track surface is very green, but once you get the hang of it, it’s really fun. It is deceivingly difficult to drive.”

Brian Lock, driver of the COBB Tuning Motorsports GT-R, who won overall at Auto Club Speedway, noted that there were a few issues to deal with in practice. “The car came out of the trailer with some alignment issues and we had to sort out our new wing,” said Brian. “As the day went on, we got our alignment sorted and our downforce and aero balanced and we made steady improvements all day. The car is very fast and ready for competition.”

Weather will play a big role in the weekend as two out of three advanced sessions were black flagged due to sever rain and thunderstorms. Both cars are running flawlessly and continue to set the standard for race preparation. The COBB Tuning Motorsports Team is ready to take on the competition on Sunday!

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COBB Tuning is happy to announce the availability of AccessTUNER Race for all 2010 Subaru models including WRX, STI, Legacy GT and Forester XT. This will allow enthusiast tuners, race teams and professionals alike, to tweak current COBB Tuning OTS calibrations or to make custom calibrations of your own!

AccessTUNER Race is completely free! Simply fill out the AccessTUNER Race Request Page to receive your download link via email!

AccessTUNER Race is compatible with all COBB Tuning Off-the-Shelf calibrations and tuners can even share their calibrations with other AccessTUNER Race users!  Download your copy today of AccessTUNER Race today and Access the potential of your turbocharged Subaru!

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Just three days before Round 4 of the Redline Time Attack, I was deep in the Klamath Forest of Northern California, kayaking and rafting the Klamath River. The week before that I was in a Chemistry classroom taking my final exams for general chemistry. Needless to say, I was a bit removed from the current scene evolving at COBB Tuning Surgeline. As both Tim Bailey and Brandon Lumpkins could tell you, that scene was one of calculated, methodical mayhem.

The STI had the rollcage torn out, a new one welded in, the motor taken out, rebuilt and replaced, a transmission swapped, and new differentials installed. Both Brian Lock and Dustin Harris worked tirelessly to finalize preparation on the COBB teams automotive arsenal; all the while I was several hundred miles away with my fingers confidently crossed. I made the scenic trip down Highway 101 to California’s Central Valley, and continued down to Fontana, home to Auto Club Speedway all the while mentally preparing myself for challenge of getting back into the car at a very fast track.

Seeing the car for the first time in over a month was exciting; the new AIM system had been installed and the new roll-cage was gleaming like a real work of art. Going to bed that night wasn’t easy, I was stoked to get back on track – especially at Auto Club, where every element of both the car and driver would be tested. I had already gotten a taste of what Auto Club Speedway had to offer, back at a NASA test weekend in January, so my initial “newbie nerves” were calmer than usual. We began Saturday by running quick and consistent 1.56’s. The car felt remarkable. The chassis was notably stiffer; the difference between a cage with 17 contact points and a cage with only 8 is amazing.

With the refreshed engine and larger turbine housing, car was tuned to just over 500whp at 21psi. I found that this horsepower was very useable as the car was “breathing” so much better given the new exhaust header, Cosworth intake manifold and larger turbo. Our familiar West Coast competition was out in force: Steve Ruiz and the StopTech Team, as well as the “dren machine” piloted by HB Speed’s, Jon Drenas, were both present. Ruiz was running some quick 1.54’s out of the gate, while I was hovering in the 1.55’s. While I had experience on the roval, my strategy was to more or less putt around Saturday, get used to driving a racecar again and hide my cards until Sunday.

The lowest we went on Saturday was right around a 1.53, but the car had so many more seconds in it. I told my crew chief Brian, “Man I wouldn’t worry about times, this thing has got a mid 50, maybe even a high 49 in it.” We took the day in stride, enjoyed ourselves and went out for some go-karting Saturday night. I was confident but cautious come Sunday morning. We had been in this position at both Buttonwillow, and Vegas – ahead at the close of Saturday, only to wind up 2nd at the end of the day on Sunday.

First session out I gave a ride and started to push the car. My goal was to dip into the 52’s and I was quite surprised to here that we managed a 1:50.7 with a passenger in the car. I went out again, this time alone, in practice/qualifying and ran a 1.49.7 placing me in a comfortable 1st place qualifying position, almost 3-seconds faster than Ruiz. Ruiz’s car seemed to be slowly ailing at Round 4, signs of the car overheating didn’t relent which was disappointing for both the StopTech Team and us.

