FricFrac,
I'm not sure your travel expenses should be part of the equation, because that's not really on whoever makes the tuning software or does the tuning, know what I mean? On the other hand, in so far as you're trying to make a personal decision, it's obviously relevant, so I guess we could go either way. Anyway, let's tackle this one piece at at time.
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Anyhow from what I can tell is the dyno tune option I have is gonna be around $900 ($1200 by the time my travel expenses are taken into account). Its an UpRev dyno tune and I have the option of up to five maps selectable by cruise control. I doesn't sound like there is any hardware included (Osiris?) or the OS software (Cipher?) just the modified MAP. Its about $400 for the dyno time and around $500 for the software mod.
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Okay, for the dyno tune option, you are correct that there is no hardware or software included. You get the new maps loaded into your ECU and that's it. $900 sounds about right, esp. if that's in Cdn dollars.
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I agree reverse engineering the software and coding your own OS for the ECU is impressive and should be charged for - but $300 per license for an ukernal operating system seems awefully steep. Now to interface to that software you have to spend another $400 for the Osiris software? Is Osiris useless without Cipher?
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Yes Osiris is useless without Cipher. That's why Cipher is included with Osiris, as they clearly state on their website. So if you get Osiris Standard (presumably to go the eTune route instead of dyno tuning), your total cost is $700 US, period. Like I said, it includes Cipher. It has to, because Cipher is what logs the data. You then send those logs to UpRev and they build your eTune maps off of that data. Hence my remark that Osiris is useless without Cipher. Then they send those eTune maps back to you, and you load them into your ECU via Osiris.
I think you're on the verge of making this more complicated than it needs to be. Your options, as best as I can simplify them, are as follows:
- Get a dyno tune with UpRev. Total cost to you including travel is $1200. If you want to be able to datalog afterwards, you will need to spend another $300 (US) and purchase Cipher, plus supply your own laptop. The total then goes up to roughly $1500 (probably something like $1540 once you do the currency conversion on the $300 for Cipher).
- Forgo the dyno tune and just rely on eTunes with UpRev Osiris Standard. Total cost to you is $700 US, and it includes Cipher. So you have the datalogging software, but you still need to supply your own hardware (laptop) (they do give you the OBDII cable though). How accurate are the eTunes? More accurate than a generic map because the maps are being built off of the data from your car, but a little less accurate than a true dyno tune, because the tuner isn't there to actually get a feel for what your car is doing.
- Get a dyno tune with Cobb. I don't know if you have a Cobb Pro-Tuner in your area or how much they charge, so the price is not known at this point. But you should expect it to be around $1200, not including any travel costs. So it's more expensive than a dyno tune with UpRev, but you get the Cobb AP handheld unit which does the datalogging. So no need to spend an extra $300 for datalogging software, and no need to supply your own laptop. If travel is also $300, then your total goes up to $1500, which makes it a wash between an UpRev dyno tune and a Cobb dyno tune, at least in terms of price. If it costs the same, then it boils down to preference at this point between having a standalone handheld unit from Cobb vs. having to use your own laptop with UpRev Cipher. On the other hand, with UpRev you can switch maps via your cruise control buttons, and you can't do that with Cobb. So which is more important to you? The cruise control button functionality? Or not having to use your own laptop for datalogging? I think that's the deciding factor between options 1 and 3.
- There's a fourth option that we haven't given much attention to. Cobb also has its own 'eTune' type service, where you buy the Cobb AP, log the data, then send it in to a Cobb Pro-Tuner (like Sharif) and have him build your maps and send them back to you. Then you upload them via the Cobb AP handheld. I don't know what the total cost of this option is. The AP unit is $695, then you'd have to pay the tuner separately. (Maybe you should PM Sharif to see how much he'd charge). BUT, we already know that it's going to end up costing more than UpRev's eTune service. Because Osiris Standard costs $700, and it includes 3 eTunes. With Cobb, you're basically paying $700 just for the AP unit before the cost of the eTunes even enters into things. But again, that doesn't automatically mean that Cobb is ripoff, because you're getting a standalone unit with them, and not with UpRev.
Those are your options. Step 1 in your decision making process now is to ask yourself: Do you want a full-blown dyno tune? Or will an eTune suffice? If you want a full-blown dyno tune, you need to chose between options 1 and 3. If you are content with an eTune, you need to choose between options 2 and 4 (and for option 4 you need to PM Sharif to find out how much he'd charge to do your eTune maps before you'll know total cost of that option).
I don't think I can make it any more simple than this. (And you may thank me with rep.
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