Julian Layton

Hi all,

I am installing a downpipe and air intake on my JDM GRB. This will require a dyno tune.

Is there any pros and cons with a Dyno tune/rolling road vs a road tune?

I live in Wandsworth and there are no dyno tuners near me. I am thinking of going with Bob Rawles road tuning service.

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Danjo

Each has their own positives and negatives. Reflashing the stock ECU can be a length process as you have to reflash then run the car to see how the changes have taken effect, you can’t change the map settings while the car is running on the dyno (unless you have a stand-alone), therefore a dyno is really a safer place to do this.

Road tuning you will have to pull over each time to reflash. Then you take into account traffic, weather and just the fact that you are doing long fourth gear pulls so you’ll need to find somewhere you can do that safely while being able to monitor and listen for knock.

All this adds up to a dyno being a more “ideal” place in terms of ease and safety. However, not everyone has access to a dyno, it’s often more expensive as you have the dyno overheads to cover, and it’s not as easy to replicate real world conditions in a dyno cell. You’ll also get a more accurate bhp and torque figure on a dyno. Some mappers use software based “virtual dyno” software but their accuracy is argued.

I have had my car mapped by both methods to a very high standard, and there are some fantastic mappers out there that can do either, so really you pay your money and take your choice.

Vxr2010

I personally think road tuning is better , as it’s mapping in actual road conditions , like hills which pushes the car harder , but if the only option was a dyno then it would not concern me , where is Bob based , other options for tuning is Richard at Fbtuning who road maps , main thing is you are doing the sensible thing of getting it mapped rather than not 👍

stockcar

modern road conditions, traffic and higher powered cars mean we would no longer entertain road mapping..............

Dyno certainly has its place but the better question is to choose the mapper correctly which will mitigate problems

1509joe

iTrader: (2)

Both, dyno first then check in real time conditions.

4evascoob

I’ve only ever had road maps , bob r and Neil @slowboy. More realistic conditions in my view not that I’m against rr at all. Bob is a top bloke ( he’s in Swindon ) or was. ! , got to admit it was a laugh holding boost at .5 , 1 and then 1.5 in 4th gear on a dual carriageway you can imagine what speed was at 1.5. Yes after each run we came off a roundabout and in to a lay-by while bob worked away and I had to **** about with ignition / key etc but all part of it. And on the last run he said right all done , give it some on the slip road …… f@*k me !! Lol.

fpan

iTrader: (11)

A good mapper will always check the map on the road after a dyno tune but as Alyn mentioned, a dyno tune is easier due to traffic etc.

The Joshua Tree

I've only ever done one mapping ssession and it was with Bob R on the road, i really enjoyed it, you learn a lot yourself like driving to boost gauges and holding it on boost as and when the mapper needs you too. I'm certainly not an expert on which is best, i guess they both have their positives and drawbacks, traffic being the obvious drawback on a road and finding a suitable road to drive up and down on.

Hawkeye D

Bob did mine in Newbury, right on top of the A34 and M4. No speed camera's anywhere
That was several years ago now, now the roads are so much busier and, dare I say, with terrible drivers.

JdmSti2006

Would not touch Bob for grb impreza-raggydoo tread.
To avoid above i would go to a place/mapper where You can always come back if anything goes wrong. Fbtuning or slowboy for road mapping, others for dyno,avoid dynamite 🧨dunKhan ssr

fpan

iTrader: (11)

Bob has mapped plenty of GRBs successfully without issues.

Matty81

ive had mine road mapped by neil @slowboyracing over at brands hatch 3 times now. i couldn't recommend him enough! great mapper and mechanic

Julian Layton

Thanks for all the recommendations.

One question which may be a stupid one - when a car is mapped, do they take all the three modes into consideration? Does the tuner need to do a seperate tune each for sport, sport # and intelligent mode?

4evascoob

they can do each mode however you want. I keep I mode as economic as poss ( for when mrs drives it ! )

JdmSti2006

none i know and enough with failures to avoid boob

hedgecutter

iTrader: (5)

The modes aren't actually maps; I believe they are percentages of throttle available, but mappers can utilise the button for different maps if you choose.

Danjo

I got rid of the standard Subaru throttle maps and just went for a basic 1:1 pedal to throttle body map. If I want 60% throttle, I’ll press the pedal 60% of the way down, I don’t need a computer to do that for me. It was then a case of just having three separate boost maps.

fpan

iTrader: (11)

Exactly, they limit boost and alter the throttle pedal's travel to the butterfly's opening.

fpan

iTrader: (11)

I couldn't agree more, having 100% throttle at 50% of the gas pedal travel is just a gimmick IMHO. As you say if I want full throttle I press the pedal more!