The refreshed and re-vamped STI was invigorating to drive, the new OS Giken rear diff allowed the 500whp to really hurl the car out of the corners to an extent I’ve never experienced in the car. The new Hankook RS-3s we were running provided better initial grip than the Yokohama’s we had run at the previous 3 events. These new changes made the car incredible to drive, and allowed us a solid position at the head of the Street Tire Class. We opted out of the second qualifying session, choosing to keep time on the motor low and conserve our equipment.

By the time the first Time Attack session rolled around, no-one in the street class and only a handful of modified AWD cars had dipped below the 1.50 mark. Our strategy going to the Time Attack mirrored that of our practice/qualifying strategy. It looked like all we needed was to match the 1.50.7 set in practice, and we would secure an overall victory in the Street Tire Class. By the second Time Attack session we had secured a 1.49.7, putting us solidly in first and giving me and the team, our first Street Tire Class win!

Ambient temperatures had dropped by the time the super session rolled around, and as we rolled out to the grid it looked like Round 4’s super session would finally be a race. There were by far more competitors than ever before, at least 15 spread between the three classes.

Glancing over the time spread, it looked like it would be an interesting battle between me, Mike Bonnani in his beastly 135i, and several MOD AWD cars. We rolled out for our pace lap and then the green flag flew. The Mazdatrix RX8 jumped the start and flew by me on the inside. My crew chief, Brian Marsteller, rattled off instructions across the radio, “Clear left, clear left, and stay low. Go low, clear on the right, clear on the right get high.” By the time we reached NASCAR T2, Brian had woven me through a group of nearly 6 cars. I finished off lap one matching the 1.46.1 of the Takata Time Attack/LIC Motorsports STI and was soon chasing down 2nd place following a spin by Takata driver, James Elterman which put me in 3rd. Elterman eventually overtook me, placing me in 4th overall, and 1st in Street Tire Class.

This weekend at AutoClub marked the first, 1st place finish in street AWD for me, and was sweetened by an overall first place finish in the Street Tire Class. This weekend was a huge win for the entire COBB Tuning Motorsports effort. With Brian Lock claiming an overall event win in the GT-R, and us taking the overall win in Street Class, the hundreds of hours spent on preparing the cars finally looked to have paid off. I would like to say thanks to our sponsors, Velocity Carbon, AST Suspensions, Jongbloed Wheels, and OS Giken for giving us our edge.

I would like to give special thanks and appreciation to Brian Marsteller for his un-paralleled support as car chief of the #21 STI and also to Dustin Harris and Brian Lock and the rest of the COBB Tuning Surgeline crew for not only working around the clock for a month to get my car ready, but for making it capable of bringing home the win I have been trying for all season.

Additionally I would like to thank my family, friends and my Dad especially for their continued support. We are off to Autobahn Country Club in about a week for Round 5. We are definitely looking for another COBB sweep of both Modified and Street Tire Class!

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The Takata Time Attack/LIC Motorsports STI continues to prove what a well-prepared and reliable race car can do against a field of fire-breathing racecars. Not that the Takata/LIC car is a slouch in the horsepower department, but to finish first, first you must finish, and the LIC car has done just that, and near or at the top of the podium for the last three rounds of the Redline Time Attack. With just over 500whp on tap and tuned on a COBB Tuning AccessPORT by Tim Bailey at COBB Tuning Surgline, this car is holding its own and leading the Modified AWD Class championship against cars with much more power!

Entering the third Redline Time Attack west series event the Takata Time Attack/LIC Motorsports team had a small lead over the competition. In hopes of maintaining that lead the LIC Motorsports crew prepared the Takata Impreza for the unique challenge that Auto Club Speedway offers. The 2.8 mile “roval” includes a technical infield section with slow corners and fast transitions, as well as a high speed banked section were speeds exceed 160mph for the fastest cars. One of the most significant changes LIC made to the car in preparation for the event was a new Brembo brake kit. The kit was developed in conjunction with Race Technologies who was kind enough to be on hand to lend support to the Takata/LIC Motorsports team.

“The new Brembo braking system is incredible” said driver James Elterman. “I have the confidence to go deep into the corner every time whether it is the first lap or my last. The car was very reliable all weekend. Instead of troubleshooting problems like so many teams, we were focused on making suspension and aero adjustments to improve our times.”

The first Time Attack session was conducted with a new format in which all the Modified cars shared the track. James finally found clean track late in the session but unfortunately the Nitto NT01 tires were past their prime considering that they are typically best early in the session. The lap time positioned the team in 3rd behind the Cobb Tuning Nissan GTR and Fontana Nissan – Nissan GTR respectively. The second and final Time Attack session offered James an opportunity to move up.

