Another Quick Stratified Tune Review

[apex1]

I just installed my Stratified single combo file tune. I got a combo 93 octane/E30 tune, with eco slots for both and a valet slot 5. It's cold here now--17 degrees F. last night. So the air is dense and I was seeing charge temps under 25 degrees, so factor that in when reading my review. It was hard to keep my all season winter tires hooked up in first and second. I ran in the 15 psi max eco 93 slot until oil temps came up, then into slot 1, which is the performance 93 slot. Anyway, with many thanks to Alex for taking time to answer questions and to Stratified for lightning fast turnaround time, here is my detailed review:

HOLY S#IT!!!!!

 

[jtehh]

So I'll pile on with my own (very early) review. Holy shit is accurate.

First - I submitted my form on Friday night and received the tune on Sunday morning. Sure, I know that at this point they probably have some type of UI where they plug in the car, mods and it spits out a file. But still, someone put this together on a weekend.

Second - performance. It is in the upper 20s here, so on my mainly stock car (drop-in filter, symposer delete, RMM) I was running Cobb Stage 2. Charge temps rarely exceeded ambient and I could probably get away with Cobb stage 3 until warmer weather hit. My whoosh intercooler is on the way, and my big-mouth just arrived. Both will be put on in about a week (but I went ahead and added them to my stratified tune form). But hey, boost weather and I wanted to give the tune a try. My winter tires on a stock tune would lose traction in the dry. On Cobb Stage 2, even worse. On this tune, forget about it. I'll need to wait to put my Pilots back on. But after a few WoT runs I can tell this thing is a ton more aggressive than Cobb, but still looks safe so far. No knocks, less positive correction, hitting 24 psi, etc. Can't wait to hang the FMIC and to put my non-winter wheels back on! This is probably as fast as I'll need to go. No plans for a larger turbo.

On a somewhat related note, is there a secret to doing a run to get a clean data log? All of my logs, when I put them in vdyno, come back with inflated numbers. I'm pretty sure I have the profile correct, even the size of my winter wheels. But something is still off. I'm guessing I need more space to run since I hit 80 near the top of 3rd and have to let off. I'm just lazy, will hit up Google.

In summary, $50 well spent. I feel like I have to learn to drive my car again (and that is a good thing).

 

[apex1]

I am in a similar situation to you in that I am in the middle of winter and have limited chances to drive the car with the new tunes. I am breaking loose my winter all season tires shifting into third gear on a regular basis. I find it interesting that you are measuring 24 pounds of boost. I am regularly hitting 26.5 both with the 93 tune and the E30 tune, which I am slightly worried might be a little bit high. I discussed this briefly with Alex and he told me that there really is nothing to worry about it since it is for such a short period of time, but I am thinking of going back and having Stratified limit the max boost. I have $150 invested since I bought the single combo file with 93 and E30, eco slots, a valet slot and switchable TC. But even at $150, I feel like it's an amazing value.

 

[jtehh]

Oh I only took it for one spin early this morning and really didn't push at all. Hell, deer were everywhere (and a few recently dead on side of road due to car-strikes) so I only did one long-ish WoT where I hit 80 in 3rd and had to call it done. If I push, I'll bet I could see higher boost, especially in fourth. I just don't have that kind of space in the windy roads around here.

Linking to upload of my small data-file. Only one run, but damn it felt ferocious! I'd never hit 80 on that stretch of road before - caught me by surprise.

files.fm link to datalog

I think I read on another thread of someone with the same concern. A stratified tune that was occasionally hitting 26-27 psi. I believe the response was a mixture of "don't worry, it doesn't hang out there" and "don't go WoT at low RPMs in a higher gear". That last part seems to ring true in my brief experience with the AP. If I want to do a quick check for a boost leak, I can just drop to fourth gear and floor it and I'll see the psi spike.

 

[apex1]

I am awaiting receipt of my VT Big Mouth so I also included it on my tuning form. I also included a FMIC because as soon as I see charge temps more than 10 degrees or so over ambient, I will install one. With me currently seeing charge temps in the 20s, and no hot weather likely to be here before late June or July, there's really no point now to install one.

 

[FastCoolBlue]

I figure I'll chime in on this as I just upgraded to my Stratified flash tune about two weeks ago coming form the Cobb Stage 2 tune and I totally agree that this was definitely worth the money. I had been running the Cobb Stage 2 tune for quite some time and was unsure if I wanted to try something new but it had been awhile since I had upgraded anything on my car so I got the itch and pulled the trigger. I am so happy I did because it's like driving a whole new car. The Stratified tune pulls so much harder than the Cobb tune and I had always felt that 1st gear with the Cobb tune was lacking. I would rev it out but it never felt like the car was really moving until I hit 2nd but now the car just gets up and goes. Anyone on the fence about this tune I say do it, you'll be happy you did.

 

[Alex@Stratified]

Thank you for the kind words everyone; I am very happy you're enjoying the tunes. We have a number of calibrators on staff (who sometimes work weekends as well) .

 

[drinkgasoline]

Just loaded my Stratified flash tune last night, wooowza.
The car is so much different just as most say.

I was running the OTS tunes from the Accessport, Stage 1 was decent, stage 2 didn't feel much different.
This is what the car needed.

Took some time figuring out traction/launch control.
Traction Control is awesome - now I wish I had it enabled as default zzz.

Logged a pull and everything was perfect according to the provided expected parameters.
Thank you Stratified team!