“When James went out for the second Time Attack we were just 0.2 seconds out of 2nd so we had a close eye on our stopwatch” says Noah Levy of LIC Motorsports. “When he crossed the stripe we knew James had just done what it takes to secure 2nd position but we held our collective breath as we waited for the “official” announcement. When the call came that we just moved ahead of the Fontana Nissan GT-R into 2nd place, we were ecstatic.”

The time stuck and James earned 2nd in Modified AWD. Shortly thereafter James faced off against the Cobb Nissan GT-R again in the wheel-to-wheel 5 lap Super Session. In the second lap of the race, James was keeping pace with the GT-R but looking to gain ground when he accelerated too early coming off a corner and spun. Fortunately James made a very quick recovery and put on a show as he raced back to the front of the field, where he raced the Unlimited class Evo of Road Race Engineering down to the wire. The result was a 2nd place finish in Modified, giving Takata Time Attack enough points to retain the lead in Modified AWD over the Cobb Nissan GT-R by 7 points.

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The COBB Tuning Motorsports STI has been undergoing a complete overhaul between Round 3 and 4 of the Redline Time Attack series. A completely new cage has been installed in the car, as well as both the engine and transmission getting a complete rebuild. The crew installed a brand new OS Giken rear differential along with a new Cosworth intake manifold and an AIM data acquisition system.

In addition the turbocharger has been upgraded to a larger exhaust housing allowing the car to make much more peak power, albeit on the same compressor and turbine. The exhaust system has also been modified, allowing the car to be lowered without infringing on the Street class rules dictating the no part of the car be lower than 3-inches off the ground. The exhaust is no longer the lowest part of the car! Watch out for Cameron’s all-new reloaded STI, it is poised to take the top of the podium at Round 4 of the Redline Time Attack at Auto Club Speedway!

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COBB Tuning has just released an AccessPORT firmware update for the 2004-2007 STI, 2006-2007 Subaru WRX, 2004-2006 Forester XT and 2005-2006 Legacy GT (AP-SUB-002). This update repairs a minor bugs with the AccessPORT, adds new functions and streamlines the menu screens. This update supports v2 and v2b units, meaning that both versions use the same firmware release: 1.6.0.0-12852. In addition, all “BETA” versions have been consolidated into this update. The bug fix in this release resolves the AP slowdown associated with extensive use.

URGENT – Resolves the AccessPORT slowdown associated with extensive use, which can eventually render the AccessPORT non-functional, requiring it to be sent to COBB Tuning for repair.

The “About” screen on both v2 and v2b has been simplified for easier interpretation and support and the “Change Map” feature has been updated for both units to give an explanation for any greyed-out “locked-out” maps.

This update is available immediately through AccessPORT Updater and requires no other updates to maps or tuning software be performed. Further information can be found on our Firmware Information Page.

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This last April, the Up Two Mountains rally team, debuted a new WRX and a new team in the California Rally Championship at the Desert Storm Rally. The car is tuned with a COBB Tuning AccessPORT. The guys made a great showing at their first event and even scored some coverage on “The Smoking Tire” on youtube. Here is their recap from their first event. You can follow their further exploits on their blog.

Desert Storm was a great rally that took a full five days of towing out to Blythe, CA…then some car work, recce, racing, and towing back to San Francisco. The first issue came about when we were having some tuning issues a week before. It turns the car had a loose coil pack connection (easily fixed) but also an exhaust leak from our GrimmSpeed uppipe. True to their high levels of customer service, GrimmSpeed expedited a replacement part to arrive just before I hit the road for Blythe (Wednesday night).

Picking up my Crew Chief, Zach Dickenson in California City, we arrived at Blythe at 4pm on Thursday which gave us enough time to swap out the uppipe and still pass tech that night.

The following Friday was a full day of recce with Tom Morningstar (co-driver) and Matt Farah, both from TheSmokingTire.com. And here is their newest video:

The Smoking Tire

Racing started early Saturday morning, and with some small technical difficulties on the organizers part, stage one (a long fast stage) was canceled and we quickly moved on to stage two. Tom and I started out slow as we got to know each other over the intercom and slowly picked up speed throughout the day. Unfortunately a small off put us up and over a berm on the last stage and that threw us out of contention for day 1.

Day two started with a bang as we actually won the first two stages, which were quick with some VERY rough spots. This was a nice surprise as we were in the pack leading professional driver Lauchlin O’Sullivan and fellow regional competitor Keith Jackson. The lead was short lived as they caught up on the third stage, both stages are longer and much faster, and their experience at those speeds made the difference.

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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.

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The COBB Tuning AccessPORT is world-renowned for its ease of use and its ability to extract massive amounts of Horsepower! In Japan, the AccessPORT is sold under the Prova banner and is being used in the JDM Tuning motherland much the way it is used by USDM tuners, to drastically increase the performance of enthusiast vehicles both on the street and on the track!

The 2010 Hyper Meeting at Tsukuba Circuit in Japan is one of the largest meets in Japan for racing and tuning enthusiasts. Held over one weekend, tuners, race teams and enthusiasts alike converge in a giant display of horsepower and the very best of motorsports technology.

The Prova team was on hand with their GH8 WRX competing in the Street Tuner class. The team was able to post a best lap time of 1:04.117 and a best top speed of 182.348 km/h, good enough for 5^th in class! This car is tuned on the stock ECU with a COBB/Prova AccessPORT and AccessTUNER Software.

Be it on the track in the Redline Time Attack here in the United States, or battling the top Japanese tuners around Tsukuba Circuit, the COBB Tuning AccessPORT is at the forefront of Motorsport competition!

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COBB Tuning has just released an AccessPORT firmware update for the 2002-2003 and 2004-2005 Subaru WRX (AP-SUB-001). This update repairs two minor bugs with the AccessPORT, adds new functions and streamlines  the menu screens. This update supports v2 and v2b units, meaning that both versions  use the same firmware release: 1.6.0.0-12994. In addition, all “BETA” versions have been consolidated into this update.

The bug fixes in this release resolve the AP slowdown associated with extensive use  as well as the ECU identification errors that have been occurring in the field.

Additional data monitors (Absolute Pressure, Barometric Pressue and Fuel Economy) have been added to the v2 AccessPORT to match the data monitors available on v2b. The “About” screen on both v2 and v2b has been simplified for easier interpretation and support and the “Change Map” feature has been updated for both units to give an explanation for any gray-out “locked-out” maps.

This update is available immediately through AccessPORT Updater and requires no other updates to maps or tuning software be performed. Further information can be found on our Firmware Information Page.

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As automotive enthusiasts, we are always looking for ways to increase the performance of our cars. While bolting that shiny, bling’in exhaust on your car may be the most visually attractive option, it won’t always net you the most power. That is where the COBB Tuning AccessPORT comes into play. In a recent issue of Import Tuner, their project 2006 WRX gets the full Stage 2 workup with a turboback exhaust and a COBB Tuning AccessPORT.

While installing first the catback section and then the downpipe on the WRX made some good mild gains, things don’t really start taking off until the AccessPORT is installed. Import Tuner was impressed by the massive gains in midrange torque, 36lb/ft in fact and a very fat increase in midrange power with an increase of 16whp over the un-tuned turboback setup. Bolt-ons are good, but without proper tuning you will never realize the gains possible on a forced-induction car like the WRX.

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The Launch Control and Flat Foot Shift BETA is now available on all 2008-2010 Subaru STIs and the 2010 WRX*. This feature is currently available only with LC/FFS enabled OTS maps for the specific models mentioned.

Use at your own risk!

All Subaru AccessPORT part number AP-SUB-003 can enable Launch Control and Flat Foot Shifting by updating to the latest BETA firmware and downloading a LC/FFS-enabled map. All current v1.04 2008-2010 STI maps and v1.02 2010 WRX maps are LC/FFS enabled. LC/FFS is currently not an editable option in AccessTUNER Race but can be altered by ProTuners in AccessTUNER Pro.

Launch Control and Flat Foot Shift instructions:

1. Reflash the ECU with a FFS/LC enabled map. All v1.04 maps for 2008, 2009, 2010 STI and 2010 WRX comes with LC/FFS.
2. Allow the car to warm up to normal operating temperature, then go into the “Tune Adjustments” menu option on the AccessPORT.
3. Choose the Launch Control or FFS option and set the values appropriately.

AccessTUNER Race software:

The ability to adjust LC/FFS in AccessTUNER software is currently under closed beta testing. Please contact your ProTuner if you’d like LC/FFS enabled on your ProTuned map. This feature will be available in AccessTUNER Race once beta testing is completed.

*Other models will be available with launch control following closed-group testing.

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